i've just recently lowered my c6 with the wcc bolt kit. I unbolted the right front upper control arm(4-bolts) to try to get the bolts in easier. this wishbone type control arm has 2 bolts to the front ans 2 to the rear that bolt it to the frame rail. now i noticed that the rear 2 bolts had only one standard size washer (for each bolt)between the frame and the control arm, but the front 2 bolts had 2 washers each between the frame rail and the control arm. why is this and is this normal?? On the left side front upper control all the bolts on the upper control arm have only 1 washer per bolt in between the frame rail and the control arm. .......now i rebolted the right front control arm back on but put only 1 washer per bolt for all the blots....keep in mind that the washers are all the same size on all bolts for both sides so they dont seem to be shims.... and as far as i know that is not an area used for alignment purposes. could this have been a mistake from the factory(i noticed these washers have a little bit of a rubber coating on them so i thought that they may have been stuck together when installed....then it was aligned from the factory with this mistake.....any idea???

anyone know how to contact a quality control person at the corvette plant to see if this is normal.

also my car seems to track striaght but the wheel is slightly(~1cm) turned to left when the car is going striaght. i have not aligned the car yet because i want to know if i should replace these odd 2 washers to the front of the right front upper control arm.

to me it seems that the frame should be striaght from the factory and all the parts(control arm) are standardized so why the 2 extra washers????

any help would be greatly appreciated...this problem is killing me and i can't get any answers...i've look all over. thanks

also does anyone know a good alignment shop that knows corvettes and has RF balancer.....thanks in advance

misic

sorry for lengthy post but i needed to be specific...

 

Since the alignment is based on the relationship between all the mounting points, the difference you have made would be the same as altering the lower mounting points. Do not worry about it, once you get an alignment done, the adjustments will put the lower arm in the proper position with respect to the upper arm's new position.

BTW, there's a better way to go about installing those bolts, but you already did it so that doesn't matter now.

 

ill do that then, thanks for your input.

also, are there any good alignment shops(corvette experienced) in southern california you would recommend??

-michael

 

yes, by removing the washers, you added negative camber, and toed your front tires out, causing you to steer towards the side you changed.

You chould do an alignment immediately anyway, but really should have left the washers alone.

 

yep, because you could have performed the bolt swap by just taking loose the end links, lower shock bolts, and busting the lower ball joint. you didn't have to remove any of the control arm bolts from the frame.

 

I cant explain why, but i've seen some cars without washers, some with washers, some with 2. So its not a quality issue. I think you should of put them back as found, but an alignment could take care of any offset from removing the washers.