The only thing this video taught me, is how obscenely high my Corvette was riding. I was at 29.5" rears and 28" in Front. Turns out the Dealership I bought my car from, never winded the car back down after it was transported, so I was literally driving at "Transport height" and not stock height this entire time! No wonder I was able to fit a fist into the wheel wells...!
When I bought my Z06 the dealer asked me to if I wanted the car lowered off the "Transport Hight" but I declined in fear of making the car too low for the crapy streets of Miami Beach. My C6 was already a problem. I'm getting ready to change my original Cup 2 tires, and I'm really tempted to bring the car down. Did you lowered your car after watching this video?
I'm new to the Corvette scene. Thanks for sharing this easy mod. Definitely looks better lowered even though it's only a small amount. Anything to reduce that wheel gap is a bonus! 👍🏻
What do you guys think? Can you see the difference in ride height? After a few days, all 4 corners settled nicely. 1.25” in the rear and 7/8” in the front.
HorsePower Obsessed That’s awesome! It’s one of the best DIY features on a modern Corvette. I’ll keep my eyes out for the video! I’ll be interested in your before and after measurements.
Funny you mention that...I have several mods to do that would otherwise be done already. Gotta wait tho for some dedicated time to video the installs! Was so much easier, but not nearly as fun, before UA-cam.
Great Video , I love the way it turned out , it’s well worth the effort , it definitely looks better . Beautifully Vette , Black & Red are my favorite colors together of course mine is Daytona Orange Sunset but is nice . I’m going to do mine now ,thanks for Posting !👍👍
Thanks! Yeah, the procedure is basically the same for C5, C6 and C7 Corvettes. My C5 is lowered on stock bolts as well. It’s quick and easy. The best part, ride quality is not compromised.
Ha! I was hoping no one would have noticed...😂UA-cam is a double edged sword. I have to find ample time to film a video, which means sometimes mods are delayed further than I’d like them to be. I have a few mods in the garage that I hope to film tomorrow. Hope to see you at C&C again.
Thanks, I’m learning so much all the good educational information you shared with us. Thank you so much for always acknowledging my all fellow Veterans and subscriber like me. God bless and you may grow more and teach more people like me, you actually inspired me to do my own work now. On my 2017 Grand sports LT3
I would suggest, for a more even lowering, that you mark the bolts so that you can count the number of turns at each bolt instead of just cranking them all the way down and backing off a quarter.
Great idea! Thankfully all settled out evenly after a few days of driving. I would suggest an alignment afterwards as the Michelin’s wore out prematurely on the insides.
@@Team512 Getting a fresh alignment is absolutely mandatory anytime you change the suspension height on any car, whether you do it like this or with lowering springs.
Ltngdrvr Agreed. My biggest problem is finding a local shop I trust to do the work. The last one took a chunk out of my wheel and tried to cover it up with ill-matching touch up paint. After several attempts to contact the manager, I finally gave up.
Yes I sure did. And as you probably know a set of rears for this car costs about $1000. It was a local Corvette performance shop that boogered up my wheel. Unfortunately, the dealerships around me are not what I would call Corvette friendly.
Does the car need an alignment after doing the lowering. My problem is I put a Zr1 replica front end on my C7 and it’s too low. So I’m going to raise my car up an inch. Great video and explanation! Thanks Jim. 12:10
Yes! I would definitely recommend an alignment after raising or lowering your car. I didn’t right away and had to put a new set of front tires on before I planned.
I believe the C5’s were the first generation that could be lowered with factory bolts. It’s one of the many great features of these cars. Best part, ride quality doesn’t change. At least that’s been my experience so far. And it looks so much better! 👍
If you decide to lower it, I highly recommend an alignment. I didn’t, and had to buy 2 new rear tires after only 6000 miles. Thanks for the kind words!
Great video, this project was very simple! I tried this on my 2015 Z51 and I only got a drop of less than 3/4” in the rear and less than 1/2” in the front. I only drove it about a mile to let it settle. Should it it drop some more as I continue to drive more?
I found that it dropped a bit more but nothing significant as significant as the initial drop. I would advise an alignment. I didn’t at first and ate through a set of tires pretty quick.
