240zdan Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 (edited) Well a while back I developed an adaptor tube and weld in camber plate to adapt Megan racing s13 coilovers to a Datsun 240z. McKinney and a few other companies decided to take the idea and offer it to the public a few months later to make a few bucks. After running them for 7 years I think its time I did a review and why you SHOULDN'T go this route. 1) The spring rates on the s13 are too stiff in the front. I ended up buying softer front springs (5K) which greatly improved turn in but ended up costing me a few extra $$. 2) I have gone through about 4 rear shocks in the rear. I believe the fronts may be going as well. The non inverted strut insert combined with a pillow ball mount wreaks havoc on the struts. Its ok to run a shock like this on the s13 where there is a upper and lower control arm, but not ok on a car like the Z. 3) Megan Racing makes the cheapest shittiest shocks you can imagine. I even had one blow after 1000kms from the adjustment nut and spill oil all over my interior. Solution: I am now looking to replace my shocks with a quality INVERTED insert to increase rigidity and durability. I may consider installing a rubber tophat from a 240sx onto my rear shocks in the meantime to try and prolong the life of my Megans. Either way, they are on the list now. You guys know what that means Edited January 9, 2016 by 240zdan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tube80z Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 I've always had good and luck with Bilsteins. It sounds like Megan simply took a shock and inverted it to act like a strut and that is the root of the problem. There are people mixing and matching parts between bilstein and stance that might be an option too. If you don't need the adjusters I'd probably go for the bilsteins. I had a set that's been in three to four cars over the years with over 30K in kilometres on them. Hope that helps, Cary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trackzpeed Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 So.... In your experience, would a coilover like the one offered by Sakura (inverted by stance) Be a better option? There has been a recent flood of lower cost coilovers for the s30-240Z..... Your real world use and write up of the Megan's is very helpful, although I had heard from others that the Megan's were sub-standard. Thanks for the write up and feedback. Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240zdan Posted January 10, 2016 Author Share Posted January 10, 2016 (edited) I haven't personally tried the Stance coilovers, but right now it would seem like the best option. I think using a cheaper coil over but utilizing the rubber top hat in the rear could work as well. I still think that with the way the Z suspension is designed, under power and during wheel hop there is tremendous forces put on the shock shaft. In a car like the 240sx, you have an upper control arm holding everything together, but on the Z not so much. This is why I was considering using a rubber isolator bushing on the top of the shocks vs a pillow ball mount. I did notice Arizona Z car coilovers are inverted. I think with a quality damper like a bilstien or a Koni, with stock tophats, it wouldn't be an issue. If I were to do it again, I'd have sectioned my struts, used a quality shock, and ran the GC kit. Now I'm dealing with Chinese crap. Edited January 10, 2016 by 240zdan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trackzpeed Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 Thanks for the feedback... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rooger82 Posted January 12, 2016 Share Posted January 12, 2016 Would you say the Megan coilovers were a bad choice because you had fitted the 240sx coilovers onto your Z? Or just Megan Racing in general because of the quality of product? I ask this because there are versions of the Megan Coilover that are made specific for the Z now and are not S13 coilovers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkspeed Posted January 14, 2016 Share Posted January 14, 2016 Bilsteins are bulletproof. I can't blow them, and even if I did Bilstein will rebuild for $80 and valve any way I want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240zdan Posted January 14, 2016 Author Share Posted January 14, 2016 Would you say the Megan coilovers were a bad choice because you had fitted the 240sx coilovers onto your Z? Or just Megan Racing in general because of the quality of product? I ask this because there are versions of the Megan Coilover that are made specific for the Z now and are not S13 coilovers. I think Megan racing make a terrible product. The pillowballs are seizing, every fastener is rusting, the shocks aren't durable and the springs are cheap. I would probably go for the Stance inverted 240z kit before going with the Megan 240z kit. I would love bilstiens, I think in the future I may revert back to a section strut and bilstiens all around, as well as Swift or GC springs. I have bilstiens on my truck and they rock, tons of rock crawling and logging roads, no leaks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hypertek Posted January 14, 2016 Share Posted January 14, 2016 you can get the struts rebuilt http://fealsuspensionstore.com/coilover-services/#coilover-1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rooger82 Posted January 14, 2016 Share Posted January 14, 2016 I believe the coilovers I will most likely go with will be Feal although I will give Stance a look since i know its not one of the Taiwan brands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trackzpeed Posted January 14, 2016 Share Posted January 14, 2016 I checked into the Feal's..... I could not source an S30 product on their site. What have you found in the Feal product line? