Callaway Eibach Multi-Pro Suspension
1997-Current Corvette and Callaway C16
Callaway/Eibach Multi-Pro coil-over suspension with double adjustable dampers, external reservoirs with 10-position compression control; companion helper and tender springs supplementing the OEM composite leaf springs. Front and rear Callaway anti-roll bars are also available and included in systems installed on Callaway Corvettes and Callaway C16's.
"On the road, the C16 immediately feels even tighter, stronger and faster than a stock Corvette. It’s everything buyers love about that car and more. While roll, dive and squat are mighty hard to sense in a standard Vette, they’re almost entirely absent in a Callaway."
- Mark Vaughn, AutoWeek
"Seriously good Eibach aluminum-body shocks, separately adjustable for both jounce and rebound control, probably make the biggest difference....The suspension gives the C16 a positively planted, though not overly firm, ride, and the shocks keep the contact patches stuck to the pavement even through mid-corner bumps that would momentarily unsettle a stock Corvette."
- Doug Kott, Road & Track
Callaway and Eibach have jointly developed the ultimate suspension upgrade for the C5/C6 platform.
Our objective was as follows:
Give the driver a tool to transform the ride of the automobile to his/her taste.
The elements that are now adjustable with the Callaway/Eibach system are: ride height, pitch attitude, cross-weighting of the entire car, and of course, damping in both rebound and compression. With all these adjustment options we look to satisfy the driver who will tailor his ride and handling to their local conditions whether that be road or track, high speed or around town, autocross or cross country. Of course, we have good starting point suggestions for each of those uses. Once in place, you are encouraged to experiment.The cleverness of the Callaway approach is that we add only a supplemental amount of spring rate. We do not put the full spring loads of the suspension through the shock towers. First they were not designed to carry those loads, and second, we used to do that with our earlier versions of the Coil Over theory of how to make a Corvette handle well. Long term, it was not a success. Instead, now, we leave the original suspension system in place. It is a very good and very well developed system. e.g. the composite leaf springs are very light. They are also noiseless, light weight, fatigue proof (almost), package very nicely in otherwise unused real estate, and have a low center of gravity. What's not to like?
Well, adjustability is minimal. And damping is always a compromise. What's good in Connecticut may not be right for California, to oversimplify. The setup for Willow Springs is probably not optimum for Road Atlanta. Road or race, the driver needs to have some serious adjustability. We have added a supplemental spring around each damper, and we have supplied an $800.00 damper to replace the $20.00 damper. The supplemental spring is, let's say, 50 lb/inch rate, but it is additive to the base spring rate in the composite leaf spring which may be 250 lb/inch. Fortunately, the enthusiast only needs to go up in spring rate, never down. Therefore the major loads are still fed to the chassis using the correct path. The shock towers are strong enough to feed in the supplemental springing without fatigue or making the car a rattletrap at twenty thousand miles.
We have a bottom perch for each spring that is threaded and adjustable for height, giving the ability to raise or lower that corner of the car. The result is that we have pitch angle, cross weight, and overall ride height control. The superbly engineered set of alloy dampers has double digressive valving (don't ask ...) and adjustable compression and rebound settings from outside the shock body. The ride quality you want is now within your control. Front and rear tubular anti roll bars are also available as well as a setup guide and instructions for doing the best alignment you car will ever have. Enjoy.
