Glen e

I am convinced that the factory is putting these cars together and the bolt heights are all over the place and not a priority. One mod shop here in s fla told me he's done about 6 of them and the bolts have never been in the same place. Like jag, my rears were all the way down when we went to adjust them, the fronts all the way up....

faster68

Cool, thanks!

GNC7

This is great!!! Im gonna do this tomorrow. Thanks again for the great pics and write up.

bdanyluk

If you track your car only go halfway down or your tires will rub your inner fender.....guess how I know.

1stVetteAW

Thanks for sharing.. Great write up and pics !!! You made it very easy to understand

jagamajajaran

Glad to help. Post pics of your results.


Ouch! So what kind of damage did you have?

Steve Garrett

Great write up-thanks!

DocHolliday

Another great write up, thanks! When you're turning the bolts, will they stop when they have reached their limit, or is there a chance you could accidentally removed them all together when turning?

vetehead

Jag....thanks for sharing with usI won't be doing this I need all the ride height I can get as set from the factory,but the car looks great as you have it set. I use my car as a dd so I have to be very careful what driveways car washes etc. I frequent .....again I will say your car was worth the wait!hope you have been out there enjoying it!..

Just being curious to you or any one in this thread know what the factory uses as a benchmark for setting these bolts??



Ron

Glen e

read my comment above - these seems to be no benchmark....

gthal

Which also suggests no negative implications to changing it which some still worry about. If there was a spec GM wanted (for suspension longevity or handling) then the cars would all come exactly the same. What this tells us, I think, is anywhere in the factory adjustable range is just fine.

Glen e

exactly.....but some will still lose sleep over this...LOL

craig04c5

I guess the C7 suspension must be a lot different than the C5 because the ride was definitely made worse by lowering. The lowering method is the same and the suspension looks the same but lowering a C5 lowered the shock absorber travel making for a choppy ride. It also affected the handling. If you lower the C7 aren't you lessening the shock absorber travel?

Also on the C5 if lowered too much on the stock lowering bolts the tires would hit the fender in aggressive driving.

That said I hate the amount of space between tire and fender on C5-C7 and would lower a C7 right away if it did not effect ride or handling.

billiam01

Are you sure putting the jackstands under the springs are OK? I can't remember very well but I thought the factory cautioned against putting jacks on springs because they can get damaged from it from my C5 days.

sajonf

Mine have yet to fall off and I did it several months ago.. although I used a second jack as opposed to jack stands. Same thing

C8Jake

Don't put full weight on the springs, just wanna take pressure off the bolt.

jagamajajaran

General reply to some of the questions:

1) Don't put full weight on the springs. Only lower the floor jack enough to relieve the tension on the bolt. You'll know when you have enough tension relieved because you'll be able to turn the bolt fairly easily.

2) There is no risk of removing the bolt completely when you are turning it counterclockwise to lower the car. The other side of the bolt is a large coil that will never fit through the hole.

3) If you set it to the lowest possible setting and find that your wheels rub or you don't like something about the ride, make adjustments. This is an easy mod to adjust. For that matter, you can actually raise the car in the same way if you want more of a 4 wheel drive look, or if you're like my dad and hate getting in and out of such a low vehicle.

DocHolliday

Thanks Jag...sorry for the silly question. I just know my mechanical ability and if there's a way to screw it up I'd find it!

jagamajajaran

I have to admit that I wondered the same thing until I investigated the process for myself.

acrace

To the OP, very nice write-up.

Regarding the question about putting jacks on springs, if you notice, the OP had a rag between the spring and the jackstand. It's important to put something soft and cushioning . . . you do not want to severely nick or gouge the spring, as damaging the epoxy and exposing the glass fiber to moisture may eventually cause delamination.

As a side note, to those that plan on tracking or autocrossing their C7s, playing with these trim height adjusters is how you can corner balance the car, so that your cross weights come out close to ideal. I've done this with both my C5Z and C6Z