danl72

I put the Z51 sway bars and pfadt bushings on my C6 and it made a big difference in cornering and handling. It is worth it.

mcwire

-- -- Easy to install, and less than $200. Tightens up the feel, through corners.

Leprkon

I did the same thing (Z51 bars and poly bushings), only using Edelbrock Performer IAS shocks which are very similar to the Konis.

keyplyr

Can't tell ya exactly, sorry. I was asked this the last time I posted my suspension upgrade list. I'll ask next time I'm at my tuner.

WHT

We all have opinions and you will find many of the posts difficult to reconcile. So, go slow and think about what you need and/or want. It would also be good to call some of the shock manufacturers like Bilstein and discuss this with one of their techs (call the manufacturer because some vendors may be biased since they are selling coilovers).

1. I have posted Corvette spring rates and sway bar dimensions below. As you can see, Z51 and base rear spring rates are similar while the fronts are different. You only need to upgrade the front spring if you want to upgrade to Z51 rates.

Corvette Spring Rates:

C5 Z06: 526# Front, 714# Rear
T1 (C5): 582# Front, 793# Rear
C6 Base: 420# Front, 657# Rear
C6 Z51: 526# Front, 645# Rear
C6 Z06: 531# Front, 782# Rear
T1 (C6): 582# Front, 850# Rear


Corvette Sway Bars:

C5 Z06: 30.0mm Front, 23.6mm Rear
T1 (C5): 38.4mm Front, 27.5mm Rear
C6 Base: 25.5mm Front, 17.5mm Rear
C6 Z51: 31.0mm Front, 25.6mm Rear
C6 Z06: 31.0mm Front, 27.9mm Rear
T1 (C6): 38.4mm Front, 27.5mm Rear

2. Many people report improved handling by installing Z51 sway bars with base springs.

3. Z06 shocks are made by Sachs and they are not especially high quality. You would probably be happier using Bilstein Sport shocks with Z51 spring rates (about $300 shipped).

4. Most of the improvement people "perceive" with coilovers is due to the much higher shock quality rather than removal of the stock springs. Bilstein and other shock manufacturers can custom valve quality aluminum shocks for use with stock C6 springs. This has the added benefit of NOT putting additional load on the shock mounts (the shock mounts were not designed to carry the spring load). Coilovers themselves provide few benefits if you are not frequently changing corner weighting and spring rates.

5. Pfadt Z51 sway bar bushings work well and don't deform as much as the stock rubber bushings.



Good luck and enjoy your car!

WHT

cmhobbs1

I installed Hotchkis sway bars (middle adjustment on the rear) and Bilstein sport shocks on my base suspension '07 C6 and love the combination. I installed the sways first and that made a huge improvement in keeping the car flat in the corners. With the rear bar set to its mid stiffness range oversteer has not been a problem for me on the street. I highly recomend upgrading the shocks as well. The Bilsteins are a HUGE improvement over the base shocks! With the stock shocks the suspension "floated" to much for my taste (i.e. the body motions were not well damped). The Bilstein sports button the car down nicely. The ride is firm, but not harsh at all. In my opinion the billsteins are actually less harsh over severe bumps and potholes than the base shocks were.

StoplightWarrior

ok, thank you all for posting. I have read every post thorougly and must say that I am still a bit lost...LOL

however, it seems that for my application, doing the z51 sways + bilstein shocks + pfadt bushings is what I'm looking for...

So, speak now or forever hold your peace...LOL

jordan@pfadtracing

Hi StoplightWarrior,

I'd recommend the Pfadt – Threat Level 1 – Suspension Package

If you are not looking for adjustable ride height and spirited driving is the cars main focus then I would suggest the following package...

Threat Level 1

Pfadt Sport Shocks
The Pfadt Sport Shocks will rid the car of the infamous rough corner nervousness that seems to plague the Corvette. The Pfadt Sport Shocks are also adjustable so you can tailor the balance between cornering performance and ride quality to suite your taste, even if your taste changes during the day. The adjustments are simple and can be changed in a matter of minutes, with no tools necessary.


Retail: $890

Pfadt Street Sway Bars
The Pfadt Street Sway Bars are the perfect sway bar for the street driven Corvette that may see one or two track days in a year. They offer a rate that is about twice what the stock sway bars are. They are also fully adjustable, so you can change the overall balance of the car to your particular setup and driving style.


Retail: $845

Package Price $1683.00

Please feel free to call or email us anytime! We're always here to answer questions and help you figure out the best set up for your needs!

Happy Holidays!!

StoplightWarrior

Those parts look very nice, but $16xx is more than I want to spend on these mods

Thanks for the recommendations, though!

StoplightWarrior

sorry guys, another question...if I go with the z51 bars, pfadt bushings, and bilstein shocks, would I be stupid to try to lower the car a bit on the stock bolts? I'd like the car to sit just about an inch lower...how can that best be accomplished ($$ is an object).

jordan@pfadtracing

No problem! Please feel free to call or email us anytime you have questions. We're always here to help get you pointed in the right direction.

Have a great New Year!

RBMECH123

Lowering the car on the stock bolts?/ huh, what where, how?

Leprkon

it just takes 15 minutes in your driveway... but you will want to get an alignment when you are done. There are some good threads in the tech section to tell you how to do it.

StoplightWarrior

I did it on my 99 c5 and it was no trouble, but I've heard it's more difficult on the c6s, if you want to go lower than like 3/4th inch

vette#2/707

I will take those sways off your hands; if for a good price I'm right down the road in Vallejo.

StoplightWarrior

<----I already laid claim to em

igo380

The best solution, to get out of the endless incremental upgrades is the Pfadt coils and sway bars. You will find what you are looking for...well worth the $s...imho...

hognutz

I always thing of suspention as a package. you shocks, sway's, springs, tire sizes are kind of a system. if you want it to work optimum it is hard to just upgrade one thing.

the stock upgrades are pretty economical IMO and anyone who says that stock is just fine for the street does not push the car very hard IMO as I can make a stock vette slide on a freeway offramp. they feel loose to me. my z51 was more stable and was livable and my z06 is a tad more stable than that. the only time my z06 gets loose is overpowering or really bumpy surface. then again I am new to it so my sack is a bit small to really enter corners fast enough to push it.

If I had bought a stock car I would have done one of too things.

1. just bough the z51 parts most likely. (or looked at the z06 stuff if I changed tire width a bit as the rear sway porably won't not be right for a stock c6 285 rear tire)

2. ran coilovers and ran what sways the coilover manufacture recomended. (this is obviouly proabaly the best aproach but also cost the most)

also with coilovers on other cars I have owned can run different spring rates to ajust the ride to your desired ride. I have not researched vette coilovers yet.