colerongo Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 (edited) So, I am in Taiwan right now for work and have been contacting a few suspension manufacturing companies about options of picking up a set of coilovers for my car. I asked one company if they could make one with a lower perch that could fit over my 280z hub. They said they have this one with a 51.1mm inside diameter. What is the exact size diameter of the 280z hub? has anyone measured? I would do it myself but my car is in California. If this ends up working out I may be able to put a group buy together or work out some sort of discount. Thank you in advance. Here is the picture the company representative sent me and his email. Hi there, we can arrange front S13 shock with special lower mount as shown. the Inner diameter of the lower mount is 51.1mm, so u can make a hub to fix the lower mount in your Datsun. Edit: I just found a thread saying that the 280z strut tubes are 2.17in which is 55.1mm. So for a coilover to fit onto a 280z without buying custom lower perches it would have to be a 55.1mm ID lower perch. Edited June 9, 2011 by colerongo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josephg Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 So, I am in Taiwan right now for work and have been contacting a few suspension manufacturing companies about options of picking up a set of coilovers for my car. I asked one company if they could make one with a lower perch that could fit over my 280z hub. They said they have this one with a 51.1mm inside diameter. What is the exact size diameter of the 280z hub? has anyone measured? I would do it myself but my car is in California. If this ends up working out I may be able to put a group buy together or work out some sort of discount. Thank you in advance. Here is the picture the company representative sent me and his email. Hi there, we can arrange front S13 shock with special lower mount as shown. the Inner diameter of the lower mount is 51.1mm, so u can make a hub to fix the lower mount in your Datsun. Edit: I just found a thread saying that the 280z strut tubes are 2.17in which is 55.1mm. So for a coilover to fit onto a 280z without buying custom lower perches it would have to be a 55.1mm ID lower perch. There is a lot info on this do a search and check the stickies and FAQ section I think the outside diameter of 280z is 2 inches 240 a little smaller so 55.1 sounds like it would be about right... but check the FAQs and other posts. IMO this setup great is for adjustable ride hight but not as great for performance. If you go with a kit like ground control or make your own just buying threaded collars, springs and struts you will have a much more dynamic suspension system that you can build to your preferences and driving style/usage. From what I here those Chinese coil overs that you see on ebay/pictured above from fly by night manufacturers often dont come with different spring rates front and back and in most cases you would be luck just to get 4 that match. some report different valving in the struts as well. Best go with some nice GC and Taciko or bilstines unless all you care about is right height adjustability. But again IMO for the money you are gonna spend and the work you will do best just get high quality parts from reputable manufactures (preferably with knowledgeable customer service). Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colerongo Posted June 11, 2011 Author Share Posted June 11, 2011 (edited) Well actually I have done quite a bit of reading on this site as well as 240sxforums.com, nasioc.com, some supra forums, and some other random forums and nobody that actually uses "cheap Chinese knockoff coilovers" has much bad to say about them. Most of the companies do come standard with different spring rates in the front and back and alot of them even have custom options or a track option with stiffer spring rates. The 240sx street setup usually has a pretty good spring rate for the Z because it is a little lighter. The benefit of these over any other type of suspension system is not only the adjustable ride height but also the ability to change ride height and pre-load separate from one another. And as far as performance goes, some of the fastest street cars in the world ride on coilovers like these. This setup comes out almost exactly like the AZ Z Car coilover setup, but I'm looking for a cheap, quality option that requires a little bit of thinking outside the box. These coilovers are not made in China, they are made in Taiwan. If one were to travel to Taiwan, they would know that these people do not manufacture junk. People used to make those same comments about Japanese junk, but look at their reputation now for engineering and manufacturing. From my research on other forums as well as from my observations of Taiwanese people, I do not believe that one should assume that a product is not worthy because it is made in Taiwan. Honestly, if somebody were to blindfold me and tell me to chose coilover A which is built in Taiwan or coilover B made in USA, without getting to inspect the two beforehand I would probably go with coilover A. Now, can somebody confirm the exact diameter of the 280z strut tube? I will most likely be purchasing the z car customs sleeves which are an awesome product for an awesome price, but it would be really convinient if there was another coilover out there that could press directly onto the hub of a 280z and be welded on. I know that certain coilovers can press directly onto the 240z hub, and I am under the impression that it is 2.0 in. diameter (which is what these coilovers are). So if my searching gave me correct information that the 280z strut tube is 2.17 in. (55.1mm) then, this is what I will have to find. Now to compare these coilovers to GC or any other setup, why build a suspension system to your driving style if you can have a suspension system that you can be tuned to your driving style, depending on what your driving style is that hour, day, or week? There have been so many posts of people flaming Taiwanese made coilovers but there is usually no experience with them to back it up. If you have had a bad experience with these particular coilovers or any other Taiwanese made coilover please share. Edited June 11, 2011 by colerongo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt K Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 These coilovers are not made in China, they are made in Taiwan. If one were to travel to Taiwan, they would know that these people do not manufacture junk. OMG! Last time I checked, the official name for Taiwan is the Republic of China, btw. Semantics? Maybe...but my wife was born there & she calls herself Chinese... More options is never a bad thing. I think the vast majority are supportive of your idea, so long as the price is reasonable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colerongo Posted June 12, 2011 Author Share Posted June 12, 2011 Here is what Wikipedia has to say about it. "A series of political, economic, and military missteps led the Kuomintang to defeat and retreat to Taiwan in 1949, establishing an authoritarian one party state that considered itself to be the sole legitimate ruler of all of China. However, since political liberalization began in the late 1970s, the Republic of China has transformed itself into a multiparty, representative democracy on Taiwan." The people I have met here over the past few weeks did not call themselves Chinese or associate themselves with China, although what you said is also true and I am sure some of the people do call themselves Chinese. In fact some people consider Taiwan the "real China". But that is not what my point was, I was saying that products designed and manufactured on the island of Taiwan are generally of good quality and the people here strive for excellence. I do not doubt that within my lifetime Taiwan will have a similar reputation to the one Japan has now. I do not know if these statements hold true for mainland China as I have not been there or known any people who live there. The idea here is to be able to have a coilover that welds directly onto the hub like some people have done with s13 coilovers onto 240z hubs without the need for custom lower perches. So this would eliminate a few hundred dollars. And since I could have a set of four of these coilovers for $600 US, that would be the only real cost. I just have to find out if there is a coilover that has the right ID to fit onto the 280z hub, which means I have to know the OD of the 280z hub. I have seen coilovers advertised for vw's and some other cars that are "55mm coilovers". For example the vw golf coilovers are all 55mm strut tube. Does anybody know if these might work? Why or why not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colerongo Posted June 12, 2011 Author Share Posted June 12, 2011 Mckinney Motorsports just came out with a set of Megan coilovers with 240z or 280z adapter tubes with custom spring rates and everything designed for the Z instead of the 240sx. So that is probably the best bet now since it is only $1150. I think I will be buying this kit. It looks extremely good and isn't mismatched parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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