[lsejlowe]

couldn't a guy just make a spacer to fit between the diff and strut bracket? I realize you couldn't achieve the 3/4" drop the smart strut allows, but you could easily do 3/8 or 1/2.

Grab some longer grade 8 bolts and you're good to go for a .35* improvement in camber change over 4 inches of suspension travel. (nothing to back up that number, just pulled it out of my ass.)

 

[SIXFOOTER]

Doesn't the smart strut also line the camber rod pivot up with the half shaft u-joint? That would require a longer mount right?

 

[Eddie 70]

After reading some of the other threads about this subject, I thought the same thing. I guess if it were that easy, they would have been making spacers instead of making the strut brackets. I still believe that a spacer would help like you say. Maybe someone will try it and graph the results.

I do have a set of the smart struts out in the garage I should have installed years ago. I keep saying maybe this winter they will go on, so maybe again. :smack

 

[zwede]

Except that the factory rear camber curve is pretty much as good as it gets for street driving and overall handling. "Smart struts" are only an advantage for drag racing and will hurt handling.

Early C2's had a bad camber gain in the rear which was addressed with a redesigned strut bracket somewhere in the mid 60's. From then on all vettes got the improved bracket.

 

[JPhil]

That's exactly what John Greenwood talked about in his "Vette Improvement Program" articles from the 1980's. Long before the likes of VBP & others came up with all the bolt-on stuff. They probably read his work and said "Hmmmm...."
Go to the "Corvette FAQ" website & look for the 'V I P'...lotta neat stuff you can do in your garage instead of buying things...

 

[yellow73sb]

You actually want to raise it 1/4.

Because when you raise the dif 3/4 of an inch your supposed to lower it .5".

 

[lsejlowe]

You actually want to raise it 1/4.

Because when you raise the dif 3/4 of an inch your supposed to lower it .5".

:lookinup: um, correct me if I'm wrong here, but the bracket is bolted to the diff cover. So regardless of where the diff cover is, your rear suspension geometry will be dependant upon the relation between the cover and the strut bracket... Do you have a source to refer to? Things might be different for a 6 link or another setup where the halfshafts are not an active member of the suspension, but in this case the only contributing factor is the diff cover/strut bracket relationship. Raising the diff would effectively lower your ride height, and thereby lower your center of gravity. :thumbsup:

Except that the factory rear camber curve is pretty much as good as it gets for street driving and overall handling. "Smart struts" are only an advantage for drag racing and will hurt handling.

I've heard so much to the contrary. From what I understand of the stock C3 setup, there is about 2.5* of camber change across 4 inches of suspension travel (2" of jounce and 2" of rebound) as evidenced in this thread:
http://www.digitalcorvettes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76982&highlight=toe+change

I can imagine 2" of jounce on the outer wheel going hard around a curve, where I would imagine you'd want very little camber change. Correct me if I'm wrong, I still have a lot to learn about this stuff!

 

[yellow73sb]

:lookinup: um, correct me if I'm wrong here, but the bracket is bolted to the diff cover. So regardless of where the diff cover is, your rear suspension geometry will be dependant upon the relation between the cover and the strut bracket... Do you have a source to refer to? Things might be different for a 6 link or another setup where the halfshafts are not an active member of the suspension, but in this case the only contributing factor is the diff cover/strut bracket relationship. Raising the diff would effectively lower your ride height, and thereby lower your center of gravity. :thumbsup:

Yeah I'm wrong :laughing:

I need to go to bed

 

[TwinTurbo]

:lookinup: um, correct me if I'm wrong here, but the bracket is bolted to the diff cover. So regardless of where the diff cover is, your rear suspension geometry will be dependant upon the relation between the cover and the strut bracket... Do you have a source to refer to? Things might be different for a 6 link or another setup where the halfshafts are not an active member of the suspension, but in this case the only contributing factor is the diff cover/strut bracket relationship. Raising the diff would effectively lower your ride height, and thereby lower your center of gravity. :thumbsup:



I've heard so much to the contrary. From what I understand of the stock C3 setup, there is about 2.5* of camber change across 4 inches of suspension travel (2" of jounce and 2" of rebound) as evidenced in this thread:
http://www.digitalcorvettes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76982&highlight=toe+change

I can imagine 2" of jounce on the outer wheel going hard around a curve, where I would imagine you'd want very little camber change. Correct me if I'm wrong, I still have a lot to learn about this stuff!

Less camber change is only beneficital when you do soemthing about the body roll, so if you use stif springs, big bars and stif shocks then it's a good idea but just adding one to an otherwise stock or soft suspension is not. Remember, Adams was bolting very thick sway bars to soft suspensions to keep the cars from rolling, that's why he needed to modify that bracket.

 

[gkull]

"Smart struts" are only an advantage for drag racing and will hurt handling.

99.9% stock C-3 NCSR corvettes are not performance cars:laughing: Everything right down to the tires they came with sucked. It takes lot's of mods to get them up around "One G" turning.

You really need to go to a Road racing track where the teams have mega funds $$$$$$$ They don't bench race. They use clocks, radar guns, telemetry to know exactly what the car is doing.

Here is a fine example! They would do more if rules would allow them to.

 

[SIXFOOTER]

LOL, all that fancy sheiite under there and useing a 2x4 for a parking brake:laughing:

 

[mrvette]

LOL, all that fancy sheiite under there and useing a 2x4 for a parking brake:laughing:

Hey, some daze you just gotta run whay you brung.....

:devil: :devil: :spanked: :WTF :cheers: :crazy:

 

[gkull]

I don't have any of the parking brake stuff either. All those little shoes and parts are all unsprung weight that didn't work very good anyway.

As for Smart Struts. Mine have been on the lowest (Race) consentric mounting point for nearly 20 years. I did replace the poly ends about 6 years ago when i was installing bigger "Tom's" outer Axils. One of my next mods is a rear end cooler and I have considered a cooler for may TKO 600

I should also say that i use 420+ plus year steel custom spring and 3/4 sway bar with an additional rear tire track width of 6 inches. the additional inches require more spring because of leverage.

Same idea as the Jeeps. they had a roll over problem so they made the track fron and rear @ 4 inches wider and it pretty much cured the roll over problem.

I recently went sideways at 90+ mph on a track before the 90 degree turn. I went accross the rumble strips and on around off into the gravel traps. On the same turn hours later a $100,000+ dollar full racing BMW pitched sideways in the exact same spot and did some barrel rolls on the pavement and off into end over end out through the gravel traps. I'm glad that i have smart struts and no body roll.