Vet

While most here at the forum prefer to lower their ride height for aesthetic purposes, I and a few others prefer to raise the ride height in the name of keeping the bottom of the car from getting ripped out when nasty bumps, dips, crests, road debri etc are encountered.

I jacked up the car, got all 4 wheels off the ground, then went around and turned each adjuster bolt 4 full turns clockwise. The shop manual says that each full turn of an adjuster bolt is equal to 2mm of trim height (four turns would be 8mm, or 0.314" or about 5/16"). I figured this would be fine for a first try, didn't want to go overboard and throw out my alignment too much.

Well, the result of 4 full clockwise turns of the adjuster bolts is equal to about TWICE what the shop manual says. I am thinking that maybe I have either overlooked or misunderstood something in the manual. Four turns of the bolts effectively raised my car a good 9/16", almost 5/8", all around, as measured at the tops of the wheel wells (as many of you guys like to measure from). I also gained exactly 9/16" at the bottom of the rear cross member (full 8" of clearance now), and gained 3/4" at the air dam (full 3.75" of clearance now).

I will note that both the before and after measurements were done with essentially the exact same amount of fuel in the car. After I did the adjustments, I let the car sit on its wheels for over a week, then drove the car about 20 miles, then remeasured. Car was measured in the same location (my garage) both times. Measurements should be pretty accurate overall.

The positive: while doing my usual errands today with the car, I noticed that I did NOT scrape the air dam at all on any of the spots where I normally scrape it. It was a nice feeling not having to hear that thing scrape at ALL today, especially going in and out of my driveway. I usually creep very slowly and always scrape the driveway lip regardless... today, creeping out, no scrape... then on the way back in, I had so much confidence that I took and chance and rolled into the driveway kinda fast... and NO scrape! I am liking this!

Car does not "feel" much higher than it was. I thought I was going to get in and feel like I was in a monster truck, but it was hard to even tell the difference. Yes, I could tell, but it wasn't any kind of "drastic" change from the driver's seat... at least not for typical road driving.

The car actually looks fine too. Yes, you can tell that it's a bit higher than stock, but it does not look goofy. It basically looks like a typical stock C6 that is just a TAD higher than normal. Car still looks fine to me. Looks a bit more aggressive actually in my opinion. Sure doesn't have the "lead-sled" look as preferred by many on this forum, but at least the car will be way more tolerant of menacing road irregularities and debri.

Handling... seemed fine but I could not really tell yet for two reasons: 1 - I did not have a chance today to really put the car through any serious paces, and 2 - read below......

Seems the car now needs an alignment. The raise has knocked it out a bit, I can feel it. Being that I may want to put a few hundred miles on the car this weekend and have no time to go for an alignment this week, I will probably run out and lower the height a bit now... don't want to hurt the tires.

Ultimately though, so far, it seems that raising the car a good 9/16" (4 turns) will be fine... after an alignment of course. I don't know if I'd go any higher though personally. Four clockwise turns of the adjuster bolts seems to be the max before the car starts to actually look like it's too high. I am thinking that I may try just three clockwise turns from stock before going for an alignment.

It sure is nice to have that air dam almost 3/4" higher off the ground though. Seemingly small amount but enough to prevent a lot of scraping. I did not scrape ANYTHING today. The only bad thing about this is that it may cause one to become overconfident with respect to hitting things. As I see it, scraping the air dam occasionally is a good reminder that you are driving a car that is very susceptible to getting destroyed by common road irregularities and road debri.

Will report back once I decide on a final setting and get an alignment, etc.

By the way, for those who like to measure ride height from the bottoms of the wheel wells, my measurements are (after raising the car): average of 27.5" on the fronts and 28.875" on the rears. Measuring from the frame siderails to the ground, near the puck locations... about 6.25" in front, 6.75" in rear.

PICS in post #2.....

Vet

Sorry for the sloppy, poorly lit garage pics, but it's dark and raining out right now and I will probably put the trim height back to stock tonight or early tomorrow morning until I have more time to go for an alignment.

Note: first three pics are probably the best representation... the other pics tend to exaggerate the height because I was kneeling down low when I shot, plus the camera flash really lights up the inside of the fender wells... this is NOT how one would normally view the car, an "artificial view" if you will.

Yes, a C6 enthusiast would be able to tell that the car is taller than stock, but otherwise it is not unusual looking in my opinion. If it were any taller though, it might start to approach a zone where it would look a bit out of place. Lead-sled lovers will run screaming regardless .

