sothpaw2

Ok...I haven't heard much about folks running T1 shocks on a street car for HPDE. Right now I'm leaning heavily toward upgrading to Koni 3013 (single adjustables) except the adjustability is a little scary (I only HPDE 3-4 times a year so don't want to spend a lot of time adjusting; I'm not running Black group either so not so confident in my ability to properly correct what car is doing; would have an experience guy help tune). The T1 are a lot less expensive and don't have to be adjusted. Bilstein sports are better than what I have (stock '02 Z) but since they are a lot like '04 factory shocks, I wonder if I will appreciate/feel the difference.

So is anyone running T1 shocks with stock C5Z leafs? How do you like it?

What I think would help me on track (HPDE) would be more damping in pitch and roll to control the transients better. When I crest a hill, I usually wait a bit for the back to settle since I don't want oversteer. This means I don't have enough time sometimes to get ready for my shift. Also makes me much less agressive in carrying speed over the hill since I don't want to brake after the crest (brakes=unload the rears; would feel very floaty with my stock '02 shocks).

Any feed back appreciated!

Thanks,

Andy

ipuig

I noticed a difference in my 01Z when I installed the 04Z shocks. At the last autocross event I attended my times were within 1/2 second of similarly equipped later model Zs on R compound tires, I'm on street tires, I could not do this in the past.
I know nothing about you driving style so I cannot comment as to what benefits you will see if any. For me the car seemed to be more predictable during transitions. The local SCCA courses here are set up for small cars and are very tight with many turns. The suspension gets quite a work-out.
I think you will be overdampened with the T-1 shocks and the stock Z springs, especially in the rear, not to mention the ride will probably on the harsh side.

Solofast

Yes, I agree, you will have too much damping with T1 shocks on stock springs. Expect the car to skidder over bumps and be generally unsettled with shocks that are too stiff.

redtopz

Unless you are going to install T1 springs, it probably doesn't make sense to buy T1 shocks. You would be better off with stock shocks or bilsteins if you are planning on keeping the stock springs and sway bars. Have you seen how fast some of the TTA guys are on stock suspension? Adjustable shocks would not be a bad idea either, because they would give you room to grow in the future should you decide to change springs or sway bars.

I just ran a race in my T1 car with non-adjustable bilstein shocks from my LG G2 coilovers (because that was all I had at the time). The rebound damping on those shocks is super high (based on my push/pull testing) to compensate for the stiff coil springs. My car felt pretty good, but not perfect. I'm going to run T1 sachs shocks at my next race and for the rest of this year and see how those feel since they were designed to compliment the T1 springs and sway bars.

sothpaw2

Good info. So you think the T1 springs are softer than C5Z? I figured they'd be a lot stiffer and the shocks not too crazy to work with those. For sure folks like the T1 bars with the C5Z springs & bilstein sports.

I'm definitely not going to grow from here--the C5Z springs will stay--trying to find good stuff (not necessarily the best...Penskes would be the best) to compliment the C5Z springs. Not even going to corner weight it. But it occurred to me that rather than upgrading bars & going to bilstein sports, since the C5Z bars are not that bad to start, a nicer shock than the Bilstein sports might be faster and have a more noticable change in feel on the street.

Thanks for sharing!

John Shiels

sperkins

I've used T1 shocks with the softer C5 Z51 springs at Rd Atl and they felt really good - even jumping curbs and driving full throttle with 4 wheels on the rumble strips at the exit of T5.
You'll hear a lot of opinions here, but you'll never really know for yourself until you try it. I'll run any shock that will better drive the tire into the pavement.

sothpaw2

Thanks for the feedback! I know what you mean but since I don't do enough trackdays a year, I like the tried-and-true upgrades/methods. Sounds like the T1 will work with a softer spring, that's every interesting.