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Hello. l know this topic has been done to death and a prior article is actually where my question comes from. l have a 03 Z06 with new C6 Z06 shocks,factory C5 Z06 sway bars with poly bushings and aluminum heim joints, and Zip Corvette lowering bolts. l have 305/30/18's on rear with 275/35/17's on front. When l bought the car the prior owner had it slammed on the ground to the point the suspension wasnt even working. After placing all the above items on the vehicle (sans the lowering bolts, those were already on there) l just cannot get the ride height correct. l have done this many times, l'm no noob. But after lowering the front all the way, and raising the rear all the way..... l still cant get the 3/4-1" rake l am looking for. The car actually looks like it is sitting level, but after measuring, it does actually have almost a 1/2" of rake. l just dont know what else to do. l have never had this issue b4 in the past. Soooo, after the long intro, my question is, one of the past threads l was reading on this one member had a similar problem and to get the front end a bit lower, (every little bit helps) he actually removed the front lowering bolts all together. l have never heard of this. ls this ok 2do?
Last edited by R Jay MacReady; Jun 13, 2020 at 10:49 AM.
No one makes a 305/10/18 or 275/35/17 size tire so I'm assuming they are 305/35/18 and 275/40/17.
Post a side shot of your car, if you can, so we can see the front & rear ride heights.
Good day and thank you for the reply. l will see if l have any photos here on this laptop to attach as the car is currently on jack stands in my garage. But the tires are indeed what l stated, that was no typo.
305/10/18 would be an absolute rubber band of a tire. The 2nd number is your sidewall height, and is measured as a % of the width.
Either way, you can remove the bolt altogether yes. I would lube where the leaf spring rests on the control arm though. Might be a bit more noise after that. You could try and find stock leaf spring bolts, but only used, GM sells them as a whole with the entire spring. Other possible issue could be your leaf spring is worn and sagging. Does the car have cutouts in the exhaust perhaps?
You are correct it is a rubber band of a tire and l have actually spoke about of this odd ball tire in one of my other posts. These tires were already on the car when l bought it and were/are brand new. The research l did on them led me to go2 the Mustang forum where several members there use/used them and the feedback was very positive, especially for the price. As of that post they were still available, they are no longer. Not sure why. ln hindsight l shouldve purchased two of these as l now have a set of factory 18/10.5 C5 Z06 Speedlines for the front l wouldve liked to put them on., Oh well. Back to the issue at hand... l kinda thought that if the factory mono leaf was worn, the vehicle would sag, no? And no,no cutouts. And here is a pick of the rr tire
One of the reasons you still have an excessive gap between the tires and fenders, is the really short diameter tires on your car. Running the bolts all the way down is only going to do so much, when the front tires are approximately 24.7" diameter and the rears are approximately 25.2". You can tighten up the tire-to-fender clearance with coilovers but dang, you probably aren't going to have a lot of ground clearance.
Honestly though, unless you just have to have it lower, the present ride heights don't look that bad.
I run 305/30R19 rear and 275/35R18 front....so should be about the same except my tires are Hankook EVO 12 V2. I am all the way down in front on stock bolts on a C5 Z06 front spring and ALMOST all the way down in the back on a C5 Z06 spring. I am running Johnny O’Connell shocks which are somewhat of a C6 Z06 shock. The C6 Z06 shocks are a bit larger than a C5 shock which kinda holds the car up a little. Could that be the issue? I wouldnt want my car any lower than it is personally as I like my suspension to work on the curvy roads I play on, but YMMV.
Maybe the rubber bushings have been shaved down or removed all together?
Good morn. Which bushings are you referring to LO? The front ones on the lowering bolts? lf that was the case, it would allow the front to actually be dropped lower, no? Or am l missing something?
