I'm hoping that someone can educate me... Apparently most - or all - serious road race Corvettes use "coil overs" instead of the OEM transverse leaf springs and OEM shocks.

Why? What are the benefits of coil overs?

Thanks!

Rob

 

More adjustability for 1, and 2 more dampening force adjustment....theres more.

 

Rob,

A good set of coilovers with stiff spring rates, coupled with some good sway bars just stiffens & lowers the car & equates to having a stiffer, stouter car both laterally, as well as fore to aft. The best coilovers for multi-purpose usage are remote reservoir adjustable. This gives you the option to adjust compression from a remote canister to dial it in depending on track conditions or location or application (ie. autocross, track, drag.) The rebound can generally be adjusted on the shock itself. Callaway/Eibach has a package that is intended to be used with the stock leaves, but the coilover springs can be upgraded, allowing removal of the leaves. Penske makes a sick shock package, that couples well with Hyperco coilover springs. My personal opinion is that if coilovers don't have the remote rese, they're a waste of $$. I have the Eibachs with 600/800lb springs front/back. Stock Z51 spring rates are approx 575/750. I've used my car for everything. When I go to the track, I just crank up the front & dial the rears to full soft & boom, full weight transfer. Track calls for about 3-4 on the front & rear & then tinker with tire pressures some. Coilovers will allow you to pull noticeably more later force when cornering at high speed & adjustable ones allow you to self-tune your suspension to suit whatever type of driving/racing you're doing. All of the above is referencing only double adjustable coilovers. There are also triples which allow more adjustability & are usually reserved for track only race applications. Hope that helps!

Blue Bomber

 

The primary reason is because they are truely independent, unlike the leaf springs which have alot of cross-talk.

 

Blue bomber,
I hope you don't take this the wrong way. But how many cars have you setup up before??? Shock spring and valving can be a tricky thing to get right. Not for the average guy. I would take the other side on this one. A triple adjustable shock in the wrong hands is a huge waste of money, a double adjustable a lot of waste, and single well why anyways.

Fixed valving coilovers are a good thing for 90 percent of the guys. The other 10 percent that can make faster lap times with shocks go for it.

Back on track,
WHY are coilovers better, here is a good thread all about it. I get a little down right mad about this subject. I just feel very strong about this agruement.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1918713

Randy
www.dougrippie.com

 

How about the weight differences, isn't there a somewhat notable weight gain by going with coilovers?
I'm sure the potential (I say 'potential' because if the wrong parts are chosen and/or the set up is wrong the results could be a car that handles worse than the comparable leaf spring car) gains can offset the extra weight though.

 

I don't know the in and outs of coilovers. However, I do know that my Pfadt Coilover and Pfadt Swaybars make a night and day difference over the stock base suspension. I wouldn't trade it for anything. Before, in stock form, it always felt like the back end was comming out around turns and twisties. With the added horsepower, is where the suspension really began to show. I've had guys with Porsche's and Z06's drive my car and they love the way it drives. Is it an essential, no. It does handle the 730rwhp/675rwtq a heck of a lot better than the stock set up...that's for sure

Just my .02

John

 

Search is your friend.

 

That's probably true, but be careful what conclusions you draw from the data. The improvement in handling didn't come from changing the suspensions TYPE, but rather the components (mostly the shocks) and the quality thereof. IOW, you'd have seen the same exact improvement by changing to transverse leaf springs of the same rate (that you got) and shocks w/the same quality and valving as the pfadt shocks you now have...but you wouldn't have "coil over" suspension.

A side benefit of the swap that you did is that you can now easily tune your 4 corners weights, and shock valving which you can't do w/the stock parts.

 

Having ridden in & driven stock C6s, C6s with Z51, Z06s, C6s with shocks only, C6s with shocks & sways, & C6s with adjustable coilovers & sways, it is my opinion that adjustables are the only way to go. Every man is entitled to his opinion, regardless of how many cars he's setup (which seems to be Randy's criteria for who's allowed to offer their opinion here.) Fixed valving is great if you use your car for only one purpose or only go to one type of track & the valving happens to work well there. Adjustability allows you to make your car perform optimally wherever you go. Assuming that someone cannot dial in a double adjustable coilover setup is insulting, also MHO. How 'bout a little bit o'that!? Yeah!!

Blue Bomber

 

the Pfadt and LGs actually weigh LESS than the stock shocks/leaf springs, and most likely the KWs too

 

Hey Randy, Just drove by your place after picking up my C6 convertible at Ryan last week! Sneeked out of town between snow storms

 

Coilovers are better for RACING because of the ease of adjustment. For the street, you probably are only adding expense and bling.

 

For the vast majority of us the transverse leaf spring suspension system is better than coilovers. Coilovers are not only heavier, the weight is higher, affecting the center of gravity, causing more lean. Yes, the leaf "crosstalks" IT'S SUPPOSED TO. It is acting like an anti-sway bar, which transfers weight to keep the car from leaning. This allows the leaf spring car to run lighter sway bars. To get the same anti-sway effect with coilovers you have to go to even heavier sway bars, again, weight isn't your friend. While the coilovers THEMSELVES don't crosstalk the heavy sway bars they require still do. The effect (except for the extra weight with coilovers) is the same.

Building an all-out race car for multiple tracks? Go coilovers for the ability to change spring rates.
Street car with the occasional track day? You're all ready set.

 

OK... Thanks to all who took the time to respond to my post. I can see that several of you have some real world experience with 'coil over' suspensions, as well as the stock stuff.

I am well aware that all cars - even 'performance cars' - are a collection of compromises. Even so, I'm one who actually believes that the engineers who designed the C6 chose well, the resulting 'compromise' that we know as the C6 Corvette is actually a quite capable road car... even occasionally maybe a 'race car.'

Further, I believe that I, for one, probably lack the 'engineering skill' and even the 'driving skill' to be able to successfully adjust suspension components (coil overs and all!). In other words, I think that the 'average Joe' can realy mess up a car's handling by inept and uneducated 'fidling.'

Again, I really appreciate the expertise and comments of you who responded.

Rob

 

True enough, but the changes are simple to do and if you approach each change with a plan and record what you do, even the inexperienced can wind up with a car that handles to his liking....

 

You should have stopped in!!! But with the weather lately It's still snowing a little at my house. 60s one day, 10 inches of snow the next

Randy

 

Ryan,
Dude I didn't mean to insult you at all. But after a car's valving is right, there isn't too much change needed. That was my point. I personally have seen more harm done then good when the wrong people get trick shocks. We have a lot of fast cars running fixed rate shocks, under all sorts of conditions.

Randy

 

Rob,
Very well said!!!

Randy

 

so keep a couple things in mind...

1. EVERYONE that switches to coilovers list them as one of the best, if not THE best, mods theyve done to their vette. They also report it as an across the board handling imporvment, street or track, novice or expert.

2. The ONLY people who put down coilovers are people who have never used them but still somehow feel their opinion is valid.

3. Coilovers are LIGHTER than the stock shocks+leaf springs.

4. The leafspring diehards always point to the GM SAE tech article on leafsprings as the last word on why they are superior to coilsprings, but if you actually read the SAE paper you find out the leafsprings were the compromise choice fo space/packaging concerns, this came up a while back on the Z06 forum, Heres the breakdown of the SAE paper.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...5&postcount=50