I did a little spirited driving this weekend down some curvy roads with a friend in his Subaru BRZ. When pushing the car a little in the corners I noticed the car felt like it was swaying a lot into each corner. I'm not sure quite how to describe it but the car felt 'floaty' I guess. It didn't inspire much confidence at all. The Subaru BRZ seemed more stable and planted through each corner. I wasn't driving as fast as I could but the active handling would flicker here and there and the ABS breaks would kick in going over some of the bumps in the road.

I'm running the stock worn out GY F1 tires in the front and Nitto NT05 tires in the rear. I know this may be a part of the problem as the F1 tires no longer stick like they used to. Suspension is all stock (even the ride height).

What can I do to make this thing feel more planted and sway less in the corners? I figured a stock C5Z06 would handle better than a Subaru BRZ but I guess not? Perhaps new front tires and stiffer sway bars will help? Suggestions please. TY!

 

From what I've read tires and an aggressive alignment will go a long way.

 

Get good tires.. No substitute.

For best traction and cornering, I would recommend the Michelin Pilot Super Sports.

That should be good on a well kept Z06 for over 1G in the corners.

Until you replace the tires and give it a whirl, I would not do anything else. Bet that is half of your problem.

If you need more, then it would help to state your mileage and if you have changed shocks and what your alignment settings are.

Standard Vette alignment is not the same as that for the Z06. The Z06 should be set to a negative camber.

 

They do. By far.

You have tires of widely varying ages and handling characteristics. That's not a mix that will give you positive results.

Get a matched set of Pilot Sports or Re-11s or Nittos, get an alignment, then watch as the BRZ disappears in the mirror. Look fast because it'll happen quickly.

 

I was running Kuhmo ecsta MX`s with a ton of neg camber on mine. Worked great. But wore the insides out too fast. lowered all the way. Got it aligned to Z 06 specs And not as confidence inspiring as before , but saves tires. MX`s worked great but don`t think they can be had any more. Prolly better off not pushing the car that hard any way at my age.

 

I question a c5z handling better then a brand new brz. A c5z certantly can handle better then a brz but i suspect without new tires, shocks, good alignment, and functional bushings. The brz could, in practice, handle quite a bit better. Specifically if it has decent tires.

If you have AH on you will be pretty limited depending on how hard you guys were driving. With 10+ year old front tires i would just be glad to have survived personally. c5z is fast as hell if you push it, but if you are just putzing around and not controling weight completely at all times, it really doesn't handle that well imo. A brz is so easy to drive, you can just act like a total jack *** and get to 8/10th of its ability really quickly. I drove my buddies and he asked me to really push it. I was past the "active handling off" slip allowment almost instantly. It is so easy to drive hard cause it has no power so you never feel like its going to squirt away from you like a vette can feel, specifically with old tires.

Mind you brz's are slow as hell and past the 80's they are pretty much not going anywhere. I feel like my c5 is pretty fast to 120's. Thats where you can put distance between you and them. They have less weight, and lower center of gravity. They handle very well with sticky 245's and a decent alignment. Being new the shocks still work 100% and bushings dont deflect all over.

 

Stock for stock I beat the BRZs every weekend. They have amazing potential, but as shipped it just ain't happening. And they don't have gobs of power either. That said, it doesn't take a lot to make them really really good. They have a huge upside. The tires that they ship them on though.....

They're a blast to drive though, totally agree.

The OP didn't mention how many miles on his car. I'm not going to make a supposition as to bushing deflection.

 

car has 27,000 miles on it. I'll start with some new front tires and see where that takes me.

I prefer the active handling on the street for safety purposes and because I consider myself a novice. Only have two autocross days under my belt. Planning on a road course event next. Thank You for the feedback everyone!

 

I have a stock 02. I replaced the original GY's with a set of NT-05's and my car is anything but floaty. I am at stock ride height, well stock everything actually. Car feels very connected and very capable cornering. I've only done one track weekend so far, but you can push these cars really hard in corners and they just want more.

My brother in laws BRZ is a fun car, he's on coilovers though

 

Alignment and sway bars do wonders for the car's balance and front end grip assuming the tires are up to snuff. My modifications have removed the vast majority of understeer that was present in stock form.

 

Unless you have hits lots of potholes, probably do not need shocks with this mileage. Check bushings thought. Get it on a rack and go over the entire suspension system, just to make sure.

