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Keep wearing out Koni struts ....


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On second set now and significant play develops on the front struts. Talked to Koni (Lee) who said that if that happened you would see fluid leaking past seals. They are not leaking and still dampen well but you can rock the tire back and forth and feel and see the play. I've use dial indicators to pin it down to the struts themselves. What other options for stronger struts are there with performance as good as the koni? These are the SA RACE version.

 

Cameron

Edited by heavy85
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There are revalved p30s.

 

Are you open to coilovers?

 

Feal suspension will make you a custom set with swift springs and tailor the valving to your needs for $1400 without top mounts. Odi has made a great reputation for himself revalving and building rally and dirt bike suspension. Plus as a driver he is doing very well in Formula drift. He really knows his stuff, coilovers of this level are usually much more expensive. His business started and thrives on him revalving other brands suspension for increased performance.

 

Then there is always the really pricey stuff. AST said they would make me a custom set for 3000. Anyone of the high end brands like Penske, HVT, Motion Control, etc can whip you up something very nice. Just bring bags if money.

Edited by 1vicissitude
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Cameron, check out www.nissanroadracing.com. They are really 240SX-centric, but their strut tech makes ours look silly. I've got the P30s, and from what I hear they won't handle spring rates over about 400. Haven't figured out an option yet, but right now I'm considering ASTs or possibly doing a 36mm Bilstein and having it revalved by Fat Cat Motorsports.

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Yeah gland nut is comprssing the strut to hold in place. 425/375 springs. Since all the tracks around here are clockwise the front left seems to go first.

 

I'll check that other site Jon. How do you make the 36 mm Bilsteins work?

Edited by heavy85
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My guess is the bushing that's used to guide the shock rod at the top.  Those can wear and you get that rattling.  

 

If you go with the larger Bilstein size you can use a different piston (COBB) that has more tuning options.  (Digressive, linear, etc.).

 

Option 3 use the strut rod and a linear bearing as the bushing but done have any piston or oil in it.  It will be a control arm so to speak.  Them mount a coil over shock inside of the strut.  This used to be done years ago in IMSA before you could get good struts.  Then you can use much cheaper shocks compared to struts.

 

Option 4 like Jon mentions is convert to a 2 piece strut and use 240SX struts.  They have built some really nice pieces.

 

Option 5 go to a-arms and no more struts.  Obviously rules may play into this.  I'm doing option 5 myself after reviewing the other alternatives.  More fab but cheaper running costs when done.

 

Cary

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Double A arms are the best solution if legal, no doubt. Every purpose built race car has them for a reason. Better camber control. The Koni upper bushing wear is most common problem. Not sure why it happens in some cars and not others. Weight? I know some 240's that race forever on them. The Bilstein P30's are bullet proof. 450# is no problem. But not an easy task to get the valving right. But it easy to get sort of close.

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Im at about 2730 lb all in with me but Im guessing the killer is 1.4 g on 200TW street tires and 1.6 g on race tires. Depending on which series I race on both.

 

Now if you could just replace that strut bushing it wouldnt be a problem but a rebuild is about same cost as a new strut.

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Really? That is some serious downforce. That's much more than any of the cars I've worked with.

Those are peak numbers (1.38 and 1.62 from last races), steady state is about 0.15 g's lower but from a strut perspective it will see the peaks. All based on Aim Solo datalogger and yes reasonable downforce.

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Those are peak numbers (1.38 and 1.62 from last races), steady state is about 0.15 g's lower but from a strut perspective it will see the peaks. All based on Aim Solo datalogger and yes reasonable downforce.

 

Is that lateral force?

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That's real close to what I would see with my white car, running 245/45/16 hoosiers.  1.35-1.38 sustained, spiking to mid 1.6's.  I was using a Racepak datalogger, with a midrange smoothing factor.

Edited by jt1
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