So the main thing I've been working on with my car is its suspension. I have C6 Z51 sway bars, C6 Z06 Shocks, Heavy Duty Metal Endlinks from Zip Corvette, and a fairly new set of Sumitomo HTRZ-II tires that came with the car when I bought it.

So far all of the suspension improvements that I have done have paid huge dividends with each upgrade making a noticeable improvement in handling sharpness and overall performance.

My latest upgrade was my Heavy Duty Metal End Links. When I first installed them I couldn't believe how much more responsive my car felt in the corners and how much easier and more direct the steering effort seemed to be.

Then after the next couple of days the car started to feel a little sloppy and looser. Not necessarily as bad as it was pre-Heavy Duty Metal End Links but not as good as the initial install.

I initially chalked up all of that performance improvement to the placebo effect, but then a couple of days later the car started to feel a lot tighter and better again.

So my question is: Do these seemingly noticeable shifts in ride quality/performance have anything to do with the suspension needing an alignment? The car is 10 years old, and has had a host of upgrades done to it, so I am sure it is needing an alignment anyways. But is this alignment just going to effect tire-wear and things like that? Or will it help the car perform more consistently?

For the record I've basically been driving on the same roads at similar speeds so there is not much variance in my driving habits, just some days the car feels a lot better than on other days.

Thanks!

 

an alignment will change how it drives as well as improve tire wear. plus while it's up, they can check for worn parts like ball joints and tie rod ends

 

small alignment changes = big change in feel. It's the one thing I play with the most on my car
I suggest make sure you have all the mods on there you want, then pay for a really good performance alignment & corner balance with you in the car. It'll be revelatory

 

I had a corner weight alignment done, they weighed me and filled the driver seat with my weight and then aligned the car. I could not believe the car was the same one I drove there. It seemed like the car was on rails! It was only $130.'s, but well spent $$$$$

 

Had mine done several years ago at Black Dog Racing in Lincolnshire, IL and it's a completely different car. The difference is unbelievable! I had mine done twice before at a tire/alignment shop and my car wasn't even close to the way it handles and drives now.

 

Thanks for the replies!

The shop that I am thinking of going to is a full on racing shop that does street alignments for about $150 and corner weighting for around $300. In the near future I will probably get a new set of wheels/tires and a new set of rotors/brake pads. Since these things will probably change the weight of the car, is it worth waiting on the full corner weighting until I get those mods done?

I'll probably get an alignment for sure pretty soon.

Thanks a bunch!

 

If you're getting new wheels, brakes, etc., I'd wait. I had mine done after I got new wheels, tires, brakes, and upper control arms. As I said, the difference is amazing. I couldn't believe I was driving the same car when I picked it up from the shop.