Eric_who

Hey all, i have an 03 Z06 that has the Aldan American coilovers, single adjustable, spring rate of 500lb front 550lb rears. Now driving around town it feels fine for the most part but on the highway at speed going over any bumps or dips or freeway expansion connectors it just feels very bouncy and not very solid, i don't know how to best explain it. It just doesn’t instill confidence in the suspension. When they were first installed i had the compression and rebound set to the soft side and it felt floaty, so i adjusted them stiffer one click at a time, driving the car for a few days after each click stiffer, and i am at the stiffest the compression and rebound will go now and the car just never seemed to ride good and tight at all. Do the aldan american coilovers just suck? I didn't do any other suspension mods yet other than the coilovers. Are there other mods i should do help the ride feel better? I really dont wanna have to shell out another couple grand to swap coilovers. I love the ride height and the way the car sits. Maybe the car is sitting too low and its causing a major decline in ride quality? Here is a pic of how the car sits right now. Sorry for the crappy phone camera quality. Any suggestions to help would be appreciated.

MWWarlord

As far as other suspension mods, you might want to try upgrading your sway bars. It wouldn't cost all that much, and would reduce body roll. I'm not really sure that it would solve your issue, but it would improve the overall handling of the car. Good luck!

The ride height looks great though.

smitty2919

Ride height looks little on the low side IMO to retain proper geometry and not getting on bump stops of the shocks. Spring rates seem "normal" given the use of the car.

Aldans never got a great reputation...so take that however you want. I have never used them but from what I read, they are front compression and rear rebound adjustable? So while they are "single adjustable" you are adjusting front compression only and rear rebound?

If so, this is what confused me about their approach as they are the only company doing that. 99% of single adj shocks are REBOUND adjustable. Compression is a "fixed valving" but I can't say that front shocks and rear shocks have the SAME valving as companies may make them different on purpose.

Make sure they aren't leaking...read stories of this happening too.

I've run Ridetech HQ and now I run Viking triple adj coilovers and have not had any issues as you describe trying to dial in the ride.

c5arlen

Quote.. "I didn't do any other suspension modifications".... You've changed the "integration" of the hole suspension system of a working, well designed, thought out system.... at least that what you've noted with your discription.... There are several elements that are incomplete, hence the C5 initial suspension integration is now in jeopardy... It's a matter of determining what steps you've missed by involving a professional suspension fixer... and you need him!

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My Vette Life

Never used coil overs but I wonder if the rest of the suspension is original and shot thus causing your issue. What part of Socal you in?

Eric_who

yeah the guy I got it from said the car is 100% original, bought it with 60k miles and it now has 70k. I'm in the San Fernando Valley, Burbank to be more specific.

My Vette Life

I'm no expert by any means so I'd assume the rest of the suspension will need changing to oem or aftermarket. If you want a shop look at it, I would suggest Edwin and Angel from Power house racing (818) 648-2057 Best Vette mechanics in SoCal and highly recommended.

Keep it stock or start the build.

smitty2919

What are you guys talking about???

You think because he added coilovers that the car is ruined LOL You realize there are SO MANY cars out there with coilovers that perform BETTER than OEM right?

IMO my simple vote/assumption is the Aldans suck or your ride height is too low...or both.

punz

My car came with Penske adj. shocks that would accept coilovers. After reading about switching to coilers, I decided to stay with the factory leafs. Coilovers take a lot of adjustments to get really dialed in along with corner balancing after adjusting. I figured it wasn't worth the time for what I use the car for. I'm sure after some tinkering you'll get it right.

Eric_who

Its funny you mentioned Powerhouse Racing, that's where I am going to be taking the car for its new clutch soon, I heard they are the real deal. Maybe while its there I will ask his advice on the suspension as well.

FYRARMS

Agreed 100%. I recently installed Silver's coilovers with the optional stiffer rear springs and optional shorter height shock bodies. Once installed, before making any adjustments to our initial settings, the car felt more planted, and the ride was less jarring over expansion joints and such. The rear of the car felt a little "bouncy", so we simply stiffened the rebound settings. That pretty much fixed it. Taking some familiar highway ramps at speed, the cross-talk that the rear leaf used to cause was eliminated. I am super-happy with the results. I do agree with others about your ride height. It looks too low, especially for Aldan's. This is how my car sits with the optional shorter shock bodies, and it is still higher than yours...

XLR8-R

I would start by raising it up an inch or so, see if it improves. You may be bottoming out over bumps and definitely can mess up the geometry by going too low... Then start back in the middle settings and go from there. Good luck.

My Vette Life

He be the one to know

My Vette Life

WElp you got my comment all twisted up and should reread it and I never said anything about ruining his car. I even suggested a great shop for him to go to.

gimp

What does Aldan recommend?

leadfoot4

I agree.

smitty2919

Coilovers take SOME adjustment to set ride height but it's simple trial and error and can be done in a couple of hours yourself. Corner balancing is one step above and if you don't have adjustable swaybar endlinks you can't do it properly anyways.

I guess the bold statement was what had me confused/dumbfounded lol. What else is in the suspension that could need updating in relation to a poor ride quality and "bouncing"? "The rest of the suspension" is only bushings/swaybars/balljoints...non of which play into the OP's issue as he describes it.

Ride height is too low or adjustments are WAY off or Aldans suck or all three. Simple trial is to raise the car 1/2" to 1" and see if that improves the ride.

Eric_who

I appreciate everyones help, Im gunna see if I can raise the car up slightly and see if there's any improvement, although I do want to try and avoid the horrid 4x4 look alot of c5's seem to have.

Supercharged111

A couple good replies in here and a lot of dumb ones. Typically lowering on old shocks causes issues, these are new out of the box. Are you bottoming out Eric? It's quite possible the Aldans suck, and you are very low, but that shouldn't cause an unsettled feeling going in a straight line unless the car is underdamped or running out of travel. I imagine though that those springs are withhin the realm of what the shocks were intended for. Have you contacted Aldan yet? If you want to stay that low, I'd add some lowering spindles to get the geometry back where it needs to be and return some travel to the car.

Pounder

all I can add, wife and I have the aldan's on our C6 Z06 and it drives and handles great , it does have poly bushings all around !!!