Question: I have a Question or 4 about Lowering the front End

[parkercoman]

Somewhere on here I was reading about lowering the front of a Corvette C4 but for the life of me I cant find the Post.
The Question is this: I am going to Lower my 1991 Convertible. I read that someone said just cut the wedges off the Stock Mono Spring and dont replace them with anything. Is that ok to do? and if it causes rubbing to the point of spring failure could you just bond a piece of heavy rubber in the place it was?
Then if thats not good either I was told you could just take the new wedges and shave the bottom off some?
If you can bond a piece of rubber or the shaved wedge what is the best bonding agent to use? and what would be a strong enough piece of rubber?
I want it low but not to the point of tire damage or damage to my Baby

Thanks Chris

 

[Hib Halverson]

You want to carefully consider lowering a Convertible because of its inherent ground clearance problem...those X-braces. If you try to lower a convertible to the extent that some folks do with coupes, you'll be dragging those braces in places that lowered coupes can clear.

That said, the first thing to do when trying to lower a C4 is remove any spring shims you find in the front. See the Factory Service manual for information on spring shims front or rear.

After you change ride height, have the front and rear suspensions aligned.

Lastly, considering the Convertible's soft springs, if you lower the car more than 1/2-in. or so, depending on how agressively you drive the car and how you load the car, know that reducing ride height, also, reduces suspension travel and may have the suspension bottoming more often.

 

[parkercoman]

I wasn't aware that the convertibles had softer springs. Is that true if the car has the Selective ride control? I had a 1995 convert and had it lowered
I never bottomed out except on speed bumps.

Chris

 

[vetteoz]

Somewhere on here I was reading about lowering the front of a Corvette C4 but for the life of me I cant find the Post.

Master Frameset

http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com/forums/440630-post3.html

 

[aboatguy]

I had a 1995 convert and had it lowered
I never bottomed out except on speed bumps.

Chris

I agree with you Chris My 95 vert has been low for years now.......

 

[Hib Halverson]

I didn't say that Convertibles had "softer" springs. I said they have "soft" springs, as do all base cars, be they coupes or convertibles. Depending on model year, some convertibles with FX3 or F45 had softer springs than base.

As I said previously:
1) if you lower the car, have the suspension aligned after you are done.
2) If you lower the car, you reduce suspension travel and, given the same spring rate and shocks, that makes the car more liable to bottom. Know that the suspension "bottoming" is not the same as scraping the chassis on obsticles.
3) Convertibles have less ground clearance than coupes due to the x-braces.

I'm not saying, don't lower a C4. I'm just saying that keep those issues in mind when you lower the car.

 

[parkercoman]

thats cool and thanks for the info. I always welcome everyone words and wisdom as I am
not wanting to hurt my baby.


Thanks

 

[parkercoman]

a few Questions

Ok I got my lowering kit today
3 questions?

First on the blocks Some say shave them down others say dont put them on at all others say leave them alone. If I leave them off the spring and glue heavy rubber to the spring will that work?
Or if I shave them down how far do I shave them?

What is the best way to secure the blocks or Rubber to the spring. 2 part Epoxy or Gorilla Glue or a Marine adhesive.


Thanks
Chris

 

[T.M.808]

Heres how i do it,i've done it to 4 c4's,a little different on my c5,but that car was dropped 3 inches a well. I'm not saying this is for you,just showing you how far you could go.
Like Hib said,i removed all the metal shims from the spring bracket to body,cut all the rubber pad off the spring,and shave the bottom side rubber from the spring ends were they seat into the lower a-arms.. My old 89 had a 3 inch drop for 10 years,and no issues with any of the lowered cars. A note though,you will trash the shocks pretty quik,and the vert does have a low hanging x brace. Heres a pic of the last c4 i dropped.

 

[parkercoman]

Ok a Two New Questions on the same subject

I am going to lower my vette tomorrow and I was wondering how high does the front end need to be off the ground?
Whats the best adhesive to use to attach the wedges if I decide to put them on?

 

[jad9943]

If your front tires are 45's put 40's on. It will lower the front about 3/4 inch. Alot cheaper if you want to change back and you will.

 

[T.M.808]

If your front tires are 45's put 40's on. It will lower the front about 3/4 inch. Alot cheaper if you want to change back and you will.

This is true to a point,the whole car will come down switching from 45's to 40's,however,the tire gap to fender lip will actually be more,because the top of the tire is shorter,hence increasing tire gap. This happend to me when i went from 35 series to 30 series,way more tire gap,had to lower car even more to close tire gap.


For those who are going to use wedges,the car will drop 3/4" at most,barely noticable. So i you want more of a drop than that,save yourself to time and labor and get rid of the pads the first time you tear into the front.

