Top 5 Best Coilovers for the Chevrolet C6 Corvette
Are you looking to get the most out of your C6 Corvette?
One of the best performance enhancements you can do to these cars is to install a good set of coilovers.
In this post, I’m going to cover the benefits of converting to coilovers on the C6 Corvette, as well as give you the top 5 coilovers on the market today.
Let’s get right into it.
The Benefits of Installing Coilovers on Your C6 Corvette
From the factory, the Corvette has a composite leaf spring both front and rear. While Chevrolet certainly had their reasons for this, if you are looking for performance, this is not an ideal setup.
Why They Used Leaf Springs on the Corvette
The reason that Chevy used leaf springs on the Corvette is because they actually have several benefits over coil springs.
For starters, it allowed them to design a very low profile body, as the car didn’t need to have tall strut towers to allow for a coil spring setup.
Leaf springs also allow for more space behind the wheels, which allows you to fit wider wheels and bigger tyres, the benefits of which I’m sure all readers will understand.
The leaf springs on the Corvette were made from a special composite material and are actually much lighter than a steel leaf spring at the same spring rate.
So What’s the Problem With Leaf Springs?
If your goal is to improve the performance of your Corvette, particularly the handling, leaf springs are not going to cut it.
The main issue with leaf springs is that they are not an independent system. Because both wheels on the axle share the same spring, they are connected and what results is what’s called “cross-talk”, meaning that load from one side is being passed on to the other side through the mounts.
The problem with this is that as load is placed on one side, the other side is trying to lift, creating more roll when the car is taking a corner. It basically produced the opposite effect of what a sway bar is supposed to do. This bad for grip and will also cause unpredictable handling and transitions between oversteer and understeer. It also makes for a harsher ride.
Another problem with leaf springs is that they are progressive, and not fully independent, which makes it impossible to fully control the suspension setup.
The Performance Benefits of Replacing Leaf Springs with Coilovers
When you replace the factory leaf springs with coilovers you get several benefits including:
- Truly independent suspension which you are able to fine tune with different spring rates and damper settings
- Adjustable ride height
- Weight savings (coilovers are lighter than the factory leaf spring setup)
- More comfortable ride
- Adjustable damper stiffness (depending on the coilover model)
So, while the leaf springs do a fine job on the factory setup and work as intended, if you are looking to get more performance and improve the handling of your Corvette, converting to coilovers is going to give you a significant improvement.
Installing Coilovers on the C6 Corvette
The good news is that there are a lot of coilover options for the C6, and the swap is a fairly simple procedure. Since the C5 and C6 are very similar mechanically, the C5 Corvette coilovers are often the same as the C6, giving you a large choice of aftermarket options.
Also, the chassis doesn’t require any strengthening or modification to install coilovers, so all you need to do is to remove the old leaf springs and dampers, and install the new coilovers in the place of the old dampers. It’s that simple.
The 5 Best Coilovers for the C6 Corvette
Now I’m going to give you the top 5 coilover options available for the C6 Corvette.
Fortune Auto 500 Series
Price: $1950
The Fortune Auto 500 Series is a highly customizable and even upgradeable coilover kit designed to give you excellent performance and a comfortable ride.
Fortune Auto design their coilovers with performance in mind, and these feature monotube dampers with high flow digressive pistons which are designed to give you a high degree of driver feel and responsiveness while still maintaining a comfortable street ride. They also give you 24 levels of dampening adjustment.
The ride height on these is done by the shock body and typically gives you 1-3 inches of lowering. This allows you to maintain full suspension travel at all ride heights, as opposed to setups that adjust ride height by the spring perch.
As mentioned, these coilovers are modular and can be upgraded to a higher spec all the way up to 2-way dampening adjustment with external reservoirs.
They can also be customized to suit your needs including custom spring rates and valving, and Swift Springs as an optional upgrade.
Fortune Auto also have very strict quality standards, testing every damper on the dyno and matching them in pairs to within a 3% tolerance. All kits are hand assembled at their facility in Virginia, USA, which is also where all servicing and upgrades are done.
All their kits also come with a 5 year warranty which is one of the longest in the industry.
If you are looking for a high performance street kit that will handle track use and can be upgraded later on, these are perfect.
Features include:
- Ride height adjustment by the shock body
- Lowers 1-3 inches
- 24-way rebound dampening adjustment
- Monotube dampers with high pressure nitrogen and high flow digressive piston technology
- Koyo Japan radial bearings
- Aluminium T6 6061 aluminium strut mounts
- Swift Spring upgrade available
- Custom spring rates and valving available
- Upgradable to 2-way independently adjustable with external reservoir
- 5 year warranty
GET C6 CORVETTE FORTUNE AUTO 500 SERIES FOR THE BEST PRICE HERE
aFe Control PFADT Series Featherlight
Price: $3122
The aFe Control PFAFT Series Featherlight coilovers are designed as the perfect blend between ride comfort and performance and will give a good balance of street and track.
These feature monotube dampers with double digressive pistons that give you 24 levels of compression/rebound simultaneous adjustment.
The dampers are also inverted, meaning the weight is placed on the body rather than the suspension, reducing the unsprung weight and making the suspension more responsive.
It also allows the adjustment knobs to be placed on the bottom of the damper, making them easier to reach and adjust.
These also feature a Concentric Integrated Remote Canister (CIRC) System which allows for more than triple the gas volume, resulting in more consistent damping over a wider temperature range.
