I had the opportunity to drive a '93 convertible over the weekend. I was surprised how well it handled and kinda disappointed with the ride. This question is for any of you who have a C4. On bumpy roads the tires seem to flat stick to the pavement but the body seems to lift into the air and just "float" around. ( That is the only way I can describe it the handling is still there but the floating just feels funny ). Is that normal characteristics of the ride or is there a problem with the suspension?
The car itself is striking. It is triple black with apparently few flaws ( hard to tell cause it did not seem to have seen a bath for quite a while...but we are under strick water rationing here ).

You are right...it is a completely different feel.

I find that between the 2..the C4 responds better..holds the road better...not near as much of that ''tipping'' that we experience with a C3.

That body lift you feel is the difference in the susension...C4s DON'T ''bottom out'' like C3 can (this I Know from experience!! )

Try driving a C5...totally different again from the C4!!

Makes our C3s look like somthing from the ''Stone Age''!

|UPDATED|9/17/2002 6:57:55 AM|/UPDATED|

Hey Glenn,
It sounds like the C4 you drove must have been a bit loose. We have an 88 Coupe which I have replaced the shocks and most of the bushings in/on and your description doesn't apply at all to the way our 88 drives. The coupes are a lot tighter than the ragtops and that might be part of the difference.

Our car feels like you are glued to the road in every condition, I have never felt any floating or such...But then our C4 has the big wheels (17") and the perfomance handling options included in it.

Another way to describe it would be to say that it feels like there are four very heavy wheels fighting for traction holding you to the road while you are sitting in between them all.

When the shocks are worn out the floating might occur. The one nasty thing about the C4 is the number of bushings they have. There are lots more parts in that rear suspension than our C3's have. This basically means there are lots of parts to wear out. How many miles were on the car you drove?..anything over 75,000 and they are do for some serious expenditures to keep that crisp handling

The C4 and C5's do handle a whole lot better than our dinasours but somehow the sensation of a well-built High-Compression Big Block howling through it's chambered exhaust make my blood flow faster.

Sure the C4's and C5's are nice cars but they lack that beastly feeling that I find so enjoyable. These new cars just do everything well and have no bad characteristics like the earlier models do. They just do everything so easily....and usually so well.

I hope that this might help with your original question!

Chris

I hear ya about the howlin' big block So, maybe I am not nuts about the way it feels. The car had 54 or 56 K miles on it so hopefully it was not worn shocks, unless of course like all GOOD and IMPROVED things, they just don't last long. Anyway, it was an interesting ride. If I did the math correctly, it has about the same rear wheel HP that my 427 currently has ( which is pretty poor ) about 250 on the ground. I went back and spoke with the dealer. I am trying to get it for 20K including tax and a three year high tech zero deductable warranty. So far he has replaced the tires, radio, water pump, distributor, power antenna and some weather stripping. I might replace the top with one I saw in Eckler's which has a glass back window.
If I do get it, I can get serious about turning the '69 into a show (not NCRS ) / bracket racer.

Glenn,
We have a 93 Ruby convertible. It has the adjustable suspension option. When in the touring mode it does have a strange "floating" feeling. My word for it was "SQUIRRELLY". I know other C3 owners who describe the C4 in the same manner. I actually prefer to drive my C3 because of everything already mentioned. The C3's are growlier and and you can feel the road and you feel like you are driving the car rather than the car is driving and you're along for the ride. The C4 is very comfortable, but I don't like the feeling of sitting in a hole. You sit down between the frame rails, the tops of the doors are about head to shoulder height. I feel enclosed in the C4, especially with the top up. The C3 is easier to see out of. I like them both. Short drive/cruise: I'll take my C3. Long trip I'll take the C4 for the creature comforts offered.

Well, I bought the '93. I agree, it does feel like you are sitting in a hole. With the top up, it is "interesting" to get into. I am not the tallest person in the world but I really have to pay attention to what I do with my head so I don't knock my self out getting into the car. Took it on a trip over the weekend, about two hours of expressway both ways and some local driving at the shore....was surprised and not at all disappointed with the 25.7 miles per gallon average ! It handled the wet roads the hurricane brought just fine.
Just might be a keeper ! At least till the three year warranty runs out.
All I gotta do now is find a set of shop manuals for less than the $130.00 that Eckler's wants ( MidAmerica wants $170.00 for them ). Ebay, here I come !

Glenn...congrats on the new ''family'' member.

Know you will enjoy it.

Thanks Debbie! For all the " new and improved " that this '93 has, it still isn't as much fun as the '69. Everything in the '93 seems "tight" and requires more attention. A good example is the gas pedal. I need to keep constant attention to it to maintain my speed, in the '69 it is much easier to hold a speed.
Maybe I am just more agreeable to loose and sloppy than I am to newer and tighter.
The most redeming charactaristic the '93 has is the fact it gets almost twice the gas mileage that the '69 does with pretty much the same performance.

Glenns...Hubby has said the same thing. there is a difference is how the 2 handle and that Overdrive sure is great for the gas mileage...but..he says it is more FUN to drive Rosie!

|UPDATED|10/7/2002 4:11:32 AM|/UPDATED|

Took a long weekend trip to the Eureka Springs Corvette Weekend in Arkansas. We took the 93 Ruby. Mylinda didn't want to drive all that way by herself so we left the 82 at home. Eureka Springs is in the Ozark mountains of northern Arkansas, close to Branson Missouri. There were about 800 corvettes there for the weekend. We got runner up in the fuel economy run with right at 30 mpg. And we got runnerup in the Show n Shine. I was very impressed with the way the 93 handled on the winding mountain roads. It seemed like the harder I pushed it the tighter it "stuck" to the road. That "squirreliness" I feel driving around DFW was all but gone. I sure wish I'd had my 82 there to put her through her paces. This Corvette weekend is done every first full weekend of October in Eureka Springs. I highly recommend it. There were people there from as far away as California, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Florida and Western Pennsylvania. The Corvette club that traveled the fartherest with at least 5 cars was from Madison Wisconsin. This is the first event of this type that we have attended and we had more fun than just about anything else I can think of that we've done with our pants on .