tec280zx

I would only buy the rear mounting setup that he offers, the front won't work for us. On the z31, the front mounts are actually wider than the s13, whereas the s130 is narrower. If he sold just the rear studs that he had custom machined I might purchase them. Note that we don't have the same diff mounts either that they use to align the metal plate. Not really a problem though as you can just remove your original mount. For my setup, I am leaning towards the same solution for the rear. Steel plate with the studs welded in and then weld the plate to the frame member. That seems to be the easiest way to get the subframe straight.

Not looking forward to removing the stock rubber bushings though. Just as bad as the s130 except theres 4 of them! Well I got the front ones out, but I wasn't using those anyways. I should just order solid bushings and take the bolts to a machine shop to have them opened up a bit to fit. Alright, I'm off to work now, been lagging too much this morning.

True, I wish I could get some measurements on some solid bushings for the s13. Maybe the diameter is slightly larger. I know it is for the Z31. Solid bushings would ideal anyways.

I think i'm gonna try a small sanding drum and remove some material from the inside of the s13 sleeve. That might be easier than shaving down the bolt.

Ok, having trouble finding some bolts for the rear mounts. The s13 measure 7/8 in. inside diamer. A 7/8 bolt won't fit and 3/4 leaves too much gap. I don't want the subframe to be able to move at while driving. So I look into metric sizes and 7/8 in. is 22.2 mm. So I look for a 22mm bolt but can't seem to find one locally. They have 22mm but not in the length I need. (about 200mm or 7 3/4in). Fastenal carries 22mm x 200mm bolts but they are like 36 bucks a pop. Wasn't trying to drop 70+ dollars on some bolts. Any experts out there think the 3/4in bolt would be ok once tightened up? I'm not usually cheap but a 3/4 bolt is about $5 vs 36. I guess I will if I have too.

Looks good. You should remove the black trim, it would look a lot cleaner.

Yea I have to let the bank account fill back up before I can continue. Probably next i'll buy the rear studs and other hardware, aluminum spacer, etc. In the meantime I need to get out to the wrecking yard and look for some Q45/J30 5 lug stuff.

yea, I don't see why that wouldn't work. Getting it nice and straight will be the hardest part. Weld it, grind it, and paint it and they'll never know. Is that your car?

What are you gonna do about the tension rods and the steering rack?

Yea, I figured they might be custom machined. I agree with mounting the studs through the rails though. Doesn't make it any less reversible since the stock sub frame doesn't have to mount in the rear. I think I'm probably going to weld in a tube into the rail that the studs can slide into. Without any extra support, the rails probably won't hold up to the force that's put on it. Very thin sheet metal. Future roll cage could maybe tie into these points too. I don't know just thinking out loud. I found some studs on McMaster-Carr that are the same diameter as the s13 mounts, just need to get a hold of stock thicker tubing to weld in. Right now I have nothing welded in for the sake of mouting it up and checking clearances. Kind of like how another member here mull did it. Instead of the square tubing it will be the cross rail.

I do like the rear mounting idea in the first link. I might try to do it that way. I don't know where to get studs like that though.

Yea, I found that link when I was searching for images of some various suspension setups. Those links kept me interested in doing the swap. Apparently a lot of z31 guys are doing it.

that's interesting. So same mounting points, i wonder if the track is the same. I know the s14 has slightly wider mounting points and track width, but very slight difference.

Maybe try cracking open the bleeders on each caliper to see if you can bleed them. Try bench bleeding the master cylinder first.

Nice pics, just realized you're in Australia, no wonder you got a r33 rear. Get rid of the hicas if you use that. One thing that doesn't make sense is the track width. The difference you're showing is 175mm which equals about 6.9 inches. Just eye ballin it doesn't look to be over 3 inches wider at each side. My s13 is about 3 inches wider total. Might make for some interesting wheel selection then.

yea, pics would be cool

I've looked at those, I don't think they are offset enough. Plus you need to move the mount more forward so that the rear mounts line up with the crossmember. I figured it would be easier to start with the rear and make any mods to the front.

I wonder how different the r33 is from the r32 subframe. I believe the r32 is about the same as the s13.

Yea I've looked at his site many times. Looked through every page. His install is obviously a lot more involved. He chose to mod the frame of the car vs. the sub frame itself. I can always go back to stock. His does look prettier though I don't know why he cut up the rear strut towers to be honest. I always thought he did it to use the shorter struts. I'll take my chances and use a longer strut and see if the angle change has any real effect.

Hey look what I got to fit on the s13 knuckle. Man I swear its like playing with legos sometimes! The caliper sits over the rotor perfectly. Still would need to center it with a couple washers though. Glad I didn't get rid of the z31 stuff. Btw, they are 87 vented rotors with matching calipers. I have no idea how i'll get the ebrake cables to work though...

Yea, thats what I thought you were talking about. I might be wrong, but I think the top of the coilover will be where it will angle at. It has a pillow mount. So i'm thinking it should be fine down on the bottom end.

Exactly. Now if I can wrangle my welder back from my friend this would go a little faster. Not sure what you mean about the strut angle though. Hard to really tell right now though, I need the longer s14 strut first.

Haven't mounted any wheels yet, but its a tad forward from the center point. The wheels should sit a bit further back than the stock setup. Not sure how that affects handling.

The front mounts do not line up. Mounting points on the subframe need to be moved inward 0.875 in. Hardest part is getting in as straight as possible. For the rear I used some poly mounts that I had laying around to drop it down a little over an inch. Eventually I'm gonna get some aluminum spacers to mount it solid.

The strut does fit through the upper control arm, barely. It wants to lean towards the rear of the arm more than the s13. If its an issue I can just swap in s14 control arm that are a "half moon" style. Test fitting. Fronts aren't installed yet. S13 struts are too short now. S14 should fit nicely.