boonie c4

I've finally saved up enough cash to purchase a set of shocks for my 08 w Z51 suspension Corvette and i've narrow the choices to either Bilstein product 1. Bilstein Sport or 2. DRM Bilstein shock theres a $75.00 price difference in favor of the Bilstein Sport and this Corvette is a pleasure only vehicle driven only on good weather Sundays. And I understand that DRM'S Shocks are revalued for the ZO6 Corvette and not the lesser option Corvette, is that true? So then are the DRM shocks worth the extra $75.00 to purchase over the Bilstein sport shock?
thanks boonie

ColeJ5743

What's up? I have an 09 base model to which I upgraded the suspension to Z51 springs and swaybars and chose the DRM Bilstein as my shock. It seems to work fine in my book. Some members think they ride too stiff; I think it depends on the person. But I do not. I had the same worry and was pleasantly surprised by the ride and the control. Definitely call Randy at Doug Rippie and fire away about questions. He answered all of mine. For what it's worth, my car is mostly street driven as well and it corners noticeably better and faster than it did. I should add that my car rides on 19 front and 20 rear non runflat wheels now and the ride is still good, but it is firm.

Dano523

Bring me up to speed why you want to change out the Z51 shocks in the first place.

Hence novice driver is faster on most road course tracks with a Z51 set up, then a Z06 set up instead.

The reason, the z51 set up gives you plenty of warning/feed back as you are putting/getting the car on the edge, while the Z06 set up puts you on the edge with not really warning; ending up with the car way past the point of grip/over the edge and into the weeds instead.

Truth is, take the money you have saved, and use it for some high speed track driving lesson isntead. This is going to get you fast more quickly (and cheaply since you not having to repair a wrecked car), than any suspension tweaks you make to the car isntead.


Bluntly. I would say that at least 90 percent of the vet owners have never red lined their vet in 5th gear (taken the car up to 175mph or faster), with less than 5% of the owners able to drive even a base vet around a high speed course and keep the car to it limit on the edge for even one lap.

So before you begin to mod the vet, learn to drive it to begin with, then as you gain the needed talent to make a difference with mods, then work them in as needed instead.

WW7

with Dano, unless the stock shocks are worn out why do you want to change them, they are the shocks designed for your suspension and are excellent shocks...The Bilstein sport shocks are also designed for the Z51 cars, running anything heavier will affect handling and ride quality.The stock shocks on my Z51 were leaking , I replaced them with Bilstein sports and the car handles great, but with a slightly stiffer ride...From what I've read the DRM sport shocks are designed for the Z06 Corvettes not the Z51 Corvettes........WW
.
.PS... I got my Bilstein Sports at Tire Rack for $396.00 for the set, plus free shipping ..

camikeva

I have an '08 with Z51 option. I changed to Bilstein Sports. They did away with the one issue I had with the stock Z51 shocks, namely, the rear end with stock shocks felt skttish in turns where the pavement was less than ideal. Can't speak to the DRM alternative.

Dano523

Koni FSD's would have solve the problem as well, without ending up with a stiffer ride like the sports shocks.


Truth is, the way the FSD shocks are designed, are even better for this problem than the Sports shocks isntead.

AORoads

Not been my experience with Koni FSD's, dano. About the same as stock Z51 shocks. imo.

Ragtop 99

Agree with the bad road improvements. I switched to the JOC shocks and the car stays more planted on bad pavement and I have less bottoming out on speed bumps in my neighborhood. Ride is harsher at low speeds, mainly below 30 mph when I hit pot holes.

Dano523

That's what I was trying to get at, being the Koni's solve the hard out of choppy corner problem, without ending up with a stiffer ride than the Z51 shocks.

The sports have a slightly rougher ride than the Z51's, and the DRM's a slightly rougher ride than the sports.

Dano523

Stiffer ride is not always better,

Hence at high speeds, you still want to have all the suspension travel you can get working correctly. Get too stiff, and in the rough sections, the tires are going to come unglued to the pavement as the suspension is not tracking correctly, and this is where things go south quickly at high speeds instead.

I bring this up, since parking lot autocross racing on smooth parking lots at lower speeds, you can dam near pan the car and get away with it. But come a high speed track where the tight suspension is limiting the correct full travel instead, the car will want to get sideways every chance it gets isntead (not something you want at 175MPH down a choppy straight, much less pushing hard out of a high speed choppy corner with a dip thrown in).

PCMusicGuy

My 2 cents:

I've had the DRM Bilsteins on my 07 Z51 for the past 50k miles. I'm currently around 125k miles and I changed them at 75k miles. I used the poly bushings as well. I changed the shocks in the hope that the step out in the rear on curved interchanges would be better, and it is, but it's not completely gone. If I could do it again, I'd save the $75.

Ragtop 99

I have no desire for a stiff ride, but back of the vette even under moderate throttle breaks traction on crappy DC area streets and it likes to step out on bad pavement on a clover leaf.

I had the Koni' FSDs on the car for about a month, looking for a better ride with improved rear end control. Ride was about like the Z51's, which is nicer than the JOC's. Control was better than the stock Z51 shocks. I don't know if the compression stroke was softer and allowed more initial travel, or if the ride height was just a tiny bit lower than the JOC's, but my front air dam was hitting a lot more often with the Koni's.