Sbrennan

Hi folks,
Can I get a few opinions on upgrading anti-sways and shocks for my 2010 GS? I did a "stock to Z06" sway and bilstein upgrade to my C5 and it made a noticeable difference, for a very reasonable cost. I'm hoping to find something similar that can provide me with a bit less wheel hop when cornering on uneven pavement and overall improvements.

Note the previous "very reasonable cost" comment which kinda means I'd prefer not to go the coil over/high performance sway, and associated higher cost route since I'm just looking to get somewhat better handling and not track the car.

Thanks in advance and for the past 10 years of advice !

Sbrennan

nothing? Not even for a guy in upstate NY that just got snowed on in mid April?

gfacter

I am very satisfied with the Pfadt JOC package I put on my C5 Z06, those were basically OEM re-valved shocks and a bit stiffer bars.

They are out of business buy maybe someone has a kit in stock still?

My GS is still stock and feels pretty good, I will try a alignment before I delve into shocks and bars

I think Hotchkiss has a sway bar kit

http://www.hotchkis.net/corvette_c6z...y_bar_set.html

Now just find a good set of shocks, maybe the cheap bilsteins are still the way to go

Jeff Bury

I went from a stock to Z51 sway bars front/rear to include brakes with the Pfadt 16 way adjustable shocks. The handling is perfect and you can always stiffen or soften shocks as needed.

Homer3D

I have the JOC sway bars on my 2013 GS. They really made a difference. Unfortunately, with Pfadt closing their doors you probably won’t be able to find the bars unless a vendor happens to have one left over still in stock. You might want to check out the GM T1 bars (or LG G1).

mikeCsix

I have a '12 GS, its my DD and track car. Tough to do double duty as there are always compromises along the way. Pfadt had some excellent products but there are other too. LG has some rather expensive adjustable shocks that are also used in their coil over version - the G2. I might be tempted to go down that path but at a later date. I decided to try the DRM-Bilstein's. Randy at DRM is currently doing a Group Buy for delivery in July. As for the Sway bars, Hotchkiss may be a reasonable upgrade. Some of the track guys I know have been using them. The nice thing about Hotchkiss is the rear adjustable bar. Coupled with the LG adjustable links, this could be a great setup. Adjustable links are nice because you can install them on the bar without "pre-load", very useful if you decide to corner-weight your car.

cclive

I thought that the GS already has Z51 sized bars on it. I would absolutely recommend Bilsteins though...they were the best $300 I spent on my car. Also, the ones I put on my '74 Trans Am in the '70s are still doing great after more than 30 years.

Homer3D

Stock GS has Z51 front and Z06 rear sway bars (if I am remembering it correctly)

cclive

That makes sense because of the tire sizes vs the Z51. I don't think that he can go to any bigger bars inexpensively as there are no more oem bars for him that are bigger. Lots of aftermarket options though, but they are a bit more money.

el es tu

you can upgrade to zr1 bars for cheap (like 100 per bar)

Personally Id only do the front bar and keep the current rear bar.

Most of the other aftermarket bars are roughly the same rate as the Zr1 front bar.


The other option is the T1 bar set. Some vendors have the set between 500 and 600 bucks - others will charge almost double this - be careful before making a purchase. GM parts house and parts taxi are generally the cheapest.

pfadt is out of business, so the joc stuff is not an option anymore. Also if you were to purchase used joc bars and needed new bushings youd be sol.

Good luck!

mikeCsix

The GS has Z06 bars on it, a GS specific rear spring and GS specific shocks.
The bar is really hard to tell just how stiff they are. The diameter isn't a good measure because you don't know what the wall thickness of the tube is. The Hotchkiss bars are a little smaller in diameter but allegedly stiffer so would like to weigh them to see which one may have thicker walls. I like the adjustability of the rear Hotchkiss bar as these cars are finely tuned and just haphazardly replacing components is the more expensive way of increasing performance. I would have preferred adjustable shocks for the same reason but its tough finding reasonably priced ones. The LG's are more than I want to spend especially since I may end up with coil overs in a couple of years.

cclive

I think oem bars are solid, not hollow, which is why aftermarket hollow ones are more expensive.

CI GS

Has anyone done the T1 bars on a GS? I would like to buy those, but they are pricey! I've seen them listed by CF vendors for as high as $899!