One of the reasons you still have an excessive gap between the tires and fenders, is the really short diameter tires on your car. Running the bolts all the way down is only going to do so much, when the front tires are approximately 24.7" diameter and the rears are approximately 25.2". You can tighten up the tire-to-fender clearance with coilovers but dang, you probably aren't going to have a lot of ground clearance.
Honestly though, unless you just have to have it lower, the present ride heights don't look that bad.
Yessir. l did figure the same. But what is odd is l want to actually raise the rear and lower the front haha. l have thought about coilovers as there is a very reputable brand that are American made (Aldan) and lower it that way. lt doesnt need much more, and l actually dont care which l do to achieve this (lowering the front a little or raising the rear a little) l just want more of the rake the car is supposed to have for proper squat/handling characteristics. l think the car looks very good right now, but looks arent everything. l think when l am actually in the car the rake becomes even worse. And... when l do put the 18x10.5 on the front, not being able to raise the back or lower the front more will exacerbate the situation.
I run 305/30R19 rear and 275/35R18 front....so should be about the same except my tires are Hankook EVO 12 V2. I am all the way down in front on stock bolts on a C5 Z06 front spring and ALMOST all the way down in the back on a C5 Z06 spring. I am running Johnny O’Connell shocks which are somewhat of a C6 Z06 shock. The C6 Z06 shocks are a bit larger than a C5 shock which kinda holds the car up a little. Could that be the issue? I wouldnt want my car any lower than it is personally as I like my suspension to work on the curvy roads I play on, but YMMV.
Very nice looking Vette. Yes, l do suppose ours are similar in the way of the difference between the tire/wheel setup. But looking at yours, yours looks like it has the proper rake, look at your tire to fender gap on the front vs the rear. That is what l am trying to accomplish with mine but just cant. And yes, you may be correct in the C5 Z06 shock theory as l have read that in a few of the many past posts l went through. l have never before ran the C6 Z06 shocks before in the past, always the Pfadt or Johnny Oconnnell's. maybe that is the source of my angst here. l just cant believe on aftermarket lowering bolts which by nature allows one to lower the car further than the stock blots, l STILL cant get the tire/fender gap any closer than this. Very frustrating indeed
Very nice looking Vette. Yes, l do suppose ours are similar in the way of the difference between the tire/wheel setup. But looking at yours, yours looks like it has the proper rake, look at your tire to fender gap on the front vs the rear. That is what l am trying to accomplish with mine but just cant. And yes, you may be correct in the C5 Z06 shock theory as l have read that in a few of the many past posts l went through. l have never before ran the C6 Z06 shocks before in the past, always the Pfadt or Johnny Oconnnell's. maybe that is the source of my angst here. l just cant believe on aftermarket lowering bolts which by nature allows one to lower the car further than the stock blots, l STILL cant get the tire/fender gap any closer than this. Very frustrating indeed
And yse, lf my car looked like yours ride height wise, l wouldnt want it any lower either, you car looks perfect!
One of the reasons you still have an excessive gap between the tires and fenders, is the really short diameter tires on your car. Running the bolts all the way down is only going to do so much, when the front tires are approximately 24.7" diameter and the rears are approximately 25.2". You can tighten up the tire-to-fender clearance with coilovers but dang, you probably aren't going to have a lot of ground clearance.
Honestly though, unless you just have to have it lower, the present ride heights don't look that bad.
Maybe l'll just put the coilovers on it and be done with it. l'm just loath 2do so as l literally JUST BOUGHT all the C6 Z06 shocks. They have less than 50 miles on them!!! ARGH
Maybe l'll just put the coilovers on it and be done with it. l'm just loath 2do so as l literally JUST BOUGHT all the C6 Z06 shocks. They have less than 50 miles on them!!! ARGH
If it were my car, I would pass on the coilover idea and install some new, taller tires and sell what's on there, now. One option is 275/40/17 fronts (25.7" tall) and 295/35/18 rears (26.2" tall)
Those will make a big difference, aesthetically and performance too. Just my opinion, though.
Lowering
