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Upgrading suspension one part at a time.

Todd00000

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I have a base GT with the 18 inch wheels and all season tires with 2,000 miles. I did not like the turn-in and slight push the car had. This car is street driven only, no pushing it's or my limits on the track or auto-x. It's much less expensive to track my GSXR-750 than a car.

My car resume: I've owned a 2002 Corvette Z06 with track day and auto-x lessons and over 1,000 miles on the Nurburgring and more auto-x than I can count. And a 2005 Corvette with Z51 and two older Ferraris with nothing but street time on them and numerous rides and drives in various sport cars over the years.

1. I just added stock 20 inch wheels with new Nitto 555G2s.
Cons: They are heavy. I could feel the difference in acceleration and braking from the start. That is easily compensated for by pressing the go and stop pedals faster and farther.
Pros: They turn in a little faster with no more push. (Honestly I could live without step 2 as this is a daily driver commuting car, but I have a sick need to modify things.)
They provide more feedback.
They look much better.

I wonder how carbon fiber wheels would feel???!!!

2. Next up will be Steeda front upper and lower braces and poly front and rear anti-roll bar bushings. I'll try to install these one at a time to report if I feel any difference on the street.
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Off to a good start, and I had the same assessment with how the car drove from the factory.

A stretched front tire (ala 275 on a 10” wheel) and stiffer front control arm bushings (love these things) made the largest improvement with turn-in on my PP GT. I got rid of the push with a larger rear swaybar (54% stiffer).

Lighter wheels really do make a big difference; my 20”ers are about 8-9lbs less each. I can actually feel the suspension working faster. For sure consider upgrading in the future.
 
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Todd00000

Todd00000

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I'm so happy with the new wheels and tires I don't think I'm going to add any braces.
 

tj@steeda

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That's no fun :(
 

2017GBGTPP

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I'm so happy with the new wheels and tires I don't think I'm going to add any braces.
Give it awhile. Eventually you'll start noticing the next thing that needs improvement. But there's no point in spending that money now, so enjoy it while it lasts!
 

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Give it awhile. Eventually you'll start noticing the next thing that needs improvement. But there's no point in spending that money now, so enjoy it while it lasts!
Guilty as charged.
 

Red65

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There are quite a few components on these cars that I would avoid upgrading by themselves. One of the big ones is lowering springs. It's recommended (to my knowledge) that you couple lowering springs with extended balljoints on your lateral links, the new BMR rear shock mount, and possibly aftermarket camber bolts depending on how much lower the car is and if you can't get your desired camber setting. Will the car work with just lowering springs and no other mods? Absolutely. But you will run into problems such as increased body roll due to bad roll center, rear shocks bottoming out/popping on the factory shock mount, etc.

If I were you, I would open up a little more to bracing. I have the BMR 762 brace kit on my 2017 GT and it made a WORLD of difference in how the car felt in every aspect. Maybe look into a sway bar combo from the PP/GT350 and stretched tires (as mentioned above).
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