what to do to improve handling of a F55 car
05-03-2012, 11:52 AM
#41
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ZMyers, look into QA1 shocks, I have the double adjustables on my C4 and they are phenomenal. If you go to those you can still remain in the SStock class, if you go to coil overs you will have to move to the mod classes....
I am going to try the Z51 bars alone first, then decide on stiffer springs.
I am going to try the Z51 bars alone first, then decide on stiffer springs.
Last edited by Cavi; 05-03-2012 at 11:55 AM.
05-03-2012, 05:06 PM
#45
The F55 package is definitely a step in the right direction past the base suspension it's built upon... but in the end there are still limitations to ultimate handling with spring rates just as TMeyers pointed out.
If you want to retain your F55 system we do have some products that can help you achieve sportier handling though. The first thing we would recommend are the Johnny O'Connell sway bars. Not only will they increase the overall roll stiffness of the car, but help improve the balance as well. One of the keys to making the Corvette easier to drive is to bring the car closer to neutral handling rather than the oversteer that's present in many situations. The JO bars do exactly this by significantly increasing the front roll stiffness and making the bar package front bar biased. You can expect the car to be more confident at turn in, and easier to control at the limit with the Johnny O'Connell bars.
You can also move to our Poly Control Arm Kit. This will improve the response from your suspension by eliminating some of the deflection from the rubber bushings at the control arms. For cars that see both significant street and track time these are a great upgrade to help improve your cars response.
Past that if you're interested in significantly increasing your Corvettes performance you can move to one of our FeatherLight Generation Single Adjustable coilover packages. They will eliminate the factory leaf spring, as well as address some of the issues that the F55 package can't compensate for. Diving under braking and acceleration will be significantly improved with the increased spring rates on our FeatherLight Generations, this will be most noticeable for folks running race tires on high speed tracks. You will also end up with dampers that were designed specifically for your Corvette, with Corvette specific mounting solutions that keep available suspension articulation and travel at many different ride heights, while keeping deflection and friction to a minimum. You will lose the ability to adjust your ride quality from inside the car, but with the adjustable dampers you will be able to directly control ride quality with the easily accessible adjustment ***** at the bottom of each shock.
There are a ton of different things you can do to your Corvette! That's one thing that makes these cars so great. If you haven't had one already, a performance alignment after you've set your final ride heights are key to keeping your tires happy and performance high. You can find a copy of our alignment guide at the bottom of this product description page here:
Seeing how fast TMeyers was on his Mag Ride setup we're really excited to see how he does during the move to coilovers!
If you want to retain your F55 system we do have some products that can help you achieve sportier handling though. The first thing we would recommend are the Johnny O'Connell sway bars. Not only will they increase the overall roll stiffness of the car, but help improve the balance as well. One of the keys to making the Corvette easier to drive is to bring the car closer to neutral handling rather than the oversteer that's present in many situations. The JO bars do exactly this by significantly increasing the front roll stiffness and making the bar package front bar biased. You can expect the car to be more confident at turn in, and easier to control at the limit with the Johnny O'Connell bars.
You can also move to our Poly Control Arm Kit. This will improve the response from your suspension by eliminating some of the deflection from the rubber bushings at the control arms. For cars that see both significant street and track time these are a great upgrade to help improve your cars response.
Past that if you're interested in significantly increasing your Corvettes performance you can move to one of our FeatherLight Generation Single Adjustable coilover packages. They will eliminate the factory leaf spring, as well as address some of the issues that the F55 package can't compensate for. Diving under braking and acceleration will be significantly improved with the increased spring rates on our FeatherLight Generations, this will be most noticeable for folks running race tires on high speed tracks. You will also end up with dampers that were designed specifically for your Corvette, with Corvette specific mounting solutions that keep available suspension articulation and travel at many different ride heights, while keeping deflection and friction to a minimum. You will lose the ability to adjust your ride quality from inside the car, but with the adjustable dampers you will be able to directly control ride quality with the easily accessible adjustment ***** at the bottom of each shock.
There are a ton of different things you can do to your Corvette! That's one thing that makes these cars so great. If you haven't had one already, a performance alignment after you've set your final ride heights are key to keeping your tires happy and performance high. You can find a copy of our alignment guide at the bottom of this product description page here:
Seeing how fast TMeyers was on his Mag Ride setup we're really excited to see how he does during the move to coilovers!
05-04-2012, 12:38 AM
#46
Race Director
Well the coil overs are here. It is a shame they will be mounted on the car, they look so good new. Anyway I was looking at the instruction and the Pfadt Recommended ride height.
26.4 front
27.3 rear
Measured from the fender arch
I went back and looked at the ride height I am at today.
26.4 Front
27.5 Rear
Fyi I have never lowered or raised my suspension.
26.4 front
27.3 rear
Measured from the fender arch
I went back and looked at the ride height I am at today.
26.4 Front
27.5 Rear
Fyi I have never lowered or raised my suspension.
05-04-2012, 02:06 AM
#47
Race Director
Well the coil overs are here. It is a shame they will be mounted on the car, they look so good new. Anyway I was looking at the instruction and the Pfadt Recommended ride height.
26.4 front
27.3 rear
Measured from the fender arch
I went back and looked at the ride height I am at today.
26.4 Front
27.5 Rear
Fyi I have never lowered or raised my suspension.
26.4 front
27.3 rear
Measured from the fender arch
I went back and looked at the ride height I am at today.
26.4 Front
27.5 Rear
Fyi I have never lowered or raised my suspension.
05-04-2012, 01:38 PM
#49
Racer
I have been running Z06 sways, and front spring on my 07 F55 for years. I have the Z06 rear spring but the car was so improved I did not put it on. Like in some of the earlier posts, the car has more of a downward rake.
For now, chasing more handling would be silly as the stock (junk) tires have 27K on them so traction is very limited. I have the widebody on the back and will be going with nitto invos.
A full track setup cannot be beat but most of us must admit that we drive on the street. The F55 is so very smooth it makes long trips easy. If the streets in Seattle / Philadelphia get any worse we need to start talking about a C6 lift kit.
A word of caution: There were no posts about putting the Z06 spring on when I did it. The spring profile required additional (easy) steps compared to the Z51 spring. If you mess it up, you can tear off the sensors or strip a bolt that holds on the upper A-Arm. Oh..or never get it back into alignment.
For now, chasing more handling would be silly as the stock (junk) tires have 27K on them so traction is very limited. I have the widebody on the back and will be going with nitto invos.
A full track setup cannot be beat but most of us must admit that we drive on the street. The F55 is so very smooth it makes long trips easy. If the streets in Seattle / Philadelphia get any worse we need to start talking about a C6 lift kit.
A word of caution: There were no posts about putting the Z06 spring on when I did it. The spring profile required additional (easy) steps compared to the Z51 spring. If you mess it up, you can tear off the sensors or strip a bolt that holds on the upper A-Arm. Oh..or never get it back into alignment.
05-05-2012, 04:51 AM
#50
Drifting
A word of caution: There were no posts about putting the Z06 spring on when I did it. The spring profile required additional (easy) steps compared to the Z51 spring. If you mess it up, you can tear off the sensors or strip a bolt that holds on the upper A-Arm. Oh..or never get it back into alignment.
Thanks.
