Guest Simon Posted April 23, 2003 Share Posted April 23, 2003 Hey guys, I have finally got my car back on the road. I have put in a spring out of another car and cut them to get a very low ride hight and very little body roll. But i have a major problem, i cannot get any traction I can spin the wheels just by flooring it in first gear and I cannot stop quickly (compared to the recommended suspension setup), the wheels just lock up to easily I think the springs are about 440 foot pounds or so... All four wheels just slide if you go around a corner to quickly... much easer than before the so called upgrade. My shockies aren't in the best condition but there ok.... im sure there not the problem. The car still has the L28 in it.. The car is dangerous to drive on the streets, Can any one help me out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j260z Posted April 23, 2003 Share Posted April 23, 2003 at 440 lbs i think you have taken the shocks out of the equation! the highest i would go would be 250 lbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudge Posted April 23, 2003 Share Posted April 23, 2003 Foot pounds? Or pounds per inch... 440#, so you have 400# coil overs and you cut them a bit I assume. Those are some beefy friggin springs, remember the stockers are 130#, those are going to be road racing springs they are not going to be suitable for drag, and from what you say maybe not safe for the street either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katman Posted April 23, 2003 Share Posted April 23, 2003 Our two time ARRC winning ITS 240Z used 400 lb/in front and 350 lb/in rear springs and about $4000 worth of remote reservior custom shocks to control them, but I wouldn't do that on the street with street tires. Normal or "performance" street shocks just aren't up to that kind of spring rate, nor do the tires particularly care for it. I wouldn't go over 200 lb/in on either end of a street car, shocks most definitely will still be a problem, and make dang sure you have at least 2-3/4 inches worth of bump travel and 2-1/4 or so worth of rebound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudge Posted April 23, 2003 Share Posted April 23, 2003 No disagreement here, Koni doubles from what I know can take about 2x the stock spring pretty well, 3x and you start to wear them faster. Look into some Bilsteins and get them valved for what you need, or go with Konis, but yeah that is a damn stiff spring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Simon Posted April 24, 2003 Share Posted April 24, 2003 i can spin the wheels in third gear and can not stop at all almost the wheels just lock up. what would a car be like with no suspension, ie welded... would you not be able to stop at all? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LS1T Posted April 24, 2003 Share Posted April 24, 2003 Yeah the suspension has a lot to do with how fast you stop. If your car is not transfering the weight to the front wheels like it should your going to have problems. I also think those springs are WAY to stiff! You need some different ones. If you can spin the tires with an L28 in 3rd gear one of two things is happening, 1) you have got one hell of an engine there! or 2) something is messed up with your suspension! Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudge Posted April 24, 2003 Share Posted April 24, 2003 Front brakes do about 70% of the job, so throw that in with the weight transfer stuff mentioned above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted April 24, 2003 Share Posted April 24, 2003 If you truely have those spring rates in the car, you've turned it into a Go-Kart. Time for some new springs. Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heavy Z Posted April 27, 2003 Share Posted April 27, 2003 The way you describe it in the corners sure sounds like too stiff of springs is your problem. On a bumpy road you'll take a corner and skip along, sorta like a flat rock thrown at a lake. No give in the suspension will do that, change springs and you'll probably be set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Simon Posted April 27, 2003 Share Posted April 27, 2003 I was pretty sure that was the problem! around a bend.... but didnt think it would have that much effect trying to pull up. On a smooth road ie. race track what will it be like? better to be so hard or is it just way too hard!! Sim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimZ Posted April 27, 2003 Share Posted April 27, 2003 Simon - I have a couple of additional questions - how far did these springs lower the car, and were any other mods made, such as shortening the struts to regain lost suspension travel? If you lowered the car by 2.5" or more with doing anything about suspension travel, you are most likely hitting the bump stops (you do have bump stops, right?), which can cause all kinds of funkiness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Simon Posted April 28, 2003 Share Posted April 28, 2003 just went for a drive on the freeway, 70km 2nd gear 5Krpm drop the cluch and huge wheel spin.... Stock l28 with twin su (not even tuned) 3.7 diff and 225 tyres I'd keep the setup if i could only stop... any way of making it pull better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted April 28, 2003 Share Posted April 28, 2003 More importantly here, what tires and brakes are you using as well. As the others mentioned, those springs are WAY to stiff for a street going Z. And remember, Lower isn't always better... I'd bet your bumpsteer is WAY out on the extreme as well. Raise the car back up and go with some Suspension technique springs or something that is a stock configuration minus an inch... Progressive springs work sooooo much better on a street going Z. What kinda Caster/ camber and toe are you running Simon? I know you have adustable arms all the way around... Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike kZ Posted April 28, 2003 Share Posted April 28, 2003 So you can't stop, and you went on the freeway doing 70km? Do you have a death wish? Take those springs off, and put your old ones back on, or some new ones that are not over 200# before you kill yourself! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Simon Posted April 28, 2003 Share Posted April 28, 2003 OH i can stop quite quickly, just not quick enough, like if a little kid runs out in front of me... and here the freeway is empty (its werstern australia 10:30 = no cars on the road) i dont have ajustable anything.....that i know of, some guy gave me some springs and said see if these fit... I have done a break upgrade to ford vented disks and calipers to suit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted April 28, 2003 Share Posted April 28, 2003 Sorry, differnet Austrailian names Simon... Anyway, Swap those springs out... They are a huge safety issue. Be safe and goodluck! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimZ Posted April 28, 2003 Share Posted April 28, 2003 So you can't stop, and you went on the freeway doing 70km? Do you have a death wish? Take those springs off, and put your old ones back on, or some new ones that are not over 200# before you kill yourself! To be fair, 70kph is only about 42mph - it's not that horribly fast. I'm still waiting for answer to my questions - my money is on the bump stops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Simon Posted April 29, 2003 Share Posted April 29, 2003 sorry, there arnt any bump stops in there and i am very sure it isnt bottoming out in the suspention travel...i have a camera im am going to put in there so i can see what is going on, just waiting on my sisters laptop so i should do it this week Any one know how i can find out what the springs are, ie like take them out and put a weight on them and measure the diffrence in height, any one know the right way of doing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimZ Posted April 29, 2003 Share Posted April 29, 2003 sorry' date=' there arnt any bump stops in there and i am very sure it isnt bottoming out in the suspention travel...i have a camera im am going to put in there so i can see what is going on, just waiting on my sisters laptop so i should do it this week Any one know how i can find out what the springs are, ie like take them out and put a weight on them and measure the diffrence in height, any one know the right way of doing it.[/quote'] Just because I was guessing that you were riding on the bump stops doesn't mean that bump stops are a bad thing to have. IMHO, the only thing worse than riding on the bump stops is not having any at all, and bottoming the suspension. Repeated metal to metal bottoming can have disatrous results. You can buy a full set for something like $20US, so there is no real excuse not to have them. Without the stops, you have about 3.5" of bump travel before you bottom out (metal to metal) at the stock ride height. Every inch that you lower the car without making other mods (like sectioning the strut) takes an inch away from that 3.5". Now, how far did you say you lowered it? Did you do anything to regain the lost suspension travel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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