soontobeclassic

I am looking into getting new rims for my 97 Z28. I would like to stick with 16's but hate seeing the wheel gap. what do i need to do to lower it about an inch? keep in mind i am not a mechanical person but can figure it out if im told what i need to do. Ive read that when lowering you can get some sway in the rear from the body not lining up. would an inch cause that problem also? I dont want to invest a huge amount of money into the lowering right now (have to get rims, new paint job where a tow truck backed into it) but would like to get a closer gap without stepping up to 17's.

Injuneer

Going from 16" to 17" wheels, or any other size wheels will not change the "gap". The gap is determinied by the outside diameter of the tires, and when you go to a larger wheel size, you hold the outside diameter of the tire the same, by using a lower aspect ratio tire.

Example:

Stock, with Z-rated tire option: 245/50-16 = 25.7" tire diameter

Stock, SS or WS6 coupes: 275/40-17 = 25.7" tire diameter.

You lower the car to close the gap. You lower it one of two ways:

-get "lowering" springs, with matching shocks

-adjustable coil/over shocks

When you lower the car an inch, the radius of the panhard rod causes the body to move about 1/10th inch to the passenger side, relative to the rear axle. That can be corrected with an adjustable panhard rod. The side-to-side motion of the rear of the car will change when the body end of the panhard rod is lowered, and an adjustable panhard rod would not correct that. To most people its not a problem, but for absolute handling, and elimination of the problems it causes, you need to look at a Watts linkage.

Check this site for suspension parts for the 4th Gen F-Body:

http://www.stranoparts.com/

soontobeclassic

Thanks for the info, as I said I am not mechanically inclined and didn't take into consideration the aspect of the tire making for the same gap. That should have been common sense to think about lol. I have read about that watts linkage but didn't know if it would be needed. I want to have the best handling possible when I do this so nothing will be spared. I read on the site that it gives more clearance for an after-market exhaust, would it be better to do the suspension before installing a Borla exhaust, do them all together or does it really matter.

Procharged94Lt1

Everything Fred said is correct, but for your average person driving around on the street you probably wouldn't notice much difference between being lowered and running the Watts linkage. You will probably notice the suspension bottoming out more and the stiffer ride before you notice the slightly different rear-end movement.

As far as your Borla- it should fit fine in the stock configuration, shouldn't matter.

BTW- you can get 17" take-off's pretty cheap..its not the huge expense it used to be. In fact I bet you could get some used 17" wheels and tires for about the same price as the Watts linkage...

bluz28

IMO get the ride height set first, then when you're ready loosely mount the exhaust and load the rear down. This will make it a lot easier to set the over-axle pipe for maximum clearance.

soontobeclassic

Ive got my rims picked out from tire rack, only 91 a piece for 16's cant get them in 17's though. I didn't want to go to flashy and wanted to stay with the 5 spoke config. Any recommendations on what kits to go with for the lowering?

Injuneer

For quality parts, that match each other and provide good results, check out this source:

http://www.stranoparts.com/

soontobeclassic

Thanks for all the info guys! hopefully ill be looking into buying some parts here soon.