Ok, here is what I did.

Rear is lowered with stock bolts and bushings/pads cut off except for the one little piece left, and there are 3 threads showing on both bolts with the nuts on.

Front is lowered with the bushings/pads not cut and the bolts are as far out as possible on both sides.

Problems:

Problem #1, the car sits higher on the left side than on the right side.
The left side I can get almost 2ish fingers inbetween the wheel and the fenders on the front and rear. The right side I can get 1 finger inbetween them. I know the care will 'settle' but I dont think it is normal for both sides to be this off.

Problem #2, the car is VERY bouncy. It feels like it is very 'Roll(y)' when going over the smallest of bumps. It almost feels like it is unsafe to drive.

Can anyone think of what might cause this? I thought maybe the garage floor wasnt level and that caused it to be off, but its not.
Then I thought maybe just all of the shocks are shot. Car has now 70k+ miles with stock shocks. I was thinking of getting bilsteins all the way around to see if that would help. Pushing down on the front of the car on either of the fenders it is really bouncy, and not stiff at all.

Any ideas on this subject are welcome.

 

Well, I can't speak on your ride comfort because I lowered mine on stock bolts without cutting anything. As far as the difference in height, how long ago did you do this? Did you give the car a chace to settle for a couple of weeks?

B

 

I finished it yesterday. But as I said before, I dont think it is a settle issue, for both sides to be off so much, and for the car to be so bouncy.

 

My guess is you need new shocks, I lowered mine last weekend and at first it seemed I could feel every crack in the road, as the car has settled it seems the ride has improved. Just went out and checked I have no rebound in the shocks at all.

 

Thanks for going out and checking that for me. So when you pushed down it was very tight? I have been thinking from the start it might be the shocks, but I want to make sure before I go dumping that kind of money into it.

 

Forgot to mention when I finished up RR was 1/4 lower than LR, and RF was 1/8 lower than LF, as of this morning LF/RF are the same and RR is 1/8 lower than LR. I have driven a little over 200 miles since lowering and car has settled 3/4" since.

 

Car is very tight, it has Z51 option and only 12,600 miles on the clock.

 

Might be time to try out those new C6 Z06 shocks, should help alot. BTW I see you're from that state up north, its now 10:13 AM and Michigan still sucks, go OSU

 

Just my .02, but I lowered my C5 as far as it would go on stock bolts and did not cut anything. The car was level right afterwards and has settled a little over 1/2" after driving it a bit. The car is still level and the ride is just as good as stock. My friend, however, slammed his by cutting the front bushings and using longer bolts in the rear. The car looks good, but rides like total crap and his car bounces around on the road like a lowered mini truck. If you want to keep your ride smoother and slam the car, you may want to check into coil-overs. I heard those things do wonders. Also, I noticed after putting on my 19" wheels/tires that the car appeared much lower.

 

 

Coil over setup would be great, but I am not prepaired to spend close to 3 grand right now on that setup.
Thanks for the input.

 

I measured mine before I lowered it on stock bolts and it wasn't the same from the factory. I did have to readjust the rear to get it level, the front was close enough. I went ahead later and cut 2/3 of the front bushings and put longer bolts in the rear. The rear has a little more bounce to it, but it's not that bad. I know my shocks are good becuase I only have 17,000 miles on it. Possible you might need some new shocks.

 

If you lower it with stock high milage shocks it will ride bouncy. For one the shocks have already worn in a pattern in the inside of the shocks from the seals. Then when you drasticly change whare the shock piston rides it tends to blow seals. Secondly it might be hitting the bump stops on the shock itself. You could ether take the shocks off and cut down the bushings(bump stops) or buy new shocks for lowered z51 cars. Bilstien sports. Thats what I did and the ride is solid and firm. no bouncing. Still a little harsher than stock but I wasent looking for a cadallic ride though Good luck

 

 

I have the stock Z51 suspension, and definitely dont want it more bouncy or harsh!

I would love to lower mine 1/2" or so, but with 37K on the clock, I will leave it alone. It's already lower than everything except eh occasional Miata.

I have lowered Hondas and Nissans, and every one with a few miles on them ruined the shocks. The stock shock is designed for the stock travel. When you shorten or lower that travel 1" to 2", then the shock is sometimes working in the bump-stop range.

That is why you see these lowered trucks bounce so bad, The shock is useless, and it is bouncing on the bumpstops.

At 70k, You probably need new shocks anyway. I replaced the ones in my Infiniti Q45's and they both ride like a dream now.

 

I would agree with the shocks. I have also noticed many times cars are a hair higher on the Driver side...maybe to off set driver wieght.

Not sure if you had it done and I did not see it mentioned but a good alighnmebt is in order also

 

That is correct

When lowering your car one needs to put the drivers weight in the drivers seat. I use 11 old brake rotors at 17 lbs each to represent my weight.

A few things. when you measure do not use the fender as they can be off too. Use the frame, just behind the jacking puck holes AND the frame where the lower A-arm attaches.

Try to get it equal left and right front and slightly higher in the rear vs the front, but also equal left rear to right rear.

When you take the weight out of the drivers seat the left side should be 1/8 to 1/4" higher then right side but equal when you are in the drivers seat.

Dont use the number of threads on the adjusting screw as your cars frame may not be perfect. again measure the frame height in two places

Slammed cars may look but suppension travel is needed for hard driving. Really no lower then an 1" for optimal suppension and handling.

After you lower your car time for an alignment as the wheels will change when lowering.

Good Luck

 

diviniti,
You have done things in reverse of how most folks lower their car.
Most use the front adjusters to the max or cut the bushings then lower the rear (no cut bushings) to the max on the stock bolts. That usually keeps the rake.
You don't want to cut the rear bushings. They are there to soften the ride. Get longer bolts if needed.
You have no choice but to cut the front bushings if you want to go lower.
Also, use a tape measure. The finger measurement is just a guess.

Sounds like you need new shocks. I would replace those.
Then put new bushings back in the rear and adjust from there.
DO NOT turn the bolts, front or rear, to equal threads showing. You hear it often on this forum but it is WRONG. Adjust to keep the proper trim heights not bolt threads.
When all is good, get an alignment.
Good luck with it.

 

This is good advise. I was involved in stock car (NASCAR) racing back in the '80's and when you set the "ride height" you go by the frame rail to floor height (floor must be level) with the driver's weight in the car. In a stock car you have wedge bolts to set the ride height and also to be able to put wedge into the car. You want a certain amount of wedge in a car that turns left all the time and depending on the track depends on how much. Now for a street car you want it set up flat and that means you need to measure very carefully or you'll have some wedge in one way or the other. The only way to tell exactly what's going on is to put the car on scales and see. Each corner (example..RF and LF) should be the same and same goes for the rear. The rake needs to match what the car came with from the factory too. That is the percent of weight from front to rear. Just my .02

 

Very usefull lowering thread! Learn somthing new every day. Time to re-measure at the frame rails. I wonder if both of my Goldens will jump in the driver's seat to help?