Keep wearing out Koni struts ....

[tube80z]

On slicks you should see 1.6 continuous and spikes near 1.8.  Tires keep getting better and better.

[clarkspeed]

This has me thinking again. What is the best way to quantify lateral g's? It's pretty much a normal distribution of data. At the Runoffs we saw almost identical G's from Hoosier R7 DOT's and slicks. Peaks at 1.8, but when I look at a smoothed plot the average is more like 1.25. And that is typically what I find when taking an average for 1/2 second or so continous loading.

[tube80z]

It may be logger dependent too.  I'm not completely sure what I was using corrected for roll, which would give higher numbers.  Hopefully more data this next year to see how Hoosier and Avons compare.  I created a math channel that looked at 1/4 seconds of cornering for continuous (autox) and then picked out the highest number for peak.  On an EP car on GYs I would see similar numbers on a race technology DL1.  But that was the best I ever saw and it could drop a lot depending on track conditions.

 

For lateral acceleration (or longitudinal) are you thinking of comparison of cars or just as a gauge for your own car?  Bob Knox recommends a 0.3 second moving average filter for acceleration data.  

 

Cary

[heavy85]

You can go to 280ZX of Z31 front struts and that opened up the whole Bikstein 36mm (P36) shock selection including their Motorsports 36mm units.

Contact Bret Norgaard at Yawsport.

https://m.facebook.com/YAWSPORT?refsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FYAWSPORT

Looking into this option. Messaged him and sounds like he uses the Bilstein University Motorsport strut that's basically a bare tube you weld to the spindle. What would be the practical benefit of this option rather than just getting another Koni?

[johnc]

It's a better shock in all aspects. More piston and valving options.

[260DET]

For Mac P suspension shock shaft diameter it extremely important, all else equal the bigger the diameter the more resistance to lateral loading. Plus more bearing and seal area.

[letitsnow]

I don't think you mentioned how long it was taking you to wear out a set.

 

The last set I had was 2 years old, daily driven in the summer (had probably 30k+ on them) and autocrossed pretty much every weekend (with 2-3 drivers) on a 2850lb without driver street tired car. It made peaks of about 1.35G and was steady state around 1.15-1.25G on a race capture pro mk2. This set was still in good shape when I took them off.

 

If you're not getting that kind of life out of them, I'd be looking hard at points that might be causing bind. Look at the spherical in the camber plate, look at the spring mounting. Next I'd be looking to make sure your gland nut is perpendicular to the strut tube. If the threads aren't perpendicular then the gland nut will force the upper bushing to be not perpendicular, which will cause bind and wear in the bushing. I made my housings for the set mentioned above and cut the threads on a lathe to ensure everything was square.

 

You might be able to put a different strut in and have it live, but when you do, I'd make sure of the above at the minimum, otherwise you may still have somewhat of a problem.

 

All that said, on the next race car I'm building, an SMF Honda, I'll be using 46mm bilsteins because they can achieve the valving I want and the twin tube Konis cant. The monotube konis are expensive and only a couple of places service them.

 

Also, I was talking to someone with an F prepared 240z at solo nationals this year that had built a 'bolt on' SLA front suspension, that was really cool. He had to weld in some bracing and drill some holes, but he could switch back to McStrut as he pleased.

Edited February 27, 2016 by letitsnow