two questions about lowering a C6
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Joined: Dec 2005
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two questions about lowering a C6
how do you lower it? what do you change and where to you get it? I think a 1/2" or a 1" would be plenty and look good!
also, would lowering a Z51 affect the handling of the car? like on the track?
thanks much guys....
I have had F-body's
and currently have a 04 GMC Serria
im looking to get a C6 Z51 M6 in a couple years, but I want to have a list of the good parts to get.
also, would lowering a Z51 affect the handling of the car? like on the track?
thanks much guys....
I have had F-body's
and currently have a 04 GMC Serria
im looking to get a C6 Z51 M6 in a couple years, but I want to have a list of the good parts to get.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 5,078
Likes: 19
From: Cumming, GA
Lowering is very simple as jacking up the car will be your longest step. On the underside you will find two leaf springs which will be the same for front and back. There are adjustable screws at the ends of these leaf springs. Turn counter clockwise and your in business.
Do a search and there is DIY somewhere on here that I used when I lowered mine.
Do a search and there is DIY somewhere on here that I used when I lowered mine.
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 1,837
Likes: 4
Handling will be affected to some degree, but exactly how much I don't know. By lowering the car you're lowering the center of mass, which is generally a Good Thing. But you're also lowering the roll center, which is a Bad Thing. So in terms of body roll, its a question of which changes faster - roll center or center of mass. Usually the answer is roll center, but you'd have to look at the suspension geometry to calculate the actual results.
What I'm saying is that lowering the car will quite likely make it lean more around corners - at least until the outside suspension compresses and hits the bump stop. But once it does that your suspension compliance goes to nil, and so does your grip on any surface less than perfectly smooth!
Of course this doesn't apply if you're also changing spring and sway bar rates to compensate for changes in the roll center - its certainly possible to get good handling with a very low car.
Also, lowering the car will change the camber and toe slightly, which will affect handling, but you can make up this difference by realigning after lowering.
As far as losing the rake, yes that is something to worry about. The car depends on that as part of it's aerodynamics, in particular to help form a partial vaccum under the car and keep it on the road at speed. You'll need to retain approximately the same rake as the factory specs, although you could reduce it a little if the car is lowered, reducing the volume under there. This is especially true if you get the front splitter within 50 mm or so of the ground.
Of course this suckdown effect is mostly at higher speeds, and mostly for track use (as public roads are usually so lumpy its hard to get much vaccum under there anyway). So if you're just driving around under 100 KPH it probably doesn't matter much. But I'd want to be very careful and do some good modelling and / or wind tunnel testing before taking the car over 200 KPH!
What I'm saying is that lowering the car will quite likely make it lean more around corners - at least until the outside suspension compresses and hits the bump stop. But once it does that your suspension compliance goes to nil, and so does your grip on any surface less than perfectly smooth!
Of course this doesn't apply if you're also changing spring and sway bar rates to compensate for changes in the roll center - its certainly possible to get good handling with a very low car.
Also, lowering the car will change the camber and toe slightly, which will affect handling, but you can make up this difference by realigning after lowering.
As far as losing the rake, yes that is something to worry about. The car depends on that as part of it's aerodynamics, in particular to help form a partial vaccum under the car and keep it on the road at speed. You'll need to retain approximately the same rake as the factory specs, although you could reduce it a little if the car is lowered, reducing the volume under there. This is especially true if you get the front splitter within 50 mm or so of the ground.
Of course this suckdown effect is mostly at higher speeds, and mostly for track use (as public roads are usually so lumpy its hard to get much vaccum under there anyway). So if you're just driving around under 100 KPH it probably doesn't matter much. But I'd want to be very careful and do some good modelling and / or wind tunnel testing before taking the car over 200 KPH!
