Anyone lower their 1LE and regret it

[ST1LE]

Originally Posted by 1leNPP

I have only put the ZL1 spring on the back of the car, other than that its all stock . Now that spring has a higher spring rate than the stock spring so in theory it should act like putting a bigger rear sway bar on the back of the car and make for more oversteer . Now with the first alignment the back of the car just did not feel like it would stick .The rear alignment had a camber setting of -1.04 L and -1.13 R a total toe of .24 with a thrust angle .05 and to me just did not feel good , I did not trust the back of the car .

So I took the car back in and had the car alignment done again . This time around I told them to take the camber down to -.500 on the rear and this is what I got -.560 L and -.490 R , Cross camber -.08 , Toe .06 L and .05 R Total Toe .12 , Thrust angle 0.00 .

Man that was a Night to Day change in the way the car handled . I now can trust the way the back of the car feels . The back of the car feels planted now. The car may still need so more fine tuning like a Adj. front sway bar or play with a bigger tire on the back but over all I really like the way the ZL1 spring has work out for me.

The ZL1 rear spring part number is 20942619 and they were like $55 dollars each and I them got from GM parts direct .

Very interested in how this continues to work out for you and if you find greater benefit by further tuning the alignment. You wouldnt think 1/2 inch would make much of a difference on the appearance of the car, but WOW it looks SO much better with that small change. Thanks for your posts.

[beany323]

is there a certain.. value that needs to be met when you change or upgrade springs?

getting mine done this weekend (finally!) and i am going to have to trust that they know what they are doing. faith is a fickle creature...

[Norm Peterson]

Originally Posted by jcieutat

Sometimes I wonder if companies such as Chevy and Ford are in bed with the aftermarket companies. Why else would the Camaro and Mustang have such ugly fender/wheel gaps?

Clearance for snow chains is sometimes given as a reason.

Don't forget that the appearance that you see when you're looking at the car from the outside is not the same appearance that it has when you and a passenger are in it. Depending on who the individuals are (or if there's a couple of kids in the back seat), that can easily be worth an inch drop in ride height that you don't ever see. And if you've packed the trunk for a weekend getaway you'll have a less tail-high look as well. That's the ride height and rake that the car typically ends up operating at and has to be designed for. No judgment intended.

There is no such gap in the Corvette which handles a track as good as any car.

A Corvette has maybe 400 lbs rated load. Your Camaro is rated to carry somewhere around double that, and likely has softer springing and lower suspension ride frequencies. All of which need a little more room.

Originally Posted by ST1LE

Yeah...as much as I want the wheels gap closed I cannot bring myself to put lowering springs on a machine like ours. So perfectly balanced and well thought out, I cant see myself ruining that for appearance.

Many people will trade away performance and general good behavior for appearance without giving second thought to what they might have sacrificed. Always have, probably always will. Others won't (you know who you are ).


Norm

[jcieutat]

Originally Posted by 2cnd chance

Check out the C7 as there's plenty of well gap.

Consider this, if you "just" went with lowering springs you've altered the suspension for looks and lost compliance.

I agree. I will never put this car on a track, the tires are too freaking expensive! I run errands and go to the gym in it!

[Dropspeed]

Originally Posted by 1leNPP

I have only put the ZL1 spring on the back of the car, other than that its all stock . Now that spring has a higher spring rate than the stock spring so in theory it should act like putting a bigger rear sway bar on the back of the car and make for more oversteer . Now with the first alignment the back of the car just did not feel like it would stick .The rear alignment had a camber setting of -1.04 L and -1.13 R a total toe of .24 with a thrust angle .05 and to me just did not feel good , I did not trust the back of the car .

So I took the car back in and had the car alignment done again . This time around I told them to take the camber down to -.500 on the rear and this is what I got -.560 L and -.490 R , Cross camber -.08 , Toe .06 L and .05 R Total Toe .12 , Thrust angle 0.00 .

Man that was a Night to Day change in the way the car handled . I now can trust the way the back of the car feels . The back of the car feels planted now. The car may still need so more fine tuning like a Adj. front sway bar or play with a bigger tire on the back but over all I really like the way the ZL1 spring has work out for me.

The ZL1 rear spring part number is 20942619 and they were like $55 dollars each and I them got from GM parts direct .

As I mentioned before from a visual standpoint it looks great. My concern is still that the 1LE springs are linear and the ZL1 springs you installed are progressive.

Now that you have a progressive spring in the rear and linear in the front I am wondering if this is contributing to it "just not feeling good" . I say that as I had -1.0 camber in the rear on the stock springs and tracked the car twice, drove it in the rain and had no confidence issues. Your change to - 0.5 may just be masking an issue.??

Matt

[ST1LE]

Originally Posted by Dropspeed

As I mentioned before from a visual standpoint it looks great. My concern is still that the 1LE springs are linear and the ZL1 springs you installed are progressive.

Now that you have a progressive spring in the rear and linear in the front I am wondering if this is contributing to it "just not feeling good" . I say that as I had -1.0 camber in the rear on the stock springs and tracked the car twice, drove it in the rain and had no confidence issues. Your change to - 0.5 may just be masking an issue.??

Matt

That change from linear to progressive is exactly what concerns me. On one hand I know I will not track this car for atleast another year or so for financial reason(extra upkeep, maintenance etc) so the cheaper route of throwing the ZL1 springs on in the meantime(until coilovers) crossed my mind but I fear the negative result of changing the type of spring on the rear so I am curious to see how that progresses for him too.

[SWAG1LE]

My 2 cents: I have the PFADT 1.25" drop springs on mine. I LOVE em'....BUT, they do make a loud bang noise on big bumps at speed. Just take it easy and hit those bumps you have memorized at an angle. With any stiff lowered car you will have this won't you? Car still handles like it's on rails with no issues at all. I had it alligned per factory specs with the 1.25" drop accounted for. It looks amazing as well. If your have the funds...coilovers will be a MUCH better choice.