?? Did you get an alignment afterwards? Does it change the negative camber much? Does toe change as well, and tire wear (inside vs outside of the tread) pattern change as well?? Thanks and very nice video....
Thank so much for the kind words. And thanks for watching and commenting. I did not get an alignment immediately after I lowered it. But, I wish I would have. I had to replace the rear tires due to some pretty bad wear on the inside edges. Learned my lesson! So, yes, I would recommend an alignment.
I lowered my c5 and thought all was well. About a year later I realized the inner half of the left front tire was worn down to the wear bars. The rest of the tires still had some life. So if you do this, an alignment won't hurt any. I'd like to do this to my c7 but don't want to mess with an alignment right now so I'll just wait a little longer.
Nice tutorial on lowering the GS Scott. I'm amazed you got those numbers with just using the factory bolts. An unrelated question. Did you put on the red trim wheel beading, or is it a dealer installed item, or ? I'm still trying to catch up on your previous uploads, so maybe the answer to my question is in one of them, but what's the story with C5? Save the Wave.
Thanks! The car settled nicely with about a 1”’drop all the way around. I was surprised too. The red stripe on the wheels was a factory option. There’s actually a groove in the wheel that houses the stripe. The C5 FRC is my first Corvette. I have several videos featuring it. It’s cammed with full exhaust. Fun car to drive!👍
Nice video......I just bought a 2017 Gran Sport and I'm wondering how I can tell if it is already lowered? Any visible clues I can look for? I thought about seeing how close the measurements are to your before or after, but I can't quite tell the exact location you are measuring from on the wheel well. thx
Thanks Rob! Pause the video at 1'18" and you can see I'm measuring from the floor of the garage through the centerline of the front wheel to the edge of the plastic fender lip. 27 5/8" You can also sometimes eyeball the gap between the top of the tire and the lip of the fender. If it looks considerable, it probably wasn't lowered. You can also remove a wheel and look at how many threads are showing on the lowering bolt. If you're going to lower your Grand Sport, I highly recommend getting an alignment. I just bought new rear tires after only 5000 miles.
Starting with the C5, GM engineers designed this suspension to be adjustable. Whether or not it adds additional stress, I can’t speak to. Anecdotally, I haven’t heard of any issues resulting from lowering the ride height except for scraping. Both of my Corvettes are lowered on stock bolts and I’ve noticed no difference in overall ride quality and driveability.
I haven’t measured splitter to ground. But the fronts settled at 7/8” lower and the rears 1.25”. Was a noticeable difference. No problems with driveability and I rarely scrape if at all.
nice vid...im waiting 4 my red hash marks from gm..i have a blac on blac 18 gr.sport..i think i will lower mine..im just hopin that it will not cause any long term damage..the car is on its fac..warranty..+ im worried about scrapping..??what you think?
Awesome! I suggest you get an alignment after you lower the car. Otherwise you'll eat through tires...ask me how I know. Lol. As far as scraping, I don't have any issues, but you're experience might be different depending on driveways, etc.
Hey scott , I just lowered my 19GS taking the stock bolts all the way down and got my alignment. The shop couldn't get my front camber in spec, currently -2.75 degrees negative camber. They said the cars camber adjustment was maxed out. Did u run into this problem with your GS ? TY
Interesting. I did not run into that issue. What type of shop did you take it to? I’m thinking a shop that’s used to dealing with corvettes would have figured it out. Especially if they knew you lowered it.
@@Team512 Took it to my local tire shop they have been fine in the past. They even do track prep on some peoples vettes that take them to Seabring raceway in FL ( I live in FL). They said this is a common problem with vettes after lowering them on the bolts but its the first I have heard of it. Not looking forward to destroying tires with -2.75 degrees camber. Maybe i need to do some more digging.
@@gunsmokezz No I never did figure it out. I ended up selling the car because the market was so good. It is possible that the alignment shop I used was not so smart. Probably worth getting a second look at another shop
hey good going man. ordered my awe tuning x pipe cause of you. Im also building my channels. Question: I really think the stock form is low enough already. What made you want to lower the car even more?
Awesome! Did you order new donuts gaskets for the install? I would suggest doing so, just in case your stock ones are toast. I lowered it on stock bolts to close the wheel gap as much as possible. Ride quality hasn’t changed and I don’t scrape on anything.
