95jersey

I just lowered my 01 Z06 with simply adjusting the bolt...first I have to say, what an awesome improvement...a MUST do!

Everyone who lowers the car states you should get it alligned after about a week of driving. My question is why? The only thing you affect by lowering the suspension is adding more camber...we'll in my book that a good thing! Does lowering the car affect toe/caster? If not, I love the camber and will take some of the extra tire wear for the increased handling and control. Someone tell me I am incorrect??? Otherwise, I am leaving the camber as is.

av8or3

You better go ahead and align it.I felt the same as you until I got a look
at the way the inside edges of my front tires were evaporating.It will go
to cord so fast you won't believe it.When they align it they can set in just
the right amount of camber,and believe me,the car will handle great! :yesnod:

corvette dave

95,
A camber change does affect the toe for sure. Probably caster, too.
Drive it for a few weeks and tweek the height until you are happy with it.
Then have it aligned to the specs you want.
Please post the before and after alignment sheets if you can.
Dave

95jersey

Hey av8or3,

What exactly is the right amount of camber? How much does a stock Z06 have an how much additional camber would lowering the car 3/4" give you?

av8or3

I'm afraid I can't answer your question.I leave all my alignment & lowering
chores to my tech. He lowered it about 1 1/2" and then set the alignment up
per my request that it "stick like glue" at 100mph+ (and it did).After I installed
the s/c (myself),the extra weight forward of the front wheels dropped the front another 1/2". I thought it looked cool so I left it that way for about 2
weeks. The car felt squirrely one day after running @ 100mph so I put it up
on a lift to check it out. The inside edges on the tires were bald and had
begun to "cup". I set the front ride height back to where he had it and had it
aligned at another shop (My tech was closed). Now I'm saving money to buy
another set of tires so he can install them and set the alignment up again.
Moral of the story is lower it/align it!

WasVette

Ditto on the align---I didn't believe it until I saw the inside of the front tires :eek: Holy cow they're bald! The rears show no irregular wear patterns.
Unless you own a tire shop I'd align after lowering.

95jersey

OK now you guys have me convinced! But I still have a few questions.

How long should I drive the car after lowering it, before getting the allignment done? And what causes the baldness on the inner tread...is it the camber, caster, toe that has gone out of allignment? How much camber does a stock Z06 have....I heard about -0.75. How much additional camber do you get when you lower the car 1 inch?

I would like to add a little more camber than the stock setting, maybe to -1.0, but not if my tires will go bald?!?! Although, because of a track event I did in the fall, the inner part of my tire has plenty of tread and the outsides have been significantly worn away, probably do the the intense cornering.

Another forum member advised me that if you do track events, the extra camber on the street will help even out the wear pattern, due to the intense cornering the car sees during the track events. This seems to make sense, but I'm not completly sold on the idea. Anybody agree/disagree?

corvette dave

95,
You asked how much camber does a stock Z06 have. Who knows! The range is .20 to 1.20 degree negative. It could be anywhere in that range from the factory.
1" lowered equals about .5 degree negative change in camber which is what wears the inner edge of the tires.
Give the car about 50 miles of driving and if you are happy with the height then have it aligned. Just get it aligned!
What you have asked is really just about impossible to answer because of all the variables.
At track events the wear on the outsides will be more . On the street the wear will be more on the insides (with more negative camber). You would have to know how many track events equal how many miles of street driving. You may drive the car harder on the street and on the track than other people. Or vice-versa. A lot of us drive hard on the track and not on the street. Or vice-versa.
Some do not do any track events but drive very aggressively on the street. In this case an increase in camber would probably help even out tire wear.
Ideally you would have a set of wheels and tires for the track and set the camber accordingly.
Tire pressures can also help a little.
Dave


[Modified by corvette dave, 9:39 PM 1/29/2003]


[Modified by corvette dave, 9:41 PM 1/29/2003]

ZEEEE06

I lowered mine over 2 years ago and didn't align it. No unusual tire wear. My friend didn't lower his and he has major wear on the inside of his tires. Explain that!!!

95jersey

Interesting...I would think that the factory would set up the cars all the same. Going from -.20 to 1.0 is a huge variance. I can't see GM letting that slide?!? Any way, I drive very hard at the track and like a baby on the street.

At this point, I am just trying to see how much camber I can run without excessive tire wear. I figured that someone on this forum had to go through this, with eveyone lowering their cars. I would love to have -1.5, but not if it eats through the tires in 2000 miles...but on the other hand I definately want more than -.25, as BMW's have fairly aggressive camber right out of the factory and I'm sure those owners would accept unusual tire wear. So, if I can figure out where that happy median is, I will set the car up correct the first time.

corvette dave

ZEEE,
Easy answer to your question.
Your friend's car has too much negative camber for his type of driving.
Your car probably did not have much negative camber from the factory and lowering it changed the camber but kept it in specs.

95Jersey,
I do not know what you mean by GM letting it slide. The camber specs are what they are. -.2 to -1.2. Your alignment guy works off the same range. You see now what I have been saying about telling the tech exactly where you want the alignment set. If you don't, you really do not know what you have.
If I were in your shoes, I would start with 1.0 negative camber as a baseline and see how the tire wear goes.
The extra grip (if any) between 1.0 and 1.5 on street tires is not worth it in my opinion.
I have mine set at -.75 and so far the wear is even. But that is me and not you.
Dave

95jersey

Thanks Dave! When I stated "GM letting it slide", I thought that they were much more precise with their cars settings and that each car pushed out of the factory were at least within a 100's accuracy...guess not.

Thanks for the advise. I am going to have the dealer set is to -1.0 in the front and -.75 in the rear. I have heard that is a good street/light track set up.