Vendor Lead for Custom Sway Bars with Adjustable End Links

[pietroraimondi]

Well it has been almost a year now since I sold my CTSV and I found myself in desperate need to add some serious speed to the Cadillac stable.

So on New Years Eve, I found myself in the local Chevrolet dealership and two hours later leaving with a new 2008 C6 Corvette LS3 that was equipped as follows:

Jetstream Blue Metallic
Ebony Black Leather Interior
3LT Package
Dual Roof Package
DVD Based Bose Navigation System
Dual Mode Exhaust System
Polished Aluminum Forged Wheels
Z51 Performance Package

I've had a brief chance to do some reading on the new LS3 engine as this is a completely new platform for me, but was surprised to learn that the factory rating of 436 BHP seems to be grossly under-rated.

LG Motorsports installed a higher lift cam, headers, CAI and produced the following numbers that would be equivalent to almost 630 BHP assuming the standard 20% power train loss.

Hi Guys,

The numbers are in. We just put the first Tune in and the numbers are:

506rwhp 457 rwtq

We are still testing and the car is still on the dyno. along with the tune we did simple match port on the intake manifold.

The complete package includes:
LG Motorsports G6X-4 cam
LG Pro Long TUbe Headers
K&N Air Charger
Match Ported intake
UD Pulley

Thanks

Lou Gigliotti

Anyway; I ran across a company that manufactures custom sway bar, end links and coil overs for the Corvette platforum and the quality of engineering seemed to be second to none. Perhaps someone may want to take the lead in contacting them to see if perhaps they would be interested in manufacturing some suspension components for the 2004-2007 CTSV.

Here is the link to the manufacturer as well as a picture of the C6 sway bar and end link: www.pfadtracing.com

[Jon]

Dad's looking at a C6 as well, and I'm wondering why so many of them have the Z51 package when it's only a little more to get the F55 Magnetic Ride package.

Any idea why?

[pietroraimondi]

They are two completely different suspension systems.

RPO option F55 provides the magnetic ride shocks which are an instant response shock system that utilizes magnetically charged particles that are suspended in the shock and strut oil and is managed by the vehicles ECU system.

The Magnetic Ride shocks provide dual modes that can be switched from street to sport mode. They are glorious shocks and well worth the $2k investment and are available on a variety of GM platforms.

They are available on the Cadillac STS, SRX and XLR as well as the Corvette C6.

I don't believe however that they are intended for severe duty track applications.

Unfortunately on the C6; you cannot purchase both the Z51 package and the Magnetic Shocks....it's one or the other.

The $1700 Z51 package provides larger sway bars, stiffer shocks, upgraded coil springs, larger cross drilled rotors and brake calipers and most importantly; larger radiator, an engine oil, power steering and transmission cooling system.

I will replace the Z51 sway bars with the Pfadt sway bars, and the Z51 shocks and springs with the Eibach adjustable coilovers and the brakes with a front and rear Brembo big brake kit.

The real value to me in the Z51 package was the larger radiator,engine, power steering and transmission coolers. That alone was worth the $1695 as to have a larger radiator installed and the extra cooling packages would have been far more than $1695.

I once drove an XLR with the Magnetic Ride shocks and can tell you that the ride was incredible. In the street mode; the car literally absorbed every road bump with no transfer to cabin.

I can say that after driving both the LS6 and LS2 motors; GM's new LS3 engine is an absolute beast. The factory tune is very conservative with lots of HP left on the table. It's rated at 436 BHP and I would not be surprised at all that by just adding just a CAI and an HP Tune should push the LS3 to 500BHP at the crank.

[Jon]

Originally Posted by pietroraimondi

They are two completely different suspension systems.

RPO option F55 provides the magnetic ride shocks which are an instant response shock system that utilizes magnetically charged particles that are suspended in the shock and strut oil and is managed by the vehicles ECU system.

The Magnetic Ride shocks provide dual modes that can be switched from street to sport mode. They are glorious shocks and well worth the $2k investment and are available on a variety of GM platforms.

They are available on the Cadillac STS, SRX and XLR as well as the Corvette C6.

I don't believe however that they are intended for severe duty track applications.

Unfortunately on the C6; you cannot purchase both the Z51 package and the Magnetic Shocks....it's one or the other.

The $1700 Z51 package provides larger sway bars, stiffer shocks, upgraded coil springs, larger cross drilled rotors and brake calipers and most importantly; larger radiator, an engine oil, power steering and transmission cooling system.

I will replace the Z51 sway bars with the Pfadt sway bars, and the Z51 shocks and springs with the Eibach adjustable coilovers and the brakes with a front and rear Brembo big brake kit.

The real value to me in the Z51 package was the larger radiator,engine, power steering and transmission coolers. That alone was worth the $1695 as to have a larger radiator installed and the extra cooling packages would have been far more than $1695.

I once drove an XLR with the Magnetic Ride shocks and can tell you that the ride was incredible. In the street mode; the car literally absorbed every road bump with no transfer to cabin.

I can say that after driving both the LS6 and LS2 motors; GM's new LS3 engine is an absolute beast. The factory tune is very conservative with lots of HP left on the table. It's rated at 436 BHP and I would not be surprised at all that by just adding just a CAI and an HP Tune should push the LS3 to 500BHP at the crank.

Yes, I understand what the differences are.. But.. The F55 is not much more than the Z51. Why would someone get the Z51 instead of the F55 when it is so much better and not much more expensive??

[pietroraimondi]

Originally Posted by Jon

Yes, I understand what the differences are.. But.. The F55 is not much more than the Z51. Why would someone get the Z51 instead of the F55 when it is so much better and not much more expensive??

Jon I would assume that the difference would be application based.