I too was concerned about scraping. With the bolts adjusted to the max I haven’t experienced much or any scraping and driveability was not affected. The front dropped 7/8 of an inch and the rear 1.25 inches. Yes. Good ears. I have a gun club behind my property. 😎
Maybe I was one of the few that was unlucky....but about 6 months after lowering the car using the bolts my rear leaf spring blew out. $1500 to replace
The only thing this video taught me, is how obscenely high my Corvette was riding. I was at 29.5" rears and 28" in Front.
Turns out the Dealership I bought my car from, never winded the car back down after it was transported, so I was literally driving at "Transport height" and not stock height this entire time!
No wonder I was able to fit a fist into the wheel wells...!
When I bought my Z06 the dealer asked me to if I wanted the car lowered off the "Transport Hight" but I declined in fear of making the car too low for the crapy streets of Miami Beach. My C6 was already a problem. I'm getting ready to change my original Cup 2 tires, and I'm really tempted to bring the car down. Did you lowered your car after watching this video?
Nice video, I need you as a neighbor. I would like to lower my C7 Z06 finding a good shop to do this with after market bolts, priceless.
That little change makes a huge difference in appearance. No more 4x4 mode 👍. Nice vid as always bro
Thanks bro. Yeah, its been a few days and the car settled a bit more. Made a big difference!
You have all the right tools and equipment for the job. Nice
I'm new to the Corvette scene. Thanks for sharing this easy mod. Definitely looks better lowered even though it's only a small amount. Anything to reduce that wheel gap is a bonus! 👍🏻
What do you guys think? Can you see the difference in ride height? After a few days, all 4 corners settled nicely. 1.25” in the rear and 7/8” in the front.
I'm literally making this same video this weekend on my ZR1... Great minds!
I'm gonna keep my comments clean lol... the wheel gap looks a lot better.
HorsePower Obsessed That’s awesome! It’s one of the best DIY features on a modern Corvette. I’ll keep my eyes out for the video! I’ll be interested in your before and after measurements.
@@Team512 definitely! I did it on my Z06 before I had a UA-cam channel
Funny you mention that...I have several mods to do that would otherwise be done already. Gotta wait tho for some dedicated time to video the installs! Was so much easier, but not nearly as fun, before UA-cam.
Great Video , I love the way it turned out , it’s well worth the effort , it definitely looks better . Beautifully Vette , Black & Red are my favorite colors together of course mine is Daytona Orange Sunset but is nice . I’m going to do mine now ,thanks for Posting !👍👍
I really like the low profile lift you have👍✌
Roastum1 USA Thanks! Yeah, the Max Jax lift is awesome. I got tired of rolling around on the floor.
Thank you and appreciate the vlog on lowering the C7. Blue skies, Jg
Thanks so much John!👍
Thanks for the great video course in lowering a C7. Very well done. Thanks for the tip.
Don’t forget to get an alignment!
First mod I will be doing.
Thanks on how to do it.
Nice man , dropping the stock bolts this week. Thanks for the great content
Awesome! Make sure you get an alignment. I killed my rear tires after only 6000 miles. Lol.
Five12 Garage sure that had nothing to do with your right foot lol .
@@JDM_MSK Yeah...you're probably right. lol
Five12 Garage The suspension definitely settles after a few miles . I am getting my alignment tomorrow. Next is the AWE Xpipe install !
A lot of ppl dont know about this feature! You beat me to it..I was going to do a smiliar video lol. Looks great!!!
Thanks! Yeah, the procedure is basically the same for C5, C6 and C7 Corvettes. My C5 is lowered on stock bolts as well. It’s quick and easy. The best part, ride quality is not compromised.
Getting there! Looks good! I was thinking to myself you should do this when I
Saw the car in person! Ha!
Ha! I was hoping no one would have noticed...😂UA-cam is a double edged sword. I have to find ample time to film a video, which means sometimes mods are delayed further than I’d like them to be. I have a few mods in the garage that I hope to film tomorrow. Hope to see you at C&C again.
Great job! Very informative. Are those bolts on every C7 or just the Grand sport? Thanks
Thanks, I’m learning so much all the good educational information you shared with us.