 

[helphos]

Spring Adhesive

When it comes to adhesives for something like this, I turn to 3M WindoWeld. It's urethane adhesive for gluing windshields to frames. I've used it to repair and build motormounts before, and it works great. Great adhesion. and just the slightest amount of flex.
Takes 24 hours to cure and you're golden.
Comes in a caulking tube, it's black, and will not come off of your hands for days, so wear nitrile gloves to work with it!

Paul

 

[parkercoman]

first step the Rear is done.

Ok the weather was nice to day 52 Deg so I was able to get my cars rear lowered 2 inches and it is amazing. I love the low slung mean look from the back of the car the rack isnt there it sits so much better already. I cant wait until the front is done.

 

[helphos]

52°, eh? Almost too warm for a coat!

So quit stalling! How did the lowering go? Were the directions adequate? did you take any of the advice from the posts (shave the blocks, don't use them at all, etc.).

It must have gone well. How long did it take.

Happy Holidays!
Paul

 

[parkercoman]

For the Rear

The rear went quick maybe 1 hr max. I think it took me longer to take the tires off then do the Lowering. Directions were real great. Most of all it came from this Forum. You guys are great. I am a bit lost when you refer to shaving the pads, are you referring to the Lowering blocks or to the the pads on the end of the Mono Spring in front. this is the biggest issue I have.
Do I shave the lowering blocks down and remove the majority of the pads on the ends of the Spring or not install the lowering blcks at all and shave the end pads?

 

[aboatguy]

The rear went quick maybe 1 hr max. I think it took me longer to take the tires off then do the Lowering. Directions were real great. Most of all it came from this Forum. You guys are great. I am a bit lost when you refer to shaving the pads, are you referring to the Lowering blocks or to the the pads on the end of the Mono Spring in front. this is the biggest issue I have.
Do I shave the lowering blocks down and remove the majority of the pads on the ends of the Spring or not install the lowering blcks at all and shave the end pads?

Looks like you've been waiting for an answer for a while now. I did mine back in 05 so its been a while...but here is what I remember
I removed all of the shims (metal plates) from the top of the spring. I cut the rubber off of the top center of the springs (bonded the wedges to the spring) cut down the spring retainers IAW the kit instructions. Reinstalled the spring with the shims under the spring retainer. I know it sounds counter intuitive but the higher the spring is mounted the lower the car is. Reinstalled the suspension and drove the car for a few days. Honestly the car will continue to drop for a couple of days. Anyway once I was done with the drop IAW the instructions I still did not like how high the car was. So I pulled the spring again and cut the end pads off and voila finally got the drop I wanted.

So the answer to your queston depends on how low do you want to go....

Merry Christmas...and good luck on the drop.

Mike

 

[parkercoman]

Thanks

thanks Mike, Ok let me give you mine thoughts on this. I want the front dropped low. So what I think your saying is I am going to remove the spring. cut the original Spring cushion pads which are in the center portion of the spring.
(ie http://content.mamotorworks.com/pdf/602712.pdf )
then glue the spring wedges where they were. Then cut the pads off the ends of the spring. When I reinstall it I use the Spring shims under the spring to lower the spring closer to the frame.

Yes or No
Oh and Merry Christmas and Happy New Years to all

 

[aboatguy]

thanks Mike, Ok let me give you mine thoughts on this. I want the front dropped low. So what I think your saying is I am going to remove the spring. cut the original Spring cushion pads which are in the center portion of the spring.
(ie http://content.mamotorworks.com/pdf/602712.pdf )
then glue the spring wedges where they were. Then cut the pads off the ends of the spring. When I reinstall it I use the Spring shims under the spring to lower the spring closer to the frame.

Yes or No
Oh and Merry Christmas and Happy New Years to all

Yes, .....and moving the shims raises the springs (moves them closer to the frame) lowering the car....
Happy NEW YEAR
Mike

 

[T.M.808]

thanks Mike, Ok let me give you mine thoughts on this. I want the front dropped low. So what I think your saying is I am going to remove the spring. cut the original Spring cushion pads which are in the center portion of the spring.
(ie http://content.mamotorworks.com/pdf/602712.pdf )
then glue the spring wedges where they were. Then cut the pads off the ends of the spring. When I reinstall it I use the Spring shims under the spring to lower the spring closer to the frame.

Yes or No
Oh and Merry Christmas and Happy New Years to all

If you want the front low,you cut off the stock rubber pads/wedges,and you don't put anything there,just reinstall the spring. If you use the lowering wedges,the front will only drop 3/4",you will barely notice.Will look funky with the front lowered 3/4" and the back lowered 2 inches...
see pic of "mean green" on the previous page.