Going back to stock rear lca's & removing SFC's thoughts
#41
I think I may have to suck it up, take the wide 18/17 vette wheels off and get some quality all season rubber on my stock 16's. The ride quality is so bad that I am honestly debating selling the car. It's awesome pegging redline on smooth highway but it's straight up unliveable for daily driving through the city in my current configuration! The wide tires tram lining everywhere are driving me mental so I think it's time to go back to 16's with some 245's.
I honestly didn't think that going from 16" tires to an 18" 35 series would have such a negative impact on the ride quality. It makes me wonder how in the heck a C6 Z06 can run 325/30/19's. Does IRS make that much of a difference over our solid rear axles to compensate for rubber band sidewall tires on big hoops?
#42
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 6,170
Likes: 219
From: Wichita KS / Rancho San Diego
Yep. That and everything else that makes a Vette different from an f-body. Apples and oranges. Hopefully you'll feel the difference with 16" tires. I may have said it earlier in the thread, but I'm pleased with the General Altimax HP for ride. Not a handling tire, to be sure. But they do a good job of absorbing the road jolts. I guess that's why they're a "Grand Touring" tire.
#43
yeah, it does. My only argument against pulling the SFCs is whatever improvement you feel in ride quality is at the expense of your car's body taking the torsional stresses. in effect, imo, you feel better but you're killing your car to do it. Basically the harshness has to go somewhere, for a given road surface its always the same. the tire sidewall can eat it, the car's body can eat it, or your butt can eat it lol. like a medicine, SFCs have a side effect, a harsher ride. but you dont stop taking a medicine saving your life because its side effects make you lose weight or make you drowsy.
#44
SFCs as car saving medicine? Lol no. Sam Strano for one won all his championships in AUTOX without using SFCs. Now think about it, autox is waaaay more stressful on chassis/suspension components then you really ever will subject your car to on the street. Imagine the torsional stress you talk about that Sams car was subjected to while competing and winning championships... Haven't heard him talk about it being a problem and if I'm not mistaken his car still runs and drives great with the person he sold it to. There is no proven data in a handling scenario that SFCs help the car at all and definitely none for comfort.. Drag race is a different story... But don't make SFCs out to be a "life saving medicine" that will save your car from anything lol.. Nobody is killing there car without SFCs...
Last edited by FormulaJoe; 05-11-2014 at 01:16 PM.
#45
Nobody has mentioned it but if you guys have lca relocation brackets, the lower you mount the rear of the lca the harsher the rear suspension gets. It's like night and day to me from the stock lca position to even the middle hole on the relocation bracket.
#46
Yep. That and everything else that makes a Vette different from an f-body. Apples and oranges. Hopefully you'll feel the difference with 16" tires. I may have said it earlier in the thread, but I'm pleased with the General Altimax HP for ride. Not a handling tire, to be sure. But they do a good job of absorbing the road jolts. I guess that's why they're a "Grand Touring" tire.
#47
I am keeping my SFCs, by far, the pros outweight the cons on a Vert, IMHO.
My '01 SS door jamb says 30 PSI, and I tend to hover around 32 PSI -- what PSI were you running on your 18/17"? I am running 18" Grand Sport replicas on all fours w/Michelin Pilot Super Sports -- pretty happy.
Also for the rear end, look into the Fays2 Watts Link:
http://www.stranoparts.com/partdetai...D=67&ModelID=7
http://www.fays2.net/fays2_watts_link_21_.html
My '01 SS door jamb says 30 PSI, and I tend to hover around 32 PSI -- what PSI were you running on your 18/17"? I am running 18" Grand Sport replicas on all fours w/Michelin Pilot Super Sports -- pretty happy.
Also for the rear end, look into the Fays2 Watts Link:
http://www.stranoparts.com/partdetai...D=67&ModelID=7
http://www.fays2.net/fays2_watts_link_21_.html
Well, took the SFC's off and it made a difference but not nearly as dramatic as I was hoping for. We did have some warmer weather the past few days (low 70's) and I'm still not satisfied with the ride quality. Particularly from the rear. I figure this is as good as the 295/35/18's are going to feel on warm roads. Unsprung weight is a bitch! The best way I could describe how it feels is "slow reacting." i.e. when I hit a crack,manhole cover or other roadway imperfection the rear end deals with it very poorly.
I think I may have to suck it up, take the wide 18/17 vette wheels off and get some quality all season rubber on my stock 16's. The ride quality is so bad that I am honestly debating selling the car. It's awesome pegging redline on smooth highway but it's straight up unliveable for daily driving through the city in my current configuration! The wide tires tram lining everywhere are driving me mental so I think it's time to go back to 16's with some 245's.
I honestly didn't think that going from 16" tires to an 18" 35 series would have such a negative impact on the ride quality. It makes me wonder how in the heck a C6 Z06 can run 325/30/19's. Does IRS make that much of a difference over our solid rear axles to compensate for rubber band sidewall tires on big hoops?
I think I may have to suck it up, take the wide 18/17 vette wheels off and get some quality all season rubber on my stock 16's. The ride quality is so bad that I am honestly debating selling the car. It's awesome pegging redline on smooth highway but it's straight up unliveable for daily driving through the city in my current configuration! The wide tires tram lining everywhere are driving me mental so I think it's time to go back to 16's with some 245's.
I honestly didn't think that going from 16" tires to an 18" 35 series would have such a negative impact on the ride quality. It makes me wonder how in the heck a C6 Z06 can run 325/30/19's. Does IRS make that much of a difference over our solid rear axles to compensate for rubber band sidewall tires on big hoops?
Last edited by libertyforall1776; 05-13-2014 at 12:00 PM.
#49
SFCs as car saving medicine? Lol no. Sam Strano for one won all his championships in AUTOX without using SFCs. Now think about it, autox is waaaay more stressful on chassis/suspension components then you really ever will subject your car to on the street. Imagine the torsional stress you talk about that Sams car was subjected to while competing and winning championships... Haven't heard him talk about it being a problem and if I'm not mistaken his car still runs and drives great with the person he sold it to. There is no proven data in a handling scenario that SFCs help the car at all and definitely none for comfort.. Drag race is a different story... But don't make SFCs out to be a "life saving medicine" that will save your car from anything lol.. Nobody is killing there car without SFCs...
#50
First, its just an analogy, i didnt mean it literal. Still, we're talking street cars that deal with pot holes, crazy driveway angles, etc, day in and day out, not hitting the cones on a nice surface. Funny too how sam strano SELLS subframe connectors, and he's not one to sell snake oil.
I have 3pt SFC's welded in, and I noticed absolutely nothing. I race the car (autox and drag), and the streets around me are terrible. However before the SFCs went on the car I fixed the real underlying issue: the stock shocks. It wasn't chassis flex I was feeling, it was lack of rebound all around and too much compression dampening in the rear, causing a loose floaty ride while being jarring too.
Come drive your car in dallas county with no SFCs on a t-top car and let me know how many car washes you get through with no leaks or windshields you crack. These are things I've seen happen from chassis twist.
These cars can leak under high pressure washers strait from the factory, the window seals are poor quality and the window alignment is always iffy. That has nothing to do with flex. With that said why are you taking your car through a car wash in the first place???
I have never heard of one of these cars windshields cracking from just driving on the street. I could see if it slammed down hard after a high wheel stand, but not under normal circumstances.
#51
Sure Strano sells them.. Easy way to make a few extra bucks by adding a product that people buy to the inventory, why not? Not saying it's snake oil.. Only bad things with them are comfort and added weight. But they aren't going to save your car from ANYTHING.