[Z06] Call me crazy, but.... anyone else prefer the c5z in stock ride height vs. lowered?
05-17-2017, 11:33 PM
#41
Melting Slicks
not enough facepalms for this
a street car has to be setup with more travel as you have uneven surfaces everywhere and a lot of bumps to deal with. they could have molded the fenders lower ala BMW but you still need more travel. a track car has less travel and a much higher spring rate as you're dealing with much higher speeds, G forces and pressure on the suspension. comfort is some of it but performance is another. track cars are terrible on the street. too stiff. hit a bump and spin the car around. race cars that are setup to handle street like environments are called rally cars and they do have travel and some gap. a lot of public roads aren't far off a paved rally course. in fact a lot of paved rally courses ARE blocked off public roads
you can make a car look lowered but still have a good deal of travel. most exotic car makers do this. look at the history of the c1-c4 they all had fairly substantial gaps. some of this likely played in if their were old men on the design team wanting to keep the more classic appearance. lowered cars did not become mainstream until the fast & the furious days. which was about 2001.
a street car has to be setup with more travel as you have uneven surfaces everywhere and a lot of bumps to deal with. they could have molded the fenders lower ala BMW but you still need more travel. a track car has less travel and a much higher spring rate as you're dealing with much higher speeds, G forces and pressure on the suspension. comfort is some of it but performance is another. track cars are terrible on the street. too stiff. hit a bump and spin the car around. race cars that are setup to handle street like environments are called rally cars and they do have travel and some gap. a lot of public roads aren't far off a paved rally course. in fact a lot of paved rally courses ARE blocked off public roads
you can make a car look lowered but still have a good deal of travel. most exotic car makers do this. look at the history of the c1-c4 they all had fairly substantial gaps. some of this likely played in if their were old men on the design team wanting to keep the more classic appearance. lowered cars did not become mainstream until the fast & the furious days. which was about 2001.
The Viper is another car that looks better lowered properly.
05-17-2017, 11:34 PM
#42
Instructor
Thread Starter
JET ninja : very nice stance.
I agree , some nice old school Dayton gold spokes with white wall vogue tires.
I agree that a lowered Z looks much better. For me the stock height is just fine and sometimes that's too low for everyday use. I'll keep mine stock and follow a lowered Z on the freeway that's sweeping up all the cigarette butts and trash ahead of me. If I did lower my Z, I'd honestly feel compelled to get a set of 13" chrome spoke wheels to finish off the slammed look. 
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GTs 58 (05-18-2017)
05-18-2017, 12:37 AM
#43
Race Director
You're talking in circles man and clearly you don't get it. You're agreeing that the C5 had to fit the masses and there's no way they designed that wheel gap on purpose other than they had to to fit ride height for every jamoke. I'll be he first to admit a lowered C5 takes more care to navigate but it's worth the looks. You can easily lower the car without affecting wheel travel which you clearly don't get.
The Viper is another car that looks better lowered properly.
The Viper is another car that looks better lowered properly.
Last edited by racebum; 05-18-2017 at 12:47 AM.
05-18-2017, 06:40 AM
#44
Melting Slicks
i do get it. i've been around since the c5 was created. it's you who does not. if you were not around at the time you will never understand unless you listen to those who were. they could have easily reduced the fender gap and kept the same ride height. they didn't. it was not the "in" look at the time when this car was made. that wheel gap was designed on purpose . at the time the c5 was created you virtually never saw an elderly man in a lowered car. elderly are the #1 corvette buyers. the lowered crowd, again, at the time was all under 30 and most under 25, those are not new corvette buyers. fast forward to today where the lowered look is more widely accepted and we have the c7 that looks lowered stock. it still has the suspension travel but it visually looks lower to the eye. all gm would of had to do to make the c5 look lowered is change the fender arching and wheel offset just slightly. lowering the c5z now more than roughly 1/2" max just slows it down on the street unless you spend real money and time on a coilover package to maintain that travel and compliance.
Disagree, people were already lowering c4's before the c5 even came out.
05-18-2017, 02:15 PM
#46
Drifting
I disagree. the c5z was designed to take from the showroom floor to the race track. that is why options were left off the z so it would be lighter for the track. no telescopic wheel, tpms, insulation, fog lights, and had lighter wheels and titanium exhaust
05-18-2017, 03:37 PM
#47
Race Director
the fact you say people is what my entire argument was. tuner cars were in their infancy.
lowered cars were not common. it was something a few people were doing
at the time, before z06 launched it was considered a risky departure as GM wasn't sure it would sell or work but they did know he z51 hardtop wasn't selling like they wanted it to
Last edited by racebum; 05-18-2017 at 03:40 PM.
