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C5 sway bar recommendations?

  • Thread starter Thread starter designeraccd
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D

designeraccd

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My '02 coupe A/T has Mich. "ultra" hi-po a/s rubber (from Tire Rack, of course) and Bilstein shocks on her now with @ 37500 miles. However, she does not stay flat thru curves (at "entertaining" speeds) nor does she like tight left right left curve sets. Does anyone have expierance with aftermarket bars or Z51 bars (my car has/had the base '02 suspension), and if so what are the results?

I don't intend to race her, but would like better, FLATTER, handling on curvy roads....rather like my (much lighter and smaller) Miatas were. My wife is simply scared of the Vette, yet never complained in our Miatas and I've literally gone 10-15mph faster thru the same curvesets in our Miatas with her. My C5 is vastly superior to my C4s, but still needs help. Input, recommendations, sources would be greatly appreciated...TIA! DFO :)
 
Z51 sway bars and a tunnel reinforcement plate will help considerably...and without creating a big dent in your wallet.

:beer
 
Tunnel reinforcement plate? Does the car have to be pulled apart, or just "bolt" in? Thanks....DFO
 
YEP - Z51 or Z06 Sway Bars...
L8TR - D


Definitely consider the Z06 swaybars. My '04 came with standard suspension and the addition of the Z06 sways, as well as the Z06 shocks, and a set of GY GSD3 tires on some Z06 size wheels has made the Vette the outstanding performer I feel it was intended to be in the first place.
 
What do you think the difference would be going from Z51 to Z06 sway bars and Bilstein Sport shocks? I'm curious what would tighten up my Z51 FRC.
 
What do you think the difference would be going from Z51 to Z06 sway bars and Bilstein Sport shocks? I'm curious what would tighten up my Z51 FRC.

I believe the rear Z06 swaybar is a larger diameter than the Z51 bar. Not ever having driven a Z51 equipped Vette, I have no point of reference to say if there would be a significant difference.

There's probably no difference in the dampening effect of Bilsteins compared to the Z06 shocks. I had Bilsteins on my '96 C4 and they were better than the HD stock shocks that came with.

In my case, compared to the standard Z45 or whatever it's called std suspension, the upgrades totally eliminated the "float" I was getting coming off simple rises in the roadway at speed as well as also eliminating the annoying (and dangerous) side skipping and bumpsteer I was getting on tight turns with an uneven surface.

The overall ride quality was somewhat tighter (read that as "stiffer"....."rougher") riding. I simply consider that to be an acceptable tradeoff for getting a much more controlled ride.

In your case, if you really want to get serious, swap out the stock springs for Z06 springs. I hear that makes a noticeable difference.

Karl
 
I believe the rear Z06 swaybar is a larger diameter than the Z51 bar. Not ever having driven a Z51 equipped Vette, I have no point of reference to say if there would be a significant difference.

There's probably no difference in the dampening effect of Bilsteins compared to the Z06 shocks. I had Bilsteins on my '96 C5 and they were better than the HD stock shocks that came with.

In my case, compared to the standard Z45 or whatever it's called std suspension, the upgrades totally eliminated the "float" I was getting coming off simple rises in the roadway at speed as well as also eliminating the annoying (and dangerous) side skipping and bumpsteer I was getting on tight turns with an uneven surface.

The overall ride quality was somewhat tighter (read that as "stiffer"....."rougher") riding. I simply consider that to be an acceptable tradeoff for getting a much more controlled ride.

In your case, if you really want to get serious, swap out the stock springs for Z06 springs. I hear that makes a noticeable difference.

Karl

Karl,I am think about the Z06 bars on my car after going to Colorado.My car has the base suspension on it and I felt what you are talking about.Are you running runflats on your car?
VJ
 
I have ADDCO bars and they were inexpensive and work great :beer
 
Karl,I am think about the Z06 bars on my car after going to Colorado.My car has the base suspension on it and I felt what you are talking about.Are you running runflats on your car?
VJ

I took the runflats off after 32k miles and replaced them with GY GSD3's....after I did the sway bar and shock swap. Much quieter and better grip in both wet and dry conditions. Bought me a portable air pump and repair kit in the event I get a flat.

