Tough Suspension

[SSTibet]

Folks I have Bilstein shocks on all 4 wheels and the ride is vey tough. I mean I feel every little bump / hole on the road... I know why it is that way but I would much prefer shocks that would give a softer & more confortable ride. I do not like speeding with the car at all. I love cruising with my Vette.

Which model / make would you recommend? What do I lose by going to softer shocks???

 

[tlong]

Remove them and replace with 3" solid steel re-bar. You will never have to worry about replacement and they are guaranteed to corner flat. I'm sure you can relate to this advice.

 

[SSTibet]

Getting even huh? Thx for the advice, I will do this over the weekend and let you know about the resuts buddy

 

[FX GS]

SS, also check the air pressure in your tires. That can play a huge factor in how your car rides and handles.

 

[SSTibet]

SS, also check the air pressure in your tires. That can play a huge factor in how your car rides and handles.

Hey thx. As far as I remember tire pressure is same as factory recommendation, which is 30psi. What would you say to that??? Should I go lower than factory recommendations?

 

[1stC3Vette]

I just replaced the Bilstein shocks on my '89 for the exact same reason. I used Monroe Sensa-trac shocks based on a recommendation from a co-worker who owns a '93. I am very pleased with the ride. On the good side, You do not get the teeth rattling hit when you go across some minor bumps as before. I did the change on a try as I go mentallity. I was going to use the Edelbrock IAS series of shocks, but they were too expensive for a weekend rider. On the bad side, you still get some of the hard feel when going 20-30mph. Anything over that is substantially smoother.

Good Luck.

Dino

 

[vettepilot]

Folks I have Bilstein shocks on all 4 wheels and the ride is vey tough. I mean I feel every little bump / hole on the road... I know why it is that way but I would much prefer shocks that would give a softer & more confortable ride. I do not like speeding with the car at all. I love cruising with my Vette.

Which model / make would you recommend? What do I lose by going to softer shocks???

Do you have the Z51 suspension? If you do, you may never get a "soft ride". If that's the case, the best way to "soften" the ride would be to change your front and rear springs to the FE1 springs with the reduced rates.
If you already have the standard FE1 suspension, then you should look for shocks that have different compression and extension rates. Look for something that has a reduced compression rate, but about the same extension rate as your current shocks. There will always be some trade-offs when going to different suspension configurations, but in the Corvette, you will still have pretty good handling compared to other vehicles.
Whoops, after posting this I noticed that your car is a 1995, there was no Z51 suspension in 1995.

vettepilot

 

[Dean Barker]

I tried the Sensatrac struts on one of my Buicks, but I thot they were designed backwards. Going down the road, it was like there were no shocks at all; lots of float. When going over wash board bumps, they self adjusted to stiff and it was like you had no springs at all; very harsh. I tried KYB struts that I bought from Summit; they were just what I was looking for. Very good control when going over dips and soft enough to soak up the wash board bumps.

 

[G Winter]

I also tried the sensatrac shocks. Was not at all happy, responce was much to slow. Felt like I was going to lose control. It was so bad I thought they were defective and they replaced them for me, still the same. They are enginered with a controlled bypas valve, which is just a slot in the shaft that is designed so the stroke extends past it and stops the bypass after a given length of stroke. Much like a bad shock in the beginning of the stroke. I will never buy them again.