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-   -   Suspension Upgrade Question (https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/c6-corvette-general-discussion/3932984-suspension-upgrade-question.html)

texasmark04 01-21-2017 12:11 AM

Suspension Upgrade Question
 
Looking to upgrade the suspension on my stock 2007 C6 Base Vette. I'm looking at making a small investment into some Johnny O'Connell Front and Rear Sway Bars and Front/Rear Shock Absorbers. Links to the items below from CARID.

Anyone have any pros/cons with these products? Is this a good choice for a suspension upgrade? What other options should I be looking at in the same price range $1200-$1400? Is updating the Sway Bars and Shock Absorbers enough? Also, could the dealer do this work to install or anyone know of a good performance shop in San Antonio, TX area to take my vette to? Any help would be greatly appreciated to a newbie!

https://www.carid.com/2007-chevy-cor...-53983107.html

https://www.carid.com/2007-chevy-cor...-61356428.html

cgiff 01-21-2017 11:14 AM


Originally Posted by texasmark04 (Post 1593914883)
Looking to upgrade the suspension on my stock 2007 C6 Base Vette. I'm looking at making a small investment into some Johnny O'Connell Front and Rear Sway Bars and Front/Rear Shock Absorbers. Links to the items below from CARID.

Anyone have any pros/cons with these products? Is this a good choice for a suspension upgrade? What other options should I be looking at in the same price range $1200-$1400? Is updating the Sway Bars and Shock Absorbers enough? Also, could the dealer do this work to install or anyone know of a good performance shop in San Antonio, TX area to take my vette to? Any help would be greatly appreciated to a newbie!

https://www.carid.com/2007-chevy-cor...-53983107.html

https://www.carid.com/2007-chevy-cor...-61356428.html

I did the JOC suspension upgrade 2 years ago. Track my car 4 to 6 times a year. Mostly highway miles.
Car rides a little harsh on the street. On the track its amazing. No body roll, just point and go. If you are serious about tracking do it. If you like a cushy ride don't.
The conversion is not that hard , any competent shop can do this.
Alignment needed. Go with the track camber setting, make it work like it was designed to.
Also did a ZO6 brake upgrade. This completed the package.
No regrets.


Craig

P.S. We will be at COTA March 18& 19 . 18 vets so far. Come join us.

CadVette 01-21-2017 12:19 PM

Sway bar and shock replacement is a simple replacement job that most shops can do for you. The only concern would be maybe a harsh ride from the new shocks.

rkj427 01-21-2017 12:23 PM

check out Cultrag Factory Parts, a forum vendor for the package of Z51 sway bars and Z06 shocks............ less money that you mention in your posts, and a great vendor for all your GM factory part needs......

texasmark04 01-21-2017 10:22 PM


Originally Posted by cgiff (Post 1593916692)
I did the JOC suspension upgrade 2 years ago. Track my car 4 to 6 times a year. Mostly highway miles.
Car rides a little harsh on the street. On the track its amazing. No body roll, just point and go. If you are serious about tracking do it. If you like a cushy ride don't.
The conversion is not that hard , any competent shop can do this.
Alignment needed. Go with the track camber setting, make it work like it was designed to.
Also did a ZO6 brake upgrade. This completed the package.
No regrets.


Craig

P.S. We will be at COTA March 18& 19 . 18 vets so far. Come join us.

Thanks for all of the feedback. I'm a little concerned that I'm hearing this type of upgrade would actually make the ride worse for day-to-day driving. I don't track my vette at all. What I really want is a smooth ride for my day-to-day driving. The car seems to ride a little rough right now, and it is an 07' (10 years old), so figured suspension would be a good start. Am I making the wrong decision? Should I be looking at other products that align to more daily street driving? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

texasmark04 01-21-2017 10:29 PM


Originally Posted by rkj427 (Post 1593917157)
check out Cultrag Factory Parts, a forum vendor for the package of Z51 sway bars and Z06 shocks............ less money that you mention in your posts, and a great vendor for all your GM factory part needs......

Thanks for the tip. I looked at the website and didn't see any package that you mentioned. Probably looking in wrong area, mind shooting me over a link, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks.

choppychop 01-21-2017 10:55 PM

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...rformance.html

There you go...

texasmark04 01-21-2017 11:31 PM


Originally Posted by choppychop (Post 1593921033)

Thanks for the link!

etaylor14 01-22-2017 10:54 AM

I installed them on my friends 08. It will stiffen up the ride a little but cornering will improve. He liked them his wife didn't.

mikeCsix 01-22-2017 12:46 PM

Since you are not interested in handling performance and prefer a plush ride, at 10 years (you didn't state the mileage), I would just replace the shocks with base shocks if any are leaking oil. You also don't state if you have a magnetic ride suspension, if you do, the mag ride components are a little more expensive.

texasmark04 01-23-2017 01:41 PM


Originally Posted by mikeCsix (Post 1593924223)
Since you are not interested in handling performance and prefer a plush ride, at 10 years (you didn't state the mileage), I would just replace the shocks with base shocks if any are leaking oil. You also don't state if you have a magnetic ride suspension, if you do, the mag ride components are a little more expensive.

