Getting Serious about Suspension Swap

[Guest thinkmonkey]

It has been so long since I posted here they deleted my account!

 

I've grown up quite a bit since then, I have a job that pays much better now, but that little kid inside of me will not give up on my z. It has been sitting mostly dormant in my garage, right now just an empty shell awating more rust repair. My original intention was to cage it and use all new components for use as a track/street car. I still want that, but my view of the suspension has changed. I have been tuning my other weekend car since then and I must say that now I don't think I can settle for an archaic mcpherson strut front suspension and single wishbone in the back, and only rely on minor geometry changes and poly bushes to take up the slack. I want more. In the dream world I could have pushrod operated double wishbone suspenion but I think I will have to settle for a more reasonable swap. Here's what I'm thinking.

 

I would like double wishbones front and rear, but I can be reasonable and consider ease of packaging. I have heard that someone has swapped in a full 240sx suspension which would definately interest me because I own a 240sx and I am familiar with them and love the incredible array of suspension bits available in the aftermarket. This is still strut up front but is not as limited a design, and it is multilink in the rear. I know the FD rx-7 and miata have double wishbones, but I haven't looked at their packaging at all so I can't comment on that. I am wondering who else has gone through a re-engineering of their z on this scale and what advice they have. I realize that I am venturing into the realm of full tube frame cars with completely custom subframes and a body shell along for the ride, but I am comfortable with that. I don't expect my car to be drivable in any form in the next 5 years, and I plan on investing (HAH!) in it over the remainder of my 20's. The loan business is very seasonal so I end up with a lot of free time in the winter. Just wanted to hear what other people think, but I already know the most common recommendation is going to be FIND A PROFESSIONAL, not bad advice, ya know anybody?

 

-David

P.S. MONEY MONEY MONEY

[Jsquared]

I have though about something similar, and I don't even own an S30 yet! I actually though about Z32 fronts (camber upper arm instead of MacP strut) and S13 rear (same arms as Z32, narrower subframe I *think*, same R200 as Z32 NA). Especially since I can get an S13 rear subframe ubercheap and I already have a decent bit of experience with my S13's suspension setup (now to just earn those last few bucks to get those adjustable RUCAs! haha). I really don't like MacPherson strut in general, since I'm a nerd... heck half of the reason I considered the much more expensive RB swap (with much more power than I have the skill for too ) is because I don't like the design of the L28's head. I haven't found a chassis yet (probably won't for a few months, got to finish up the S13 and take it to some HPDEs before I sell it) so I haven't been able to measure or mock up anything.

 

Most likely I'll use the Keep It Simple, Stupid approach overall with the car... stock MacP strut front/rear and L28ET to keep costs down and have less things to adjust If nobody else comes up with an answer for your question in the next four months or so, remind me as I should hopefully have an S30 to work on by then

[Dan Juday]

Ron Tyler was working on a double A-arm front suspension for the S30. He keeps moving his site around so much though that none of my links are good anymore.

 

Anybody have a current link to Ron's site?

[Here comes trouble]

Something should be said for modification moderation. I believe that modifications to a Z should be done without allowing any 30 day interval of time to lapse where the Z is not operable. So many things can get lost or stolen and forgotten if not frozen into one big pile of expensive junk which unfotunately my Tomahawk Z has become.

[Guest thinkmonkey]

I know what you mean about mod moderation, I wish I had done that in the beginning. Snowballing projects end up mothballing them I'd say 90% of the time, and maybe half of people's cars snowball. My car will now only ever be finished if it is built like a tube chassis racecar, in which case it's simply the body that I'm keeping from the original car. I've had the car since I was 16 though and so now I absolutely refuse to get rid of it. I'm a very practical person in all other respects, but in this I just refuse to look at anything logically unless that logic is used to build it. Hooray.

 

-David

[Guest thinkmonkey]

If anyone has Ron's email I would be very very interested in what he's up to.

 

-Dave

[Michael]

Not to be too abrasive, but I’d opine that this falls into the category of “if you have to ask, you probably can’t afford it or can’t do itâ€. In other words, tube-chassis cars should only be built by people who have built such cars before, or by their apprentices.

 

For aggressive mods to truly be worthwhile (as opposed to exercises in creativity, to phrase it politely), tremendous work and experience is required to get the details right.

 

As a rough guess, getting the chassis (structure, suspension, drivetrain mounts, body mounts, systems integration) right would take a pro about 500 hours. At $100/hr, that’s $50,000 – body work not included.

 

Also consider that with mods that extensive, it really doesn’t matter which car is used as the foundation of your project. It could be a Z, or a Porsche, or a Pinto....

 

....So, if I had a deep desire for a full tube-chassis car (and at one point I did), I’d buy a used GT1 race car (never mind the make), which has been retired because class rules changed and it’s no longer legal.

[Guest thinkmonkey]

Well no, that's true if you ask the question how much is it, then you can't afford it. I'm fully aware that I will not be able to do a lot of the work myself but my timeline and budget allow me to do a lot of the things that I want. I'm not trying to nail down a plan so much as get an idea of what others have done.

 

-David