First, thanks for the writeup Hib. I am with you 100%, even though my race class restricts me to "stock suspension type and factory mounting locations". I have been well impressed with how light the springs and associated hardware end up on these cars.
I will say it took a couple of years to get the spring rates I was after, since the aftermarket is limited and production of these parts is not entirely predictable. It would be much easier to tune with standard coilovers but I am very grateful for what availability there is, and with the advent of C5 style adjusters on the front springs there is easy ride height/corner weight adjustment too.
One point I didn't see you mention though is load path. I hesitate to muck with the factory decision making process for how transient loads transfer to the structure. The front appears "worthy" but believe the addition of a "camber brace" would be highly helpful. I would really hesitate to put the full load of the car on the single-shear rear shock mount though - even though it is stout that is a pretty good lever to ask a chunk of aluminum to bear on a good pothole hit. Perhaps part of my trepidation is having needed to make a sleeve to space my bottom shock mount away from the knuckle (so it could articulate), making the "lever" even longer...
On the other hand, putting the spring and the shock co-axial has benefit in making the damping path directly aligned with the springs' forces.
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Originally Posted by Hib Halverson
I would never adjust trim height my measuring the "fender to tire" distance. That's not accurate because of the inaccuracies of the body assembly process and inaccuracies in how the body is mounted to the frame.
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Agreed. I too have a skew side-to-side in the rear, maybe as much as 3/8 inch. I don't think the car is bent, just the way it is and by looking at more than a few C4s it seems not unusual.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hib Halverson
Once you get the trim height adjusted properly, then you can adjust your stabilizer bars to eliminate preload.
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Here's where I would love to find adjustable end links. I don't have a perfectly level garage (but I don't think it's really far out), but I do get a bit of preload on installing sway bars. Since Mr Guldstrand has left us, his fine (although spendy) adjustable links dried up just as I was ready to bite the bullet and order them.
Sigh,
- Jeff