Hey Don,

Thanks. Got totaled by a tractor trailer out on the interstate. Took out the car bad. Shook me up good. I was 6 weeks post back surgery at the time. Kind of a mess there. Car is settled. Picking one up this weekend.

Graham

I just went and found that thread over at ECSracing. The people who are arguing that the 04 shocks are softer and not as good are being kind of stupid because they are only focused on the medium speed damping of the shock.

You need to explain to them that the shocks damping curve can be broken down into three areas...low speed, medium speed, and high speed (this is shock piston speed and not vehicle speed). They are correct as far as the medium speed damping...the 04 is valved softer in this region which translates into better compliance of bumps that would upset the cars handling. On the other hand, both low and high speed damping are valved firmer on the 04 shocks. This translates into less transitional body roll because of the higher low speed dampening and more road feel because of the firmer high speed damping. This road feel makes the the ride feel firmer because you feel more SMALL sharp edged bumps that don't tend to upset the car.

Hammer

Very Sorry to hear that, Graham. Hope you are ok. What a mess--I bet you had to try and pull off any mods because the insurance would only cover the car stock. Hope they at least gave you a decent settlement.

I hate trucks. I drive I-95 everyday in rush but usually not with my Z. I always pass them quickly, never loiter when next to them--someday I'll get a ticket for that & have to explain why I was over the speed limit to pass.

Graham,

I hope your back gets sorted out. Post up a pic of the new Z. Did you stay with Silver? Let us know. Take care, Don

Taking off a set of Koni single-adj and putting on a set of 04z.
Will post my very uneducated opinion after next trackday.

Did you not like them?

I ended up going with the Bilstein sports and I am very happy with the upgrade.

Getting the car TTA legal. ;)

Maybe you should listen to what the GM engineers have to say. I stood in the crowd at Corvettes of Carlisle in 2003 and listened to the engineers tell me and other Z owners that we should upgrade our shocks to the new 04 shocks due to the improved calibration. They said the performance improvement we would get would be signifigant and I imagine their real world results were measured and documented.

Bill

:iagree:

I too was at that Carlisle tent meeting and I just installed the 04 shocks on my 02 Z06 and WOW what a difference. I took a trip from Tampa to St. Pete yesterday and really noticed a difference. The turns and bumps from the bridges showed the revalving difference. Much more responsive.

I changed my 02Z shocks to 04Z shocks. It is worth the money in my opinion.

JG853

Do the 04 Z06 shocks improve the ride quality my car is awefully harsh over bumps.

As your stock shocks wear they will become softer not harder. 04 Z06 shocks are retuned and I like the ride of the 04 Z06 shocks better.

Good thread....:thumbs:

Yes, that is exactly where you will notice the difference.

Under acceleration and through a turn my 02 would move laterally when I would hit a mid-corner bump. That tendency is greatly reduced with 04 shocks.