|
5.
Change your brake pads. For high-performance street action, Guldstrand recommends Performance Friction's
Z-rated pad for great grip and no heat-up. If you're going autocrossing, where you will let the brakes cool
between runs, go with the 01-rated pads (caution--these are not
recommended for street-driven cars).
|
|
6.
Change your sway bar. Sway bars actually reduce sway, as opposed to the
name. With Corvettes of this vintage, a big sway bar is not required.
Remember the sway bar is a tuning device and you should be conservative
in your selection. This rear sway bar was used at the Bridgestone test
day and measures 24mm. Sway bars should be used to tune the suspension
to driver taste.
|
|
7.
Install a toe-control rod. The rear suspension is challenged to hold its
ground against the power of the road. In many cases the toe-control
rods on stock C4 Corvettes are bent or broken, affecting the toe on the
rear tires mounted to the independent rear suspension. Using an
upgraded toe-control-rod system that mounts to the rear end and replaces
the weak factory unit, you can ensure that toe adjustment tolerances
will be held tight. The more solidly suspension components are mounted,
the better chance they will keep the tires moving in the right
direction. This camber toe bar is built to replace the factory bars,
which are mounted in rubber and far less "beefy" than these Guldstrand units.
|
|
|
8.
Upgrade your leaf springs. If you don't want to go the entire way and replace
your leaf springs with coilover units, at
least upgrade to the factory Z51 leaf springs. These springs are great
at keeping ground-to-tire contact at the optimum.
|
|
9.
Tires--bigger is better. So how big can you go with tires for your C4?
"Until they hit the wheelwells and then
some," says Guldstrand. The key here is
to go as big as you can handle. According to Guldstrand,
some autocross cars are running 18x12-inch wheels with 305- and 315-width
tires. This is a bit much for the street. Guldstrand
recommends 18-inch wheel-mounted tires because there are a variety of
different sizes and brands available. You should be able to get between
275- and 295-width tires on these cars without difficulty. Guldstrand uses Fikse
wheels for their light weight and strength, 18x11 inches in rear, 18x9
to 10 inches in front.
|
|
10.
Use Heim joints when possible and legal. For serious racing and when
ultimate performance is needed, Heim joints are used to link the sway
bars to the chassis. This greatly increases the effective nature of the
bar. Unfortunately, some autocross and Solo I classes do not allow for
this modification. It should be noted that Heim joints also transfer road
harshness to the frame and, in turn, to the occupants of the vehicle.
But for those of you tough enough to handle the ultimate suspension
components... These sway bars feature Heim-jointed end links, which are
the most efficient at maximizing sway-bar leverage. They do, however,
transfer more road noise to the occupants than standard-style links and
may not be legal for autocross competition.
|
|
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