I think I will settle for a final adjustment a tad bit lower than this... like maybe three turns of the bolts up from stock as opposed to four turns up as shown... or, instead of a 9/16" raise from stock as shown, I'll go for about a 7/16" raise or so... in other words, a little less than a 1/2" up from stock. This should prove to be a good all-around "street" setting, allowing the car to be a little more tolerant of road irregularities while still looking good and handling well.

I'll provide good pics and details of the final adjustment once done. Feel free to remind me.

usiikent

Scraping the front spoiler is designed into the car. The replacment cost is very low. The factory ride height is a compromise between looks, handling, and scraping the spoiler or frame.

Do you know any cars that handle better when raised? Everyone I've heard of handles better lower. If you look at any road race car they want to eliminate as much air under the car at high speeds to improve down force and tire contact.

I would not suggest thinking that you have a car that will perform any where as well as it would prior to your trinkering with it. Your saftey is my conceren.

Again the spoiler was made to scrap if at the end of a few years you can see any difference replace it. Not many people look at it anyway.

Vet

I agree that it is not a problem scraping the air dam. I scape it all the time and it does not bother me. However, to actually drive the car 20 or so miles on irregular roads and NOT hear that thing scrape is kinda nice I must admit.

As far as a compromise between looks, handling and all-purpose daily driving GROUND CLEARANCE, I'd say the stock set up is definintely swayed more in the direction of handling. Ok, makes sense, it's a Corvette!

But, for those who use their cars as daily drivers for almost all occasions and situations, driving a car with the incredibly small ground clearance of a RACING CAR is unfortunately not very wise or practical. Even today I drove into a bank parking lot that had a steep crest at the entrance, I must have cleared it by a half an inch or less... I was sweating it out, it was scary... this is REALITY, unless all you do is trailer your car to shows and race tracks.

I guess some will argue that a C6 is NOT designed for true all-purpose daily use. Well, whether it is or isn't, I'd like to use it that way and will do what I can to make it work well.

Not long ago I was forced to run over some debri on the highway.... was on a bridge, trailer trucks on the side of me and behind me, steel wall to the other side... a large plastic object falls off the car in front of me and lands in the center of the lane. I had no choice but to drive over it. Sure cannot stop on a bridge with a trailer truck tailgating you, would be suicide. Thank goodness it was just a plastic object (body molded side view mirror).... it made a VERY loud and scary noise as it got slammed by the aluminum front cross member and got smashed to bits under the car... left marks on the cross member. I could feel it in my butt as it banged against the underside of the car... not fun. If that had been something a little larger and heavier like a muffler or whatever, it would have ended my day right then and there.

Oh boy, and the time I had to drive off the ferry at ultra low tide... that was a scene. I lost about 5 pounds in two minutes.

Anyway, I am not saying that raising the ride height is for everyone... just providing info for those who might have an interest in this subject. I guess if one has no need to raise the car, then there is no point in doing it. But, for me personally, after nearly wrecking the car driving over debri and having close calls with assorted crests, dips, ramps etc on a DAILY basis, I have chosen to try to improve the situation by adding a bit of ground clearance.

Having said that, for all those who are laughing at the idea of raising a C6 instead of lowering, just wait until you are forced to drive over a crest or some debri etc... trust me, when it actually happens to YOU, you will understand... and I hope it does not happen to anyone, but again, such things are the REALITY of the road.

Mayonayze

bah, i've got a one inch drop, and drag my LG longtubes all over the damned ground. keeps the front chin spoiler safe

mlongo99

Glad it works for you. I bet you won't even notice any difference in handling. If you do, you're probably going too fast for the street anyway.

grywlfbg

thanks for the post! I'll be interested to know how she handles (as a daily driver) after the alignment. I smacked the lower radiator mounts on a driveway once - made me sick to my stomach. Luckily nothing broke. But if the car doesn't have any noticeable handling changes once it's aligned, I'd like to do this.

Marina Blue

I would like to see what your raised car looks like. If you can, post pics.

Vet

Hi Marina Blue...

Check out post #2 of this thread... I just posted some pics of my car with the trim height adjuster bolts turned four full turns clockwise (raised 9/16" from stock). Sorry for the lousy quality of the pics... will be sure to provide good outdoor daylight pics once I arrive at a final setting which will probably be about three turns clockwise (as opposed to four).

Marina Blue

Thanks for posting the pictures Vet. As I had considered raising my car, your experiments are relevent. I also have found myself in situations where I was concerned about scraping the frame rails. My concern is how the car will look raised above the factory setting. Three turns may give the best of both worlds. Looking forward to seeing your car at the new setting.

cmb13

Interesting!

lowwhite6

I saw an add today for 4 wheel tire shops thay now have a lift kit for the C6 where you can get a 10'' lift kit put on if you really want to get high.

