WA 2 FST

I know you guys are gonna call BS on me, but the ride is no more harsh than before and handling is vastly improved.

Realize I live in an area where the roads are really nice. In fact, the local authorities are very proud of our roads and their condition. Maybe its that I'm used to vehicles that sit low, handle extremely well, at a small cost to ride? Maybe its the fact the suspension has less than 1000 miles and consists of VBP front springs, bushings/bolts, rear VBP glass spring (420#...wouldn't have been my choice, but that's what the guy put on it) and new bushings/bolts. I don't know.

But the ride is fine and I'm very pleased with the upgraded handling capabilities, not to mention the superior straightline traction from a Z-rated 285mm tire compared to a 215mm AquaTread. :D

groovyjay

That is just what I wanted to hear, what kinda highway RPMs you get with your tranny/final gear ratio? I love HANDLING!!!! :steering:

Alwyn678

Sweet....Now let's get some pics of you burning them down.......I hope to did some nice burnouts with the aquatreads before you trashed them :reddevil

WA 2 FST

My final gear is a 3.36 and the Richmond 5-speed has a 1:1 5th, just like the M21 4th gear ratio. So highway rpms are still 3000rpm at 70mph. Not bad at all. Now the 285/40-17s are ~.50" shorter than the 215/70-15 tires I had on there...so my speedo is going to be off a bit. So probably 67mph is 3000rpm now.

groovyjay

Thaks for the info. 67mph@3000rpm sounds ok to me. I've been thinking about 2,70 to get the highway rpm's even lower. :cheers:

gkull

With a 1:1 5th gear I'd hunt down a 2.73 rear end. My final gearing in OD is @2.86:1 and I wish it was closer to 2.7

I do @3000 rpm at 80 mph with 315/35/17 My next tire is going to be the 325's. By the way I also have a rear steel spring thats 420 or so lbs.

ImBatman

That is great to hear. I have the VB&P Performance + suspension on mine but it will be a while before I find out what the ride is like. Did you run 285/40-17s all the way around? Do they tuck up under the car without pokeing out? Did you have to use off set T/A's? I am going to run 17's as well and want to get as wide a tread on mine as I can without it sticking out and w/out switching T/A's since mine are newly rebuilt. Can you post some front and rear shots of your car. Your car looks awesome! :cheers:

inqbus383

I like those wheels, i'm saving up for a major upgrade of some sort. I can't believe the revs you guys are spinning at 70 mph. I run just over 2000 rpms at 70 rpms and I wouldn't have it any less. Although maybe this is because my transmission has a .62 or .68 overdrive. The way it is, first gear (40mph at 6000rpms)is a joke. With bigger high torque engines, I think less shifting and more sustained acceleration in a gear is about as fast.

SmokedTires

I to could not believe the difference in handling & grip going to the 17's . How wide is your rear wheel ? Did you go with offset trailing arms ? :cheers:

WA 2 FST

Hey guys,

Thanks for the feedback. If this was my daily driver, I'd run a higher rear gear (lower numerical). As it is, I could see possibly getting some 3.08s at some point, but since gas mileage isn't that important to me and I don't mind 70mph at 3000rpm, its not urgent.

The gear spacing of the Richmond is awesome. I've had plenty of 5-speed cars, and my Z06 is a 6-speed, but I've never had 5 driven gears. Makes the gear spacing really close, so you are always in the powerband. 3.28 1st, 2.13 2nd, 1.57 3rd, 1.24 4th, and 1.00 5th.

As far as the wheels go, I am running 8" wide on the front and 245/45 tires. Rears are 9.5" wide with 4.75" backspacing (and no spacers, so it is a true 4.75") with the 285s. I do have VBP offset trailing arms. The tires stick out just a hair, but not enough to be dumb looking. I mean, we're talking 1/4+" at the most. I have some pics I can send someone if you want. Just give me an e-mail address. I do not have them hosted on my website, so I cannot post it here.

Chuck Harmon

Wes,I have recently been giving some though to the offset trailing arms. Guldstrand wants $1100 for virtually the same thing as VBP's for $400. How do you like the VBP product. I am hesitant in that I have already purchased other parts only to go with Guldstrand's in the end because of quality. Examples are: front tie rods, real lower control arms, and shocks. (Such a deal I have for some of you guys out there!) But the difference would pay for the Aquamist water injection system I have been thinking about for so long.

I would love the thought of running wheels as wide or wider than my Z on the 69 while still discreetly fitting them within the stock wheel wells. Very stealthy!

I agree with you about the Richmond spacing being so perfect. I love the 6 speed version much better than the Z's 6 speed as far as performance driving goes. The Z's is better for highway gas mileage cruising by bringing the revs down to levels too low for a big cammed carbureted engine to even consider. The cornering improvements made by modern HP tires is such a treat. I always thought my C3's handled pretty darn well until I drove a Z51 C4. The new Z's make the difference no less than astounding. Nice to see that tires can narrow the gap as much as they do.

I look forward to getting mine to the point of wonderful pleasure driving that you have brought yours too.

Chuck

70 LS1

WA 2 FST: with the wheels having a neutral offset, did you have to use the offset trailing arms, or would they have fit with the stock ones?

WA 2 FST

Chuck,

Try the VBP ones and I bet if you don't think they are good quality when you pull them out of the box, they'll let you return them. I am not an expert on metalurgy, but they _appear_ to be a top-notch piece. I'm certainly not worried about them, and had no intentions of cutting any corners with this project. If it would have taken an extra $700 to buy a quality piece, then that's what I would have done. However, the local shop highly recommended the VBP ones, so I took their advice.

Jeff, you pose a fair question. I measured everything meticulously under the car and decided to purchase the offset TA's before the wheels even got here. With the offset TAs in place, I probably could have run another .25" of BS (5" BS total) with no issues. Maybe even 5.25". I did not test fit the wheels/tires with the stock TAs in place, though, since they were not here. At the very least you'll have to relocate the e-brake cable and bracket, but I'm sure you knew that.

WA 2 FST

Chuck,

Yes, it is nice that modern-day wheel/tire packages can improve the handling substantially. Of course the suspension parts have to be in good order too. :) One reason I went with a neutral offset was in an effort to extend the life of the wheel bearings. In 17", I wanted as tall of a rear tire as possible, so the 285/40 was it (26.1" diameter). Anything shorter (even if it would have been wider...like a 315/35) would have meant more speedo error than it already has.

Your car is downright awesome, Chuck. I giggle every time I look at that motor you've got! :) With over 480rwhp, yours has got to be a blast to drive. I've yet to dyno mine, but I bet its barely 300. We'll see. It's plenty fun, but not low-11 second capable like yours.

gkull

Chuck: We will see each other again:):) You Know what i mean!
Other than the races.

I went with the HD trailing arms years ago just because the frame was the limitation on big side wall low profile tires.

I went to 11 X 17 rears with wheel adapters and kept the 4.5 spacing rule.

Chuck i have to spend more than an afternoon with you!

I had a grand sport for awhile Your Z06 is much better!





[Modified by gkull, 12:06 AM 1/12/2003]

Oldguard 7

Yes I would like pics. Send to Oldguard7@hotmail.com.