Here's a basic question to everyone. I have C5 that came with the base suspension and I upgraded to Bilstein sport shocks and z06 swaybars. Could I change my alignment to Z06 specs and get improved handling.....or should I just stay with the factory specs? Or perhaps there is an alignment that would be better than z06 since I still have the base springs. I'm not familiar with the tech related to alignment and I was wondering if changing suspension parts would change optimum alignment specs. Let me know your thoughts. Thanks!

 

What are your plans with the car. ez street driver, occasonial track use, occasional auto X car, drag car, or heavy track/auto x?

 

Also, what tires are you running? Runflats will tolerate less camber (i.e. the sidewalls are stiff so you'll see more inside wear with more camber).

Changing the parts you mention will not change requirements.

As turbo eludes to, your goals dictate alignments.

As with anything, more agressive alignments and tire wear are tradeoffs, but there are some happy mediums depending on what you're looking to get out of the setup.

 

C5 Z06 alignment settings provide improved handling especially in the turns. However, such settings are conducive to premature tire wear. Therefore, if overall tire longevity is a major concern (i.e., the car is your daily driver), utilizing the C5 coupe settings is best.

 

I'd really do what a lot of people told me... try to find someone in your area with a car setup with both variations and get a ride in both...

 

Handling vs tire wear and $$$$

 

I'll throw this out because I:

Commute 130miles round trip in my C5.
Use my car as a track day car when I can!

I'm running Z06 Shocks and Sway bars, and Kumho Ecsta MX NON-Runflats. I run -1.5 camber up front with about zero toe. I also run right about 7 degrees +caster. In the rear I'm running somewhere around 1/6th toe IN and 1.3 Negative camber.

My front tires are 245-45-17s and have 25K miles on them. My rear tires went at about 20K miles. I swapped those 2K miles ago to 295-35-18s. I've seen ZERO adverse wear, and the fronts have been used for at least two track weekends since owning them, although in lower temps (50-60 degree days).

The car does "hunt" a little in joints and seams in the asphault, but not bad. It boils down to how much you want to wear your tires. Since I drive a lot of back roads when I can, I get the most use at out my suspension. If you spend most of your time on the interstate or in the city, you probably want something much more conservative. Like others have mentioned, Runflats hate a lot of negative camber. Regardless, dialing in more positive caster up front will help stable the car more at speed.

Mike

 

Thanks for the responses everyone. Basically the car is just a street car and I am looking for more handling without going to crazy (i.e, significant increase in tire wear). In all honesty, now that I am thinking about, I probably need something more conservative.

Mike, I saw where you mentioned that you car hunts ruts in the road a little more, is this due to a more aggressive alignment? You'll have to forgive my lack of knowledge on this subject, just trying to learn. The reason I ask is because the area I live in is having a lot of road work done and I might get annoyed if my car starts following seams in the asphalt a lot. Thanks again.

 

Front toe will cause some hunting and a lighter feel in the wheel (meaning more back and forth play).

toe is also what will really wear tires, followed by camber. Again, if you are running runflats, I would not push the camber.

From what it sounds like you are looking to get out of things, I'd run standard camber/caster and a little toe in rear and none out front. The C5 handles veyr well for the street with stock settings, and tire wear will be minmized.

If you go non-runflats, you can increase the negative camber a bit without too much concern (more towards a Z06 spec).

More aggressive than that and you do start running into tire wear.

I love how my car feels with -1.5 camber and toe in front and rear (out and in respectively). Turns-in like a bugger. But I only put ~500 miles on it between track days, so tire wear is less of a concern. I can tell you the toe does take it's toll though.