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Anybody change a rear leaf spring yet? My GS Z07 is awesome, but the rear spring is too damn firm. It sits very high and rides hard.
I could keep hacking away at the bushings to lower it and do a magnetic ride controller, or I could change the spring. The front spring is the same as the regular GS, with a bigger, firmer sway bar. I love the quick turn in it provides.
Anybody change a rear leaf spring yet? My GS Z07 is awesome, but the rear spring is too damn firm. It sits very high and rides hard.
I could keep hacking away at the bushings to lower it and do a magnetic ride controller, or I could change the spring. The front spring is the same as the regular GS, with a bigger, firmer sway bar. I love the quick turn in it provides.
Thanks for any input
Might be a bit dangerous unless you swap the sway bar too. Basically make it a non z07 car.
I changed the springs on my C6 years ago. It wasn't that bad. Lift the rear wheels off the ground, after you remove the two clamps, Just make sure there's no tension on the spring before you remove it.
Anybody change a rear leaf spring yet? My GS Z07 is awesome, but the rear spring is too damn firm. It sits very high and rides hard.
I could keep hacking away at the bushings to lower it and do a magnetic ride controller, or I could change the spring. The front spring is the same as the regular GS, with a bigger, firmer sway bar. I love the quick turn in it provides.
Thanks for any input
You are aware that the ride height can be adjusted without cutting the rubber pads on the ends of the bolts? That won't make the ride any different, but it will lower that end of the car.
As Bruno mentioned, changing the rear spring to something softer will tend to produce more understeer than now. Unless you are a suspension tuner, you want to stay with a combination of parts that duplicates one of the GM setups.
You are aware that the ride height can be adjusted without cutting the rubber pads on the ends of the bolts? That won't make the ride any different, but it will lower that end of the car.
As Bruno mentioned, changing the rear spring to something softer will tend to produce more understeer than now. Unless you are a suspension tuner, you want to stay with a combination of parts that duplicates one of the GM setups.
I’m all the way down on the rear bolts, thanks. I still don’t care for the 4x4 look. Taller tires could help(and help with ride), but I don’t see anything that fits well and comes close to the performance of our stock tires.
A couple pics, comparing my car to GM's advertising. Notice the rear wheel gap...
My GS, rear bolts all the way down
GS on Chevy's website
Last edited by fatsport; Jul 31, 2018 at 10:01 PM.
Reason: added pics
I’ve considered Cup 2 tires designed for the Mercedes-AMG GTR. Their stock tires are 275/35/19 front and 325/30/20 rear. This would add some height, and probably improve ride, as they are not run flats.
Ironically, our Cup 2s are an option on that car - so much for runflat only suspension tuning - as this car comes with either set.
My advice would to go with the LG drop spindles
leave the suspension as is
I wouldn’t be able to get my car up my driveway then, front would be too low.
I’ll look into them. I believe Lou G is running drop spindles on his car at Nurburgring. He’s also running 345/30/20 in the rear, much taller than stock. They’re diameter is 28.1”, stock is 26.6”. The combination of lower suspension and larger diameter tires is the solution.
I’m all the way down on the rear bolts, thanks. I still don’t care for the 4x4 look. Taller tires could help(and help with ride), but I don’t see anything that fits well and comes close to the performance of our stock tires.
A couple pics, comparing my car to GM's advertising. Notice the rear wheel gap...
My GS, rear bolts all the way down
GS on Chevy's website
The blue GM picture definitely does not look stock, unless the Z07 package includes some serious lowering. I know the owner manual has a section about track prep that might discuss lowering, but not that much.
Everyone has their own taste, and it's your car not mine, but the words that come to my mind when looking at the GM photo are "rice" and "ugly".
The curve of the tires and curve of the wheel well "should" be concentric, or I wonder "how did his springs get broken?"
Looking at street use of the car, our 2017 Z51 was just slightly below the stock ride height (as measured at the wheel wells) and we slightly dragged the center a couple of times on parking lot speed bumps in Arizona, so I adjusted it to exactly stock and that seems to have cured the problem. I can recall trackrats saying that on the C6, a little bit of lowering was good but a lot of lowering was bad.
Whatever you end up doing, post some pics when finished!
I wouldn’t be able to get my car up my driveway then, front would be too low.
I’ll look into them. I believe Lou G is running drop spindles on his car at Nurburgring. He’s also running 345/30/20 in the rear, much taller than stock. They’re diameter is 28.1”, stock is 26.6”. The combination of lower suspension and larger diameter tires is the solution.
Drop Spindles alone shouldn’t cause issue for you, the Nurburgring car is dropped 1” with the spindles and roughly another 1.25” with coilovers. Here’s a pic with drops only
OP here look at the after market bolts on the car those bolts will let you drop the car 1 inch lower than the stock bolts. Then onto cutting the rubber parts on each corner you maybe where you are wanting to be.
But then again those drop spindles are very nice also.
Change rear leaf spring