C6VetteRocks

how is it after the alignment??

shopdog

I said in a previous post that raising my car may have brought it into alignment. I'm suspicious it wasn't right from the factory. I didn't have it checked before I raised the car, but I immediately noticed it handled better after I raised it. I have put 38,000 miles on the car since I raised it, and the tires still look fine. No more dragging, scraping, and bottoming either.

Anyway, any time you mess with the suspension, you need to get the alignment checked.

Goodwood

imho, whenever one buys a car with low ground clearance, you buy it knowing full well that you will scrape the front end, it goes with the territory. Of course, you do need to be cautiously aware when approaching drives and bumps, etc, and it's still going to happen. But, given that the flexible front air dam is what almost always scrapes, and is a relatively inexpensive part, really an expendable item, I think one can be a little too cautious. Again, imho, the car looks a bit silly raised even higher than stock, and the tires look much smaller now too. Definitely not something I'd ever consider doing. Like I said, different strokes for different folks. Just be really careful if you ever go over 100, you might just acheive "liftoff"... (seriously).

rayainsw

Can the front chin spoiler be trimmed - say a half inch or so?
Or:
Does anyone market such a slightly shorter version on that spoiler?
I do find that when I have a passenger, I have to be VERY careful...
Mine is also a Daily Driver.
Thanks,
- Ray
2007 - scraped almost daily....

AP

I would suggest just trimming it with a sharp blade.

Vet

Again, scraping the front air dam is not a problem. It is made to be scraped. Yes, the noise can be annoying after a while, but you get used to it. I did not raise my car specifically because I was annoyed by the air dam scraping, as it did not really bother me. I raised the car because I am concerned about going over some type of road irregularity or road debri that might hit and crack the aluminum cross member, etc.

Say you are flying down a mountain road, whip around a turn to discover a 5 inch diameter rock in the middle of the road that you cannot avoid... or maybe you're on the interstate with a tractor trailer on your tail and the person in front of you drops a large muffler... having the suspension raised a bit could potentially save you from MAJOR damage. In any other car, these situations might not be a problem, I've gone over rocks, re-treads etc in my mid-sized SUV without touching anything... but in a C6 it could spell disaster.

In sum, raising the car just reduces your chances of encountering a major problem... period. If you drive your car on the street in the real world, you WILL eventually encounter road irregularities and/or debri.... it's just a matter of time. So the question is, what's more important, the look of the car, or reducing your chances of tearing the underside of your car apart if and when you encounter something in the road. This is a personal decision of course. One could argue that a C6 is ALWAYS at risk regardless because even when raised, the car is still very low to the ground... and this is true... but I personally like to increase my odds of success, even if the increase is small.

I've already had a bad experience... a large body molded side view mirror fell off a car in front of me and I could not swerve or stop... I went over it and it hit the front cross member... BAM!!!... fortunately, the mirror just broke apart and I encountered no serious damage other than having the air dam partially ripped off (which I fixed easily myself)... but man, when that mirror hit the cross member, it was loud, I could really feel it, it was a very unpleasant experience and a real eye opener... and then I could not stop thinking about what if that mirror had been a muffler, or a rock, etc... the car would have left there on a flatbed in very damaged condition.

As well, I believe that Shopdog had a bad experience too, cracking the radiator supports on the ground.... so...

As you can see, those who have encountered issues related to low ground clearance are the ones who are raising their suspensions. Makes sense. But, my personal advise to all would be, you might want to consider raising BEFORE you encounter a major problem as opposed to waiting until it happens.

Indeed, different strokes for different folks. My priority is preserving the car and not getting stranded, even if it means having to sacrifice a tad of asthetic appeal.



PS - I did not get my car aligned yet... I've been very busy lately and am still experimenting with the height... I did lower it a bit from the max height setting I had, the alignment got a little better but still out, I've been driving that way because I just haven't had time to make an appointment with an alignment shop... once I do though, I will report back.

BOB'S C6

Good write up...I'm sure this will be useful to some others.I too believe the car sits a little too low for a daily driver but I don't use mine as such.That was one reason back in the 60's I drove MoPars..you could crank up the torsion bars and gain more lift ,along with High Jackers on the rear, made the car higher to clear larger tires.Not everyone in real life wants a low rider draggin the ground or auto cross and need the optimum height for proformance.

Vet

I just hated it when the frame would rot and the torsion bars would break off... othewise it was a cool set-up.