ComicArtist

Thank you! I'll definitely post pictures of my progress.

Right now the coilovers are at max low and the frame rails are a good inch off the ground. I'm most likely going to raise it up a half inch or so, weld in shorter frame rails, tuck the exhaust more, and make a skid plate or the oil pan. As far as the hood, it's a style trend I guess. It started with Euros, and I thought it'd be cool to incorporate it into my S30. The hood was already in too bad of shape to fix and paint, so I just decided to use it as a rusting candidate.

Hopefully this won't cause TOO much of a stir.....

I'm just running an unmodified stock distributor, using both the vacuum and mechanical advance, so my complete timing should be around 34 degrees. I'm guessing it's kicking in a little early though, since I'm slightly advanced. Where in the rpm-band does the vacuum advance come into play?

So I replaced the distributor, and timed it to 10 degrees at idle. However, it was still slow and sputtery at low rpms, so I gradually advanced it until it seemed to run right. At 16 degrees idle now, it actually goes through the powerband smoothly. Can that cause any problems? It's not detonating, and runs smoother than it did at 10 degrees. Just wondering if anyone else is running advanced timing, and if so, I'd appreciate the input.

I just put coilovers on mine, and love it immensely. Definitely a needed upgrade. Of course, I was going from three blown shocks and worn out springs to brand new coilovers.....

You already know. Lol

Here's a pic of the front, maybe you can give it a better guess than me. What brand of DC2 coils are you on? I'm interested in how yours is set up. Yes! Thank you. I like how yours can be adjusted while they're on the car. I'll definitely be doing something similar to that.

I personally wouldn't trust that LCA in the first place.... just the fact that the threaded rod is just welded to the side of the control arm is sketchy. Like everyone else is saying, it needs to be boxed in.

I was worried about that as well, but surprisingly the shafts on the DC2 coils are almost as thick as the stock S30 shaft. I hadn't ever heard of the brand of coilover, so I looked them up and apparently they were designed for drag Hondas, so they're pretty beefy. If it doesn't work out, I'll probably figure something out.

Thanks man! Yeah it's getting there. Finally got it running right, just trying to get the suspension sorted out. Got the coilovers on last night, and I'm worried about my frame rails because of how low it is. What's your username on NismOkc? Ok sweet! So I'll probably just bang my existing rails up and in a little and weld the rails on over it. I have a welder, and me and my roommate weld, so I'll probably end up getting it as high as I can on jackstands and doing it in the driveway. The BadDog rails are $85 apiece, which is a little better than I was expecting.

I might have been erroneous in stating 6 degrees. It was dark and looked like a lot, but it might not be at 6, that was simply an estimate. I'll check again. Thanks for posting the sites! Very helpful.

Been reading up on Bad Dog rails, they look pretty sweet, and that's probably the direction I'm going to go. One thing though; from the pictures I've seen of others doing it, it looks like some people are cutting out their stock frame rails and some people are beating them in so that the BadDog rails can fit over the stock ones, and then they simply weld them in. What's better? Seems like if you cut the rails out, you could risk the chassis flexing and breaking the windshield, ect.

Got my coilovers mocked up last night, and it's looking like the front has a LOT of camber. Just eyeballing it looks like around -6 degrees. And camber plates aren't going to take all of that out. I don't really want to run more than a degree or two in the front. Now, Techno Toy Tuning makes adjustables, for $325, but I'm on somewhat of a budget build. I've heard of people building their own, so I looked in the FAQ Suspension thread. Found these: Looks simple enough to make. I'm just curious where to source the endlink that screws on the threaded rod. Looks like a pillowball/ball joint of sorts, and I've never seen something like that at a hardware store. My other thought was to take the control arm off, cut a 1/2" section out of the middle, re-weld it with some support, and put it back on. From there, you could use the camber plates to make the final adjustments. Any thoughts? If the ends are easily accessible, I'd lean toward building the adjustables. Also, does anyone know where to source just a pillowball plate for building a tophat? Thanks guys!

I've seen it done with both, and the s13 coils don't quite go low enough in the front for me. I also found a set of DC2 coils locally for an extremely good price with steel bottom mounts, so I went ahead and decided to go that route

Alright cool! This is gonna be a big project, so I just want to make sure i gather all the tips and instruction before I start it.

So, the next thing that needs attention are my soggy frame rails. Over the last two or three years, they've progressively gotten worse. My floor pans are surprisingly good still, with very little rust. The rails, on the other hand, are a different story. Completely crushed in many places from apparently being jacked up on the frame instead of the jacking points, it's rusted through in many places as well. Now, do the rails need to be cut out to weld new ones in? Or could I simply source a U-rail just the right size to slide over the existing rail and weld to the floor right where the stock rails connect at? If anyone has pics or has performed this operation before, please share!

Cool! Are you running pillowball mounts or the stock tophats? From what I've read, the fronts need pillowballs and the rears are optional.

Got a question for you guys. For those of you running S13 coilovers, by removing the strut cartridge, cutting down the strut tube, and welding on the threaded lower mount of an S13 coilover, have you run into any problems with that setup? Basically, I'm in the process of doing the same thing with Acura DC2 coilovers, and I'm wondering if it'll put a lot of stress on certain areas I can pay attention to right away to avoid stuff breaking. So far, I'm going with camber plates up front, and I'm trying to figure out a way to get a pillowball mount in the back. Shorter sway bar endlinks should help some too, as well as bump steer spacers. Anything I'm overlooking? As long as the welds are solid on the mounts, I think it should be good.

I don't know about the offset. I much prefer Work Meisters or SSR SP1, but these might be a more affordable option. I'm planning on running SP1's eventually, if I can ever find the right sizes for the right price.

Yeah, what you don't really realize is that the separate sliding pillowball mount is much harder to fab than the slotted plate on top. Ends up being cheaper to drop $180 on the set.

In a nutshell, I wouldn't go over 10 psi on a stock tune. If you do attempt 12, retard the timing a hair and run high octane. .....or is it advance the timing....? I forgot. Either way, I wouldn't go over 10. A bigger turbo won't affect the tune noticeably if you keep it at stock boost.

Got it pretty much fixed guys. Thanks for the info! Borrowed a timing light and played with it some. Turns out it was at 5 degrees idle, so I took it to 10, still a little sputtery, and now it's around 12ish and feels much better.

Will it automatically set the advance curve for the whole powerband? Also, when I replaced the six-pronged wheel and ign. module pickup sensor underneath the rotor, I noticed the sensor was timeable as well. If you loosen one of the screws holding it on, it's adjustable. Could that have something to do with it?

Not sure yet. As of so far I've only seen 4x100 and 4x114.3 options.