New Corvette

THE PRESIDENT · see above

New Corvette

A4seen Racer · VP

i saw one today in the parking lot at school. it is a pretty sweet ride. seems alot less chevy-like and more like a nice sports car. i like the rear mount tranny

Viet · POOP Bum

thats pretty crazy. Ehh they aren't to bad. probably one of the only american cars i really have a lot of respect for.

Whats the advantage of having a rear mounted tranny?

THE PRESIDENT · see above

heavy ass v8 up front and perfect 50/50 weight distribution.

here's an article on the active suspension

http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com/kb/question.php?qstId=503

Viet · POOP Bum

That suspension thing is for the model before the new ones right? the c5 or whatever it is? To my knowledge the c6 have leaf springs and i don't know if you can have active suspension with leaf springs.

-- Edited by Viet at 23:31, 2004-12-01

THE PRESIDENT · see above

dude, the C6 does NOT have leaf springs!

Look at the diagram!

THE PRESIDENT · see above

i found this, whats interesting is there is no spring.....maybe becuase of the MR suspension? But if you look at the design, there is no way to incorporate a leaf spring in to that.

-- Edited by THE PRESIDENT at 00:05, 2004-12-02

Viet · POOP Bum

not what it says here

"Suspension

Front Double-wishbone; composite leaf springs, monotube shock absorbers, anti-roll bar
Rear Double-wishbone; composite leaf springs, monotube shock absorbers, anti-roll bar"

http://chevrolet.jbcarpages.com/Corvette/2005/index4.php
http://www.fast-autos.com/corvette.html/

"Suspension. None of the suspension bits has been carried over from C5. The short-long arm and transverse leaf spring independent suspension configuration remains, but the cradles, control arms, knuckles, springs, dampers, bushings, stabilizer bars, and steering gear are all redesigned. The Extended Mobility Tires (EMT) also are new, taking advantage of the latest sidewall design and compound technology for run-flat capabilities, and play a critical role in the tuning of the suspension for excellent handling and comfortable ride."
http://www.corvettemuseum.com/specs/2005/index.shtml

"Underneath the plastic body, the look is even more familiar. The structure, which on the C5 was exemplary for its high stiffness at a relatively light weight, remains the same—hydroformed steel side rails, a tall center tunnel, balsa sandwiches for the floors. Likewise, the cast aluminum upper and lower control arms and transverse composite leaf springs are familiar from the C5 and the Cadillac XLR hardtop roadster."
http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=19&article_id=7638

Even the show topgear said they had leaf springs, which is where I initially had the thougth they had leaf springs.

hmmmm I sure all these websites and even the well known car and driver magazine can't be wrong......or can they????

I think the 2003 50th ann. had the active suspension thing. I think some where I read that there were 3 different types of suspension to choose from and I think the MR was one of them.

-- Edited by Viet at 10:07, 2004-12-02

THE PRESIDENT · see above

wow, why would they do that? it says transverse leaf springs. So i guess it has one "leaf" for the front and one for the back that run transverse to the chassis. I still cant find it in the pictures, but it does say it everywhere. i really dont get why they would use leaf springs on a 45 thousand dollar sports car though.....

oh and as far as the magneride suspension....its just like having infinitly variable shock absorbers, which are adjusted a couple times a second by a computer. It has nothing to do with the springs, and the C6 definitely has it. The c5 had leafs too from what those articles said.

-- Edited by THE PRESIDENT at 10:37, 2004-12-02

A4seen Racer · VP

check out this picture. can you find the transverse leaf springs?

http://corvetteactioncenter.com/kb/images/mr/499_15.jpg

copy paste

that article about the MR abosrbers is really interesting. they change the suspension every inch of travel at highway speeds and can go through its full settings of compression and rebound in less than a second

-- Edited by A4seen Racer at 11:00, 2004-12-02

THE PRESIDENT · see above

no i cant

A4seen Racer · VP

its tough to see because its black and looks like the ground but its there

i wonder what the advantage of this is wrather than a typical coil spring

Viet · POOP Bum

I read somewhere that they were supposedly lighter then using spring coils or something to that effect.

So its just one for the front and another in the back? thats pretty crazy. I think since the it has MR would it matter what kind of springs it has? Wouldn't it be able to adjust itself so it'll get the best performance?

I think I'm going to look into why they got leaf springs.

Viet · POOP Bum

something I found about leaf springs vs springs

"Sorry, but we aren’t going to declare a winner in the world of springs because there is no clear cut advantage to either coils or leaves. Coil springs cost less to make, are lighter, have no internal friction, and take up very little space. The downside with coils is that they do not locate the axles. A three- or four-link suspension must be constructed to work with the coil springs to do the same job that leaf springs alone can do. Leaf springs, on the other hand, are completely modular (if you want to add or subtract lift or load capacity, just add more leaves), do locate the axles, and can also help to reduce sway. The best leaf packs will use multiple thin leaves to provide load control yet still move freely. Yes, leaf springs are heavy, prone to axlewrap, and can require a lot of mounting space. But keep in mind that a suspension’s characteristics have more to do with how the whole system is set up (and the spring rates that are used) than it does with whether the springs are leaves or coils. Hey, as low-tech as leaf springs may seem, they can be made to work with maybe just a weight penalty over the coil spring."

This was from a 4x4 website, I'm guessing they should know something about this.

A4seen Racer · VP

but look at the corvette leaf spring. its transverse and composite. doesnt look like it works like a typical leaf spring at all. for example you still need a 3 or 4 link suspension because the spring connects to the hub at the spring's end unlike typical leafs that use 2 endpoints on the frame and the center of the spring on the axle. it looks to me that the corvette leaf spring is way more advanced than the typical leaf.

oh yea read that article about MR. it shows how the MR shocks really work

-- Edited by A4seen Racer at 20:00, 2004-12-02

THE PRESIDENT · see above

looks like i opened a can of worms here. good points though. hey viet, maybe you should swap to some composite leaf springs, it would be innovative....

Viet · POOP Bum

lol yeah right dude. leaf springs are crap!

Viet · POOP Bum

I think leaf springs still ct the same way even if they are mounted longitudely or transversely.

Heres a pretty cool site i found while researching.
http://www.monroe.com/tech_support/tec_suspsystemfund.asp