Top 5 Best Coilovers for the Chevrolet Corvette C5
Are you looking to get the most performance out of your C5 Corvette? Installing coilovers is one of the best upgrades you can do. In this blog post I’m going to explain all the benefits of doing so and give you the top 5 coilovers available on the market today for the C5 Corvette.
Benefits of Installing Coilovers on the C5 Corvette
Why the Corvette Used Leaf Springs
Believe it or not, the Corvette actually has leaf springs both from and rear from the factory. They use a special composite leaf spring that was designed specifically for the Corvette, which weighs far less than a steel leaf spring set up at the same spring rate.
There are several benefits to using a leaf spring setup, most of which is the added space both behind the wheels so you can fit bigger tyres, as well as not having to have large strut towers which allows the design of the car to have a much lower profile.
The Problem With Leaf Springs
If you are looking to get the most performance from your Corvette, even as a street setup, coilovers are the way to go, for several reasons.
For starters, the leaf springs are not a truly independent suspension because both wheels on the axle share a single leaf spring. This results in what’s known as “cross-talk” between the wheels, where some of the load from one side is passed to the other side through the mounts.
Basically, the spring acts as a sort of anti-roll bar, except in this case it can actually promote roll rather than prevent it. This can cause unpredictable handling and transitions between understeer and oversteer, and a harsh ride.
The leaf springs are also progressive and don’t allow you to fine tune the spring rates fully independently on each wheel, so you don’t get full control over the suspension setup.
Performance Benefits of Replacing the Leaf Springs with Coilovers
By replacing the leaf springs with coilovers, you get several benefits:
- You get truly independent suspension which you can fine tune with different spring rates and damper settings
- You can adjust the ride height
- You save quite a bit of weight, as coilovers are often lighter than the leaf spring setup
- You actually get a more comfortable ride
- Depending on the coilover model, you can adjust the damper stiffness as well
While the leaf springs can perform well on the street with the car in stock form, if you are looking to get any kind of handling improvement, some form of coilover system is pretty much a must.
This is why almost all the Corvette race cars (unless class rules don’t allow for it) use a coilover system rather than the factory’s leaf spring design.
Installing Coilovers on the Corvette
Lucky for C5 owners, installing coilovers is a fairly simply job. The chassis doesn’t require any strengthening or modification. And since the C5 and C6 Corvette coilovers are very similar/the same, there are a wide range of options available.
For most C5 coilovers, all you need to do is remove the leaf spring setup and the dampers, and install the new coilovers in place of the old dampers.
Now I’m going to give you the top 5 coilover options for street and track C5 Corvettes.
The 5 Best Coilovers for the C5 Corvette
Fortune Auto 500 Series
Price: $1950
The Fortune Auto 500 Series is a rather unique coilover kit that has several features that most other kits do not.
To begin with, this kit is modular. What that means is that it can be upgraded, either to the 510 kit spec or to 2-way dampening adjustable with external reservoirs. So if you decide you need more from your suspension, you don’t have to buy a whole new kit, you just send yours in to get the upgrade.
Another thing that makes these coilovers special is that ever damper is tested on the shock dyno and matched in pairs to within 3%. The testing is done at Fortune Auto’s facility in Virginia, where every kit is then hand assembled before being shipped out. This ensures that every single kit they made is of the highest standard.
To back that up, Fortune Auto offer a 5 year warranty, which is one of the longest in the industry and says a lot about how much they stand behind their products.
The dampers on this kit are monotube with 24 levels of rebound dampening adjustment, and use high pressure nitrogen and a high flow digressive piston which gives the driver more feel and control over the car. They also have a special “blow-off” technology to keep the ride comfortable even over rough surfaces.
The springs are made from premium chrome silicon alloy which ensures superior performance, ride quality and a long life with minimal sagging. Swift Springs are available as an optional extra if you want the absolute best.
Fortune Auto will also customize these coilovers to suit your needs including custom spring rates and valving, and they even have a super low option if you want to go really low.
These coilovers are very impressive, and compared to other high end coilovers, aren’t even that expensive.
If you are looking for a fantastic street coilover that can handle track use and will give you both ride comfort and excellent handling, these are a great choice.
Features include:
- Ride height adjustment by the shock body for full suspension travel at all ride heights
- Lowers the car 1-3 inches, Super Low option lowers 2.5-5 inches (depending on the model)
- 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 with camber adjustment (on applicable models)
- Swift Spring upgrade available
- Custom spring rates and valving available
- Upgradable to 2-way independently adjustable with external reservoir
- 5 year warranty
You can get the Fortune Auto 500 Series here for the best price:
GET C5 CORVETTE FORTUNE AUTO 500 SERIES FOR THE BEST PRICE
Silvers Neomax
Price: $1299
The Silvers Neomax coilovers are another great option if you are looking for a modular and highly customizable kit.
These coilovers feature monotube dampers with 24 levels of dampening adjustment which are also tested on the shock dyno to ensure that they are within 5% tolerance. Any damper that isn’t get scrapped.
This kit is modular and can be upgraded to 2-way dampening adjustment with external reservoirs when the time comes. They are also highly customizable, with custom spring rates and valving an option, as well as Swift Spring upgrade and a Super Low option.
Silver’s also pride themselves on extremely fast turn-around times, getting kits completed within 10 days even if it’s a custom order.
