How Low Can You Go

[kiwi vet]

Hey There All
Just a question, my 81 sits very high, about 2 - 2.5" from tire to wheel arch (255/60/15 BFG). See photo @ L81 Registry: Photo 57 of the 58.

A bit 4x4 for my liking . I know that with longer composite spring hanger bolts I can lower the rear, in fact I can make this adjustable to some extent. Also made some adjustable struts to be able to adjust the camber, even got a metric thread to allow one full rotation of the strut = 1 degree +/-.

My question to CAC is, "Has anyone tried dropped spindles" for the front?.
I know I can put in lower springs, but that will increase the front spring rate and I already run 550lb front springs which are just right for the roads here, any firmer and I think it would reduce the cornering power. Also with dropped spindles I will retain full suspension travel as well, which I think is a good thing.

I saw these advertised @ 2.5" drop, and just wondered if anyone had any real experiance with these?.

 

[kiwi vet]

Has anyone seen these dropped spindles? Any comments, thoughts, opinions would be helpful.

 

[L48]

I have not seen dropped spindles so I can't help you with that.

Have you considered the possible bad effects of lowering the car? How much ground clearance do you have? Do you mind cleaning roadkill off the bottom of your car? At the height of my car I think I could clear a dead groundhog, or at least just a light graze. If I dropped an inch or two I could see a lot more mess if I had to straddle one on the road. Maybe your suspension has the car sitting a little higher than stock.

I am sure it would look better but you will have to decide if it is worth the hassle. Just my .02

 

[82ColEd]

Kiwi:
Looking at the pic (Nice Car !!), i dont think it looks that high.. No experience with dropping it though here, as i think mine is scraping too much already (my exhaust pipes spark when i go over something and come down hard after a hill).. Keep that in mind if you go after lowering it..

Hopefully someone will chime in with experience in that area..


-Stefan

 

[kiwi vet]

I have not seen dropped spindles so I can't help you with that.

Have you considered the possible bad effects of lowering the car? How much ground clearance do you have? Do you mind cleaning roadkill off the bottom of your car? At the height of my car I think I could clear a dead groundhog, or at least just a light graze. If I dropped an inch or two I could see a lot more mess if I had to straddle one on the road. Maybe your suspension has the car sitting a little higher than stock.

I am sure it would look better but you will have to decide if it is worth the hassle. Just my .02

Thanks L48, every 0.2 cents helps.
At present I have 155mm (just a tad over 6") clear under the lowest part of the car, not including exhaust. Front spoiler about 115mm (4.5").
In NZ, 100mm (4") is legal minimum standard to the vechicle structure (therefore spoiler not included), hence the idea.
Only concern at present is the left hand exhaust, (if facing front) as because this runs 3" duals, there is no indent in the trans crossmember for the LH pipe. The right indent is there I presume due to the original exhaust being single to twin at the rear, plumbed down the RHS, so is up nice and tight to the u/s.
I take on your point/concern though, so I have temporarily fixed 2No lengths of 2 x 2" Aluminium angle to the u/s of the chassis rails both sides, between the wheels and at the front, will drive around for a week or two and see if they inccur any damage, this may determine the practicality of the theory.

Cheers for the comments.

 

[kiwi vet]

Kiwi:
Looking at the pic (Nice Car !!), i dont think it looks that high.. No experience with dropping it though here, as i think mine is scraping too much already (my exhaust pipes spark when i go over something and come down hard after a hill).. Keep that in mind if you go after lowering it..

Hopefully someone will chime in with experience in that area..


-Stefan

Cheers Stefan

 

[Delph]

go look around www.vbandp.com
they have anything you need to lower your Vette. Some have started using the adjustable coilovers from Shark Bite.

Tim

 

[L48]

Only concern at present is the left hand exhaust, (if facing front) as because this runs 3" duals, there is no indent in the trans crossmember for the LH pipe.

Is there any interchangability between the 81 and the 75 and older regarding the tranmission crossmember? My 75 has openings in the crossmember on both sides and it looks like 3" might fit through (it would be tight). I am new to Corvettes and this is the first car I have ever seen where the pipe actually goes through the crossmember. You might want to look at one of those on a car or in a catalog - might help increase your clearance there if it would fit your 81.

It will be interesting to see how your experiment goes.

I just removed P265/50/R15 tires from the rear and put on P225/70/R15. The newer tire is almost 3" taller than the other tire, and of course my ground clearance improved by 1.5". I now have 4.5" of clearance on the exhaust under the differential a the moment. The car also looks better to me with the rear wheels not hanging out of the fenderwells.

If you care to do any further experimentation, maybe you can get a used set of low profile tires and get them put on the car (know anyone working at a tire store?)

 

[kiwi vet]

Hey L48

Had seen pictures of the early trans cross member with exhausts through the member, and the thought crossed my mind, but havent yet had or seen one in RL. Does anyone else know?

Funnily enough, my L81 assembly manual has this type of cross member (early one) shown on the fuel line layout, but the other type on the remainder of the drawings.

Any more info along this thread would be appreciated.