Thank you so much for always acknowledging my all fellow Veterans and subscriber like me. God bless and you may grow more and teach more people like me, you actually inspired me to do my own work now. On my 2017 Grand sports LT3
Thanks so much for the kind words!
When you lowered your C7 do you have to align the wheels?
Yes. Get an alignment.
Nice Grand Sport!
Thanks!
Awesome and very helpful video man! Nice work
I would suggest, for a more even lowering, that you mark the bolts so that you can count the number of turns at each bolt instead of just cranking them all the way down and backing off a quarter.
Great idea! Thankfully all settled out evenly after a few days of driving. I would suggest an alignment afterwards as the Michelin’s wore out prematurely on the insides.
@@Team512 Getting a fresh alignment is absolutely mandatory anytime you change the suspension height on any car, whether you do it like this or with lowering springs.
Ltngdrvr Agreed. My biggest problem is finding a local shop I trust to do the work. The last one took a chunk out of my wheel and tried to cover it up with ill-matching touch up paint. After several attempts to contact the manager, I finally gave up.
@@Team512 Dealer maybe? Without the alignment you smoked some tires, so you have to find a good shop!
Yes I sure did. And as you probably know a set of rears for this car costs about $1000. It was a local Corvette performance shop that boogered up my wheel. Unfortunately, the dealerships around me are not what I would call Corvette friendly.
Nice tip!!
Does the car need an alignment after doing the lowering. My problem is I put a Zr1 replica front end on my C7 and it’s too low. So I’m going to raise my car up an inch. Great video and explanation! Thanks Jim.
12:10
Yes! I would definitely recommend an alignment after raising or lowering your car. I didn’t right away and had to put a new set of front tires on before I planned.
@@Team512 thanks
Thanks for the demo
Thank you Sir!
You’re welcome!
I never knew that it could be lowered by the factory setup bolts.
I believe the C5’s were the first generation that could be lowered with factory bolts. It’s one of the many great features of these cars. Best part, ride quality doesn’t change. At least that’s been my experience so far. And it looks so much better! 👍
Nice man! Good job!!
Thanks buddy!
Have you had any problems since dropping your Vette. Thinking about doing the same. Beautiful car too. Love it.
If you decide to lower it, I highly recommend an alignment. I didn’t, and had to buy 2 new rear tires after only 6000 miles. Thanks for the kind words!
Great video, this project was very simple! I tried this on my 2015 Z51 and I only got a drop of less than 3/4” in the rear and less than 1/2” in the front. I only drove it about a mile to let it settle. Should it it drop some more as I continue to drive more?
I found that it dropped a bit more but nothing significant as significant as the initial drop. I would advise an alignment. I didn’t at first and ate through a set of tires pretty quick.
Nice Vid! Great Job!!
Thanks buddy!
?? Did you get an alignment afterwards? Does it change the negative camber much? Does toe change as well, and tire wear (inside vs outside of the tread) pattern change as well?? Thanks and very nice video....
Thank so much for the kind words. And thanks for watching and commenting. I did not get an alignment immediately after I lowered it. But, I wish I would have. I had to replace the rear tires due to some pretty bad wear on the inside edges. Learned my lesson! So, yes, I would recommend an alignment.
I lowered my c5 and thought all was well. About a year later I realized the inner half of the left front tire was worn down to the wear bars. The rest of the tires still had some life. So if you do this, an alignment won't hurt any. I'd like to do this to my c7 but don't want to mess with an alignment right now so I'll just wait a little longer.
Nice tutorial on lowering the GS Scott. I'm amazed you got those numbers with just using the factory bolts. An unrelated question. Did you put on the red trim wheel beading, or is it a dealer installed item, or ? I'm still trying to catch up on your previous uploads, so maybe the answer to my question is in one of them, but what's the story with C5? Save the Wave.
Thanks! The car settled nicely with about a 1”’drop all the way around. I was surprised too. The red stripe on the wheels was a factory option. There’s actually a groove in the wheel that houses the stripe. The C5 FRC is my first Corvette. I have several videos featuring it. It’s cammed with full exhaust. Fun car to drive!👍
Thanks. I'll keep working my way through your older videos.
