01vetter

I had my stock FE1 springs replaced with Z06 springs last week. I checked the work that was done and it appears that the rear Z06 spring isn't quite centered. The center is off 3/16" to one side. Will this make a difference in the handling? Is it worth me centering it by 3/32"?

davidfarmer

Are the mounting pads properly seated in the subframe? If so, I wouldn't worry too much. However if it is physically not seated properly (ie wasn't compressed during installation) it needs to be remedied. You have to compress (flatten) the spring to get it mounted correctly

01vetter

The pads look seated, but are not perfectly centered. There is a little more runner showing on one side of each support.

froggy47

I don't think the pads that are "glued" to the spring are all that precisely "located".

When I did mine I was able to get the locating ridge correctly into the subframe front & rear by catching one side then jacking on the spring with a bottle jack to flatten it & locate it on the other side.

Be careful not to cross thread the bracket bolts, if they go in easily, I think you are lined up pretty good.

The pads are not perfectly machined bits, obviously so I did not worry if one was off from the others by an 1/8 or so.

geerookie

You have to do the math to figure out how much difference it makes and then decide for yourself if that difference is relevant or significant.

It's a simple lever calculation.

The load is what the spring supports at the end (corner weight)
The lever ratio is the length of the spring on either side of where it is supported but in the case of a Corvette this is more complicated since the movement of the spring about the moment is compounded by the fact that the spring can move on the left and also affect the spring rate on the right.

But using a simple lever calculation and a guess at the ratio,
From the moment to the end of the spring supporting the corner 12"
From the moment to the end of the spring that is the level, say 24"
(you can measure these and get an exact ratio)
This gives a ratio of 1/2 so if the corner weight is 850lbs then it takes 425lbs of force to support the corner in a static state. Now move the spring 3/16" one way and that changes the ratio from .5 to .48837.......
So you take the same 850lbs and now it takes 10lbs less effort to support it and obviously it will change the other corner of the car in the opposite way. Now if everything was symmetrical etc. then this would be this easy but now we have to add in the dynamics of the spring in the Vette transferring energy to the other side and also you need to take into account the motion ratio for each corner.

So the bottom line educated guess is, Does a 1 - 2% difference side to side or diagonally in your setup matter to you?