ZR8ED Posted June 6, 2005 Share Posted June 6, 2005 Been busy lately, but the black beast is out and about. I have not been driving it much because I want to get the oil changed, but went to 3 places who could not fit it on a hoist, or EVEN THEIR PIT!! The front air dam is less than 1.5 inches off the ground! I suppose I should fill in the blanks. The top coil on the front left and right springs are cut original 1978 springs. They finally started to sag 2 years ago, but was not fully discovered until last year, but because the car was being worked on more than it was on the street, I postponed the spring change till nicer weather this year. The top coil was fully resting on the coil beneath it. Handling and braking suffered, and I could not get in anyones driveway with out some scraping of the air dam. Well last weekend I pulled the front suspension, cleaned it up a bit.. I didn't get in the "while I'm at it syndrome" Therapy is paying off. So the suspension didn't get an upgrade..or even cleaned and painted or powder coated.. pretty good huh? Well at least the suspension works. I didn't even upgrade the springs. The cut springs held for almost 14 years of abuse. I am still running cut springs, but am running a spare set of rear springs, cut the same length, but with no sagging. They are actually in really good shape. The car is now sitting much higher in the front.. perfect actually. The old springs had been cut to "MY" perfect height, and the newer good condition springs put me right back where I wanted to be. Now don't give me any hassles about the cut stocko springs I've lots of experience with cut springs. With my engine setup, wide rear track, this setup works very very well. If I upgraded to coilovers, I'd have no idea what to buy anyways. I've regained that nimble feel, the steering is lighter, no more scraping in driveways, and that mid engine "feel" during corning is right back where I wanted it. I'd like to make it better someday, but do not have the expertise yet to take on this challenge. I've had several pro drivers, and experienced Z autocrossers drive the car, and all have commented over the last years, how surprisingly neutral, nimble and light the car feels. They have all told me to not mess with it, as long as it works. We'll see at the next track event. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2126 Posted June 6, 2005 Share Posted June 6, 2005 As was once said...."If it ain't broken, don't fix it!" Or, as an engineer might say......"If it ain't broken, fix it until it is!!!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Here comes trouble Posted June 7, 2005 Share Posted June 7, 2005 I just keep swapping parts till I get it fixed and why I keep a few parts cars about..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsunlover Posted June 7, 2005 Share Posted June 7, 2005 Sounds like my kinda mod.. How much is actually cut off the springs? I was looking at my car sitting in the driveway tonite thinking.. "Wow, that 3" of air between the tires and wheel arches looks like crap.." But I hesitate to cut springs for fear of messing them up. Possible problems: A: being TOO low, scraping evrywhere, B: not having a set of stockers to put back in.. or C: coils may hit tires in the front. I have about 3/16" clearance right now.. (I'm thinking that because the diameter of a spring gets bigger as it compresses, this could be an issue..) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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