While they are made in Taiwan, they are not outsourced like most other coilovers, but rather made at Silvers’ own facility. This allows Silvers to maintain the strict quality control and fast production times.
These coilovers have a lot of positive reviews online and many happy customers, and come with an 18 month warranty, making these another great option that is more budget friendly.
Features include:
- Ride height adjustment by the shock body
- Lowers 1-3 inches on standard kit, up to 5 inches on Super Low kit (depending on the model)
- 24-level dampening adjustment
- Monotube dampers with digressive valving and 44mm linear piston
- Carbon steel shock bodies, electroless nickle plated for corrosion protection
- 18 month warranty
- Custom spring rates and valving options
- Swift Spring upgrade available
You can get the Silvers Neomax for the best price here:
GET C5 CORVETTE SILVERS NEOMAX FOR THE BEST PRICE
BC Racing BR Series
Price: $1195
The BC Racing BR Series is an incredibly popular coilover kit for several good reasons.
It is BC Racing’s entry level kit and does a superb job of being the perfect all-rounder that can handle both comfortable daily riving and track duty, all for a very low price.
This kit is also very customizable, from custom spring rates and valving, to Swift Springs, Extreme Low, rear camber plates (on applicable models) and more, you can basically order the perfect kit to suit your needs.
The BR Series come with monotube dampers that give you 30 levels of dampening adjustment (simultaneous compression/rebound) which allow you to fine tune the ride and handling to suit your requirements and quickly adjust if you need to.
The height adjustment is done by the shock body, which ensures you have full suspension travel at all heights and means you can corner balance the car. This not only makes for a better ride, but it means your dampers will last longer at low ride heights since they won’t be bottoming out all the time.
The regular kit will lower your car from 1 to 3 inches, and if you opt for the Extreme Low option, it will go up to 4 inches lower than factory (depending on the car model).
These coilovers have proven many times over to take almost anything thrown at them, with many people using them for daily driving, track use and more.
When you take into account the customizability, the build quality, the ride comfort, handling performance, their proven reputation and value for money, there are few other kits on the market that can compete.
They come with a 1 year warranty and are also fully rebuildable, with BC Racing selling all the individual parts to do the rebuild.
You really can’t go wrong with a set of BR Series coilovers. They are the perfect all-round setup for both street cars and cars that will see the track.
Features include:
- Ride height adjustment from the shock body
- Lowers ride height from 1-3inches, Extreme low option goes 2-4 inches
- 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
You can get the BC Racing BR Series for the best price here:
GET C5 CORVETTE BC RACING BR SERIES FOR THE BEST PRICE
Yellow Speed Dynamic Pro Sport
Price: $999
Just scraping in under the $1000 mark, if you are on a budget but want to upgrade your suspension, the Yellow Speeds are one of your best choices.
These offer shock body ride height adjustment which give you full suspension travel at all heights, as well as 33-level dampening adjustment from monotube dampers.
Designed as a performance coilover, these have a great reputation from people using them both on and off the track.
Yellow Speed themselves are actively involved in motorsport, which is always a good sign from a company that makes performance parts.
For a relatively cheap coilover that will give you good performance, the Yellow Speed Dynamic Pro Sports are one of the best you’ll find. They also come with a 2 year warranty which is one of the best in this price range.
Features include:
- Ride height adjustment by the shock body – up to 2.5 inches of lowering on most applications
- 33-level dampening adjustment
- Monotube dampers
- Aluminium pillowball rear top mounts
- Steel construction with electroplating and anodizing for corrosion protection
- 2 year warranty
You can get the Yellow Speed coilovers for the best price here:
GET C5 CORVETTE YELLOW SPEED DYNAMIC SPORT PRO FOR THE BEST PRICE HERE
KW Clubsport
Price: $4514
KW is one of the most renowned suspension manufacturers in the world, producing very high quality kits that offer fantastic performance as well as excellent ride quality.
The V3 Clubsport kit is made to offer excellent performance at the track combined with trackday tyres, having been designed for use on the Nordschleife.
This kit gives you independent rebound and compression adjustment which allows you to fine tune the damper settings in order to perfectly match your cars setup and handling characteristics.
KW puts an incredible amount of engineering behind all of their kits, with every single kit being fine-tuned for the vehicle it’s made for to ensure the best performance and ride quality. They also have an in-house 7 post driving dynamics test facility which they use to develop and tune their coilovers, which is on par with what Formula 1 use to develop their suspension.
Another thing that KW coilovers are famous for is their special INOX-LINE stainless steel shock bodies, which have been salt spray tested for 220 hours. Combined with their unique composite spring perch, these coilovers will survive the harshest weather and will not corrode, and KW back that up with a lifetime warranty.
If you are looking for a kit that’s going to be comfortable on the street but will give you maximum performance and adjustability on the track, the KW V3 Clubsport is one of the best choices out there.
Features include:
- Ride height adjustment done by spring perch
- 16-level rebound adjustment
- 12-level low speed compression adjustment
- INOX-LINE stainless steel shock bodies
- Composite spring perches
- Fine-tuned for each specific vehicle
- Designed for maximum performance on the track
- Lifetime warranty
- Rebuildable
You can get the KW Clubsport for the best price here:
GET C5 CORVETTE KW CLUBSPORT FOR THE BEST PRICE HERE
Conclusion
I hope this list has helped you to find and select the right coilover for your C5 Corvette. If you have any questions or would like to suggest another coilover to be included, 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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