I found these trim hight specs from GM interesting and wanted to share.

Trim Height Specifications
Suspension
Tire Size
Engine
Z
D
J
K

FE1
P 195/60R15
L61
-21 mm (-0.83 in)
238 mm (9.37 in)
224 mm (8.82 in)
233 mm (9.17 in)

FE1
P 205/50R16
L61
-23 mm (-0.91 in)
228 mm (8.98 in)
224 mm (8.82 in)
233 mm (9.17 in)

FE3
P 205/50R17
LE5
-26 mm (-1.02 in)
224 mm (8.82 in)
224 mm (8.82 in)
233 mm (9.17 in)

FE5
P 215/45R18
LSJ
-34 mm (-1.34 in)
213 mm (8.39 in)
224 mm (8.82 in)
233 mm (9.17 in)

J & K are ground to rocker panel front and rear. All Cobalts are the same ride height !
SS/SC owners can stop calling LS owners off roaders.

Z is front spring height, Measure from the bottom surface of the cradle, in line with the ball joint, to the bottom of the ball joint in order to obtain the Z height measurement.


D is rear spring height, Measure the D height for the left and right side of the vehicle. Measure the vertical distance between the bottom edge of the upper spring seat to the bottom of the notch in the lower spring seat.

Dennis

 

pretty neat stuff you found. Now some one should combine that with sway bar sizes

 

Part of the reason it looks like SS/SC sits lower is because the over all diameter of the wheels on the SS/SC are 1.5" larger, which fills in the gap better

 

I partially agree with that, but the springs on the SS/SC I would think should be different because upgrading to 18's from 17's, you gain a 1/2 inch on either side of the wheels center. So theoretically the car is being raised a 1/2 inch (the 1/2 inch on the lower half of the wheel) and you are getting a 1/2 inch filling the gap. If this is true then the springs on the SS/SC must lower the car a 1/2 inch over the other models seeing as how those numbers show the ride heights being the same.

Feel free to rip me a new one for that but I have looked at this post a few times and tried to figure the reason the ride heights are the same but look different.

 

you are right, it is because of the different diameters of the different size wheels. The SS springs are shorter. I just found it interesting that all the models end up the same height, because the SS's look lower.
Dennis

 

Fair enough. I was actually wondering why they look different. I think I'd consider finding some stock SS/SC springs. With my galant I got progress springs and lowered the car alot. It messed up the rear camber considerably. But I figured if I could get something "stock" related it would be better for the car.