ssdungeon

I just ordered the heart of my new project. forged 408 for a 250 shot down the road.

I need to know what is the best bang for the buck for getting my 60' down. I had a lot of problems with my previous f body and waisted money in some things that I could have invested better so now im asking you guys from your experiences what should my first 3 suspension mods be?

Thanks in advance.

Camjamsdad

Z51 sways and shocks with poly bushings. Not really needed for 60' times though. More for just driving. More likely wider stickier tires are needed.

I'd do some rear end diff work with the power you are adding. Hardened out put shaft, gears, solid torque tube bushings, etc.

Sounds like you are building a fun car.

txFRC

bang for the buck?! forged 408 with a 250 shot? good grief. you need to be figuring how much money your going to have to dump into that thing just to be able to make it hook. much less cut your 60' down.

i would call vette doctors, cartek, ect. those guys have got some serious cars that hook up out of the hole. you obviously have some money in the build and its going to be a nasty car, call someone that builds strip cars!

rustyguns

HOLY MOLY!

BlueThunder2000

Well answer to that question really depends on what you want to do with the car.
Straight line performance, road course, "spirited driving" ?
Getting a chassis tuned right involved indeed some work on suspension. In my opinion, the Corvette with its suspension setup isnt really the best for straight line acceleration.
Yet good suspension tuning can get you a long way into being faster, as you seem to know very well already.
I went throught three successive updates:
- Bilstein sport shocks. Inexpensive and very effective
- Z06 sway bar - improved cornering
- LG coilovers - great improvement

Yet again my fun is with going fast in the twisties, and that package works well for me.
Id say best bang for the buck was with the first two updates as they really improved the C5 handling all round. The coilovers you get to see the benefits in fast cornering mostly IMHO.

As for straight line performance Id agree to what txFRC said, get ready to spend some serious money on rear suspension setup with that monster motor you have. Some even put on a solid rear axle, as I said I dont see the independant suspension seup of the C5 be the proper combo for very agressive engines for strip fun.

Patrick

AU N EGL

LG or DRM coil overs

might also need a roll cage to keep that body from twisting

clemsondave

90/10 shocks for the front. Remove front sway. Good tires/wheels and lots of practice.

Sinister-one

Bilstein sport shocks.
Hotchkis sway bars

Just did these changes to mine and it's a night and day difference !

TUF-NUF

I'm curious what upgrades you have planned or have done to the rear end..Transmission output shaft, hardened half-shafts, Torque tube bushings, trans brace, etc. These seem to not be up to the power you intend to put down at the strip...I'm wary of dropping the clutch on a nearly stock C-5.

ssdungeon

This has been a several year-long project. I am doing it in stages, the heart was just ordered. As far as the rear end. I need hope it will hold this year for tuning purposes and some test time. Ill most likely end up swapping the Diff. I will definately have 3.90s in it. This is an ALMOST DDriver car. My interests are in the quarter. I will be purchasing the clutch/flywheel and Tik Master next. I need that to arrive along with the engine. I had a spec stage 3 in my 2000SS and it was awesome over stock. Zero problems but I think im going Monster Stage 4 from ls1tech people say the spec's are falling apart.

I respect you guys that road race my hats off to you and it looks like a roller coaster thrill. Its not for me though...lol.

I thought I would find out what makes the vettes stick. From what I have read you guys mainly are sold on Blistien shocks and thats it. With so many confirming I think thats the initial suspension start. Before I spray it i will definately look further into it.

TUF-NUF I have dropped a rear end and 3 trannys in the SS. If (more like WHEN) the tranny goes I know exactly where to take it to have it overhauled.


http://www.webshots.com/user/ssdungeon

Ill have the shocks by the time the engine is put in.

Thanks for the input guys. I will start a status thread when the engine arrives.

cyberslick18

http://www.corvettegarage.com/produc...-corvette.html

And some big *** tires.

It's hard to tell what you want to do with the car. A forged engine never really says "daily" driver, and bilstein add ons and sway bars aren't going to add a whole lot to a straight shot.

You want something that hooks, and takes a beating. IE, big *** tires, a monster diff, and hardened output shafts, like people have mentioned.

Learn your new clutch big time, and that'll help a lot as well. You can get away with just a quick rev and dump with good tires, but I think you already know that clutch finesse goes a long way for 60"s

20ngone

mickey thompson et streets

ssdungeon

Yes i do this car should be around 100RWHP more than the SS N/A. We only run 10.5 tires but I think I have somewhat of a starting point. Forged is for the shot like with the SS Ill have a DD tune and a race tune. Once its tuned I may spray 5 times per year. I had to do SFCs and LCAs on the Fbody to stop the spin. The vettes appear to be set up different thats why I started this thread and it appears from searching the forums and this thread that I have a really good start.

ssdungeon

I have some 15" on welds from the SS days. I dont even know if they would fit. Nittos did almost nothing for me. I had to run ETs or leave at 2800-3000 on Nittos.

squidwards vert

The vette is not a drag car, it can be made into one, but the problem is things break regardless, and it gets expensive, not only to set up but also maintain.

Not to mention the lack of true weight transfer that is ideal in a drag car set up???????

lionelhutz

A trans/diff brace should be put on the car when the engine is installed.
I would think poly engine and transmission mounts would help.
I would also think poly rear control arm bushings would help.

Basically, try to remove the "spring" in the drivetrain and rear suspension caused by the rubber bushings in the hope that helps with potential wheel hop so you don't break it.

Also, learn how to launch the car "softly". It seems that shocking the drivetrain on a C5 is bad for the differential. On this same note, dropping the cash for a C6 differential upgrade would likely be a very good idea since you likely are going to abuse it with hard launches and shifts.

There is a member here who lauches his C5 IRS rear suspensioned car with the front wheels up so it is possible to make the C5 hook.

I don't see any reason to remove the front swaybar. A C5 does not body twist at all on launch so it does not need the front swaybar removed to allow it more freedom to twist.

Finally, you are daily driving it so just watch when you try to put the power down. My car wheel hops in rain or when the tires are cold until they get driven a few miles. I just refrain from punching it when I know it is likely to wheel hop. Avoiding wheel hop sure helps keep the drivetrain together and a driver not abusing or shocking the drivetrain also really helps.

Peter

ssdungeon

Just trying to sum it al up here. This is probably not in the order of effectiveness. These answers are from this forum and others. Everyone is on the same page except about the sway bars.

1. Blistien Shocks or QA1 Adjustable (Rear only)
2. A trans/diff brace,
3. poly rear control arm bushings and engine/tranny mounts
4. of course good rubbers ( " )
5. hardened output shafts (starting to sound like a porno)

If I have missed anything please let me know.