The Magnetic Ride Shocks are by far the best street and spirited driving shocks that I have ever driven on. When I drove the XLR with the Magnetic Ride shocks...it drove like a "Cadillac".

The Z51 Shocks would be more akin to the CTSV FG2 shocks. They are more track and performance oriented and are designed for more spirited driving and track applications.

The Z51 package also gives you larger sway bars, stiffer springs, and the LSD performance rear axle that is not available with the F55 option (Magnetic Ride Shocks).

But most importantly for me; the Z51 package gives you a larger radiator, power steering, engine oil and transmission coolers. And the cooling package that is included in the Z51 package was the most important part for me and that alone was worth $1695.00

I am going to replace the Z51 sway bars with even larger bars with adjustable end links; I'll replace the Z51 shocks and springs with coilovers and the Z51 larger brakes with a Brembo two piece BBK.

I wish they would have just sold the larger radiator, engine oil, power steering and transmission cooler as a stand alone package.

They do offer the LSD performance rear axle as a stand alone option for $400 and your Dad can add that to the F55 Magnetic Ride Shock option if he wishes to.

Jon; if your Dad is not going to modify the powertrain and boost the HP; I would highly recommend the F55 Magnetic Ride Shock Package and the LSD performance rear axle.

Like I said; I intend to go with a twin turbo set-up and having the larger radiator, power steering, engine oil and transmission coolers made the Z51 package a "must buy" for me.

So the reason why someone would buy the Z51 RPO option versus the F55 RPO option would be that they intend to modify the engines powertrain and to possibly use the vehicle for track application

I attached below a summary that was sent to me by the dealer when I was comparing the two packages just as you are and made my decision to purchase the Z51 performance package. Unfortunately, you can't buy both!


Magnetic Selective Ride Control: RPO F55

This system adjusts shock-absorber damping in real time by means of electromagnetically charged particles contained within the shock fluid. When exposed to a magnetic charge, the fluid properties change, forming a near-solid state. With wheel position sensors at each wheel, the system literally reads and responds to every inch of the road, immediately adjusts the damper force on each wheel and responds to changing road and driving conditions.
Unlike traditional mechanical shock valves, there is practically no limit to the range of soft-to-firm damping capability. And it responds five times faster than previous Real Time Damping (RTD) systems.
There are two cockpit settings, "Tour" and "Sport," managed by a single switch located on the center console. The "Tour" setting provides more ride comfort and compliance for everyday driving conditions, while the "Sport" setting provides a firmer ride for performance driving and more communication of road feel.
Larger brakes with cross-drilled brake rotors are included on cars equipped with available Magnetic Selective Ride Control.


Z51 Performance Package: RPO Z51

The available Z51 Performance Package provides a lateral acceleration capability of .98g on the skid pad. The Package includes:

• Goodyear Eagle F1 EMT Supercar ultra high performance tires
• Larger brake calipers with larger cross-drilled brake rotors
• Specific high performance springs, shocks and stablizer bars
• Performance LSD gear ratios for the manual and automatic transmission
• Extra coolers: engine oil, power steering, transmission and larger radiator

[NormV]

In the end it all depends what you are going to do with the car. Want a stiff suspension for dedicated smooth road course Z suspension would be choice for the near perfect driver. Throw in a road course like Nelson Ledges (Ohio), which is rough, and the F suspension will run with a C5 Z06. The magnetic suspension is the best of all worlds when the road is not smooth as ice.

Want to do the drag or street racing theme and the F will be the best choice. You don't want a stiff suspension for straight line acceleration as it will not allow weight transfer to the rear, spinning the tires.

With the M5 having adjustable away bars and AMG cars air shocks, you can expect more than the FG2's in the new V.

Norm

[thebigjimsho]

If you can find and offer just a set of adjustable end links for the V, a lot of stock and Hotchkis guys will grab 'em.

[pietroraimondi]

Originally Posted by thebigjimsho

If you can find and offer just a set of adjustable end links for the V, a lot of stock and Hotchkis guys will grab 'em.

Oh...what the hell; I'll give Aaron a call and see what I can find out regarding just a set of adjustable end links for the stock bars.

What I found impressive was looking at the chart comparing the degree of bar stiffness of his track stabilizer bars compared to the GM Racing T1's.

There's alot of shared components in the global GM parts bin and I wouldn't see any engineering difficulty in terms of having Pfadt Racing having to reinvent the wheel in terms of manufacturing sets of end links for the stock OEM V bars.

I'll see what I can find out......

[NormV]

The problem is everyone runs different springs which lead to different heights. Which would call for a new endlink for each spring height. Almost not enough room for the buckle.

The GM racing sway adjustable end links don't work as they are too long with the short springs. Run GC and you could go even lower.

You should be able to find adjustable endlinks at any race shop.

Norm

[pietroraimondi]

Originally Posted by NormV

The problem is everyone runs different springs which lead to different heights. Which would call for a new endlink for each spring height. Almost not enough room for the buckle.

The GM racing sway adjustable end links don't work as they are too long with the short springs. Run GC and you could go even lower.

You should be able to find adjustable endlinks at any race shop.

Norm

Norm....you're absolutely correct and that was something that is obvious, but yet overlooked.

So with that said, and no more available stock from GM Racing of CTSV T1 sway bars with adjustable end links; is it worth pursuing on my part an even beefier set of custom sway bars from this custom manufacturer with adjustable end links for the CTSV?

[AAIIIC]

Originally Posted by pietroraimondi

...assuming the standard 20% power train loss.

Whose standard is that? A modern 2WD drivetrain should be more like 12-15%.

Not to say that 500+rwhp N/A isn't damn impressive!!

As for the subject of adjustable end links, has anybody seen or used these from eBay? That's just the rear, but the same shop advertises front and rear end links. I don't know if they have enough adjustment range, particularly for lowered cars.