Nice video......I just bought a 2017 Gran Sport and I'm wondering how I can tell if it is already lowered? Any visible clues I can look for? I thought about seeing how close the measurements are to your before or after, but I can't quite tell the exact location you are measuring from on the wheel well.
thx
Thanks Rob! Pause the video at 1'18" and you can see I'm measuring from the floor of the garage through the centerline of the front wheel to the edge of the plastic fender lip. 27 5/8" You can also sometimes eyeball the gap between the top of the tire and the lip of the fender. If it looks considerable, it probably wasn't lowered. You can also remove a wheel and look at how many threads are showing on the lowering bolt. If you're going to lower your Grand Sport, I highly recommend getting an alignment. I just bought new rear tires after only 5000 miles.
THX!
Rob F Sure! Hope I helped. Feel free to email me if you have any other questions. Teamfive12garage@gmail.com
Does lowering it put any additonal stress on suspension components?
Starting with the C5, GM engineers designed this suspension to be adjustable. Whether or not it adds additional stress, I can’t speak to. Anecdotally, I haven’t heard of any issues resulting from lowering the ride height except for scraping. Both of my Corvettes are lowered on stock bolts and I’ve noticed no difference in overall ride quality and driveability.
What car lift do you have?
It’s a MaxJax mid ride lift.
Did you have a alignment done?
Yes. Definitely recommend an alignment.
What was the final ground clearance?
I haven’t measured splitter to ground. But the fronts settled at 7/8” lower and the rears 1.25”. Was a noticeable difference. No problems with driveability and I rarely scrape if at all.
nice vid...im waiting 4 my red hash marks from gm..i have a blac on blac 18 gr.sport..i think i will lower mine..im just hopin that it will not cause any long term damage..the car is on its fac..warranty..+ im worried about scrapping..??what you think?
Awesome! I suggest you get an alignment after you lower the car. Otherwise you'll eat through tires...ask me how I know. Lol. As far as scraping, I don't have any issues, but you're experience might be different depending on driveways, etc.
@@Team512 THANCS 4 YOUR RESPONCE!!!IM STILL GOIN 2 DO IT..
Hey scott ,
I just lowered my 19GS taking the stock bolts all the way down and got my alignment. The shop couldn't get my front camber in spec, currently -2.75 degrees negative camber. They said the cars camber adjustment was maxed out. Did u run into this problem with your GS ?
TY
Interesting. I did not run into that issue. What type of shop did you take it to? I’m thinking a shop that’s used to dealing with corvettes would have figured it out. Especially if they knew you lowered it.
@@Team512 Took it to my local tire shop they have been fine in the past. They even do track prep on some peoples vettes that take them to Seabring raceway in FL ( I live in FL). They said this is a common problem with vettes after lowering them on the bolts but its the first I have heard of it. Not looking forward to destroying tires with -2.75 degrees camber. Maybe i need to do some more digging.
@@JDM_MSK have you figured out the solution ?
@@gunsmokezz
No I never did figure it out. I ended up selling the car because the market was so good. It is possible that the alignment shop I used was not so smart. Probably worth getting a second look at another shop
hey good going man. ordered my awe tuning x pipe cause of you. Im also building my channels. Question: I really think the stock form is low enough already. What made you want to lower the car even more?
Awesome! Did you order new donuts gaskets for the install? I would suggest doing so, just in case your stock ones are toast. I lowered it on stock bolts to close the wheel gap as much as possible. Ride quality hasn’t changed and I don’t scrape on anything.
Debating on doing mine, looks better, but scraping is my concern. Someone’s practicing...gunshots at 11:24?
I too was concerned about scraping. With the bolts adjusted to the max I haven’t experienced much or any scraping and driveability was not affected. The front dropped 7/8 of an inch and the rear 1.25 inches.
Yes. Good ears. I have a gun club behind my property. 😎
Maybe I was one of the few that was unlucky....but about 6 months after lowering the car using the bolts my rear leaf spring blew out. $1500 to replace
Oh man. I haven’t heard of that happening. Was it a direct result of the lowering bolts? Or was there some other factor involved?
looks the same but now needs an alignment
Your impact doesn’t sound like this - lmao 😂
Greg Lehr Lol! Love the sound of pneumatic tools. 😎
...everyone is rich but me it seems 😐