question re: C6 lowering
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 812
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question re: C6 lowering
It was a slow night, so I pulled the wheels and lowered my car as much as the 4 adjusting bolts allow without removing or cutting the spacers. I don't know of any real value, but I figured since I will likely have some suspension work done this spring anyway, there is little risk. But now I am curious about the intended purpose and value of the OE adjustment. I don't imagine the engineers were sitting around trying to figure out what to do with a bunch of refrigerator feet, and decided to screw'em in Corvette springs! With the spring on top of the control arm, lowering it will, I guess, slightly lessen the tension on the control arm, which is the last thing the front suspension needs. Anyway, just curious if anyone has done any investigation, with folks who know, about these adjustments.
Ed
Ed
Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 839
Likes: 0
From: Salinas Ca
The "OE" adjustments are just for that....like camber, castor, toe.
The OE "screws" are for ride height.
All things being equal and perfect in the manufacturing process there would be no need for adjustments of ANY kind!
However...that's not the case.
It's cool, that GM - by using "transverse leaf springs", is able to accomodate such an adjustment. Otherwise you would need(discounting torsion bar suspension) "coil over shocks" to accomplish the same thing.
Racers use coil overs to adjust ride height and weight distriution. You COULD do the same in your vette, to a degree; that being the amount of adjustment available to you via the "screws".
Tis a good thing....thanks to The General for giving us the adjustment.
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The OE "screws" are for ride height.
All things being equal and perfect in the manufacturing process there would be no need for adjustments of ANY kind!
However...that's not the case.
It's cool, that GM - by using "transverse leaf springs", is able to accomodate such an adjustment. Otherwise you would need(discounting torsion bar suspension) "coil over shocks" to accomplish the same thing.
Racers use coil overs to adjust ride height and weight distriution. You COULD do the same in your vette, to a degree; that being the amount of adjustment available to you via the "screws".
Tis a good thing....thanks to The General for giving us the adjustment.
.
.
.
Last edited by natejohn; Jan 14, 2005 at 02:56 PM.
Racer
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 366
Likes: 0
From: Sunnyvale CA
The factory settings on ride height and alignment embody a set of trade-offs designed for a 'typical customer' operating with typical street driving requirements. Thus, safety, cost, covenience and performance are all considered.
What does this all mean? For example, those trade-offs would go out the window if we wanted to race a C6 on a road race course wheel-to-wheel in VVC (Vette Viper Challenge) or T1. You would see the lowest practical ride height, spring rates would shoot up, camber would start a test session at -2 degrees static not -0.5 which is what the car shipped with, etc....
How to proceed? I think the vette is a great platform as shipped. Would I lower my street vette? Yes, especially on the C6 (it has more travel to begin with) and a lower Cg will help with handling. Would I dial in more aggressive alignment settings? Yup...
Since there are no free lunches in the world of Physics---just trade-offs...what is going to happen? Well tire wear will increase, you will not clear all the bumps in every parking lot, etc...
That's the quick version of what we get into when we make these changes...
What does this all mean? For example, those trade-offs would go out the window if we wanted to race a C6 on a road race course wheel-to-wheel in VVC (Vette Viper Challenge) or T1. You would see the lowest practical ride height, spring rates would shoot up, camber would start a test session at -2 degrees static not -0.5 which is what the car shipped with, etc....
How to proceed? I think the vette is a great platform as shipped. Would I lower my street vette? Yes, especially on the C6 (it has more travel to begin with) and a lower Cg will help with handling. Would I dial in more aggressive alignment settings? Yup...
Since there are no free lunches in the world of Physics---just trade-offs...what is going to happen? Well tire wear will increase, you will not clear all the bumps in every parking lot, etc...
That's the quick version of what we get into when we make these changes...
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 7,758
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From: Fort Worth Texas
Cruise-In II Veteran
Cruise-In III Veteran
C5 Z06 GM video and or manual that comes with the car new, cant remember whether its the manual or video, tells the owner how to adjust ride height.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 1,075
Likes: 3
From: Penn Valley California
Is there enough adjustment in the suspension to accommodate the maximum amount of lowering one can achieve through the adjustments at the springs and still bring it into factory street specs upon realignment(I would assume the car would need realigned)?
Platinum Supporting Vendor
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 5,730
Likes: 270
From: VENTURA Ca
I cut all 4 of my bushings the first day I had mine. It looks great and rides just fine. I haven't checked the alignment, but it seems fine.
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