It's gonna take quite a driver to outrun me now, (or catch up if that happens to be the case), the only remaining weak point remaining being the ultra-conservative woman of the house and I'm still working on that.:L
 
I have ADDCO bars and they were inexpensive and work great :beer

Not familiar with the name, but if you're happy, that's all that matters! The base suspension is for drivers who will probably never go around a corner faster than the "recommended" speed and exceed the posted speed limit by any more than 5 mph, ever.

I'm not a race driver by any stretch of the imagination, but I do loooove the way this Vette handles now. I reached MY limit before I got close to the Vette's limit, heh, heh, heh.
 
Coil Overs

I've got a Z51 suspension in mine and I'm going to replace the shocks with some coils overs by PFADT racing. Take a look.
Remo:cool

http://www.pfadtracing.com/
 
Remo said:
That's what I've got. Pricey, but well worthwhile.

Also plan on budgeting for an alignment and corner weighting after installing the coilovers, or you won't get the full benefit from them.
 
Not familiar with the name, but if you're happy, that's all that matters! The base suspension is for drivers who will probably never go around a corner faster than the "recommended" speed and exceed the posted speed limit by any more than 5 mph, ever.

I'm not a race driver by any stretch of the imagination, but I do loooove the way this Vette handles now. I reached MY limit before I got close to the Vette's limit, heh, heh, heh.
I build championship winning race cars ;)

Addco is well known
 
. . . The base suspension is for drivers who will probably never go around a corner faster than the "recommended" speed and exceed the posted speed limit by any more than 5 mph, ever.

I'm not a race driver by any stretch of the imagination, but I do loooove the way this Vette handles now. I reached MY limit before I got close to the Vette's limit, heh, heh, heh.

This car is so great right out of the showroom, that we get used to it, and then mod it, and get even better performance. But that, at times, makes us forget how well it performs on it's own , with no alteration.

I have nothing against mods, haven't got to the suspension yet, but I have an idea :cool

You pick the route, and drive it at ten over the posted limit, I'll take my "stock" suspension car, and we'll see who gets to the end of the route first :wtcslap .
(All on raods closed off to public traffic with the appropriate blessing of the authoritioes, of course.):D
 
This car is so great right out of the showroom, that we get used to it, and then mod it, and get even better performance. But that, at times, makes us forget how well it performs on it's own , with no alteration.

I have nothing against mods, haven't got to the suspension yet, but I have an idea :cool

You pick the route, and drive it at ten over the posted limit, I'll take my "stock" suspension car, and we'll see who gets to the end of the route first :wtcslap .
(All on roads closed off to public traffic with the appropriate blessing of the authoritioes, of course.):D

I'd be more than willing to accept that challenge.

I bought this '04 coupe brand new and with the base suspension, it indeed handled very well in the twisties.

However, I did find it rather unnerving when I would encounter some abrupt dips in the road surface at 75 mph, the stock suspension would travel nearly to, if not right at, the limits of the suspension, first up and then smooshing all the way down, nearly bottoming out.

This with less than 10k on the ticker. It did not leave me with any solid feelings of confidence if I were to attempt to drive the Vette at some ridiculously high speed up in the triple digits.

In addition, any irregularity in the road surface while going into a sharp curve would cause the rear tires to actually leave the pavement and skip sideways...obviously on the verge of breaking loose at any moment.

I knew I had reached the Vette's handling limit, while there was still room left inside of me for more.

Now, with the suspension upgrades, I can easily transverse the same course, with no appreciable "float" on the rises and dips in the roadway, and have virtually no "bump-steer" on the tight curves. And I can honestly say that I can reach MY limit, long before the Vette has reached its own.

Yes, I agree the Vette, right off the showroom floor, is a solid and impressive performer.....but just as the "performance" upgrades I've done have significantly lowered its quarter mile times, the "suspension" upgrades has significantly increased the its handing ability.

There is no man-made object that, in my honest opinion, no matter how good it may appear right out of the box, cannot somehow be "improved upon".

AirForceAcademy6-20071.jpg
 

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