I know, I was there.
-TJ
Fixed
if you’re old. 
know of any good sites for suspension info, like how to do a setup for racing or and books to read. I want to read up on advanced suspension mods, but cant seem to find anything.
just buy a “lotus tuned suspension” and forget about it.
AutoX Specific:
-TJ
Ricer
TJ, check this out. Browsing the corvette forum and they are suggesting 18’s in front and 17’s rear for handling…
I’ve seen a lot off ppl do that, and its not a bad idea. The extra sidewall in the back does help you hook a bit off the corners, though it gives up some speed in transition. A course like I ran this weekend it’d probably be a slower setup, other days faster. I’m good with what I have now.
BTW, latest pic (still need shocks bad):
Notice how unweighted the inside rear tire is in the first pic, and the inside front later. And this is with a 38mm front sway bar. I’m still up in the air on what to do for susp. though so I haven’t ordered anything.
I am pulling consitent 1.30 Lateral G’s though… with a highest spike so far of 1.39.
-TJ
I can’t see your latest pics less I cut n paste. But anyways did you try just disconnecting the rear bar? Its free, and if it sucks just put the endlinks back on.
I’m still playing with my suspension (monkey see monkey do STS setups). So now I’m running 650lb springs in the rear. Oddly enough the car really seems to like it. Haven’t had any good totally dry runs in it yet, but its been forcing the fronts to stay planted and its still rotating so thats good.
Rain pic, friend was driving.
http://autoxphotos.com/gallery/North%20Hills%20Sports%20Car%20Club/2007/2007-09-08/Ethan/IMG_0046.JPG
BTW TJ I’m going to nationals, root for me as I get my ass kicked lol.
The rear bar IS disconnected (actually off the car). Right now I only have the T1 bars and the back bar is just waaaay too much. But no back bar is a bit part of why it rolls over onto the back corner on turn-exit and unweights the front inside tire. I need some “real” shocks so I can run a back bar again (something smaller than the T1 though) and tune out the oversteer/twitchyness a back bar brings.
-TJ
PS- the car looks awesome man, I’ll root for ya! There’s some very fast local STS guys coming out… and a wicked good ‘vette driver takin’ a co-drive in a STS car too. So if you get whooped by Shawn Breese just buy him a fat bottle of tequilla and it might help the next day. 
You know what I think you told me this before…well then I can’t help ya lol. Only other thing that comes to mind would be heavier front springs to keep the nose from diving so hard. BUT that means you definitely need shocks first. So yea your approach would be a good start I think. For a smaller rear bar could you steal something off a base C5?
PS- the car looks awesome man, I’ll root for ya! There’s some very fast local STS guys coming out… and a wicked good ‘vette driver takin’ a co-drive in a STS car too. So if you get whooped by Shawn Breese just buy him a fat bottle of tequilla and it might help the next day.
Thanks! Though my car isn’t the one going I’m co-driving my friend’s civic. Its just a little better setup, radio & AC delete, exhaust dumps after the driver, etc. Mine has a radio, no AC, and a full exhaust. Plus I don’t have a way to tow it there. He’s 189 and I’m 89 (Though the SCCA site screwed up and it doesn’t show me on the entry list, I’m still registered). He’s got the 650 springs on his car also, so adapting shouldn’t take much. I’ll keep a eye out for your friend, though I think everyone I know is going to Nationals to drink 
My first time out so I’m just going to have fun and hope I don’t suck!
That is interesting. You wouldn’t think to put smaller rims on the back simply because it looks funny.
Friggin incredible. Do coil-overs work better than monoleafs? I have seen some people switch to coil-overs and some people use lowering bolts and stock springs. Lowering bolts are probably more for looks and economy, though.
sweeet pics TJ
My car right now is on the stock springs for the car ('02 Z06), stock '04 Z06 shocks (the best of the stock C5 shocks… still nothing special), a GM T1 front sway bar (38mm), no back bar, VBP Poly bushings, and an aggersive alignment (-2.8 F Camber, +7.4 F Caster, 0 F Toe, -1.7 R Camber, .25" Total R Toe-In). That’s it… well that and 18x11 F 18x12 R with 315/30-18 F 335/30-18 R Hoosier A6s. It is lowered with lowering bolts and corner-weighted.
