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I plan to get an alignment soon and want to make sure I settle my ride height first. I measured my ride height and it seems like the rake is a bit much (C6 Z51 Coupe). My current measurements are:
Ground to fender arch: LF 26 1/16” LR 28” RF 26” RR 28”
Ground to rocker next to jack/puck point: LF 4 3/4” LR 5 1/4”
Ground to rock as close to wheel as possible: LF 4 3/8” LR 5 1/2”
I'm assuming the ride height may have been modified pre-me, but maybe not.
Based on the specs in other threads, the rake should be 1.3" max, although I'm not sure I need to bother with it. If I do, I'd either need to raise the front or lower the rear. I took photos of the trim bolts on one side. The rear bolt seems max lowered, but I don't know for sure. Before I start messing with things does anyone know if that rear bolt has further adjustment based on the photo? (I couldn't find a photo of a fully lowered bolt anywhere to compare)
I like the look of the front although I do need to be careful with the clearance. It would be nice visually if the rear came down just a little more. However, I don't want to cut ribs off the bolts.
I just went out and measured the ground to fender on my '07 Z51. I have it lowered all the way and one rib cut off on the rear. Mine is 25&3/4 front both sides and 27&1/4 rear both sides.
I just went out and measured the ground to fender on my '07 Z51. I have it lowered all the way and one rib cut off on the rear. Mine is 25&3/4 front both sides and 27&1/4 rear both sides.
Thanks, that helps. It looks like I have 3 turns left at front. At 2mm per turn that would put me at 25.7", which is close to where you are. I'm ok with 26", which is enough of a pain.
From what I understand cutting 1 rib is good for 1/2", which would put me at 27.5" in rear with a full tank of gas. That's assuming the bolts are maxed out right now. That would give 1.5" of rake between the P and R measurement, same as you.
So I either leave things as is and live with the current rake, raise the front 0.5" (~6 turns??? ) to reduce rake, or cut a rib at rear to reduce rake.
I decided to check the rear bolts to see if there was any more adjustment to be had there. It turned out that there was another 1 1/2 turns or so. It's something. I had the whole car lifted. After it was back on the ground I rolled it back and forth and bounced it a bit . Front is now showing 26.25" and the rear is still at 28" Maybe that's a good sign. I'll have to drive it around to get things to settle out. I wasn't able to do that tonight since my daughter is parked behind me and her car won't start. A problem for tomorrow.
Here's a photo of what the trim bolt looks like when fully lowered. As you can see there was more to be had.
There are at least five different sets of model specifications for "trim height". It's not easy to display this info in chart form here, but I'll try. Technically these are for the 2009 model year, but I believe they're common to all years.
P-Height: Top of front wheel arch to ground
R-Height: Top of rear wheel arch to ground
Z-Height: Vertical distance from center of the ball joint housing bottom surface to the center of the front lower control arm front bolt (threaded portion of the bolt)
D-Height: Vertical distance from the centr of the ball joint housing bottom surface to the center of the rear lower control arm front bolt (threaded portion of the bolt)
Model: Base (1YY07) RPO: FE1
P-Height: 27.4 in +/- 0.39 in
R-Height: 28.74 in +/- 0.39 in
Z-Height: 1.90 in +/- 0.39 in
D-Height: 4.53 in +/- 0.25 in
F-R Rake: 1.34 in
Model: F55 (1YY67) RPO: FE2
Same as FE1
Model: GS (1YY07) RPO: FE3
P-Height: 27.28 in +/- 0.39 in
R-Height: 28.23 in +/- 0.39 in
Z-Height: 1.85 in +/- 0.39 in
D-Height: 4.49 in +/- 0.25 in
F-R Rake: 0.94 in
Model: Z06 (1YY67) RPO: FE4
P-Height: 27.28 in +/- 0.39 in
R-Height: 28.23 in +/- 0.39 in
Z-Height: 1.69 in +/- 0.39 in
D-Height: 4.02 in +/- 0.25 in
F-R Rake: 9.94 in
There are at least five different sets of model specifications for "trim height". It's not easy to display this info in chart form here, but I'll try. Technically these are for the 2009 model year, but I believe they're common to all years.
P-Height: Top of front wheel arch to ground
R-Height: Top of rear wheel arch to ground
Z-Height: Vertical distance from center of the ball joint housing bottom surface to the center of the front lower control arm front bolt (threaded portion of the bolt)
D-Height: Vertical distance from the centr of the ball joint housing bottom surface to the center of the rear lower control arm front bolt (threaded portion of the bolt)
Model: Base (1YY07) RPO: FE1
P-Height: 27.4 in +/- 0.39 in
R-Height: 28.74 in +/- 0.39 in
Z-Height: 1.90 in +/- 0.39 in
D-Height: 4.53 in +/- 0.25 in
F-R Rake: 1.34 in
Model: F55 (1YY67) RPO: FE2
Same as FE1
Model: GS (1YY07) RPO: FE3
P-Height: 27.28 in +/- 0.39 in
R-Height: 28.23 in +/- 0.39 in
Z-Height: 1.85 in +/- 0.39 in
D-Height: 4.49 in +/- 0.25 in
F-R Rake: 0.94 in
Model: Z06 (1YY67) RPO: FE4
P-Height: 27.28 in +/- 0.39 in
R-Height: 28.23 in +/- 0.39 in
Z-Height: 1.69 in +/- 0.39 in
D-Height: 4.02 in +/- 0.25 in
F-R Rake: 9.94 in
After 25 miles or so of driving I'm now at 26 1/4" front both sides and 27 7/8" rear both sides. So that turn or two at rear was good for 1/8". It could settle out a bit more. I'm not sure why the front is 1/4" higher now. Even this little bit in rear looks better. I may leave it at that. It's interesting that the spec in front is over 27". It would be like monster trucking since I got used to this.
Over the years I've read a lot of member posts asking about how to lower their cars. Yours is one of a rare few asking how to restore the original drive height. I never wanted to lower my car mainly because I have an inclined driveway, and the front air dam scrapes badly enough as it is. Nevertheless, over the years Red has had major surgeries to both front and rear that could easily change its ride height.
The installation of a supercharger added about 100 pounds to the front end.
When the first harmonic balancer failed, a frozen nut forced a replacement of the front leaf spring.
Twice I've had the entire rear end disassembled to replace a fuel sensing unit.
Last summer I had the entire drive line from the flywheel to the differential removed and rebuilt.
Next month after a 100K service on the supercharger, I'm having Red's ride height checked and reset to original factory specs for an FE2.
Last edited by Eritosthenes; Mar 15, 2019 at 05:01 PM.
After 25 miles or so of driving I'm now at 26 1/4" front both sides and 27 7/8" rear both sides. So that turn or two at rear was good for 1/8". It could settle out a bit more. I'm not sure why the front is 1/4" higher now. Even this little bit in rear looks better. I may leave it at that. It's interesting that the spec in front is over 27". It would be like monster trucking since I got used to this.
Settling out today at 26 1/8" in front and 28 13/16" in rear. At the rockers in line with the jack points there's about 7/16" different front to rear. I'm not planning any further adjustments.
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Trim height bolt question
