H All,

I need some feed back regarding F55 ride vs. Z06 ride. One of my magnetic shocks went out and I need to make a decision; new mag shock or go to Z06 shocks. My question is to those that have switched from F55 to Z06. How does the ride differ? I'm sure the Z06 is tighter but how is the ride in normal conditions... Is the ride rough or smooth.... Thanks for your help

 

I'm sure you'll get feedback, but I would guess the ride will be much tighter and (should I say) bumpier. you do know that forum vendors tend to have much, much better prices on F55 shocks, right? I'd ck w. gene culley before I ruled it out as a replacement. btw, how many miles on the shock and is it really gone? was the car lowered?

 

I know the Z06 setup will be tighter, a good thing. The bumpier part is what I want to get a feel for, pardon the pun. The shock went out around 50K and that puppy leaked big time. Noticed when changing fluids while up in the air. I e mailed Gene on this and got a good price, still way more expensive than 4 new shocks. I don't know..........

 

There is a little more that just swapping shocks to upgrade to a Z06 (or z51) suspension set ups.

Where the F55 set up shines is the dual setting, and would compare to a slightly smoother/looser z51 set up in sport mode , and no where near that firm/tight as of a Z06.


If you are going to a Z51 set up (way to go if you don't plan only track driving alone), the Z51 sway bars with bushing (around $200 for all), and Blistein sport shocks ($328 from tire rack for all 4) have you covered with the base leaf springs once the F55 option is programmed out using a tech 2.

If you want to go Z06 set up, then Z06 sway bars with bushing(again, about $200 for all), the Z06 leaf springs (higher spring rate over the base units), then Blistein HD shocks (about $82 each from tire rack) . And again, great set up for track, but brutal as hell for street driving anything but glass smooth roads.

Also again, , before you pull the F55 parts to start swapping, need to use a Tech 2 to de-program the F55 option out of the system first.

Also, might want to think about going to the z51 brake set up while you are that deep into the suspension. You will use your same caliper that you have, but will need the Z51 rotors (large OD) and the Z51 caliper brackets to move the calipers out to work with the larger rotors (about $500 for both the Z51rotor and bracket upgrade kit)

 

Lot's to think about. I don't track so maybe the Z06 set up isn't for me. I just want a smooth tight ride, and the only reason for this whole thing is one shock took a dump. These are very expensive shocks and I would rather replace a $100 shock than a $800.00 one. Maybe what I should do is replace the mag shock with a new one and just upgrade the sway bars making it a semi Z51 set up. I'm so confused... Thanks for your help

 

IMHO, replace the defective shock and upgrade to Z51 sway bars, it will give you the best of both worlds...I did the upgrade to the Z51 sways but stayed with OEM bushings to prevent "bump steer" on rougher road surfaces...

After the upgrade, the difference in the ride will be amazing...the "Tour" mode will be the same as the current "Sport" mode and the new "Sport" mode will put a very big smile on your face...I keep the "Sport" setting on when I am riding around town and use the "Tour" setting on highways and Interstates...

 

Pick up a used F55 shock. I've seen whole 4 unit sets go for as little as $200. I assume you have an '05, since your profile only shows the color and not the year. Without checking, i'd estimate about 30,000 Vettes were F55 cars, so there should be a bunch already in the junkyards. The shocks work the same as new right up to the day they fail. Although GM doesn't specifically state it, the expected life is 150K miles. Obviously, some fail early and some will last a lot longer. I currently have 115K on mine with no issues so far.

Oh yeah! The Z51 sways are a really good mod.

 

According to CorvetteActionCenter, the F55 option was installed as follows by production year:

2005 - 9,041
2006 - 5,709
2007 - 5,619
2008 - 4,666
2010 - 3,520
2011 - 2,334
2012 - 3,892
2013 - 4,478

 

I would have to agree.... Just replace it and upgrade the sways to Z51. It's funny; before my shock took a crap that's what I was going to do. This way it's less complicated and I maintain the smooth ride and the car rides on rails. Thank you so much to everyone that contributed to my post. I'll post after the install. Thanks Again

 

Don't even consider the Z06 shocks...if you want to do away with the F55 system, consider a decent aftermarket shock like a Bilstein or Koni. All the oem shocks are less than great. This is why they finally went to Bilsteins on the new C7.