Guest Anonymous Posted July 31, 2003 Share Posted July 31, 2003 I have a 81 280ZX drag car [backyard conversion] & i ripped out the factory diff. & installed a ford 8.8 rearend with four link suspension. The only problem is the factory rear struts will not hold the torque.Can anyone advise me on how to upgrade struts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted July 31, 2003 Share Posted July 31, 2003 DELETE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dp351zcar Posted July 31, 2003 Share Posted July 31, 2003 Please tell us how you did the 8.8 and show us some pics. I have a idea of doing this after I get the car running. I want to try to make it a removable 8.8 so I can put the IRS back in for track days. Yes I want to eat my cake and have it perfect so I can look at it forever. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted July 31, 2003 Share Posted July 31, 2003 SPIIRIT; First of all,NICE TO MEET YOU.My car has a SBC-406 ,a turbo 350 trans. & as i said before an 8.8 ford rearend.Now don't get me wrong,this car isn't put together out of a book. I made motor mounts,trans crossmember,headers & driveshaft.As of two weeks ago me & my partner cut out all flooring from firewall all the back to subframe connecting between strut towers in the rear.Then we built a frame from 2x4 steel tubing that connects to heavy subframe in engine compartment all the way back to subframe between rear struts & then installed sheetmetal floors.By the way,the 8.8 has 4-10 richmond gears & ford motorsports posy.The diff. & the (factory type)4-link are out of 89 5.0 GT mustang. Now my problem is that i set up all of this to work with my factory struts.I figured that they were sufficient seeing as they were made for the rear weight of the car but when i launch the car off the line (dragstrip) the struts aren't enough & the back of the car bottoms out, shocks the rearend &causes me to breack traction.I could go & buy adjustable coilovers but then i would have to redesign my setup.I would like to find out what options i have pertaining to strengthening,modifying,or finding stronger factory type replacements because i know very little about struts & by finding & looking through this site there are alot of people here that know their Z's.THANX!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2Forty Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 The struts may be set up for the weight of the car but not the torque. A reputable suspension business should be able to recommend what you need. Is it possible your struts are shot? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 DP351Zcar, Just off the top of my head,it would be possible to set up you're car the way you want to.You could make brackets to hold 4-link suspention & leave all factory setup for factory diff..I want to stress to you that i am not a proffesional chassis builder.I am just someone who knows how to weld,cut & do some metal work.Ido my own work &some other.you would have to get a second driveshaft made for the 8.8 & also make shock mounts on the 8.8 so you could use struts.All that i have said all depends on how many PONY's & how much TORQUE you would be running.Also all of this is off the top of my head & it would be hard to explain what are just ideas in my head to you.Especially since i am a very slow typer & i have no pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 The struts arent shot, just not enough.Can you give me some ideas on where to look or some names of aftermarket strut distributers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dp351zcar Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 Thanks monster that was what I was thinking. I could put the mounts in for the 8.8 (which I all ready have) and avoid the factory mounts so I can have my cake and eat it too. I'll have to narrow the 8.8 though. How wide is yours? Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 I dont remember the exact width of my 8.8,will have to remeasure now that it is on my mind.Like i said though, mine is out of an 89 mustang & i didnt cut it down at all.It was a little wide but i left it alone so i could use factory struts &could get plenty of tire under it,also could find wheels with the right backspacing to stick as far under as possible.You can also make youre shock mounts with different bolt locations to use youre strut to adjust ride heigth.Dont forget that the pinion angle on youre 8.8 is very inportant for traction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest billy383Z Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 You said that you were running the stock struts, are you also using the stock springs in the rear? The ZX's had rear springs that were too soft to begin with. Even with stock motor, the ZX's have a bad tendency to squat really hard and bottom out on acceleration. Keep your stock struts, but either go to a stiffer rear spring or put some sort of rubber bump stops to help control the bottoming out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greimann Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 The hot setup would be Tokico adjustables with aftermarket springs like Eibach. Unfortunately the Tokicos 5 ways are not available any more for the rear of the ZX but the non-adjustables might be. http://www.tokicogasshocks.com/car/appguide.asp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZROSSA Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 Guys, You are missing something here. The main problem is going to be unsprung weight. You are asking the shocks and springs to control a solid axel (250-300lbs) when the were designed to control a much lighter independent rear end. There is no way they will handel it. I would guess that you are going to need spring rates and shocks that were designed to work with the mustang axel. Springs are pretty easy to change but you might have to get some custom shock like koni's or bilsteins and have them re valved to suit the mass of that axel. Douglas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted August 3, 2003 Share Posted August 3, 2003 Billy383Z is totally right.I have some friends that dirt track race & have lots of coil springs different sizes &weights.To make a long story short i bought new monroe replacement shocks & then got springs that were the same measurements,but were alot heavier poundage.WORKS GREAT .For anyone needing something better but dont have serious $$$$$$, this is definately the way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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