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rooger82 Posted January 14, 2016 Share Posted January 14, 2016 I checked into the Feal's..... I could not source an S30 product on their site. What have you found in the Feal product line? It is not listed on their website but it is something they have made before. It is pretty funny I had talked to Odi Bakchis (owner/formula d driver) about the coilovers at SEMA. He said it was crazy how someone inquired about making one for an S30, then after that it was posted on a forum and he was getting a bunch of requests. So now they get orders on a regular basis but are not even listed anywhere. So give them a call and they should be able to give you a price and some info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
260DET Posted January 15, 2016 Share Posted January 15, 2016 (edited) Shocks from a multi link suspension should not be used on a McPherson strut suspension, like the S30 has, period. Crazy stuff. Edited January 15, 2016 by 260DET Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240zdan Posted January 17, 2016 Author Share Posted January 17, 2016 I can see your point, but can you tell me the difference between say a S13 rear coilover VS a 240z rear coilover? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-E Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 You would need to start with 2 pairs of s13 fronts for the 240z with adapters/hats for the bending/side load handling... s130/z31 don't have this problem since the trailing arm takes all the side loads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240zdan Posted January 17, 2016 Author Share Posted January 17, 2016 (edited) OK I think I have found a solution. I am going to order an upper spring perch from megan and install it onto the rear coilovers. This way the spring is free to move with the mono ball as suspension compresses. Might have to end up machine something custom though. Edited January 17, 2016 by 240zdan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaiden_08 Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 240Zdan, have you done any research into Techno Toy Tuning? I am looking at coilover systems as well as new suspension in general as my car is a shell currently. Trying to get a feel for where my money would best be spent on a street car/potentially light track use application. I have looked at Bilstein, T3, and AZC and they seem to be the best 3 options. Just trying to get someone to give some insight into their respective performance. I appreciate your feedback on Megan products, I have seen some of their stuff and wouldnt have been able to tell they they are inferior products. This is how my project currently sits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240zdan Posted January 17, 2016 Author Share Posted January 17, 2016 (edited) Alright... I partially retract my statement on Megan products. 260DET is correct, the rear s13 coilovers do not work well with 240z rear suspension. This is because the upper mount does not allow the spring to pivot as suspension compresses, possibly putting side load on the shock. Although I could fix this by adding an upper perch to isolate the spring from the upper mount and make it pivot as suspension compresses, i still feel the Megans have too small of a shock diameter to be used on a Macpherson strut setup. I also dont feel like the pillowball is up to the task. Although I made a few adaptors and sold them here on the site a long time ago, I was emailed by Mckinney to start mass producing them but didn't want to jump the gun as I wasn't sure if the design would work. I think Mckinney ended up making them anyways? To those of you who installed s13 coilovers into your Z, the rear upper mount needs addressing. If you installed rear camber plates along with them, you may be ok. Yikes. Time to start looking for new coilovers. Edited January 17, 2016 by 240zdan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240zdan Posted January 17, 2016 Author Share Posted January 17, 2016 240Zdan, have you done any research into Techno Toy Tuning? I am looking at coilover systems as well as new suspension in general as my car is a shell currently. Trying to get a feel for where my money would best be spent on a street car/potentially light track use application. I have looked at Bilstein, T3, and AZC and they seem to be the best 3 options. Just trying to get someone to give some insight into their respective performance. I appreciate your feedback on Megan products, I have seen some of their stuff and wouldnt have been able to tell they they are inferior products. This is how my project currently sits. Home in the Garage.jpg YES all those 3 are superior in every way. Also may be worth checking out Stance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaiden_08 Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 I feel like with the 4 different option it justs comes down to budget vice function? They seem to be peers in performance terms. Though, I like that T3 advertising that their system is good for 700-1000HP applications. I wish the other companies were more forthright with some of their observed performance specs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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