qwank

So I replace all my front suspension bushings, tie rods and balljoints, installed a Borgeson Steering box and cut one tight coil off both my front springs. I did it more for ease of installation and figured a lowered ride height would be a bonus.

well, my left side is 27" from floor to middle of fender lip, and the right side is at 26.5" I'm running a 27" tire. 255/60R15. I'm planning on going to 18" wheels soon with 255/45R18 tires (again 27")

Is this ride height going to cause any issues? I'm mostly concerned with the tire hitting the fender. the rear is at 28.5" on both sides, I bought 8" bolts to lower it but haven't tackled the rear suspension yet.

Here's the left side:
(Pay no attention to the dirty car, it's under construction right now LOL)

Jclgodale3

Is that the "settled" height? After driving around after the rebuild of the front suspension?

qwank

Yes. I drove up and down the road with the control arm shaft nuts loose. Then brought it back into the garage and tightened them down at that height.

When i first let it down off the jack stands i had about 4" between the lip and the wheel!

Jclgodale3

I think you will be fine but if your not comfortable, go with a 245/45/18 when you go to bigger wheels. 26.65" tall

qwank

I'm thinking now would be a good time to replace my body mounts, new mounts will probably raise the body up a little, no?

VetteNURSE

I just titghtened my a arm bushing bolts after a front rebuild when I initially set it on the ground. I did not drive it yet. Should I re loosen and drive it first? Which is the right way?

Thanks,
Mike

MIKE80

My center wheel well lip ride height is at 26.5" front and 27.5" rear with 25.5" tire height 275/40 ZR17 Nitto NT555 Extreme Performance tires all around.

qwank

well like i said, I had 4" between the tire and the lip when I just lowered it down originally, this was after driving down the street and back a few times. just pulling it in and out of the garage only brought it down about 2", which was still higher then when I started, so I knew it had to go down more, that's why I drove it.

I would think your bushings will be loaded up a little if it settles some more after you drive it, which could caused them to wear out prematurely.

That left upper control arm front nut was a pain to get to on my car. I had to make a tool to get in there and tighten it.

Oh, and my car always sat 1/2" lower on the right side even before I cut the springs, I figured that was to compensate for having a driver in the car? I'll have to measure it with someone sitting in the drivers seat and see what it's at.

qwank

I really don't want to go to a smaller diameter tire, although yours looks pretty good.

I was going with the Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar, and they are the cheapest at 255/45R18, which would be perfect. any other size the price goes up. or i'd have to go with a different tire.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....RCAR&tab=Specs

MIKE80

Thanks. I was worried that they might not fill the wheel well good, but seem to be fine. I think it helps with clearance too since I went with the same width tires up front, and most people don't run them that wide up front. These are the specs for my tires from Nitto's website -
P275/40ZR17 98W 25.55 Diameter - 11.02 Width

qwank

how wide are your wheels? I'm going to run 8" all around

qwank

I'm thinking if i go to a shorter tire, I should do a 17" wheel.

MIKE80

17"x9.5" with 2.5" wheel adapters all around, and offset trailing arms.

SuperBuickGuy

crappy picture, but 255/40 17 front, 285/30 17 rear. 8" bolts rear, 1 1/2 coils off the front, new, stock springs.

qwank

another 25" tire.

that looks good but i'd be afraid of ground clearance going with that short of a tire. my car already scrapes the chin spoiler on the driveway as it is. And the land lord isn't going to fix it just for my Corvette. LOL

what wheel are you running?

Vesa

Testing 275 35 20
What do you say? Yes or no...

qwank

Looks pretty good. what are you running up front?

Vesa

I tested 245 40 20 but it will not fit, now i have 255 50 17 so 255 35 20 should fit...

qwank

Ok, so i went and measured everything again. Left front is 27" exactly. Right front is 26 5/8". I measured the "J" height of the frame, i'm exactly 6 7/8" inches on both sides. (Manual says 8.68" so i'm about 2" lower than stock)

I can live with the 27" ride height, but the 26 5/8 worries me. If the frame J height is exactly the same on both sides, what do i need to do to raise the right front of the body up 3/8"?

SuperBuickGuy

1/2 the distance you want to gain - that's the thickness of the shim you need to find... 3/16" shim will get you 3/8"

mine came with 20s - trust me, these things in pictures don't look bad, IRL they're awful. How awful? I couldn't sell them with the new tires on them for $100 for the set... no kidding.