I have Z06 shocks, Z51 bars, stock springs, Z06 wheels and GY F1 Supercar tires. I'm 'respectful' with the throttle because of the supercharger and A4.

I have to ask this question since I was not closing on one of those new BMW minis on a rough surface cloverleaf onramp. He started off 50' ahead and stayed there, meaning he hit the throttle at exit 50' earlier. By the time I caught up he was doing 80mph, I had to hit 90mph to do it. Not a bright way to avoid tickets, but I couldn't let a Mini get away from a 700hp Corvette...

And to think I was considering drag radials.


[Modified by blu00rdstr, 1:29 PM 2/16/2004]

 

Maybe the T1 sway bars?

 

What kept you from going faster on the turn?
My Coupe is stock but I've felt a bit unstable on rough roads too. From my research, coil overs are the way to go. When I get mine installed in 2-3 weeks, I'll know that if they are what they say they are...

 

My confidence in the grip, partially because it felt skippy on the bumps. I also didn't want to apply power due to the skippy feeling and the new FLP/Vig3000 combo.

 

The 04 Z06 shocks supposedly take away that skippy/bumpy feeling that you get in the corners.

I have an 02 and I get the same feeling unless the road is prefectly smooth.

 

The combination that I've mulled over in my head is '04 Z06 springs and shocks, and T1 swaybars. The price may be close to the coilovers I have been considering for some time.

My concern on street use, is that the T1 bars may not give much warning before one of the ends of the car break loose.

 

I would suggest Hotchkis sway bars. They will provide more anti roll than the Z06 bars. I would (and did) go with Bilstein Sports over the Z06 shocks. They helped me a lot with skittiskness, but I'm not 100% happy yet. My next mod is tires.

 

Rough corners,high speeds and corners are not real compatible with the Vette's suspension, but from the description of yours, I would say it is probably as good as it's going to get for regular "street" use, without going to coil-overs and real sticky tires. On rough pavement, soft springs and stiff shocks probably provide the best wheel control, and this is basically what you have. Stiffer anti-sway bars will give you an even rougher ride on a bumpy surface since each wheel transfers more of each bump to it's compainion wheel at the front or the back. Conversly a less stiff bar will give you a smoother ride on a bumpy road. On a smooth road, like a race track, the stiffer anti-sway bars are a big help in increasing roll stiffness of the car, which provides better tire traction, and thus faster speed through the corners.

Your Supertire tires offer very good dry traction on the street. It would probably be wise to accept the fact that a lighter/lower powered car could be more suitable for rough pavement and even faster that a 700 HP Corvette through a rough pavement corner. It's just the design of the beast. :cool:

Jim

 

IMHO... the confidence thing more than anything is what kept you from easily taking the mini. Coilovers would help somewhat on rough pavements as they would prevent as much crosstalk in the suspension.

 

You'll need Bigger Brass ones. :jester

Just kidding. I am running '04 Z shocks/springs along with the T1's and am still considering on going back to the Z51 shocks for more stiffness. The shocks definitely soften up the bumps and I know the T1's will hold the turns. I'm just not so sure that the 345's are holding as well as the runcraps though.

 

Yup, that's the problem. When the ends are skipping to the outside an inch or two over bumps, it increases the pucker factor, and the go foot hesitates. Comments from my GF at the moment were related to the same area of my body. :eek:

 

My combo is '04 Z06 shocks, Hotchkis sways, Z51 springs, Toyo T1-S tires (295/265) and I love it. I just got the Z shocks installed a couple weeks ago and I notice a definite improvement in handling performance. The ride is actually harsher now while just cruising when you hit ruts/bumps/potholes but it really kicks butt when you hit the GO button! I love freeway interchanges and toss the car into corners every chance I get.
I would say your biggest problem is going to be getting used to the extra power you have. If you don't just barely feather the gas pedal the sudden rush of power from your SC'd powerplant may be unsettling your ride.
That's all I can think of.

