C2 Rear Suspension Ride Quality

[John L.]

Is rear suspension ride quality (smooth, no excessive bounce) largely a function of two things, quality/condition of the shocks and leaf spring? thanks

[Duke W.]

Re: C2 Rear Suspension Ride Quality

Hardened and compressed spring link cushions dramatically increase rear ride harshness in addition to loosing rear ride height.

IMO they should be replaced about every 5-7 years, even if the car has little mileage accumulation.

Duke

[Leif A.]

Re: C2 Rear Suspension Ride Quality

Is rear suspension ride quality (smooth, no excessive bounce) largely a function of two things, quality/condition of the shocks and leaf spring? thanks

Typically, your shock absorbers should control excessive bounce. Go to each rear corner of the car and push up and down on the bumper. The car should stop bouncing almost immediately after you stop pushing on the bumper. If the car continues to bounce after you have stopped you have bad shocks. Also, consider out of round or damaged tires (slipped belt, knot in sidewall, etc)...that would cause excessive bounce, as well. Springs control ride height and absorb some shock but I don't think that is what's causing your problem.

[Michael W.]

Re: C2 Rear Suspension Ride Quality

Is rear suspension ride quality (smooth, no excessive bounce) largely a function of two things, quality/condition of the shocks and leaf spring? thanks

Type of rear spring is a big contributor too. The composite/fibreglass units are more compliant than traditional steel multi-leaf type.

[Duke W.]

Re: C2 Rear Suspension Ride Quality

Actually, most aftermarket composite replacement rear springs for vintage Corvettes have much higher rates than the base suspension OE spring. Also, composite springs have much less inherent damping than the the OE spring, and most replacment shocks are designed for the latter.

As a result, you often end up with a way oversprung and way underdamped rear suspension with resulting severe degradation of ride and handling quality.

Springs and shocks have to be engineered as a system, but this is rarely the case with aftermarket parts. The best approach is to keep the OE spring. If you get stuck with an aftermarket composite spring and typical replacement shocks, a set of adjustable shocks like Spax or QA-1 can probably be adjusted to provide sufficient damping.

Duke