A long time ago I lowered my C5Z all the way on stock bolts, I followed the How-To's and left the rear with 2 or 3 threads showing. The front has always looked pretty slammed, but the rear sits up pretty high. Last night I put some CCW Classic Race wheels on the car in 17x12 and it made it look even worse. Is this as far as I can go on stock bolts or can I safely crank it down further?

 

It does look really high. You could cut the bushings.

 

Normal

Looks good

 

It looks like it hasn't completely settled. That being said, the Z's don't drop as much on stock bolts as other C5's due to the higher spring rate. For a C5Z.....you need to cut the front bushings, and use longer bolts in the rear if you want it lower. Beware...you'll be bottoming out the shocks too.

 

Its been lowered for about 2 years now. The only thing new is the wheels. Now I haven't driven it since I threw the wheels on so maybe it needs to settle after being jacked up and set back down on both sides? I notice the wheels almost look like they have positive camber from the way they sit right now, maybe I'll drive it and it will look a bit lower, i dunno.

Even before on the stock wheels the rear always looked pretty much sky high, If it was maybe half an inch lower it wouldn't be so bad. Is it safe to go flush with the nut on the rear lowering bolts?

 

Drive it a while, apply the brakes firmly a few times and it'll settle back to where it was. I just put new tires/wheels on my car as well. When I put it back down off the jack, it was at least 3/4" higher than previously. The independent suspension just needs to settle back down.

If it were me I would not cut bushings or use longer bolts to achieve the lowrider look. It'll ride harsher when your shocks bottom out.

If that's the look you want, get shorter shocks or coil overs. Do it right. Function over form.

GM didn't recommend going beyond the limits of the oem adjustment bolts/bushings. PHADT doesn't recommend it, either...
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-z...post1579232675

 

I would just go out and get the longer lowering bolts if you want to drop it more. You've got more room to play with using those.

Personally I cut off my front bushings completely and installed longer rear bolts. Looked a whole lot better but my steering felt way off after doing that and my ride went to hell. Went and installed a bump steer kit and that made a night and day difference in the feel. One of my friends with a stock everything Z drove it and said it even felt better than stock. Shocks went out pretty quick after that too because I had lots of miles on the car. Decided to get the Bilstein shocks and the ride became much better as well and that is on a slammed car. Was smoother and more precise.

I should of done all of this at once but it was a learning process. Bolts, shocks and bump steer kit will run you around $650 depending on shipping costs.

 

Yeah thats what I thought, its been raining pretty bad so I haven't felt like driving it around on Hoosiers to settle it down.

650 seems cheap, a set of Koni Yellow or PFADT Shocks cost 800-900 dollars alone. If I go any lower than stock bolts I'll do it after some VB&P springs and a good set of shocks. That'll have to wait until after this season though, already spent all my car money for now, gotta pace myself.

 

We would definitely not lower the car more than what's available with the stock lowering bolts. Even on the stock lowering bolts the lower you go the more suspension travel you're effectively locking out, when you run aftermarket bolts you're running the risk of eliminating too much of that suspension travel which will cause your car to prematurely bottom the shocks out on the bump stops. This bottoming out on the bumpstops will translate into poor ride quality, unpredictable handling and premature bumpstop wear.

If you're going to lower the car we recommend to our replacement shock customers that they only lower the car about a 1/2 inch, and at absolute maximum as far as the stock adjusters will allow.

The correct way to aggressively lower the C5 and C6 are with coilovers designed with low ride heights in mind. With properly engineered coilover setup you should be able to achieve the ride heights you're looking for without compromising ride quality and significantly improving the handling of your C5.



Keep in mind that every time you change your ride height on the Corvette, whether you're on coilovers or the stock leaf springs, you will change your alignment as well. After you've got the car setup at the ride height you're looking for be sure to take your car in for a performance alignment. A good alignment will not only eliminate strange handling issues after changing your ride heights but can stop premature tire wear and help you get the most out of your Corvette. You can take a look at our alignment guide here: