yeah...shocks then sways was just an example...certainly sways first is fine too (and an easier intall)

the Pfadt coilovers have springs that are 50% stiffer than stock...everyone's tolerance is certainly different, but that's going to have a lot more impact on daily driving comfort than adjustable shocks/sways. Sways have little effect on daily driving comfort and adjustable shocks can be easily set for comfort or performance (at least the Pfadts are very easy to adjust).

Price-wise, you could also consider something cheaper than the Pfadt sways...Hotchkis bars are far cheaper (though not nearly as stiff as the ones linked above...those are crazy stiff)

 

My car is a "street only" car and I just had Pfadt's installed and will be picking the car up in a few days. I left all other suspension components stock (for now) including my EMT's, which have less than 5K miles on them, in the hope that the ride quality will be improved not jarring. I am hoping that the coilovers provide me with a more planted feel and improve somewhat on the vague steering feel that seems to plague the pre '07 C6 cars. I also wanted the car to be lowered some and of course I am having an alignment done at the same time. So only time will tell if this was a good move for me. It seems that some love the mod and others do not. Since the car is a street only car and not a daily driver, a better handling, adjustable suspension is quite appealing to me. I shall soon find out.....

 

I don't like the Pfadt's requirement to make holes in your trunk to get to the rear adjustments.

 

Please post back with an update when you pick up your car. I am still very un-sure what to do.

Joe

 

That's the beauty of the F55, just turn a switch on the console, and instantly you have a different ride setting. A spring is a spring, doesn't really matter if it is a transverse leaf, torsion bar, or coil spring. It is the spring rate that matters, and the base suspension transverse leaf has the correct rate for the weight of our cars. Adjustable shocks can be nice, if the adjustment is automatic, such as the Koni, or a combination of intelligent automatic and switched manual with the F55. But a well designed conventional shock, like the Bilstein, can be very very good too for a whole lot less money.

Now to the real heart of the matter, tires. Good tires are more than rubber bands wrapped around oversized aluminum wheels. Good tires act as air suspension members. To do that efficiently, they need to have adequate sidewall height and compliance. Look at the tires on a F1 or Indy car. They have at least a 50 profile, and their height and width are nearly the same, IE they are in a sense "square". This is ideal. The tires on our cars were chosen more for show, allowing a very large flashy wheel to dominate the wheel tire combo. But that costs us sidewall height and our tires wind up being mere rubber bands wrapped around an oversize wheel, like the wheels of a 19th century wagon or stagecoach. Not good.

Because we must have brake clearance, we can't drop our wheel sizes down enough to achieve the ideal "square" profile (F1 and Champ cars use inboard brakes, both to allow smaller diameter wheels and to reduce unsprung weight). But we can go to 17 inch wheels all round, and up the tire profile to at least 40. That provides a very noticeable improvement in ride, and helps with launch at the drag strip (especially if using wrinkle wall slicks).

 

Our shock bodies are very similar in size to the OE FE4 (Z06) suspension dampers. Piston size plays only a small roll in the overall amount of damping possible. We can certainly achieve much more damping if it were necessary, but we set the damping range where we think it should be.

Larger bodies/pistons have pros and cons... like just about everything.


The adjustable damping on our coilovers allows you the user to control the ride quality to a large degree. The damping can be used to fine tune car balance and handling, but most use it to meet their ride quality goals. Our springs are stiffer than stock, but that is because we think these cars can stand a significant amount more spring than the factory puts on. There are some practical limitations that GM faces with the fiberglass leafs in terms of rate. Even the T1 spring package is only 10% stiffer than a Z06 rate. Our coilovers are 30 to 40% stiffer than Z06 leafs. Most people will tell you that they love Pfadt coilovers on the street.



In terms of noise, all products are susceptible to improper installation. Improper installation can cause noise. Our coilovers are not noisy, and if you have a set that is, you should visit your shop or call us directly. There are several easy things to check if you have some noise. We're happy to help you diagnose any product issues.

Our staff is always available to help you determine which of our many suspension options will suit your needs. Feel free to call us for advice anytime.