The upper mount is a Ball on Axis (BOA) design, which is completely sealed and allows for full suspension articulation, and is a more durable and quieter solution with less travel loss than other mounting systems on Corvettes.
This coilover kit is an excellent high quality option for both performance street cars and cars that will see track time. These are also available as a <<drag specific kit which can be found here>>.
Features include:
- Ride height adjustment by the spring perch
- Inverted monotube dampers with CIRC remote canister system
- 24 levels of dampening adjustment (compression/rebound simultaneous)
- Ball On Axis upper mounts
- Hard Anodized 6061-T6 Aluminum Bodies for Lightweight and Strength
- 2 year warranty
GET THE C6 CORVETTE aFe Control PFADT Series Featherlight FOR THE BEST PRICE HERE
Silvers Neomax
Price: $1299
These Silvers coilovers are another highly customizable and upgradeable option that is a bit more budget friendly.
These give you ride height adjustment by the shock body rather than the spring perch and lower the car 1-3 inches on most applications.
The dampers are monotube with “hybrid” linear pistons with digressive valving, and give you 24 levels of dampening adjustment. They are designed to be the perfect balance between street comfort and responsive handling.
This kit is modular and can be upgraded to 2-way dampening adjustable with external reservoirs. It’s also highly customizable, with custom spring rates and valving, as well as Swift Spring upgrade and other options.
Silver’s have very strict quality control and test every damper on the shock dyno, scrapping any that are not within a 5% tolerance. They also pride themselves on extremely fast turn-around times, getting kits completed within 10 days even if it’s a custom order.
This kit is a very good budget friendly option that will give you a great balance of street and track and the ability to upgrade in the future.
Features include:
- Ride height adjustment by the shock body
- Lowers 1-3 inches on most models
- 24-level dampening adjustment
- Monotube dampers with digressive valving and 44mm linear piston
- Carbon steel shock bodies, electroless nickel plated for corrosion protection
- 18 month warranty
- Custom spring rates and valving options
- Swift Spring upgrade available
- Upgradeable to 2-way dampening adjustable
GET C6 CORVETTE SILVERS NEOMAX FOR THE BEST PRICE
BC Racing BR Series
Price: $1195
The BC Racing BR Series coilovers are an excellent value for money option if you are looking for coilovers for your Corvette. These coilovers do a fantastic job of being the perfect all rounder for a very affordable price.
Ride height adjustment is done by the shock body, typically giving you 1-3 inches of lowering and giving you full suspension stroke at all ride heights.
The dampers are monotube and feature linear valving for more ride comfort. They give you 30 levels of dampening adjustment which adjusts the compression and rebound simultaneously.
These also give you a wide range of customization options including custom spring rates and valving, Swift Springs upgrade and more.
They also come with a 1 year warranty and are also fully rebuildable, with BC Racing selling all the individual parts to do the rebuild.
For street cars that will see occasional track use, these coilovers have proven to be an excellent choice at a fantastic price.
Features include:
- Ride height adjustment by the shock body
- Lowers ride height 1-3inches
- 30-level adjustable dampening (compression/ rebound simultaneous)
- Monotube dampers with linear valving
- Aluminium top mounts
- Rebuildable with all parts purchasable from BC Racing
- Custom spring rates and valving available
- Swift Spring upgrade available
- 1 year warranty
GET C6 CORVETTE BC RACING BR SERIES FOR THE BEST PRICE
Stance XR1
Price: $1795
The Stance XR1 coilovers are a great performance coilover designed to give you the perfect blend of street comfort and track handling.
Stance USA are heavily involved in motorsport, with their kits being regularly used in both Drift and Time Attack winning cars, as well as other motorsports both in USA and Japan.
The XR1 kit is a 1-way adjustable setup that gives you monotube dampers with digressive valving and 16 levels of adjustment with a super wide range.
Ride height adjustment on these is done by the shock body, allowing you to retain full suspension travel at all heights.
These also have an Electrodeposition polymer coating engineered specifically for Stance USA, and the shock bodies are have additional zinc phosphate pre treatment to ensure maximum corrosion resistance.
Stance USA will also customize these coilovers to suit your requirements including custom spring rates and valving, Swift Springs and more.
If you are looking for a high quality performance setup for your street car that will do some track days, these are a great option.
Features include:
- Ride height adjustment by the shock body
- Monotube dampers with digressive valving
- 16 levels of dampening adjustment
- Electrodeposition polymer coating engineered specifically for Stance USA
- Shock bodies have additional zinc phosphate pre treatment before getting the special coating for ultimate corrosion protection – exceeded 1000+ hours of salt spray test
- CAD designed aluminium lower brackets for reduced weight
- Thrust roller bearing spring seats to reduce noise and friction
- Custom spring rates and valving available
- Swift Spring upgrade available
- Helper springs to increase stroke length
- 2 year warranty
GET THE C6 CORVETTE STANCE XR1 KIT FOR THE BEST PRICE HERE
Conclusion
I hope this has helped you to find and select the right coilover kit for your C6 Corvette.
If you have any questions or would like to suggest another coilover kit to be included in this list, feel free to post in the comments below.
Cars owned: Mk2 Golf with 1.8T swap, BMW E28 with M30B35 swap, BMW E36 328I Mtech, BMW 750IL, Nissan 300ZX, Honda Civic EF
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