I have a 99 Coupe non Z51 suspension. What can I do to stiffen up the steering and make it more responsive, (low budget). Rear sway bar?..Front sway bar?..Both?

 

To stiffen up the car, first thing I'd do on a budget is go with the '04 Z06 shocks. Several forum vendors have them for sale.

Steering your SOL unless you care to retrofit a '08 C6 steering rack into your C5, and I'm not sure if that's possible.

 

I have a 2000 with base FE1 sway bars very soft compared to my 89 with z51 suspension i am putting zo6 sways on mine a friend with the same year vette changed his made a big change in corner handling.

 

What do you mean by "stiffen up" the steering ???

You want less understeer ??? You want it more "responsive" ???

What tires are you using ..... what alignment is on the car (stock or Z06) .... what kind of budget are we talking $100 ... $500 ???

 

use poly bushings all the way around...i would check with doug rippie they have a full package for c5 vettes

 

Z51 sway bars can be had cheaply. I would get those and a set of metal endlinks. Both can be had for as low as $150. Then I would look at a set of Bilstein Sport shocks ($300) or OEM C6Z06 shocks (Gene Culley has them for about $240)...These two things will help the handling a lot. Also, you can tweak your suspension settings (more aggressive) but if you go too far you will wear your tires...

 

Install as much of a used Z06 supension as you can find w/in your budget (sway bars w/ metal end links, shocks and springs). I've seen the whole package starting at $400 in the for-sale section.

I'd start w/ both sways and the mandatory metal end links (your plastic ones will break w/ the stiffer bars). This alone will make it feel like a new car.

Good luck!

 

Which of the above components are "tweakable"???? You can adjust your alignment but you can't tune any of the components you have listed above.

 

I was indeed referring to an alignment...

 

I am thinking some Z06 front and rear sway bars with metal links, would that make the steering more responsive? I know it will corner a hell of alot better for sure with that.

 

All sway bars do is minimize the cars 'sway' to one side during hard turns. Got nothing to do with steering.

 

I'll ask you again ... just like I did in post #4 above .... what do you mean by make the "steering more responsive" ???????????

WHAT ALIGNMENT DO YOU HAVE

WHAT TIRES DO YOU HAVE

Those two items DIRECTLY affect "steering response" ... sway bars have little to do with "response" unless you are mistakenly confusing over/understeer with "response" ....

 

I have stock alignment and run craps on the car now. I found a z06 package with sway bars and shocks all around for 600 what do you think of that.

 

The Z06 sway bars and shocks will change your cars "handling" in that the car will corner "flatter" (less roll) than now, and the shocks will create a different "feel" when you hit a bump (especially in a corner) but neither the Z06 sway bars or shocks will significantly change the cars handling.

If you want faster "cornering" ... here is what to do (and in the order you should do them).

1) Sign up for a "driving school" ... usually known as a "High Performance Driving Event" (HPDE). Some Corvette clubs offer these, the BMW and Porsche clubs offer them .... find the website for some local roadcourse race tracks and look at their schedule, you can see who has booked the track and contact that group for more information. Some tracks even offer their own HPDE days. I know the BMW clubs welcome non-BMW's when they can't fill all of their available slots, it helps them keep the cost down for everyone (renting a track for a day is expensive as you also have to pay for a safety crew and other items). An HPDE includes an instructor who rides with you (often they drive the first few laps to show you "the line") and coaches you on things like "looking ahead", smooth input to the brake, accelerator, and steering wheel, etc.

You will be AMAZED to discover just how fast a Corvette with runcraps and stock suspension is when driven "correctly". At my first HPDE there was an instructor who had a BMW made in the 1970's (but called a 2002).... a little boxy 4 seater with a couple of hampsters on a tradmill for an engine .... but he could out-corner me in EVERY corner because he knew how to drive. Sure I could blow him away on the straights with my V8, but then as someone pointed out .... a monkey in a Corvette could do that.

2) Switch from the runcraps to a "high performance" tire. You will get many opinions on here .... Goodyear .... Michelin .... Toyo ..... my personal opinion is that tire selection should be based on what you use the car for ..... if it is a car that will be mostly street driven, and will encounter wet roads, dry roads, cold roads, then something like the Goodyear GS-D3 is an ecellent choice. If the car is going to see nothing but track events, the Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar (as fitted to the Z06) is a great choice.

3) Now you can consider the Z06 sway bars and shocks .... you have the skill and the tires to start to use them.

4) Alignment. If you have taken some classes and switched tires, and you still feel you want a more "responsive" car when turning into a corner, have the car aligned to the Z06 specification. This will make the car more responsive, and lays more rubber on the road in high speed turns because of the higher negative camber settings. On the other side of the coin, this alignment, if used on a "daily driver" will prematurely wear out the tires (inside edge of the fronts will be one place you'll see it).

After a few HPDE you'll have a better idea on what you want the car to do, and therefore what you want to change on it. Make no mistake, your current car, driven correctly, is one FAST motherf**ker ..... you just need to learn how to use the potential that is there.

 

I'm not sure what you meant by that, but sway bars (or more correctly, roll bars) minimize body roll with minimum effect on ride stiffness. You can tune the car to corner better with them. For instance, if you need more oversteer, try a larger rear bar. This might work well on a rough track where you want to use softer springs but want to gain cornering. Instead of going to a stiffer spring in the rear, increase bar diameter. Street use is full of compromise and we typically leave the stock springs in and swap bars, shocks and alter alignment. Since there are affordable alternatives (Chevy was kind enough to provide the vette with various suspension options), swapping in used a Z06 system is very attractive.

To the OP, I would check for worn parts first. If you find, say worn bushings, have those replaced and check alignment. If you are still not satisfied, try new shocks. Then the bars. Then springs. My logic is to make your current suspension right starting with stuff that wear out first (bushings, shocks) then progress to the other stuff as warranted. Changing bars may not get you what you're after if there are worn parts on the car.

One caution. Remember that tires have a tremendous affect on how the car handles and feels. You should get the suspension right but there might be a limit on what you feel due to tires.

Anyway, good luck in your quest.

 

even more correctly anti-roll bars

first what's the budget?

 

Hmmm, I stand corrected.

 

I wish my steering wheel were tighter also. To me this term means a certain amount of steering wheel movement should result in an appropriate amount tire movement. My Viper had "tighter" steering as well as my Evo. The Evo was hands down the winner of all 3 cars. Maybe "ratio" is the word ime looking for......maybe ill put an Evo steering rack in my Z and see whats happens......HHmmmmm kidding of course. Love my Z, but the steering isnt as tight as other cars ive owned......you would have to drive the others to understand what ime talking about........

 

DRM has a new product for the steering rack which is cheap but needs some labor

 

can you post a link???? Ray