Mustang coiloversv5

[hat1324]

so half of my life is consumed by searching the internet and ive come across this:

http://www.modern-motorsports.com/catalog/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=&products_id=12

those are the MM coilovers..

then these

http://www.modularmustangracing.com/

go to products, theres the same basic thing.. the owner posts on Turbomustangs, heres what he says:

The MMR kit will allow for a fully adjustable ride height and saves 20lbs, they include all components for a trouble free install, the drag spring rate is used in our Turbo Charged 5.4 race car to consistently 60 ft in the 1.28 range. They fit all year vehicles from 86-04 and fit all front struts except Billstein. The road race kit has great adjustabiltity and provides noticably improved handling by removing the spring pressure from the A-arm bushings and moving it to the spindle for a true race set-up allowing the A-arm to react quicker to road changes and driver input. This is not an econo coil over kit. All parts are 100% US machined billet aluminum w/ torrington roller bearings for smooth wheel articulation and adjustment. Take advantage of our special pricing.

 

now from what I see, if the diameter is the same, couldnt I use the same kit?

[hat1324]

jesus, my computer wouldnt post this.. it timed out 3 times..

[Here comes trouble]

Hat.. I basically have the same question.... Are the coilover threaded aluminum sleeves inside diameter 2 inches ? The late 260 and 280 Z larger struts are like 2.08 inch diameter while the 240 Z smaller struts are 2.04 which seems to be the general standard for all adjustable sleeve coilovers.http://www.stockcarproducts.com... I bought some Bilstein's sleeves off eBay and had them bored out for 280 Z struts. I was still in the sleeves bored out and the adjusting nuts way less than new. Stock Car Products www.stockcarproducts.com has the cheapest nuts and sleeves I know of at 5" sleeve>$15.30 and adjusting nut $12.65 > Carrera brand. I would buy the cheap eBay coilovers for just the sleeves and adjusting nuts if I knew they were the standard 2 inches inside diameter which could be bored out to fit the 280 Z..............Good known brand and weight coilovers are avaialble on eBay after surfing thru the "Buy It Now" crap at less than half new price $60.-70.00 of quality coilover prices... but the sleeves and nuts are not plentiful as an auction item and hard to find..

[hat1324]

I havent seen any coilovers on ebay(as in the sleve conversions) but ive been primarily looking at Z swaps.. Thank you for the links, I see myself going that route for my coilover conversion..

[Modern Motorsports Ltd]

now from what I see' date=' if the diameter is the same, couldnt I use the same kit?[/quote']

 

Hat1324, that's for a mustang front end which has a completely different strut mount system. Z's have strut inserts in strut tubes. Mustang otherwise. Was their an advantage in the mustang setup that you were seeking to have?

 

As for the other comments on piecemealing a package. You have to compare apples to apples. Do you want a complete package you KNOW is optimized for your car and your expectations? Or do you want to piecemeal to save pennies on parts and result in an inferior setup that even when complete may not be properly optimized for appropriate responses and strut travel? Those components including adjusting nuts, top hats etc are not same specification, and not same custom pieces for simple AND optimized installation. Depending on spring choices as well their can be vast differences in your end product compared to using our package. Hyperco springs have several advantages over most other springs, eibach included.

 

Our Z specific package is an excellent value in parts alone, add in our direct support in selecting your components and this increases. Their are some customer reviews on our website under this package you may be interested in.

[rags]

If you decide to go the piecemeal route it won't take you very long before you realize you should have just went to a Z specific vendor. Ross at Modern M has already gone through all of the trouble of matching parts that work on a Z. His stuff just plain works. I also started out thinking I was going to save a few pennies by "shopping around" but in the end I went to Ross and am very glad I did. He helped be sort out my needs and eveeything went together right the first time. I am using 280 strut tubes on my 240Zt for no other reason than I had them laying around. I shortened them, installed a set of Tokico's, and adjusted everything in no time at all. I know this sounds like a commercial for Modern Motorsports but I had to throw kudo's where it's deserved.

 

Joe

[hat1324]

dont be offended, but I dont want to pay $450 for parts that I could put together for half of that...

Most likely I will go with the MM, but I want to do more research into my options..

your right, the mustangs dont use the tubes but the items look similar in style and untill I can call arround and maybe put somthing on the car...

My issue is im still about 5k behind being driveable, and i wanted to be done in 2 more months.. I have to finish some stuff on websites and work is going well, but making budget is a bitch. Saving $200 is a boost guage and a spool of vacuum lines and a dr.Pepper.

[Here comes trouble]

Hat.. I have to make every nickle count and I agree that Ross Corrigan of Modern Motorsports sells quality coilover kits. He sells a washer lower perch and upper hat that I cannot find made anywhere else for the Z struts. I am trying to obtain these from him now. If I had the money, I would buy about everything he offers for it's quality and convenience.....but I cannot afford it...I just included his website in response to a ground clearance question, but for my needs; my time and effort is spent sourcing parts that I can afford.. I do understand a little about spring weights and their manufacturers to make an informed decision.

