Has anyone had any experience with Vette Brakes Sports Suspension Kit for 89 to 96 Vettes? I have a 96 Vette with Stock Suspension. I plan on AutoX and ORR.
The above kit includes the following - "fits 89-96 vettes, kit includes: frt & rear sport spring kit,lowering wedge adj. smart struts, bilstein shocks,anti-sway bar kit, poly conversion kits" Or should I consider getting the parts necessary to upgrade to the Z51 suspension from the General?

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The Silver Bullet

Before you decide, ask them what the rate of the springs and sway bars are and what type of bilstein you get.

Then compare that to what a Z-51 gets you.

what's this kit cost, compared to buying G.M parts and getting a discount like buying from Mike L's dealership ?

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Team ZR-1
Teamzr1.com

Thanks J R, good suggestion.

I'll call Vette brakes and get the specs of the springs, sway bars and shocks. I'll also get in touch with Mike L about the price of the parts for the Z51 suspension conversion.

Harry,
let us know which path you choose and what the part costs were.

How much are you going to lower the car, if all ?

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Team ZR-1
Teamzr1.com

10-4.
Would like to lower my 91 zr1 about 1" or 2" and take out some roll. A bit stiller would be good to. If this way is too costly might as well do the "coilover project" JR did to his 94 zr1. Those pictures of the different steps in the project were/are "great" JR. Thanks. Harry if you do it could you snap a few pictures for us? Are maybe post a parts list? Seems like the body lifts when up to speed? Maybe the poly-"whatever" bushing would help?
MC

Harry, your '96 (LT4?) with the base suspension was one of softest sprung C4's ever made. That's not a big problem. Depending on how exactly you are going to use the car (more A-X or more ORR?) would determine how I would set it up if it were my car. The springs and swaybars indeed must go bye-bye. The preferred setup IMO, would be to find a front '90 or '91 ZR1 spring (96.2N/mm) and a 39.9N/mm rear spring. This was widely used in many model years, in FX3, FE1, and some F45 suspensions. I also like relatively big swaybars. In this case 30mm front and 26mm rear. You also need to change the valving on the shocks. (Did yours come with Bilsteins?) Regardless, you can find used ones cheap and have them re-valved for ~$50 each. If you decide to do this, I'll give you the name of someone to talk to in Calif. who can get you dialled in pretty quickly. You would need to tell them what spring rates you are using, the weight of the car, and what you are going to do with the car. Personally, I don't like a tremendous amount of bump valving, the C4's need a TON more rear rebound control. The good news is, like many other cars The General discontinued or revised, they got the rear suspension correct in '96...no more bumpsteer. Anyway, these are some starting points to think about. The alignment, brakes, bushings and other tweaks come a bit later. Beware of some of the VB swaybars (like 32mm) and springs. Some of them are too much of a good thing. BTW what are they calling "smart struts"? Are they camber rods, trailing arms...?

Thanks for the reply. Yes my 96 is an LT4. I'm still in the process of getting spring and sway bar specs. Haven't had much time due to being so busy at work. Will keep you poster

Harry, I just got a call from a fellow in Arizona tonight that I sold some Brembos to a while back. He was calling to seek some "advice" from me on his suspension. (He got what he paid for...my "advice" is free;-)) He bought the Vette Brakes kit that I believe you're referring to. Danger, danger young Will Robinson! He said he had to go to the dentist to get all new fillings, and have a tooth bonded, the damn thing rode so harsh. If that's not bad enough, he said the thing pushes like the big pig I predicted it would. He said it handled much better BEFORE the VB install! Anyway, I asked him what the shock valving and spring rates were. Guess what, he didn't know before he bought the kit, and he found out what the valving was by the #'s Bilstein had on the shock. The best part is Vette Brakes didn't event know what the hell it meant, but DID charge him an additional $120 for the special valving! Oh, it gets better, they don't quote any spring rates!! BUT, they claim that at low speeds it rides better than a Z51 car, and as the bump rates increase the spring gets progressively harder, and rides a little harder than a Z51 spring. Now THAT's chutspah! (they don't even say WHAT YEAR Z51!) To top it off, add in a 32mm front solid bar, and you have totally turned a good handling car into a buckboard POS that can't turn in. (with 1 1/2 deg of neg. camber all around and 1/16" of toe out per side up front!!!)


Turns out the freaking shock valving is something like 600/400 in the rear, and I was throwing up and couldn't even hear the fronts. With that kind of rebound,nineteen 67 the wheel would get stuck in the wheelwell and "never" come out. IMO, save your $$$ and check out the setup mentioned above. If you want to go a bit stiffer on the spring rates, just get a set of old Z51/Challange springs from Contemporary or another Corvette salvage yards for ~$300 for the pair. (look for '88, '89, '90 Z51 or '91 Z07 springs)

G Junky, thanks again for the reply and good information.
I have gotten a couple of e-mails from Vette Brakes and finally got a catalog.
Here is what I have learned so far.
42843 Kit for 95 & 96 Vette. Kit includes Sport Springs, adjustable smart struts, Bilstein shocks, 32 mm front bar, poly conversion kit. The rear bar, poly kit and x member 'differential mount' bushings are not included and must be order separately.
I sent a reply back, asking for the rate on the sports springs and what type of Blistin shocks are in the kit. The kit is 1099.00
The sports springs are 550 /lb front and 530 / lb rear rate + or - 10% variance. The only thing they say about the shocks is that they are Bilstein Sport Gas Shocks. Their Catalog has a rear anti sway bar kit 26 mm for 129.95

Teammate Mike Nally is checking on the cost of the Z51 suspension. He felt that selling the components separately was to much, so he is working with GM to see if he can get a 'kit' price and save me some money. To me, this is something he does not have to do, but it shows that he is looking out for the teammates. If I'm ever in the market for a new vette, I know where I will look first.

Let me know how it works out...thanks