Hello, I would appreciate some advice on shock replacement on my 03 C5 base model vette. The car currently has approximately 80,000 miles and is in good condition.. I feel my shocks are well past prime so this is my question. Should I upgrade to the 2011 Z06 style or go with the factory 03 Soft Ride style ? I believe the latter was what it was built with. I’m not going to be racing my car but do use it as a daily driver.. Already rides rough on Missouri roads now, will the new Z06 shocks make it ride rougher? I’ve noticed rear end hop on curves going over expansion joint and I need that to stop. Planning on installing C6-Z51 sway bars in near future. Any thoughts are helpful, just don’t want it to ride like a sprung truck. Thanks, Bob

 

 

Look into the Bilstein B6/HD or C6Z51 shocks for an better ride than the Z06 shocks.

 

+1 to the Bilstein B6/HD's. No regrets.

 

Without hesitation I would buy the 2013 Z06 AC Delco shocks from Rock Auto again - great upgrade. Not too rough but way better than stock. If it's too rough for you with stock shocks, you might not like the upgrade though. You will see in post 39 of the second link that Evil Twin did not like the increased stiffness.

Here are previous threads.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...rock-auto.html

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...love-them.html

 

The C6 Z06 shocks are a popular replacment when it comes time to remove the old ones.

 

Absolutely LOVE them!

 

If you go with the C6 Z51 sway bars, you will have noticeable wheel hop with the C6Z shocks. Keep wither the C5 base or C5Z rear bar for a more comfortable ride or the C5 base shocks with the C6Z51 sway bars. If smooth ride is your priority then the base Shocks would by my choice.

 

Your number one thing that provides a "smooth" ride is your tires and tire pressure. Old tires, tires that are hard and tires that are over inflated will make the car ride much more harsh than any shock absorber you install. A 2 or 3 psi change in a large low profile tire dramatically changes the felt vibration and hardness you can feel. Also, things that make the car loud and create noises are often confused with noise. It is very hard to quantify what a rough or harsh ride is without specific instrumentation inside the car to measure the actual physical changes in how much vibration and harshness is transmitted.

Stiffer shocks can often provide a perceived smoother ride through better body control. I have a couple of cars that have different electronic shock settings, for example "comfort" or "sport".....I know that at highway speeds on concrete interstates with expansion joints, the car feels "smoother" in the sport setting rather than the comfort setting. The stiffening of the suspension actually controls the body and my felt movements, etc. I know that when I put ACR springs and shocks on my Viper (nearly twice the spring rate of stock), the car rode firmer but smoother. I know it doesn't make sense that the car would be smoother, but the body control was much better so I wasn't getting jostled around in the drivers seat. Combined with the better shock to control the spring oscillations, the car just felt more smooth at highway speeds on normal roads.

Regarding tire pressures on a Vette for street driving.....I would start at a cold pressure 3 psi below what is recommend on your door jamb and see how that feels once up to temps. The higher performance the tires, usually the louder and rougher the ride. Cheaper stock sized all seasons might give the softest ride.

Good luck!!

 

Not all cars are built for HD shocks, sometimes it is better to use a standard shock. If the car is not set up for HD shocks it can tear out causing damage.

 

Ok, I'm not understanding a couple of things.

1. I've never heard of a sway bar inducing wheel hop when going in a straight line. If somebody can educate me, I'm all ears.

2. Heavy duty shocks that can "tear out" causing damage??.....again, I need some education on this because it does not make sense.

Here is a an experiment for all of you that think shocks contribute to a huge ride difference when driving on the street at normal speeds (not on the race track).....remove one shock from the front and one shock from the rear. If you want to see how your car really works, have a friend remove a front shock and a rear shock but not tell you which side he removed the shock from. Maybe a left front and a right rear. Go drive around town, get on the freeway, etc.....can you correctly pick what side, front and rear is missing the shock? The only caveat is the shock that is left on either side of the vehicle has to be in good operating condition. The shocks only job is to control spring oscillations. There is more to ride quality and handling that just bolting on a set of shocks and expecting a miracle. The rebound and compression valving is very important and needs to be tuned for the spring rate on the car....there are literally hundreds of different variables and combinations that can effect the operation, ride, comfort and high performance handling.

There is so much more to the "ride" issue than shocks and springs....as I said, tires are number one. But if you have bad hub bearings, worn ball joints, bad tie rod ends or defective control arm bushings, you'll never have a smooth quiet ride if your car needs basic maintenance no matter what shocks you put on.

 

if your car is not reinforced at the upper shock attachment. It will tear out

 

Sounds like you once tried to lift your 79 cutlass with air shocks and they blew through the rear speakers?

I believe that is the Z06 shocks were going to rip the mounts out of cars, it would be a widely posted note as it's an extremely common upgrade.

So I need to ask, do you have first hand knowledge of this occurring?

 

Some people offer an uneducated opinion with language that is very questionable even to an amateur back yard mechanic. the notion of ripping out the mounts is evidence of such naivety.

Just some FYI, sway bars control body sway not ride comfort... bigger diameter sway bars control the amount of body roll.
Spring rates control the load ( car weight with fuel and passengers ) much like the load rating of a tire.
Shocks control the amount of dampening of the spring travel. Harder stiffer shocks rates will control an environment were the potential to bottom out the shock is weighed./ A HD shocks will take more pounding ( less spring travel on bad roads ) the vales are set at a much higher rate so they do not bottom out, and blow a seal.. Regular shocks have less dampening and allow the springs to travel at their normal rate.and absorb road bumps. These softer shocks give a better ride because they are not as stiff and allow the springs to absorb the bumps. HD shocks prevent the springs from taking too big of a hit. HD shocks will also help control handlining when pushing a car into a hard corner at a track . If you are going to track the car, you need HD shocks, If your car never sees a track you dont need them and your ride comfort will be better without them. Everything is a trade off. I noticed immediately the harsher ride with the HD shocks.. Its like Octane, you dont always need 92 or 93 octane. but when you need it , its good to have it in the tank the trade off is that is costs a little more . Same with HD shacks, its nice to have the heavy dampening when your need it, but the trade off is that if you only need it 10% of the time, the trade off is that for 90% of your ride it is going to be harsher.
Facts of life
Bill aka ET

 

Dodge charger HD shocks tore upper
attachment and section of inner fender
Don't know why I have to defend myself.
look I'm not telling people what to buy, just offering some advice from personal knowledge
buy any shocks you want too

 

No need to defend yourself. You made an absolute statement that people are going to call you on - that's why I asked if you had first hand experience. Now that we see it was a Dodge, it all makes sense!

 

Evil-Twin
your statement
Some people offer an uneducated opinion with language that is very questionable even to an amateur back yard mechanic. the notion of ripping out the mounts is evidence of such naivety.

That is an an extremely negative statement without asking how or why I made such a statement.
It is telling me you are probably a corvette person without mechanical know how or back ground in other autos. I printed the proof I have experienced in the past.
Don't be so quick to accuse people of not knowing what they are talking about.

 

Ed Ramberger

next time you question someone’s post, do your home work
internet loaded with autos with broken stock mounts
don’t Shoot front the hip to try to impress people you don’t know

thanks

 

Dont worry JIM ( sw ) … jack,(vmj) I'm not taking the bait... LOL easy peasy ..

 

this is starting to feel like a fishing expedition.