Go get those Minis! :auto: :lolg:

 

Jm 47 hit the nail on the head when he said "Stiffer anti-sway bars will give you an even rougher ride on a bumpy surface". He's also correct when he says "On rough pavement, soft springs and stiff shocks probably provide the best wheel control". Probably the best answer is the new Magnetic Suspension on some 2004 Corvettes for a situation like this, but I don't know if you'll be able to install that on the car as a retrofit.

What I'd recommend considering is taking a class in High Performance driving, rather than spending more money on suspension changes. Even straight stock, the Corvette suspension has WAY more capability than most drivers know how to use.

For example, first time I took a HP Driving class was at Sears Point Raceway. In one session, I'm coming down through the "Carousel", a sweeping left turn that drops down a hillside as you turn through about 180 degrees. As I'm approaching the bottom of the hill I see in my mirror a BMW rapidly catching me. Now I'm going about as fast as I think I can, and he has a good 10 mph advantage over me. So I figure maybe he's got big suspension mods, but I found out later he was running stock set-up.

Bottom line, he was a driver that knew the corner and how to handle his car. Over time I've gotten much faster, but the main thing I've learned from the schools is that outside of true professional race drivers, your skill level is going to be the biggest factor in cornering speed, not your suspension set up.

Finally, suspension set up is a compromise when you are driving on the street. For a particular track, you can choose the "appropriate" spring rates, shock rates, anti-roll bar stiffness, etc. knowing how smooth/rough the asphalt is, whether there are bumps in certain corners, whatever. For the street, you want a suspension set up to give you great handling on bumpless corners, great handling on bumpy corners, and still provide acceptable levels of compliance for cruising. Not an easy job, and the Chevy engineers actually did it pretty well with the stock set up. As you mod your suspension, you are basically adding capabilities in one area (such as stiffening roll resistance by going to heavier anti-roll bars making you faster in smooth corners) while loosing capabilities in another area (that stiffer bar will detract from tire adhesion in bumpy corners). Ain't life a wonderful thing ?? :D

Steve

 

Stiff suspensions with little travel are great for smooth roads. For rough surfaces more compliance and travel are needed. Just look at the difference between a street and dirt bike setup.

Years ago I had a Fiat 124 coupe. The suspension was very soft so I put Addco anti-roll bars on it, but left the springs and shocks stock. This gave flat cornering while still retaining most of the travel and compliance (much more travel + softer than my C5). We have a downhill road around here that has a flat ski-jump like area. I could come down that road in the Fiat so fast that it would get about 18 inches airborn! And never bottom out on the landing! Try that in a C5! :nonod:

All suspensions are compromises. No matter what you do to your Corvette suspension it will never be the fastest on ALL road surfaces. My advice? Choose your races wisely and you will never get beaten! ;)

 

I did '04 Z06 shocks on my '01 Z06 recently and they greatly reduced the tendency for the rear end to "skip" when cornering on rough surfaces. Pretty cost-effective upgrade at less than $400, IMHO.

TT :cheers:

 

I have the F55 Mag suspension with Z bars/springs/rubber and it seems to be able to handle rough corners well enough to keep up with most anything until the driver is the deciding factor. I agree if you know the road/track, it is usually the determining factor, as so many cars now are so close in performance.

The mini (slalom performer) probably knew he was good for that corner speed from experience. I glance at my HUD to reinforce my lack of brass, telling myself "I've done this corner at this speed before"...Experience in a particular corner is usually better than trying to read the limits real-time, at least for this amatuer, because when it does skip a bit, so does the heart!

Like the BMW referenced above on the track, I held off my buddy's C4 on my daily twisty mtn road with a Mazda 323, by knowing the limits of the car and the course.

Check out recent Road and Track's tale of Dan Gurney preferring mini-vans for humbling unsuspecting drivers in superior rides.

 

I'm going the coilover route. I can let you know after (about one month) how the car is handling with coilovers... :smash:


[Modified by Paras, 8:56 AM 2/18/2004]

 

ttt