Bilstein Question

[Nick S]

My 1996 LT4 has the standard (base) suspension. The car has Bilstein shocks. I know that Bilstein claims that they will outlast the car. They seem inexpensive enough ($300) to replace, if they will improve the ride of nearly ten year old shocks. My question: In your experience, how long before the Bilstein shocks need to be replaced?

Nick

 

[Vettefan87]

Well mine are the originals on my 87. I know for sure one was leaking around a year ago when sears did the four wheel alignment, so I am sure that one is shot, and it is making noise. I guess it all depends how many miles you have on your car, and what kind of road conditions you drive on. My car only has a little over 50 thousand miles, and I will probably be replacing them before the Cruisefest.

 

[Nick S]

I'm going to pass 58,000 miles sometime this week.

 

[froggy47]

It depends what you want. My LT4 has base springs & came w/ orig Bil's @ 50k miles, floated like a caddy.


I put bigger bars & QA1 shocks & now it corners on rails, but the cushy ride is gone, so it depends what you want.

 

[cfour93]

When i bought my 93 it had org Blistiens and three were bad. I put KYB's on it and conering is great and the ride well my option is some where in the middle and very confortable on long trips.

 

[Nick S]

Froggy47,
How big are the sway bars that you put on your car?

The handling on the car is not that bad right now, but I know that it can be much better. Any recommendations for a good handling street setup? The car will probably never see a track, but it can be set up like it might.

Also, how difficult is it to change the shocks, sway bars, and springs? I did it on my 99 Camaro, but I'm not as familiar with the Corvette. It looks easy, but then again getting this car up on a jack is a mystery to me right now.

Nick

 

[WradDad]

When I bought my base-suspension car, with 89,000 on the clock, the original Bilsteins were already worn out. I replaced them with Z51 Bilsteins, and now have a fairly firm ride. Along with the bigger sway bars, the car handles well at the track, but might be a little too firm for a street-only car.

Barry

 

[Tuna]

Shocks do wear out over time and use - use being the biggest key. How many miles on your 96?

I kept my original Bilstein shocks on for 103K miles before swapping them out - that was probably too long. They all had slight oil leaks and the new shocks did improve the ride. Loss of ride quality is so gradual that it is not noticable. You might save some money it you send them to Bilstein for rebuild. You can even have the original shocks upgraded for a slightly higher fee. Check out http://www.bilstein.com/html/service/index.htm for more information. They have a toll-free number also - ask for Bill Hindorf (?).

 

[froggy47]

Froggy47,
How big are the sway bars that you put on your car?

I put 30mm front 26mm rear. This is one of the 1996 Grand Sport option setups. I have the GS rims & really big tires also. I race, it's a bit twitchy on the street so that's my choice (Neg camber & toe out f toe in r). I think for 90 % street or even track mine would be a handful, but for autox it's spot on.

The handling on the car is not that bad right now, but I know that it can be much better. Any recommendations for a good handling street setup?


I'd just start with VBP Vette Brakes & Products setup (see their catalog/web site)

The car will probably never see a track, but it can be set up like it might.

Also, how difficult is it to change the shocks, sway bars, and springs? I did it on my 99 Camaro, but I'm not as familiar with the Corvette. It looks easy, but then again getting this car up on a jack is a mystery to me right now.

Shocks & bars easy, springs - you need to know what you are doing.

Nick

xxxxxx