Best Suspension!!!
 

theres a bunch of suspension systems out there for our cars. from coilovers, to sways, to leaf springs.

Ive heard great things about the pfadt coilovers and sway bars.
but how good are they really.

what kind of comparision on a scale from one to ten is there verses stock suspension. Is it worth all that money!?

the T1 sway bars. are they better or worse than the pfadt sway bars?

Try telling people exactly what you want or expect from a suspension upgrade.

Peter

You have to know what you want.

Chevy built the suspension in these cars cause they thought thats what people wanted, a fancy, sporty car for old people to go play golf in, that wont dislocate gramps hip as it slams a pothole.


Pfadt seems to be the leader in coulovers and sway bars lately, but its a very "firm" setup



I have been in DngrZn's car, he is running T1 bars and LG coilovers. Its great on the highway, ok on city roads, as long as you arent moving very quickly. Tracks the grooves in the road pretty bad, but toss that thing on a highway on ramp and you have never felt anything like it. People talk about cars handling like go-karts, Its a damn rollercoaster.

Unless your doing road course events ,,,,,,improving your base suspension to something more sports car like is as easy and inexpensive as this:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1984955

If I had a base C5,,,this is what i would do.

An even better shock for that set up would be the C6 08 ZO6 shock. Their only $250 for all four and are a 100% direct bolt in. I have them on my 02 ZO6.:thumbs:

Bill C

I run the stock springs, C6Z51 bars and Bilstein sport shocks, there about $275 a set. Great handling car, will run circles around a stock C5, and it remains a decent riding car with the stock spring rates. Gets rid of the floaty feeling and lots of body roll in the corners, very confidence inspiring, my car when stock felt like it would break loose unpredictably.

im not too worried about super comfortable suspension. i had coilovers on my pervious car and it wasnt horrible on the street but it wasnt extremely comfortable. I loved it! like you said it would handle like a freekin gokart. im no gramps so i can take more punishment then gm designed the average owner they designed them for.

i like the thought of the coilovers with the adjustable suspension in terms of ride hight and tampening.

something that handles like a race car for the most part but has good street manners. not a suspension that is pure race, track only.

I have the Pfadt coilovers and I tell you what I think it is night and day difference. The coilovers really woke the car up and made it super responsive. I also recommend you get the Pfadt bushing kit as well. I don't know about the sway bars as I bought the Hotchkis adjustable sway bars. It seems like a lot of money for shocks but in the end you will be happy. Plus you get to lose the goofy leaf springs.

^^The nice thing about the Pfadt coilovers and sway bars is that they are adjustable. So you can run them in a softer settings for cruising and in the stiffer settings when you want to maximize performance.

i agree with bill. Im older but did not like all the lean and floating in my 04. I put on the c6z06 shocks and c5z06 sways front and rear. They bolt right on and made a tremendous difference without spending a lot of money. I dont know about all the other shock and sway brands. Probably all good. But for the little money i spent i am tickled about the performance now.
Search this forum under october specials and see what gene at gmparthouse has for you. I found them very helpful.

I used the Parts Board (both C5 & C6) and wound up with the following mods:

C6 Z06 shocks, take offs - 150 mi - $175.00 shipped
C6 Z06 sways and links, take offs - 150 mi - $225.00 shipped
C5 Z06 springs (front & rear) - 24k mi - $365.00 shipped

So I've got less than $800.00 invested and have a car that handles like it's on rails. :cheers:

I had the Z51 suspension package and had Bilstein HD shocks before I made the switch and I will still say that go ahead and spend the money and get some coilovers.

If your running coil overs, you want a softer sway bar, not a big T1 bar.

What you're going to get is something that will feel like it handles better on the street, but if you're on the same tires it won't really handle corners any better. It'll be stiffer, with a harsher ride, and therefore must be better.

Stock C5 suspension is pretty good out of the box. It does have body roll, and handles bumps pretty smoothly. Now, if the suspension parts are worn, that just needs to be fixed.

I'm not trying to talk you out of modding your car, I just want you to understand what it is you're really accomplishing.

Have a good one,
Mike

AU N EGL is right....I just added a T1 a few weeks ago....its HUGE!

Pretty subjective question. I'd suggest the C6 Z06 shocks and the C6 Z51 bars. It will really change the ride a lot and make it more sure footed and gives more confidence. Springs, I'd stay with Z06 springs, but only if you need them.

IMO coilovers sound really cool, but if your not on the track they are mostly just PIA (pun intended). On the street my C6 z06 shocks and big sway bars felt really good, maybe better than my coilovers I have now (but still working on dialing them in). I would have stayed with that combo, except I broke a spring and decided coilovers was the way to go. I abuse my Vette on the road race course, so its not a bad choice for me.

I don't know how coilovers between different cars compare. IMO, the ones for the Vette are usually a very stiff spring because they are intended to be on the track at very high speeds. Other cars may have different design points, such as lower speeds and dual usage. Maybe not an apples to apples comparison.

Suspension
 

I'll be the first to admit, I don't know what the "best" suspension is. I have the Pfadt coilovers and Pfadt "street" sway bars on my car. I commute with my car so I keep my settings in the middle ground (not too stiff). The rear doesn't step out on bumps like it used to, it corners with less body roll, it's lowered and isn't too harsh. I spent the money and I don't miss it, so to me it's worth it.

I'm about 20 min. away in Tracy if you want to go for a ride. Just PM me.

-Rick

Those LG coilovers are also inverted reducing unsprung weight. How are those LG's lasting milagewise?

I'm glad you're happy with your setup. BTW, sway bars do exactly the same thing; tie both sides of the suspension together. Some of these sways are so big I just wonder "Why don't you just go back to a solid axle?"

Have a good one,
Mike