So I wouldn’t say that stock stuff and lowering bolts don’t really work. 1.39 Lateral G’s is enough that my door panels are broken from bracing against them (I bought some clean ones from a totaled car… just gotta put race seats in before I install them so it doesn’t happen again).
That being said there’s open debate between staying leaf spring vs. going coil over. If you look at the C5/6Rs they’re coilover… so clearly it works. But those cars really need different spring rates for different venues and money is no object. C/Os add unsprung weight to the suspension unless they are an inverted design with AL bodies, spendy stuff. Everything off the shelf is no good for a serious racer (LG, DRM, Pfadt etc.) because they’re tuned too much for a street car that maybe does track days, but probably not on a R-compound. LG and DRM aren’t even adjustable shocks. Pfadt is single but their effective wheel rate is only 30% more than my stock C5Z springs… not enough to be worth the $ for me. They’d put more spring on it… but you quickly get out of the adjustability range fo the shocks. As of yet Pfadt isn’t doing custom valving.
The only “real” option in C/Os for a serious car is going with something built for you. For example, I’d really like double (or tripple) adjust Penskes with remote reservoirs built-out as C/Os. But that’d run my $4-5k and I’m not sure I’m ready to drop that down just yet.
Staying with the leaf setup you have a few options for aftermarket leaves, all around $1k. The set I’d probably buy if/when I got that route are 1200 or 1250 # front and 850 # rear. Stock is 526 # front and 714 # rear. So you’re talking a huge jump in the front… not so much in the back but still significant. I’d still need to match those with a good shock, valved just for my setup. But since I wouldn’t need a threaded body for C/Os that opens up some other options like custom valve Bilsteins, Konis etc. that might run more like 1500. That’s still $2500 total. And really I’d still ‘want’ Penskes so it might even cost MORE to stay leaf spring than going C/O.
I want to see 1.5 G’s on flat ground damn it (my 1.39 etc. are ALL on flat ground only, no banks).
-TJ
I absolutley LOVE your car, sex on wheels.
That’s a ton of great information there. I’ll probably stick with the leaf setup then. The price is right and 1.39 G is no joke. Plenty for me, anyway. Does the aggressive alignment destroy your tires on the street? Awesome that it’s enough force to break your door panels.
My car already has the same springs as the z06 and front sway bar. I think only the rear sway bar is different - smaller. I will have to keep those 04 Z06 shocks in mind.
I read another thread that argues leafs were fine. Some people don’t like them because of cross talk, but that’s exactly what a sway bar does, anyway.
Thx.
Keep in mind the 1.39 is on the Hoosier A6s so you’re not going to see that with a street tire. I haven’t actually pushed the car hard w/ the GTech in it on the street tires yet so we’ll see what that will do. But I have cheap-ass (General) front tires on my street rims so I don’t expect huge things.
And why do I have cheap-ass fronts? I wear my front street tires pretty faster. The backs I’ve always worn fast, LoL. But that’s not from the alignment, it’s my right foot that’s the problem for back tires. With -2.8 Camber up front though the insides do wear quickly.
I’m going to flip the front tires rim to rim (so the inside becomes the outside) around 5-6k miles and hopefully get 10-12k total miles out of the fronts. I’ve had my car about 2 years now and only put 14k miles on it so that’s not too bad for me. Nevertheless I put cheap front tires on the street rims. I have my CCW Classics for AutoX and the stock Z06 wheels for track days so I don’t need ub3r tires on the CCW 505a’s for the street.
I really do think Leaves are fine (as do a lot of “experts”) and cross-talk isn’t a problem as long as you take it into account with your setup. Most ppl just point to the “pros” that are using coilovers when they argue for them. But again, they need to change springs all the time, money is no object etc.
Your car is a Z51 (being a FRC). A lot of ppl think they share springs w/ the Z06s, but they don’t. The rates are:
Z51 Front 502lbs/in
Rear 645lbs/in
Z06 Front 526lbs/in
Rear is 714lbs/in
-TJ
Did not know that. I will have to keep an eye out for Z06 springs.
Probably keep the alignment stock, though. I am averaging 1000 miles per month somehow and I only live 4 miles from work.