Rhinoceroscity

I like Corvettes in general, I've driven a C6 and a C7 and liked them both from a handling perspective, and people seem to think that the C5 ZO6 is a good bang for the buck track and autocross car for beginners like myself. Plus I wanted something I could throw some mods onto and have fun with. I bought one a few months ago (had 128k miles on it and a rebuilt engine, but otherwise was in decent condition), have gotten a bunch of work done on it.

• New MacLeod RXT twin disc clutch (which has been broken in)
• New coilovers to get rid of the leaf spring setup
• New MGW short shifter w/ anti-venom mod
• All fluids changed
• Torque tube rebuilt
• Other preventative maintenance, but everything else on the car got a clean bill of health.

And even after all this, the car feels inconsistent to drive. The bite point seems to change randomly between 30% and 60% released, shifting is still a clunky mess, and the steering is vague as hell. The handling is the most disappointing part, the mechanics fixed an issue with the magnasteer system (wire that powered it was torn, simple fix), but it still feels less like I'm steering the car and more like I'm guiding it. I'm not sure yet what people see in these cars outside of the raw power and torque, and am honestly considering taking the loss on parts and selling it.

Is there something else I need to do to get this thing to feel like an actual sports car, or is this just how they are?

JALLEN4

Like most any other car, 120 thousand plus miles makes a difference in how they drive. How they were treated and taken care of in those miles also has an effect.

Pounder

our wholesale row 02 Z with now 122 k on it is a AutoX monster !!!!!!! (all stock other than sway bar and shocks and of course tires) car is great all around DD and track car !!!!! I would say yours is a cobbled up mess ?????

AJT84

I'm just curious to clarify one part of this. The car has aftermarket suspension, correct? You're saying the handling is the most disappointing part. Was the handling even worse prior to removing the stock components or was this how you received the car. I'm only clearing this up because perhaps someone who has switched to coil over suspension may have some insight you can use.

SAS22

Try the anti-venom mod for your shifter (6 spd?) Also change the fluid to Amsoil Torquedrive. I posted a thread ease my 6 spd ie slow and crunchy. A lot of guys rave about the difference these changes can make.

Rhinoceroscity

Car was a 1 owner DD maintained at one dealership (Rydell Chevrolet in Northridge), had the clutch replaced at 80k and the suspension replaced at 100k, so they guy took care of it.

I wouldn't say a couple aftermarket parts was cobbled, especially since they're pretty common, but I'll take it from your post that yours does not exhibit similar behavior.

Handling doesn't feel any different to be honest, which I think was the most annoying part after getting the car back. The only way I could even tell the coils were on (aside from the car being lower) is that the rebound is set too high so the car tries to eject me through the roof after every speedbump. But cornering feels identical to how it did before. I do need to get it properly aligned and corner balanced, which may help. I don't think this will fix the vagueness though.

Already did the anti-venom mod with 1 washer. I'll probably try adding a 2nd one. I'll see about changing the fluid, because slow and crunchy is a very appropriate way of describing it.

gmanflying

Sorry your having that much trouble. Mine handles just fine. All I have done suspension wise is: put on c6z06 sway bars, DRM Bilstein sport shocks and polyurethane bushings, lowered on factory bolts, and got a alignment. I've done a track day, and more soon to follow ,and may start autox once I get new seats. Sounds like you need all new bushings, and a good alignment. I enjoy very aggressive driving and my car is planted.

zeevette

Sounds like your clutch is not shimmed correctly. This doesn't speak to handling difficulties, but could explain most of your drivability problems. Your clutch isn't fully disengaging which would feel like vague engagement points, and crunchy shifts.

knewblewkorvette

Are you going with C6 Z51 sway bars? Made an improvement on my 02 (but I also did C6 Z06 shocks at the same time) The sway bars are not that expensive.

ts11469

I have Aldan America coil overs with their street springs and Hotchkiss sway bars and good end links although I don't recall what they are off the top of my head. The car handles really well and the spring rate is just right for what I do. I do have to say that the steering while accurate has always felt lighter than my cts v or especially my memory of my e39 m5. The z can handle better just had to get used to less effort steering. Not sure if my experience is the norm but it is how my car is.

FWIW the car had 23k miles when I took the stock suspension off and has 26k now.

YLO Z06

I would say suspension bushings need to be changed. You car has a lot of miles on them. I replaced mine with Delrin bushings and the difference was quite noticeable. Also, replace the stock steering rack bushing with a Poly bushing from Doug Rippie Motorsports.

bobgroger

Maybe the seat is rocking and contributing to the vagueness? Just a thought...

Old School

I own a '03 Z06 and I would not describe the steering as 'vague', maybe a little numb but turn in response is quick and there is plenty of grip. Only about 48k miles though. With 128k miles I would think everything is a little bit worn whether it had one previous owner or 10.

Pounder

alignment is huge, did you align after coilovers and other suspension parts ???

Old School

Maybe someone in your area has a C5Z that you could test drive and see if the problem is your car or your expectations.

Rhinoceroscity

Huh, interesting. I'll see if I can find out more about this. From the research I've done, crunchy shifting just seems to be par for the course with the C5, but yea, the vague engagement point is killing me. I'm not great at driving stick, but it doesn't help when it feels like I'm rolling the dice on where the clutch will grab each time.

I haven't looked into which bars I'd go with, so I'm open to suggestions. I'll take a look at the C6 Z51 bars. I'm down for anything that'll save money and still work well.

Mine are Viking Crusader coilovers. My steering definitely doesn't feel accurate to any degree. My daily is an M4, which has the most dead, disconnected steering you can imagine, but it's been extremely accurate both on the track and canyon roads. I don't think its fair to compare considering the difference in age and technology, but still, I wouldn't even feel comfortable taking the Corvette on a track with its current feel.

Yea, seems like the general consensus is bushings. I really should've just done them when I did the coils, but I wanted to stage the work so I could see the difference. I didn't think about the steering rack bushing though, thanks for the suggestion.

The seat definitely doesn't help. They're comfy enough, but I'd like to get some seats with side support.

Yea, this is whats making me think something's gotta be wrong with mine, most of the time it feels like I'm guiding it in a general direction, and not so much steering it.

The shop that installed them aligned them, but even they said it'd be better to take it to a specialty alignment shop to get it corner balanced. I'm going to do that next, but I don't think it'll help the weird vague steering situation. Maybe it will though.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys, lots of helpful stuff I can pursue here.

~Josh

Inner/outer rear tie rods need replaced.

Rear upper/lower A-arm rubber swapped with delrin. Zero flex leave front arms rubber for vagina softness.

Vetteman Jack

Moved to C5 Tech.

wcsinx

This except I'd say go full Delrin if this is a track car. Your bushing are probably sloppy as hell.

The steering "vagueness" you describe can be caused by a bad alignment. Too much toe-in will give that numb, heavy feeling whereas too much toe-out can make a car feel "darty". Start with the OEM recommended Z06 alignment specs (which are fairly aggressive) and go from there.

50thz06

No mention of tires here, on my '03 Z new tires were my biggest improvement to handling, and close second was an alignment by a specialist. Car tracks like it's on rails now.