The lower ball joint should...
The lower ball joint should be popped loose on both sides to remove any pre-load from the leaf spring. The spring can then be removed from its perch and set aside.
Perhaps it is because the car is so very good in stock form that there are limited aftermarket options for C5 suspension components. Pfadt Race Engineering (pronounced "faht") is one company pioneering suspension products specifically designed and engineered for serious performance. That their components allow the user to adjust the ride height is just a bonus.
Pfadt Race Engineering proprietor Aaron Pfadt tells us that sway bars are the easiest way to perfect the handling of your car without sacrificing ride quality. Sway bars (anti-sway bars, actually) serve two primary functions: They reduce body roll towards the outside of the turn, and they are a means by which to tune the car's understeer behavior. The theory involved is complex to the point that books could be (and have been) written on the topic. Suffice it to say that stiffer sway bars will allow your car to corner with a flatter attitude without causing the ride degradation associated with a stiffer spring package.
The stock Sachs shocks (left)...
The stock Sachs shocks (left) perform remarkably well for what they are-a stock piece designed to balance performance, comfort, longevity, and cost. The Pfadt coilovers feature standard 2.25-inch diameter springs, fully rebuildable mono-tube construction, and an adjustable body length that maximizes ride-height adjustability.
"We've designed our bars to be adjustable so you can tune your handling. Our C5 sway bars are designed to bolt in for easy installation and set up to reduce your car's tendency to push in the turns," he explains. Another advantage of the Pfadt bars over stock is their lower mass. "Our bars are significantly lighter than stock and many aftermarket bars. For example, our front sway bar weighs 9.5 pounds. That is 4 pounds lighter than stock." Pfadt's "standard" sway bars measure 32mm diameter front and 26mm rear.
Coilover shocks are often thought of as hardcore race pieces. Coilovers are so named because they use a coil spring retained on a threaded shock body to support the car, eliminating the transverse leaf spring. While it is true that they are widely used on race cars of all genres, there is no reason coilovers cannot be used successfully on a dual-purpose track/street car.
Pfadt is quick to point out the coilover's virtues. "Our coilovers are engineered for exceptional street driving and track performance. Unlike some, Pfadt coilovers allow the ride height to be adjusted separately from spring pre-load. This means that ride height can be set wherever the owner desires, without turning the car's ride into a punishing experience." Pfadt coilovers also feature a compression-and-rebound-dampening adjustment that can be tuned with the shocks on the car. Additionally, the shocks are a mono-tube design for simplicity and durability, and they are fully rebuildable.
No modifications to the car...
No modifications to the car are required, as the Pfadt coilovers drop right in place.
Suspension modification can be incredibly rewarding or incredibly frustrating, depending on your experience in tuning the final package. For the install of the Pfadt package, March turned to Anti-Venom in Seffner, Florida. Anti-Venom owner Greg Lovell has 17 years of Corvette-suspension experience, which made him well-suited to the task at hand.
Lovell has installed many Corvette-suspension upgrades over the years, but he was especially impressed with the Pfadt parts. "[They] fit perfectly and were very nicely finished in both their plating and anodizing. The install was easy and went really quick. It did take some adjustment time on the alignment rack, as there are so many adjustments possible. They are truly first-class products. I highly recommend them."
Lovell graciously invited us to Anti-Venom to photograph the install of the Pfadt system. Look for our follow-up article next month, as we will get into the specific setup and have some track numbers for a stock-versus-Pfadt comparison.