[AK-Z]

Have you look into adapting vw gti struts? I've heard that the only problem would be boring out the top hat to accomodate the larger diameter strut shaft. I don't know if it was the 240z that I've heard would fit or the 280z though. Might want to do more research though. I'm kinda in the same boat as you.

[Here comes trouble]

On 2 inch sectioned 280 Z front struts a VW strut cartridge in the $50.00 range KYB GR2 #364014 fits like a glove in the sectioned 280 Z strut tube.....somewhere in the archive is a detailed how to I wrote on sectioning 280 Z struts 3 years ago which is now under anonymous I posted under Tomahawk Zee http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/larryjohnson97438/album?.dir=/392a

[MikeS]

Hat I did the Modern Motorsports coilovers with new struts. This is the only way to go. Ross is quick to answer any questions and the parts are top quality. Click on my avatar and check out the pictures on yahoo. Sorry there are a lot of misc. pics in there

 

Mike

[AK-Z]

Hey Trouble, does it only fit on the front or does it fit all the way around? gti coil overs on ebay go for like $80 usd for all 4.

 

On kind of another subject

Who here is running power steering? I want to put PS on my 280z. Is there a website that has this documented? Theres another thread on this using wrx PS rack and someone posted a link but it doesn't work. No one seems to be updating that thread anymore either.

[Here comes trouble]

That VW part number only fits the 2 inch sectioned 280 struts and I do not know exactly what VW model they are. I went to a Volkswagon shop and they pulled out about 3 sets. Of the three, this set was "fat" and similar in diameter to the 280 Struts but of course 2 inches shorter. You use the 280 front strut cartridges in the 2 inch sectioned rear strut tubes. (and add an +/- i nch spacer at the bottom to make up for lack of height. If you look hard, eBay has individual Carerra, Afco, QA1 coilovers in stated weight sizes. I just bought a pair of 225 pound Hypercoil 10 inch coilovers for $20.50 plus shipping. I requested a price quote for a (4) upper hat and spring perch washer from Ross Corrigan but he has not replied. I placed a low bid on a pair of rear Honda coilovers (?) in hopes if low enough price I can see what kind of (size) coilover sleeves and nuts they have and if suitable for serious application

[AK-Z]

Trouble keep me updated on your exploits.

 

Let me understand you correctly.

So you sectioned (cut) the old carterage and slid the VW ones in and welded a spacer to limit the distance that the VW strut slid into the old carterage. correct?

What about the back?

What did you do with the "top hat" part, did you drill then?

[AK-Z]

Sorry took me a couple of times to understand what you type.

So you use the front cut struts on the rear?

And you just put in the VW struts in the front without doing anything to them?

[Here comes trouble]

the front 280 Z front strut tubes are sectioned 2 inches and the above mentioned VW strut cartridges fit perfectly in the sectioned front 280 strut tubes.......... the stock height Datsun 280 Z front strut cartridge can be transferred to the 2 inch sectioned rear strut tubes . the 280 Z front strut cartridges transferred to the rear strut tubes require a spacer at the bottom to bring the cartridges up level to the tightening gland nut on top of the strut tube............. I just bought a pair of advertised "rear coilovers" for a Honda on e Bay for one cent ($.01). I will find out now about the inside diameter of the adjusting sleeves and the quality of the the aluminum adjusting nuts and sleeves for Z car application. I do not hold out much hope on the springs but may get them tested for pounds per inch.......

[Here comes trouble]

The one cent Honda rear coil overs arrived with a disproportinate postage charge.. The springs are of a undetermined compressed weight and 7 inches in height. The coil diameter is slightly larger than my 225 pound 10 inch hypercoils...so ash can the Honda springs for a Datsun application. and probaly any worthwhile Honda application......the Honda aluminum top hat(s) fit perfectly on top of the 225 # hypercoil coil overs and in appearance and function will work for the Datsun 240-280 Z application with top washer indentation above and centering ring for the coilover spring on the underside..I may have to slightly enlarge the top hat's center hole to accept the diameter of the Datsun's strut cartridge shaft... The Honda coilover sleeves with adjusting nut and corresponding lock nut are a little over 3 5/8" with 3 inches of thread (not a true acme thread) and right at 2 inches inside diameter and would require boring out slightly for a 240 strut but not quite thick enough for a 280 strut bore. I have 2 Bilstein 5 inch thredaed adjusting sleeves (aproxomately 2 1/16 bore thru and a partial bore of 2 1/8 and a with acme threads and single adjusting nut with allen screw centering lock that inside diameter can be bored out safely for the 280 strut and will most likely slip right over the 240 strut tube without any enlargement. I have used bored out Bilstein sleeves before on a 280 Z application... So I gained two usable aluminum top hats with 2 useless coilover springs and 2 coil over sleeves without modification will not slip over a 240 strut tube.