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I got my parts from a local chevy dealer... they are all installed as of tonight, we will go test them out on Saturday afternoon, but until I get the car re-aligned, we wont' be doing any high speed runs or long distance driving, so after Tuesday, I'll have a better idea of how everything went.... The main thing we learned is you better make sure that the shocks are set correctly for the ride height before you bolt them in... because they are not going to adjust at all while they are installed in the car unless you have a spring compressor and really strong forearms!!
wow, 900 bucks is a hell of a deal for parts, unless he had the wrong ones. Did you lower yours all the way down? Pics when you get a chance! Glad to see it does work.
wow, 900 bucks is a hell of a deal for parts, unless he had the wrong ones. Did you lower yours all the way down? Pics when you get a chance! Glad to see it does work.
I will take pics on Sunday and post what the drop ended up being.... I'm not so sure it was as much of a drop that I was hoping for... might have a wrong part, but don't think so.
Any updates? Where did you get your parts from? The local Chevrolet dealership quoted me almost 2k for the 4 shocks! My car comes in 2 weeks and I’ll be doing the same!
Before shocks were installed After shocks were installed gained about a 7/8" drop up front and a 9/16" drop in rear. Ride is firmer than with FE1 shocks, but not uncomfortable... but to be honest, visually , it does not look any different
Last edited by StickerDick; Aug 31, 2020 at 03:56 PM.
My exhaust seems to be sorted out and the car is riding fine with the FE3 shock conversion... I am pleased with the final result
Glad you completed the project and are satisfied. My car should arrive in the next couple days. It's a Z51 with Magride and front lift.
I have the Cicio kit for the front and the spanners to adjust the back. Already had a spring compressor.
Looking at the pics of your new shocks, I just realized they only allow adjustment of the bottom perch and are not fully threaded style.
Is preload just not an issue with this setup? I guess spacers for the top perch would fix that, if they existed. Sorry if my ignorance is showing!
Glad you completed the project and are satisfied. My car should arrive in the next couple days. It's a Z51 with Magride and front lift.
I have the Cicio kit for the front and the spanners to adjust the back. Already had a spring compressor.
Looking at the pics of your new shocks, I just realized they only allow adjustment of the bottom perch and are not fully threaded style.
Is preload just not an issue with this setup? I guess spacers for the top perch would fix that, if they existed. Sorry if my ignorance is showing!
There is no adjustment for pre-load on the FE3 shock from GM, they have a rubber isolator at the top, just like they do at the bottom of the shock. If you wanted to be able to adjust pre-load, I'd suggest staying away from the GM shocks and going with an aftermarket shock once some affordable options are released..
OK... the car did not drop as low as I had hoped... does anybody have a picture of a stock FE3 shock for a Z51 C8 car? a non magride shock? I'm wondering if there is something different in the top hat of the FE1 and FE3 shock?
we got the 4 corner weights and ride height all balanced out, the car dropped another 12lbs and the ride height dropped an additional 8mm front and back. So with the tires being lower than stock height and with the shocks set at the lowest height setting, the car dropped a total of about 3/4" overall. Checking the 4 corner weights and double check shock settings... All good. The bottom of the sheet are the after numbers
Last edited by StickerDick; Sep 23, 2020 at 02:13 PM.
WE got back on it last night, got the bumper cover off, changed out the rear grills while it was off, not sure how they can be changed out without removing the rear bumper cover.... I've run into some small issues with the exhaust, but we will overcome that. Will start on the shocks tonight and post pictures real soon.
Mark, did you remove this yourself? If so, how much trouble was it?
I've been asked by a friend to help remove his for a spoiler install and wondering how difficult a task it is.
Mark, did you remove this yourself? If so, how much trouble was it?
I've been asked by a friend to help remove his for a spoiler install and wondering how difficult a task it is.
GUSTO
just make sure you remove the hidden bolts/screws down low, but overall not bad.... The rear grills are a pain if you have to remove them. You tube has plenty of videos posted now on removing the rear bumper now, they help
Looking into adding FE3 shocks to my non-Z51 base Vette but pairing them with the FE1 springs. Did you powdercoat your FE3 springs that you bought new from the dealer? Looking at your photos, they appear to be a bit longer to accommodate the shorter FE3 shock. I'm thinking the FE3 shock paired with the FE1 spring should give an appealing ride height when all said and done. Read a few posts on the forum indicating that the sprint rates are very similar between FE1/FE3 but only the shock valving is changed. Which would make a bit more sense with how the Z51 setup is a bit stiffer.
