98rzvr6

Hey Guys i lowered the car on stock lowering bolts as much as possible but still not happy with it. How many ribs of the bushings have you guys cut out to get it sit completely flush? Let me know for the front and back, thanks guys

Curt D

You will only lower it about 3/4 total from stock. Angle the blade so it cuts up against the larger dia steel pad to the right so it leaves the most rubber on the bolt side.

Dano523

Not enough rubber padding and you will dinging/peening the A arm point inside a year.



So at most, you only want to cut one ring off the oem ride height adjuster, leaving enough rubber for the needed pading of the adjusters to the a arms.

Also, don't just slam the car all the way down with all the adjusters bottomed out on the springs, but get the car re-4 corner balanced when the car lowered instead.

Hence with one ring cut off, it puts the adjuster about the same pad height as most after market adjusters.

98rzvr6

Thank you so much for the help guys, i will be trying this project this weekend

cmonkey713

Before you can do any cutting the OEM bolt cushions the bolts should be removed. Soak them in PB Blaster overnight to loosen them up. Remember you should remove the wheels and raise the car enough to work on it. Use a hydraulic jack to take the tension off the bolt by raising the spring enough to relieve the tension and enough to get the bolt out. Worst case, drop the spring. You can cut the bushing without removing them if you are careful. I have used a hacksaw blade which works pretty well but removing the bolts makes for a much better job. Always use jack stands for safety.

TriSum1

Take some measurements before and after. I am getting ready to replace mine and not sure if I am going to cut the new bushings or just go as low as I can with the full size bushing.

WICKEDFRC

The measurements BEFORE are critical to see what corners are at what height and what corner you should begin your lowering.

1. If you have Magnetic Shocks, the car will lower only so far, period.

2. I strongly suggest you begin at the front right because the front left is usually 1/4 higher from factory to compensate for the driver when seated in the car.

3. Ensure you count each 1/4 or 1/2 turn on the front right. If you count 13, make sure you count only 13 for the front left to keep it in relation. It should still be 1/4" higher when both sides settle.

4. Rear: I lowered mine all the way on both bolts and both were equal heights before and after.

5. I would not cut any bushings if you have Magnetic Shocks. I suspect this would accelerate shock failure and Magnetic Shocks are not cheap.

Good luck!!

Boomer111

Frankly I recommended leaving the pads as they are.

These cars are already to low.

Ya lowered looks better but believe me you will have issues when lowered.

Just wait to you go on a trip with second passenger and and have luggage.

Those wet spots you see at the dips in the highway you will likely bottom out. Tire can hit the wheel liners, at least in the rear for my.

Every drive way entrance will become a hazard, and road debris becomes more formidable.

Guys will rebuke my caution and if they have solid ground to stand on I do not understand where they drive, because in my area the roads are horrific.

I am just now raising mine back up, for the second attempt to get it close to stock, just under stock height by 1/4 inch. Going for an alignment today.

On the street you will not notice any difference with handling between lowered and stock, just looks and ride quality with shorter shock travel.

LG Motorsports has reversed drop spindles, yes they are pricey but this is the correct way to lower and keep ride quality without going to coilovers, which will add a more aggressive ride for better handling.

Not trying to spoil the OP's fun but just to to add some common sense here.

TriSum1

Does anyone have measurements for stock bolts un-cut all the way down?

HOXXOH

Can you define that question a bit with reference points for the measurements, such as where would "un-cut all the way down" be in relation to some other point.

slammin86

My 11 Z07 car (magnetic ride control) lowered ~.5 by basically bottoming out one side then counting turns on the other side to match. I marked everything so I can return it to factory height if needed.

TriSum1

Basically a stock ride height bolt that has not had any of the rubber cushion removed screwed all the way into the spring to get the car as low as possible. Just curious what these dimensions are at the center of the wheel well to the ground, because I bought mine used and have no idea if the previous owner adjusted them or not.

bartsky

Recently did my 06 Z and it is 26.5" front, and a little less than 27.5" rear.

98rzvr6

So i cut one rib in the front and in the back. I did not do any measurements because I had issues when i first tried this. I did not know that the sleeve was held in by some epoxy so when i couldnt break loose the lowering bolt, i hit it with a torch and the sleeve came out so i was able to lower 2 out of the 4 wheels so it looked all weird but now it looks great. I think it will still settle a little bit more but so far it looks amazing

HOXXOH

The OEM specs as of 2010 for a base car are 27.4" at the front and 28.7" at the rear, +/- .40" each place. The measurements are taken with no driver, a full tank of gas, on a level surface, and from the ground to the fender well lip directly in line with the center of the wheel.

Not a GM spec, but consensus is that one full turn of the bolt results in a height change of 5/32". Since the factory tolerance is +/- .40 and one turn equals .156, you could conceivably crank the bolt 5 turns and still be in spec if it left the factory near the limits.

Whatever you do, keep the front about 1" lower than the rear.