jshot00

2008 with only 7000 miles thinking about new shocks since they are 9 years old! do not race so looking for the most comfortable ride

nzkiwivet

9 years old but done nothing,why do you think they would be worn out?

jshot00

Age and deterioration of the rubber components

CadVette

At 7000 miles I'm I don't think you need new ones unless one is leaking. You can test them first. Bounce the car up and down first on each corner. When you let go the car should rise first then go down to the normal ride height once. If it bounces more than that then you need new ones. Bilstein HD seems to be the most popular on here for replacement.

Homer3D

Was thinking the same thing. Unless they are leaking there is probably no need to replace them.

4SUMERZ

At 7000 miles, your shocks would not be worm out, that's for sure.
If you are replacing just to get a smoother ride, then get the regular OEM shocks. There are others like Bilstein or Koni that can also be had for Base car for a smoother ride.
Here is a forum member that has a Z51 with base shocks.

Gearhead Jim

That looks familiar...


We have a 2009 with the Z51 suspension and the bombed-out roads of Illinois were beating us to death. As posted, I replaced the Z51 shocks with base model shocks, the ride got a lot nicer and the handling was ok for a daily driver. But the base shocks seemed to loose their gumption rather quickly, and were no fun on a twisty back road.
So I replaced them with Bilstein Heavy Duty, which are really a sort of medium duty and much softer than their Sports which feel about like the factory Z51 shocks. The Heavy Duty are about half way between the base shocks and the Z51 or Sports. We've had the HD for about 20k miles now and I still love 'em.

Be aware that every maker of shock absorbers will tell you that his shocks will improve your ride, improve your handling, give better gas mileage, make your radio sound better, and cure world hunger.
In reality, for a street driven car it's mostly a tradeoff between stiffer ride/better handling, and a softer ride/floatier handling.

choppychop

I put ZO6 shocks on my base from Cultrag, easy install and a very comfy ride. They were under $300 for all 4.

jshot00

Thanks for the replies! No leaks and since it has been garaged all its life the bushings look good. Might consider the base stocks for a little softer ride in the spring.

ls1121

2008 Z51 with Bilstein HD shocks gave me a nicer ride, also dumped the run-crap tires.
The install accessories from Bilstein are crap, I used my old GM Boot and Bumpstop and bought new rubber bushings.

choppychop

Not if you saw how dinky and cheap those base shocks are!

AORoads

I would've said ask Gearhead, but he's already on it! While I understand what Choppy wrote, I think real-world riding on them like Gearhead has done is the clue. Sure, they may not last as long, but with your mileage, it could be several years before you replace them. Also, if comfort is your main goal (and I completely understand that from the Z51 viewpoint), I might try the most comfortable shock there is. As Jim says, most times there's a tradeoff between handling and comfort and they are at opposite ends of the spectrum. Good luck and tell us which way you go.

Gearhead Jim

There was a long thread a couple of years ago by a guy who tried mixing the GM and Bilstein parts, he had a lot of problems. There may have been some defective parts involved, but...

I'm on our second set of Bilsteins (Sports on our C5, now HD on our C6). In each case, the tech used all of the Bilstein parts that fit, and there were no problems. We put about 40k miles on the Sports and now have about 20k on the HD, still going great.
If I were tempted to reuse some GM parts, I would be sure to find the old thread(s) about the problems from mixing, and learn from them.

ls1121

Yea well maybe he had no clue but I installed my GM parts with the bilstein shocks and had no issues. I was not putting that cheap garbage on my car. The only issue I had was with that little clip at the top of the shock that holds everything together, my opinion they really could have done a better job with these shocks. I will not be buying another set of bilstein, next time maybe Koni not really impressed with bilstein. I needed shocks for my Z28 and did not choose bilstein, went with Koni. To each his own, your car your choice.

CQRT

I bought my 2006 base last June and driving it back to Scottsdale from Albuquerque, I thought the tail felt loose going over large bumps or around tight corners at speed. The car had been in storage much of its life and had only 35k miles.

It still had its original parts except brake pads, tires and battery. Turns out one of the rear shocks was leaking- rather than bite the bullet for Bilsteins as I had for previous C5 and C6, I opted for Z06 shocks and sways- fundamentally the same specs as the Z51 option- and the ride and tracking is night and day.

Best bang for the buck IMO- good luck.

orca1946

Good GOD !!!! Drive that thing - it's not a paper weight !!! At this rate it will be 20 years old with 14 K on it!!

Enuzio

Take a very hard look at Koni FSD shocks. I really like them on my 2007 base; more control and better ride. Makes the car very comfortable for 3000 mile jaunts. ( I do Michigan to Texas round trips periodically in the vette.)

JerriVette

Don't waste your money on shocks...probably new non runflats would have a much better effect on ride.

7000 miles the shocks are new. Leave it alone...buy new tires instead.

Best improvement in ride you can make..

The sidewalks of runflats especially old runflats get really stiff..

Putting on Michelin non runflats makes the car drop about 25 lbs of unsprung weight and it makes the car feel as though it's shrunk to about the size of an s2000...

The ride becomes smooth as silk...

Buying shocks is a waste of money on your 7000 mile corvette unless they were leaking...

Better off just throwing the money into the garbage...

Happy holidays and just my opinion..

I did shocks at 50k miles and it was early...

Tires I buy every two years and I found the Michelin non runflats the best for ride improvements....

hydrasport

Can any one supply the OP (and myself) with some GM shock part numbers? I too am looking at new shocks for my 08 and I have been looking over the GM shock part numbers. The OP may want shocks for the FE1 suspension, I'm not sure. I found a #10302855 GM front shock for the FE1 soft ride suspension. I also found a #10313647 GM front shock that is listed to fit the FE3 suspension (I think that is the Z06) and it is also listed as fitting the base suspension. Has any one here replaced their shocks with GM shocks and if so what part numbers did you use?

Boomer111

I have a base 2008. The stock shocks were horrible for anything over just cruising on smooth roads in a straight line.

I drove a Z51 and thought that to be a little too harsh. Like not travel just felt like hitting the stops all the time.

I went with the Koni FSD's and love them. They are a little pricey.