Active Zr-1

[FranceLovesCorvettes]

I was reading some old issues of Corvette Fever, when I saw an article about Active ZR-1s.

Does anyone know how I can find more info about these cars?

Thanks.

 

[KGV]

Wow, you have a 7 litre engine. In Germany I pay per 100cm for my 5.7L ZR-1, so I would guess that your 7L engine is a few Euros for the annual road tax!

 

[FranceLovesCorvettes]

Sob... They were so close

Well, it's sad they decided to stop the AS program - It would probably have put the ZR-1 in front of all others european cars...

Handling was a real problem on ZR-1s when compared to Ferraris or Lamborghinis (Although those 2 cars were a little bit more expensive...)

Anyway, the important thing to know is that they made it.

Thanks for the links!

(To KGV: yes, my annual tax is kind of... "expensive"!)

 

[wdo-mkr]

Any leads on who made the hood for GM on the active suspension cars?

 

[Robert Eyres]

No, I don't know who made the hood. But I sure would like one. It would "pass" for stock, but give more room up front. I think it looks much better than the aftermarket hoods available today.

If you ever find out, let me know.

 

[Rob]

Actually, if memory serves me correct, the reason why the Active Suspension system never went into production on the ZR-1 is because the negative aspects of the system outweighed....literally....the benefits. Because of all the hoses, servos and related hardware, it made the car even heavier. The additional weight took away from the overall performance of the car.

It would have also been a nightmare to service as well. You can see pictures of the Active Suspension ZR-1 here:

http://corvetteactioncenter.com/cgi...cgi?direct=1984_-_1996/ZR-1/Active_Suspension

 

[Ol Blue]

FranceLovesCorvettes

Greetings, a few years ago in the month of April I was in Paris when there was a rally going on. I met a young man named Jean-Pierre Bigot, but have lost his email address and phone number. He has a race prepared 68 Corvette that he races. I saw his name on list of participants in the Lemans Legend race, and I would like to contact him.

He used to sell Corvettes through a shop named the Spirit of LeMans. Can you help me in finding a way I can contact him?
Thanks
Ol Blue
http://www.corvettekid.com/USA_WON/68imsadaytona.gif

 

[reubenmc]

What are all the extra vents for on the hood and under the corner marker lights??

 

[-=Jeff=-]

I have a picture of all the components for the active system. I will have find and post them

 

[Corvettes White]

What are all the extra vents for on the hood and under the corner marker lights??

I am told they were needed for cooling under the hood.

George

 

[rkreigh]

the active cars were pretty cool but weighed a TON, drained alot of HP from the engine to drive the hyd system, and created a maint nightmare. while the concept is great, the technology isn't quite there to do it cost effectively or with a light enough platform to be of benefit.

a 4200 zr1 just isn't that appealing. it would have added a tremendous $$ to the already high cost, and been very slow.

give me a stripped down 2800 zr1 and I would be alot happier to do the handling mods myself and trade some technology for performance!!!

 

[SPANISHVETTS]

Any leads on who made the hood for GM on the active suspension cars?

The hood was made by a guy named Henry, who worked for Lotus, or at least that is what Henry says. I think he is with the BAR race team now but I am not 100% positive. He worked for Racing-Engineering for a year or so and I can tell you that his work is brilliant. He did the prototype work on the ZR1s in England back in the 80s.

FranceLovesCorvettes, I was through <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn /><st1:country-region><st1:place>England</st1:place></st1:country-region> back in the ´80s.[/size][/font]<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = <font size=" /><st1lace>Baden</st1lace> in the 90 last October. We really enjoy driving the Vette through <st1:country-region><st1lace>France</st1lace></st1:country-region> and epically <st1:State><st1lace>Normandy</st1lace></st1:State> and <st1:City><st1lace>Bordeaux</st1lace></st1:City>. The roads are excellent, the food is even better and nothing tops the meal off like a glass of Calvados. </FONT></FONT>

 

[FranceLovesCorvettes]

I once saw a 1992 ZR1 that was fitted with a hood that was similar to the one which is installed on the Active ZR1. The owner told me he had bought the cooling vents at Eckler's or MidAmerica, I don't remember. The thing to know is that these vents were available at a time through a Vette parts supplier...

I presume that they were for styling purpose only, but who knows? Maybe it helped cooling the engine, like on the Active ZR1.

>To Spanishvetts: French roads probably aren't the best ones to enjoy a Corvette the traditional way (thinking of big highways...), but narrow, winding (or is that sinuous?) roads can give you lots of fun, for sure!

 

[FranceLovesCorvettes]

...And I've just been wondering why such a project would have cost lots of $$$?

In France, in 1993/94, Citroën had been selling a midsized sedan called the Citroën Xantia with a suspension system similar to the one used in the Active ZR1s that was named "Activa Suspension". It was not that expensive, and, put into a 3.0 V6 Xantia, it provided good handling and performance. Any thoughts?

It is strange that an active suspension would have been so expensive on the Corvette. But, yeah, maybe it wasn't worth the investment provided the weight of those Active ZR1s...

 

[Hib Halverson]

Actually, the "Active Ride" program, while very interesting, leading-edge technology for the late 80s, was not ready for production.

GM was very smart to kill it.

It was very expensive. It imparted a significant penalty in parasitic loss. It added a lot of weight to the car. It made some service operations very difficult. It also added somewhat of a safety problem with the very high pressure hydraulic fluid. Lastly, there were some ride problems at some lower frequency suspension movements that GM was never able to address.

Nevertheless, the development of the Active Ride ZR-1s provided valuable experience with control systems which GM used later in the F45 options on C4s and C5s and the F55 option on C5 and C6.

 

[Rob]

I spoke to one of the GM Engineers that came with the car to show it at this year's Corvettes at Carlisle. It took him 2 days to replace the spark plugs because of all the components of the Active Ride system that had to be removed just to reach the plugs and then reinstalled.