Corey_68

I know the later C3's have better aerodynamics, but at what speed does the front end become sloppy?

Any idea of how much lift our C3 make as well as downforce? I remember reading about the '68 L88 Vert that Chevy raced and won in Le Mans in '72. Chevy realized the chassis wouldn't hold up and built a much stronger and lighter tube chassis. They did say the car reached 212mph down the Muslane Straight. :eek:

I've had a my C3 up to a little over 100mph, but I knew at some point with that much lift it would be short lived. Any ideas? :confused:

GrandSportC3

I don't know.. I went 160 mph in my '68 and it still felt good.. However - my street tires are only s-rated (118 mph) - so I went off the gas...

lostpatrolman

Is there any sort of front spoiler for the c3 that could replace that front plastic deflector? That should help keep the nose from getting light.
Something like this




[Modified by lostpatrolman, 11:11 PM 5/12/2004]

Corey_68

The 78 Pace car "Indy" spoiler comes to mind? :confused:

gdh

I have noway of verifying if this is the absolute truth, but a guy with a 74 BB that he built into over 700 hp told me that around 180 mph it felt like lift off was imminent, but at 185 it settled right back down. After that story I never rode in that vette with him again - staight pipes as well. I have had mine up to 145 mph, was entertaining but bloody glad nothing broke.

lostpatrolman

I thought the pace car only had a spoiler on the tail, not the nose. Do you have any pics?

Corey_68

Not that good of a pic but here it is.

stingray4me

:lol: 186,000 miles per second :lol:

A78Corvette

Didn't the Pace Car have a three peice spoiler? :skep:

lostpatrolman

what spoiler that fits on an early c3 would create the most downforce?

PRNDL

I remember reading somewhere that the gills on the 68 were made functional to keep the front end down. Not sure exactly what was going on, maybe air pressure was building up under the hood and the gills equalized the pressure? Anyway, I don't expect to ever find the speed at which the front lifts, because I expect it would be north of 150!! :eek:

LiveandLetDrive

You could do this with your front end: (80-82ish)

or even this:

or something aluminum like this Camaro:

Credit for those goes to: http://www.greenwoodcorvettes.com/

-Chris :thumbs:


[Modified by LiveandLetDrive, 1:45 AM 5/13/2004]

Shark Racer

lostpatrolman

What kind of good bolt on spoilers are there for an early c3?

Summerfun

I have a spoiler on mine similar to the one on Pacin'California's

Don't know how fast it will go.....will fill my speedo of 160 and more.
I know she's good to 160....no lift

rob75383

Back in late '97, I was hitting the library for 'vette books.
I recall some factoid in a book from the early to mid 70's that said that the C3 front end lifts up about 1/4" at 80 mph, and up to 1" at over 150mph.
I think it was some book detailing the transitions from year to year, and the actual engineering and planning that went into each year.
I wish I had better info than this to provide.

Paul L

Yes, three pieces.

groovyjay

At what speed does the C3 front end become light?

Right off the line!



:D

norvalwilhelm

I think alot of what you feel is lift is actually bump steer. The faster you go the higher the front comes up causing severe toe IN. This causes the cars handling to become twitchy giving the feel that the car is becomming unstable. Heavy springs would help this.
I use to think I was running into front end lift by 125 mph but after changing shocks, using the same light springs but eliminating bump steer the car is perfectly stable at 130 without the front end feeling anything.
While the car feels ready to run alot faster then 130 mph I do not. The telephone poles go by like fence posts and I feel if I loose it I will slide for at least a 1/4 mile.
Things become scary at those high speeds, the what IF"S run through your mind. :)

Lohkay

I went to 150mph with mine and hit some bumps on the road (all over here in quebec) and the front end was swinging up and down but didn't feel it would lift off... I think it can handle more than that. Actually, doesn't the engine bay create a vaccum? same goes with your rearend when you remove the spare carrier.... anyway...the way our cars are made, I'd say the only part that creates lift is behind the wheel wells and behind the rear window (less a problem on later models).... don't you think? Aerodynamics is easy to understand... especially when you've been around planes all your life. :D