I will almost bet tires are your problem though. Mixing sets is not a good idea. Different tread patterns are going to track differently (if handling is what you are after).

If you get it on a rack and everything checks out, by the absolute best tires you can afford. The best are the Michelin Pilot SS (there is a reason they are on the , ZR1 and C7). There are some other good other choices as well, just will not stick or ride as well as the Michelins.

 

Tires first, definitely. Your car is all out of balance right now. If your NT05's are good, just pick up a set of front's. They're pretty cheap.

Check alignment. For a mostly street driven car the stock alignment is fine, but can go out over the years.

If by floaty, you mean body roll? The 2004 shocks might help (they seem to have more stiffness in the beginning of the travel), lower a bit (no more than 15mm per GM specs), as well as sway bars - but don't go crazy on the sway bar stiffness as it can be too stiff for stock shocks and springs. Get alignment and corner balancing after lowering for best results.

 

don't agree on tires on c7 best, they are as everything, including oil what GM got the best bang for the buck for GM, not buyer.

 

Sounds like something is wrong with the OP's car. Mine is 100% stock and far from "floaty". The handling is great.

 

Baloney. GM got better prices on Goodyear F1s and PBR calipers, now they're paying more for Michelin PSSs and Brembos... this was NOT a cost decision, it was the beancounters being pulled in line with the intent of the engineers

The GM of the C5/early C6 generation would NOT have built the Z28

 

Yep.. If you want to enter the Super Car market, it has to handle like one. Look at the reviews on the ZR1 and C7 and see why the stick so well on the tracks/ Sure the suspension is top notch, but a super suspension and cheap tires= crappy high speed cornering.

You really think GM went with cheaper tires for the ZR-1, which was to compete with Lambos and Ferrari? Really?

GM did not choose the Pilot SS tires because they were cheap, but because they are THAT GOOD.

The Pilot Super Sports are anything but cheap. Price em and see.

 

Get a GOOD alignment First. My car was all sloppy feeling. felt like the rear shifted to the side when turning then held... scary the first couple times.. After a proper alignment that feeling went away 100% and feels very solid in the corners.

If you are on original tires then i would also swap them out.. Old tires SUCK. Keep in mind, you are comparing a 2600lb car that is 12yrs newer to your car that is 3100lbs and has a mono leaf suspension that is 12yrs old. the FRS/BRZ are designed to handle very well... (they are Hella Slow in a straight but handle very well much like a Lotus)

1st:
* Lower suspension bolts 1/2-3/4"
* Matched Tires
* Proper Alignment <---Big one here (wanna go crazy, set corner weights with alignment... requires scales)

Then, if you dont like the feel:
* Shocks (C6Z06 are a common upgrade)
* Sway bars w/ Metal Links (C6Z51 w/ C6ZLinks, cheap and good)

Still not happy:
* Coilovers with Adjustable shocks
* Adjustable saybars
* New bushings all around (Delrin if you can find them)
* Aggressive alignment with corner weights set properly with scales.


S

 

The C5Z definitely feels floaty and less solid/stable compared to a BRZ. I know nobody wants to hear that, but it's the truth.

I have a BRZ and a ZO6. It was REALLY bad after having the Vette in the garage all winter. I get in the Z and feel like I'm driving a school bus with the massive steering wheel and body swaying around and chassis not feeling as solid as the BRZ.

Every time I drive the ZO6 now, I'm trying to think of what I can do to get the same steering feel and body response as the BRZ. I'm running R888's on the ZO6 and RE-11's on the BRZ. Both stock suspension.

 

SS tires maybe one of the best tires on the market. I had a long discussion with tire rack over them because I was replacing my PS2's with them and they are that much better. I just returned my alignment back to close to stock 04z specs from Pfadts street/track. I had a shop spend 2.5 hours perfecting my alignment finding a balance of getting more rear tire on the ground but keeping it a twisty carver.

 

tires and shocks would be where i would start. i also have an 02 and moving to a set of new 04z shocks and michelin pss tires did wonders

also, the brz is a lot lower powered car. you won't have the speed or momentum to deal with which makes the car much easier to drive. it's also a bit lighter. all of this makes it an easier albeit slower car to throw around. it's one of the reasons it's so popular. great looking car and a great drivers car