 

Straight from the horse's mouth!! I can't wait to see how she goes!!

 

Do these coilovers make the car plant and stick for better traction at the strip and street?? Does it prevent wheel hop at the strip if adjusted correctly?

 

Well, I just took the plunge and ordered the Pfadt coilovers. I will repost back once installed which I suppose will be a little over a week from today. I hope less but we'll see.

In the mean time if you are local to SoCal or willing to drive their pm me for a great price from a local forum vender. They are only doing the deal parts & labor but it is well worth it.

Joe

 

While your suspension is apart, urethane bushings are a great addition.

 

Good luck to you and let us know how you make out. Post up a review.

 

Joe, I also wanted to get a better feel and more track performance out of my 2006 Z06. I talked to all of people and found one person that helped me understand the in's and out's of a coilover suspension. That person was Gary Hoffman at Hardbar. I had purchased some of his other items, (All Great). And saw a couple of articles about coilovers. So I called him and was amazed at the information that he had immediately available. We talk for about 1/2 hour that day and over 2 more hours over that week.

I explanined what my intensions were for the car and how I used the car normaly. I ended up buying his complete Penske 8700 soultion and for what I'm doing 10 + HPDE's per year and agressive rally events I have the very best solution I could ever have. However I have some friends that don't do any real track events but enjoy the track for a stress releif at NASA events and other Car OEM days and he went with a much less expensive solution, and he's extremely happy with what Gary and he put togther.

With my experiance I can only say this call Gary talk to him you will get information that realy means allot and is simple to comprehend.

Ernie O

 

I've had the Pfadt coil-overs for about a month now and am really enjoying them. I also had the poly-bushings added. There are 16 adjustments on the shocks and I originally had them set on 8 for the street. The car "tracked" and handled like a dream but was a bit rough on many of our Seattle streets. I backed them off to 6 and have since settled on 4 for daily driving.

The Pfadt instructions recommend starting with the front and rear at the same adjustments for street driving. I have also seen a post by Pfadt where it's recommended to set the front at 2 and the rear at 10 for the drag strip to gain more traction. So - the versatility is definitely there. I am having fun with the adjustments and can't wait to get my car on the track to do further "research."

I did switch out tires as well but stayed with the runflats. Since the the Michelin PS2 ZPs were designed for the ZR1 and showed impressive results on the track, I thought I'd try them out. So far the warmest I've had for outside temperatures is 54 degrees. The jury is still out but summer is just around the corner.

 

Thanks

 

What are the pro's and cons of adding the poly bushings at the same time? Do the Non Z06 and Z06 share the same bushing components from the factory? I would imagine that for a street only car the poly bushings may provide even more stiffness than wanted on a less than ideal pavement? Can anyone chime in on coilovers with and without the poly bushings?

 

Totally disagree; this cross talk "issue" is not an issue. Only profession racers at the limit may feel it, but the anti-roll bar, another spring that is designed to cross talk will over whelm any other cross talk. No modern car has a truly independent suspension.

My advice: Get non-run flat tires, Koni FSD or Bilstien dampers and take driving lessons and learn to drive the car you have before dropping that kind of money. I learned a very important lesson learning to drive fast, and taking lessons at the Nurburgring; it’s not the car it’s the driver.



T

 

I totally agree that training the driver is key. I am training every time I am out there and I am sure I have a lot to learn. I am not looking for these to increase my laptimes. If they do that is great. I am looking for a more confidence inspired ride. I could care less about laptimes as I do the DE's for fun.

The car feels tight on compression and does not roll too much, it is that I just can not stand the fact that a 60-70k dollar car feels floaty on re-bound. It also takes time to regain composure once the suspension has been unsettled. My wifes prius does not feel near as floaty. Stock suspension just larger rims & tires.

Joe

 

have to disagree with that...increased lap times would not be great

 

Allow me to say it differently.

I am not looking for these to increase laptimes, however if they do yield quicker laptimes that would be great.

Joe

 

Joe this is a post that is current right now on the forum.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-c...post1569462343