billseph Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 Hey guys. I'm starting in on refreshing the suspension on my 72 240Z and I need some opinions. The car I purchased to work on was just a shell with most of the suspension (front and rear) one thing I did not get with the car were rear LCA's. I'm doing a street car build so suspension is staying essentially stock for now (with the exception of new urethane bushings all around, eibach progressive springs, and new struts (probably KYB via MSA's site, possibly non-adjustable Tokicos although they're about $200 more than the KYB option...opinions on these strut differences welcome please). Anyways my main question us whether or not I should try to source some stock rear LCA's or spend $450 for TTT's adjustable ones. I was all set on getting TTT's so I didn't have to deal with the spindle pin if I ever do more suspension work, but today I was looking through the FAQ's and found that due to the lack of bushings at the hub end of the TTT LCA's that it will transfer quite a bit of noise and require somewhat frequent inspection if the car is being driven hard. I would love to buy the TTT units but wanted feedback if having stock suspension other than these rear LCA's will really be THAT noisy or if I'll need to worry about a large Grade 8 bolt (vs a stock spindle pin)breaking on me during street driving (plus I am having trouble finding JUST stock rear LCA's locally) I'm just hurrying along wanting to get this car on the ground and don't want to waste money if I don't need to. Thanks guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluDestiny Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 If you are not going to do any serious driving with this car, keep it stock. You can get some out of the junkyard for like $50 a pair and they are already out to service with new bushings and spindle pin. If you want to do all the suspension stuff later, then get the TTT LCA's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billseph Posted August 30, 2011 Author Share Posted August 30, 2011 I looked into sourcing them through car-part.com and can maybe get some for about $50 for a pair...haven't called any of the yards to verify. Is an there online source what you were referring to?? I don't have any real good junkyards that are going to have a supply of S30's near me...I'd be looking at a several drive just one way. Also guys any opinions on doing KYB vs. non-adjustable Tokico for struts?? Wanting to know if the Tokico HP are worth the extra $200 over the KYB's. Also I'll throw this out there...anyone know if I'll NEED to go with coilovers to get the car low enough to fill out the look of ZG flares well. I don't want to cut coils on lowering springs if it's gonna screw my ride quality up...I don't need cushy, but I dint want bone-jarring...I know there's much more to it than just ride height. I don't WANT to go with coilovers since I'm not interested in dialing in the performance of the suspension and they are quite expensive to upgrade to...I just want something with nice aesthetics and a nice ride quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php/topic/88025-installing-tokico-280z-hp-springs-in-a-240z/ Call Jack at 818-298-2549. He's in Glendale and can source your rear LCAs. The 280Z LCAs are a bit stronger then the 240Z ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h4nsm0l3m4n Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 (edited) I've been driving on a set of TTT LCAs for a while now. So far they have been working great. While I do believe that the lack of bushings at the hub end will transmit extra noise the arms still use a urethane bushing to attach to the chassis. This should work to dampen the vibrations at least a little bit. For what its worth when I put the LCAs on the car last summer, I did not notice huge increase in NVH over the stock LCAs with urethane bushings. All that said it sounds like stock LCAs will work fine for you. I got the TTT LCAs to be able to easily adjust rear camber and toe. If this is not something that is overly important to you there really is no necessity in buying them. There are also offset bushings you can buy to make the same adjustments if you're working on a smaller budget. I've also been using a grade 8 bolt as a replacement for the spindle pin for at least 2 years prior to installing the TTT LCAs. In either setup I had no problems with it breaking. If I remember right, the spindle pins neck down sharply in the area of the threads, which would create a point of very high stress concentration. Assuming the same quality of metal my initial thought was that a grade 8 bolt would actually be stronger than a stock spindle pin for this reason. You can achieve a lower ride height by cutting your lowering springs, coilovers are not required. Problem is, depending on how much you have to cut, after youre done you will not have much suspension travel. Not a good thing if you want proper handling. Edited August 30, 2011 by h4nsm0l3m4n Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leon Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 You shouldn't lower a Z more than about 2" unless you're sectioning the struts. As Stepan mentions, there will be little bump travel left in your suspension. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billseph Posted August 30, 2011 Author Share Posted August 30, 2011 http://www.motortopia.com/files/11549/album_datsuncompetitionhoodvent/4df7c7fc988db/IMG_0991sml.jpg I'm looking for a stance similar to this...maybe a little lower if possible. Anyone know if this car looks to be significantly lowered compared to stock?? The one Z I have with suspension on it is WORN OUT, so I dont know what to compare to. Thanks for all the input you guys have given. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 (edited) http://www.motortopi...IMG_0991sml.jpg I'm looking for a stance similar to this...maybe a little lower if possible. Anyone know if this car looks to be significantly lowered compared to stock?? The one Z I have with suspension on it is WORN OUT, so I dont know what to compare to. Thanks for all the input you guys have given. That's my car. That picture was taken when I had Eibach springs and KYB struts. I now have the Arizona Z-Car coilovers, and it was dropped a bit more. I mounted the rear flares a little higher than it turned out I needed to. I'll probably lower them 1/2" to 3/4" at some point, which will make the car look even lower. Nigel '73 240ZT Edited August 31, 2011 by Nigel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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