No magnetic ride suspension. I have about 58,000 miles on the car.

wayback 01-23-2017 02:52 PM


Originally Posted by texasmark04 (Post 1593932336)
No magnetic ride suspension. I have about 58,000 miles on the car.

More than likely your shocks are worn out. Time to replace with OEM base or Billstein HD.

LMB-Z 01-23-2017 03:26 PM

Also, what kind of tires are you running? Non run flats will give you a smoother and quieter ride. Upgrading the sway bars will help with body roll, but wont do anything to help the ride quality.

texasmark04 01-23-2017 03:54 PM


Originally Posted by wayback (Post 1593932870)
More than likely your shocks are worn out. Time to replace with OEM base or Billstein HD.

Thats what i figured. Bought from original owner and not sure he ever did any suspension work or upgrade. Further up the thread, one of the forum members recommend that I look at a vendor who advertises here and go with the Z06 shock that fit the C6, they are much cheaper that the Johnny O'Connells I was looking at as well. Think I might go that way first.

texasmark04 01-23-2017 03:56 PM


Originally Posted by LMB-Z (Post 1593933121)
Also, what kind of tires are you running? Non run flats will give you a smoother and quieter ride. Upgrading the sway bars will help with body roll, but wont do anything to help the ride quality.

Had both left/right tires damaged on rear, and have gone with Non-run flats in the rear.

Front: P245/40ZR18 88Y LL
Rear: 285/35R19 99Y

So, you don't see any value in doing the sway bar upgrade, even with the car pushing 60,000 miles?

wayback 01-23-2017 04:10 PM


Originally Posted by texasmark04 (Post 1593933342)
Thats what i figured. Bought from original owner and not sure he ever did any suspension work or upgrade. Further up the thread, one of the forum members recommend that I look at a vendor who advertises here and go with the Z06 shock that fit the C6, they are much cheaper that the Johnny O'Connells I was looking at as well. Think I might go that way first.

I have the Z06 shocks on my car (base 07). I love them but they are a little stiffer than base,Z51 or B. Sports. Also have Z51 sway bars. Much flatter in the corners.

The Z06 shocks are not harsh on our decent roads but not floaty either.

mikeCsix 01-23-2017 08:46 PM

The GS shocks weren't too bad either, softer than the Z06 or Z51 but perhaps stiffer than the base model. Since ride is more important to you than performance, you may want to consider those.

The streets in San Antonio may be a bit easier to drive on, I know the roads are pretty good in Arizona, but up here in Seattle the roads are miserable.

texasmark04 01-23-2017 09:59 PM


Originally Posted by wayback (Post 1593933465)
I have the Z06 shocks on my car (base 07). I love them but they are a little stiffer than base,Z51 or B. Sports. Also have Z51 sway bars. Much flatter in the corners.

The Z06 shocks are not harsh on our decent roads but not floaty either.

Thanks for the tip, I'm going to go with the Z06 shocks and the Z51 Sway Bar, and have my local dealer to the install. Hopefully this will improve the ride I have today, which is a little rough for my liking.

Thinking next upgrade to be cold-air induction, but have read many things about how it doesn't really improve performance. On the fence on this one.

texasmark04 01-23-2017 10:01 PM


Originally Posted by mikeCsix (Post 1593935462)
The GS shocks weren't too bad either, softer than the Z06 or Z51 but perhaps stiffer than the base model. Since ride is more important to you than performance, you may want to consider those.

The streets in San Antonio may be a bit easier to drive on, I know the roads are pretty good in Arizona, but up here in Seattle the roads are miserable.

Thanks mikeCsix, I think I'm going to go with Z06 shocks and Z51 Sway Bar for now. The streets that I travel are pretty good here in San Antonio. I mainly drive to and from work in the vette, and on highways on weekends. I have a Tundra for tackling the mean streets of San Antonio:cool:

By the way, I see you have a Monterrey Red C6. I have the same color, love the shine when it's all cleaned up and waxed. It's a great color for the vette.

choppychop 01-23-2017 11:45 PM

You will be happy with the ZO6 shocks.
I also installed a ZO6 rear spring, it made an amazing difference. Picked up one on EBay from a totaled ZO6.
:thumbs:


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