KILR-RYD

If people have experience with either or both and can chime in that would be awesome.

I am trying to pick up Coilovers with sway bars and purpose is to be in the best of both worlds, daily driver and track.

Having said that, I had done my research and decided on pfdat coilovers and street bars but now I have the option to go Callaway with Hotchick sways. What do you think would work better in the long run.

The reason for Pfdat was great quality at a great price and some first hand experiences from the board members, but since I have this 2nd option at about the same price over all, i want to see which might work better going forward.

Thanks

PS:- I know Aaron is running his thread currently explaining his new system and it looks great, but this wasnt timed to be together but just happened that i needed advice around the same time.

jkittleson

Everyone likes a hot chick!

Radguy

That's a no-brainer!!

Let's see mmmm.....Pfadt .......or.....hotchicks!!
mmmm.....Pfadt........or.....HOTCHICKS!! !

KILR-RYD

thats too funny, didnt realize what the vendor had written, i guess thats what I wanted to read, cuz thats all that is on my mind, how I can get one under me and provide more stiffness

Hotchkis not HOTCHICKS:o

Now that we have made fun, how do I modify the title so that we can get this thread going

KILR-RYD

any input?

0C5stein

IMO - by order of preference - most preferred first -
Callaway Eibach
Pfadt

Leave stock anti sway bar for best street manners, maybe upgrade to Z-51 bars (C6Z06 bars max)

We have also had excellent experience with Hardbar's Penske shocks and QA1 shocks, but they were not part of your choices.

I think that they anti-sways that you asked about are too stiff for good compliance. They will however make the car feel racey, just won't necessarily make it go around corners faster.

We have been setting up Road Race cars and dual purpose cars for the past 26 years with great success and customer satisfaction.

Aaron Pfadt

KILR-RYD, You're taking the right approach to your suspension by wanting to put together a package that works well together, rather than hoping to find some "one-size-fits-all" answer.

In spite of racers and street drivers experiences, there tends to be a lot of misunderstading regarding sway bars. I have said this before and I will say it again. There is not one solution to suspension setup in general and sway bar and spring rate in particular. A lot of combinations can work well given a set of goals.

Our bars run the gamut from stock rates all the way up to and a little beyond T1 rates. We realize that the package is what counts.



The thought that stock swaybars are best for track use can be eliminated pretty quickly. From your local SCCA autocross to the C6Rs in ALMS, you will see adjustable sway bars on all competitive cars. They give you the quick tuning capability to dial in the car for the conditions of the day.

The myth that stiffer bars decrease grip is just that - a myth. The Corvette works well with Pfadt sway bars because our bars reduce/control body roll and INCREASE the contact patch of the 4 tires with the track. Alternatively you can reduce body roll by running very stiff springs, but on a rough track like Sebring the overall result is a car that doesn't absorb bumps and traction is compromised.

Functionality comes down to the entire package including springs and dampers. We at Pfadt Racing make 5 unique sway bar packages for C5 and C6 Corvettes ranging in price from $550 to $1025. Our staff can help you decide what package is best for your situation.

Stiffer swaybars do not reduce grip. At best, there are different balances of spring rate and swaybar rate that will work better on different tracks. For a production car that is being used at the track, swaybar stiffness is a good way to add cornering grip without compromising ride quality.

Before you start thinking that aftermarket sways are overly complicated, the simple truth is that a set of our Pfadt Competition 'Pfatty' swaybars installed (on our recommended starting point) on an otherwise stock C6Z are worth over a second in lap time improvement on a 2 minute course. That is not just from our testing, but from our customers as well.

Here is a review that I ran into the other day. It shows that even a non-racer can feel the improvement from a swaybar upgrade.
http://corvettepartsreview.com/2008/...ion-sway-bars/

Both Danny Popp and I have NASA National championships running Pfadt Sway Bars, as well as the entire podium in TTS. We also have successful racers in SCCA Solo. My point is that adjustable sway bars are a critical tool in successfully setting up a Corvette for competition.

And if you need any more proof that Corvettes like stiffer bars and it is a good way to imporve handling with few comromises, just look at the sway bars that the new ZR1 is running. The front bar is essentially a black T1 bar. That makes it stiffer than our Pfadt Street bars and it is 'stock'.

Let me know if you have more questions.

-Aaron

bowmanized

Or you could go Callaway Eibach Coilovers and Pfadt sways. ooooh!!!

0corvette pilot

I'm going to go with LG coilovers and the T1 sways when I upgrade. I like the non-adjustability. One less thing for me to screw up.

0C5stein

Your kidding right?

Adjusting Anti Sway bars and adjusting shocks simply isn't that difficult.

IE. set both bars to medium stiffness. Drive the car around the track. If front end pushes, soften the front bar. If the rear of the car is loose, then soften the rear bar.
or if it pushes the front, stiffen the rear bar and make it slide too

Repeat

It just aint that difficult.

I like compliance in my suspension set up, so which ever end of the car is giving up grip, I soften the spring rate or I soften the anti-sway bar on that end. I figure, if one end is not working because it is too stiff, don't go and stiffen up the other end and make it slide too.

Compliance tends to allow the tires to run a bit cooler and tends to offer more traction and longer tread life.

However, too soft in spring rate and roll rate, makes the the car pitch too much under braking, acceleration and cornering and too much pitch change kills performance.

0corvette pilot

lots of points in there C5stein, and thats why for me, I just prefer to have a system thats been dialed in by a proven expert instead of having to try to do it on my own.

ProgGod

I thought I was going to see some hot chicks

jzemo

Pfadt comp pfatty sway bars!!!!

0C5stein

Let me present this a different way, for your future consideration.

When I was crewing on professional road race teams, more specifically, endurance racing, we would have two, three and sometimes four different drivers. Driving at the same track in the same car; and yet it virtually never happened that all of the drivers liked the same setup as the other guys. With adjustable shocks and sways, we could swap springs without needing to revalve the shocks, they only needed a shock adjustment. Once we hit on a spring rate that everyone could get along with for that particular track, we would fine tune handling with anti-sway bar adjustments and shock adjustments.

The pitfall that I see with accepting an "proven Expert's" spring rates and shock valving is that if you drive differently than that "Expert", then you will be forced to live with what works for him, and not necessarily be able to tune your suspension for the way that you like the car to feel.

I've helped guys pick up as little as tenths and as many as full seconds most reciently on Thunder hill, Sears Pt and Laguna, with simple adjustments to shocks and sways alone.

I'd recommend an adjustable shock, even if you don't get adjustable sways.

GAS

KILR....go with the Pfadt setup. I don't know much about car setup...BUT...I have been doing track days and started with NASA three years ago. Started out with stock Z06 springs and Penske non adjustable shocks. Hanging around the track and talking with many Z06 owners it seemed the concensus that adjustable would give you the best opportunity to dial in the car for YOUR STYLE of driving. As you get more comfortable with your car you will welcome the options available with an adjustable setup to DIAL IN your car. Hands down....GO WITH THE PFADT SETUP!! They are great people with a GREAT PRODUCT that will be there when you have a question. This year I ran at six different tracks and set six new track records in NASA TTS with the PFADT suspension. I know it aint the driver.

ProgGod

I agree