I lowered my 99 6speed roadster last night. The car has base suspension. Following Forum suggestions, I cut 2/3 out of the top and bottom bushings on the rear and cranked the front bushing bolt counterclockwise as far as it would co. It now appears that the rear is about 1/2" to 1" lower than the front. While it doesn't look bad, it was not the look I was after. To put some height back in the rear I assume I need to add some of the bushing back or can I simply tighten the nut on top? :confused:

 

I would put the part of the bushing you cut out back in if you can.I know a lot of guys cut theres, but you shouldn't cut the bushings, just go to the hardware store and buy you a set of bolts 1" longer, that will give you more threads to play with, and you can adjust it where you want it from there, you can see how low mine is, and I did not cut the bushings. :cheers:

 

I left two threads on mine. Going to the bottom made it bottom out. I didn't think it handled well either.

 

I guess I do not understand the geometry. Should I put in a piece on the top or the bottom. Or can I just tightrn the screw, I am showing 2 threads??

 

Hey kwik8racr

Your car sure had an AWESOME stance, do you have any troubles on the street clearing speed bumps & etc.??

M

 

Just put the part of the bushing back in that you cut out, that will raise the car back up, probably even with the front, then put in the longer bolts, and play with the adjustment from there. How low are you wanting to go? Is the front where you want it know, and you are just trying to match the rear, or do you want to drop the front to match the rear? You can E-mail me if you want with ?'s :cheers:


Mike, I havent had any troubles yet, I can't go over speed bumps or up some drives, but what the hell it looks cool! :D

 

Hi Folks!

There are tons of tips on lowering here on the forum. Do a search while kicking back with a beer. I can also heartily recommend Rick Williams' excellent guide to lowering the front of you vette over in the Tech Tips section (click on the tab) and look under C5 tech tips. Rick did a bang up jump with lots of neat pictures showing you the steps. There's also a nice guide to lowering the back end - sans pictures. (The back is easy - it's the front that's a bit tricky.)

I used Rick's guide to lower my Z06 last week. But, I didn't cut 2/3rds of my front bushings off as he recommends. I only cut 1/3rd of each bushing away. I didn't want the "over slammed" look - just wanted to lower things a bit to make my vette look right! :yesnod: Most vettes come from the factory riding a good inch or so too high for my taste. The curve of the edges of the tires and the wheel wells look mis-aligned! To me, both curves should meet evenly and uniformly around the tire. Here's a before and after picture of my front tire:

Before lowering: :U :smash:


After lowering::yesnod: :cool:


If you do lower your vette, I'd recommend installing a pair of rail rockers and some front end frame saver rollers. Cheap insurance and gives you peace of mind. I bought mine from A&A Corvettes over at the forum's vendor mall. They are running a combo special for both for $109. Here's the link - just click on the rails to get to the "combo special":
http://store.yahoo.com/corvetteforum...driveline.html

Let me also recommend that you NOT cut your rear bushings at all. Invest in some lowering bolts and re-use your original bushings. Those rear bushings do absorb/dampen some shock, so cutting them will make the ride feel a bit harsher. The bolts are cheap (~$35) or even less if you go to a hardware store. I bought mine from A&A also. Slapped them on and tightened them all the way down. (They are only partially threaded). This makes them sit about the same as the stock bolts when they are set to just a thread or two showing. As to the front bushings, like I said, I only cut 1/3rd of each bushing off and then screwed them in all the way flush. My Z06's belly now sits approx 4 inches off the ground behind the front wheels and 4.25 inches off the ground in front of the rear wheels. (Maintains a nice raked look, but the entire car now sits a good 1.5 inches lower). Note: After you lower your vette, it takes a good week or so for it to settle. It WILL settle, give it time. Drive it around a bit. You'll also want to have it professionally re-aligned a couple weeks later as lowering it will most likely screw up the wheel camber.

Lower that puppy! It's an easy weekend job and it'll get rid of that 4x4 vette look! :lol:

Cheers! :cheers:
--Johnno





[Modified by Johnno, 11:30 PM 4/20/2002]