05-18-2017, 06:03 PM
#48
You're talking in circles man and clearly you don't get it. You're agreeing that the C5 had to fit the masses and there's no way they designed that wheel gap on purpose other than they had to to fit ride height for every jamoke. I'll be he first to admit a lowered C5 takes more care to navigate but it's worth the looks. You can easily lower the car without affecting wheel travel which you clearly don't get.
The Viper is another car that looks better lowered properly.
The Viper is another car that looks better lowered properly.
Race tracks are generally all smooth and have no potholes or uneven surfaces that really cause an issue with clearance. People jack up trucks and stuff to clear rocks and hills when off-roading. If you lower or lift a vehicle and never do anything but drive on public roads, it's functionally less than optimal. It's not illegal to do so, but I see so many mall ninja trucks and Jeeps with huge lifts on them that look spotless. I don't see lowered Vettes so much, but it's the same thing just the other direction. Next comes the huge C5R wing to give more downforce for all that expressway driving...then a rear diffuser. I'm not saying it isn't cool, but outside of a track it doesn't make much practical sense.
I saw a guy driving a built S10 with some nasty sounding cammed V8 and rear tires that looked like they were 335 or 345s. You can street drive a drag car, but it has some notable downsides if you're not using it as intended (drag races).
Last edited by BigBossMY03Z; 05-18-2017 at 06:05 PM.
05-18-2017, 07:43 PM
#49
Melting Slicks
i do get it. i've been around since the c5 was created. it's you who does not. if you were not around at the time you will never understand unless you listen to those who were. they could have easily reduced the fender gap and kept the same ride height. they didn't. it was not the "in" look at the time when this car was made.
Also your arguments of "in looks" doesn't even hold water because a lot of things were "in" during the 90s and we can agree they were bad looks, just like the 4x4 C5.
Ergo, it looks bad regardless and looks better lower.
05-18-2017, 10:40 PM
#50
Race Director
First, I'm the 10 year member here while you're not. My C5 was on the cover of Corvette Magazine in 2009 while I'll bet yours was not ever. You couldn't have the same design with wheel gap removed, it would be an entirely different car/look. Go ahead and photoshop it and prove me wrong.
Also your arguments of "in looks" doesn't even hold water because a lot of things were "in" during the 90s and we can agree they were bad looks, just like the 4x4 C5.
Ergo, it looks bad regardless and looks better lower.
Also your arguments of "in looks" doesn't even hold water because a lot of things were "in" during the 90s and we can agree they were bad looks, just like the 4x4 C5.
Ergo, it looks bad regardless and looks better lower.
you don't get it. you're not going to get it. i'm not trying anymore
Last edited by racebum; 05-18-2017 at 10:40 PM.
05-23-2017, 10:25 AM
#51
Drewstein I hope you find the courage to ask yourself out on a date you make a great couple !
The reason the Vette is set at the height it is from the factory is so that a new owner would be able to put a set of chains on it if drove in the winter. The optimal geometry for the suspension is one 1" lower than factory for tracking anything lower than that defeats performance.
The reason the Vette is set at the height it is from the factory is so that a new owner would be able to put a set of chains on it if drove in the winter. The optimal geometry for the suspension is one 1" lower than factory for tracking anything lower than that defeats performance.
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racebum (05-25-2017)
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JETZ (05-28-2017)
05-25-2017, 12:54 PM
#54
Le Mans Master
"Here is Jenny after using XX pills"; in the meantime she's now wearing make-up (tinted windows), did her hair and has nice clothes on (new wheels, rubber), and is smiling instead of looking like shes posing for a mug shot (sunny out, wheels turned in)...
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Joe_Joe (05-25-2017)
05-27-2017, 10:10 AM
#55
Not sure what you mean by mainstream, but lowering cars has been a common practice in the aftermarket world since the early days of hot rodding. Lowriders started in the 50's, disco vans in the 70s, Mini trucks in the 80's, etc.
05-28-2017, 05:49 PM
#57
Race Director
car manufacturers were not selling lowered cars on dealership floors
they are now
many of you guys seem to base everything on aftermarket or your own feelings and that's just not how dealerships and car manufacturers were in 2001. it was extremely rare to see 60yr olds driving lowered cars back then. now it's common. that age bracket is your prime corvette buyer
Last edited by racebum; 05-28-2017 at 05:51 PM.
05-29-2017, 04:16 PM
#60
Race Director
like you're attempting sarcasm on something very simple that still isn't clicking for some reason.
Last edited by racebum; 05-29-2017 at 04:19 PM.