280Bob Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 Here are some pictures of my '75 280Z with MM coilovers, Tokico 5-ways and Konig Rewinds. The ride height is way too high. I'm guessing that sectioning is the only way to drop ride height on a 280, because the coilovers with 10in springs didn't at all. These pictures are with the coilovers set to their lowest setting. The tire size is 225/50/15. I'm just looking for advice from anyone who might have experienced a similar problem. Any input is appreciated. I don't want the car slammed, this is just too high. I lose all adjustability of the coilovers because any higher than this and the car has about 5" of wheel gap and looks slightly ridiculous. I like the wheels though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olie05 Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 you're right, that is too high for MM coilovers. Did you install them correctly, I.E. did you weld the ring for the threaded sleeve in the right location to allow for enough adjustment in both directions? is your car sittin on the bumpstops? (it really shouldn't be if it is a 280z at that height) my 280z with eibach "lowering" springs puts me down a little lower than the ride height in the pictures with about 2-3 inches of stroke left on the shock absorbers. Oh yeah, I run the same size tires too, so it is pretty easy to compare. heres a pic for comparison... kind of a bad pic, if you want more "reference" pics i can shoot some tomorrow... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
280Bob Posted March 22, 2006 Author Share Posted March 22, 2006 I followed the instructions exactly when installing them. That's why I don't understand why this thing has so much gap. I thought it should sit lower as well, and I am very disappointed. If you could shoot some other pics I would definately appreciate it. Also, if anyone else has a 280 with this same setup and could post some pics to compare that would be great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank280zx Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 hmm why dont you lower the ring so you get more lowering room? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaleMX Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 I think the instructions might be a little confusing. When he says 1" down from the top that is not were you want to put it, that is just a minimum distance, you have to dummy it up and measure for each car. The 1" thing is to keep you away from the gland nut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 My stock suspension car looks like that with 225/50/15's. One possilble solution is a taller wheel/tire combo. which sucks because that size wheel/tire is suppose to be a good autox configuration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueovalz Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 Could you use 8" springs to drop it two inches (but without going to a shorter insert (which would allow you to shorten the housing), you'd hit the bumpstop occationally)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cygnusx1 Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 Those wheel/tires look smaller than stock spec. diameter. I run 225/50-16 which is very close to original overall diameter and fills the wheel wells nicely with the car dropped 1" from stock. I'm not using coilovers yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastzcars Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 280BOB, Do us a favor. could you post some pics of the suspenion, front and rear, and include the part numbers of the strut inserts that you received? That way we could give you beter advise as a course of action to take. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 I think fastzcars and blueovalz have the right idea. Another good thing to do would be to jack each end up, put a zip tie around the strut shaft and set it down on the ground. Then take the tires off and take that pic so that we can see where the spring perches are and where the struts sit at the current ride height. If they're topped out, and it kinda sounds like they are, the solution should be to run 8" springs and raise up the collar 2". That would put you right back where you are now, and you could lower from there. Still sounds like the collars are installed higher than need be, because if they're all the way at the bottom now, you'll only get the car 2" down from where it is now and you'll be bottomed on the coilover again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
280Bob Posted March 23, 2006 Author Share Posted March 23, 2006 Thanks for all the input, I would have responded earlier but I have been working on getting the car running. I did place the threaded sleeve 1" from the top of the tube...that is what I was told to do, and I didn't have any reason to think otherwise. I agree that it looks like the perches are too high, which is very frustrating. I will take pictures of the suspension as soon as possible. jmortensen, Do you want me to place the zip tie on the shaft just to mark how far the strut compresses? This is what I think you are asking for but just want to clarify. How much travel do the tokico struts have normally? The struts I ordered were the correct ones for the 280Z, but I will check the part # on the boxes tomorrow. I will definately try to get some pictures. Thanks for all the responses, I really do appreciate the help. Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 Yeah, you got the right idea. I want to see how much droop your suspension has. So push the zip tie all the way down then set the car on the ground, maybe roll it back and forth a couple feet so that it settles. Then jack it back up and we can see how much travel is being used when the car just sits with it's weight on the springs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjhines Posted March 24, 2006 Share Posted March 24, 2006 The 280Z upper mounts are much thicker than the early 240Z mounts... If you are using the stock upper mounts with the coilovers... switch to the the early 240Z upper mounts. This will drop the car at least an inch and it will not reduce your strut travel at all... I have a set of EMI camber plates that have virtually NO stack height at all... they put the top of the spring within a half inch of the threaded top of the strut rod... and the spring perch to the strut tower is only 1.5" or so... I also have a set of top-hats that allow you to use coilovers with stock uppermounts... they have a considerable amount of stack height... even more than the stock set up... I'll post some measurements when I get a chance.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillZ260 Posted March 24, 2006 Share Posted March 24, 2006 Is the engine and trans in the car? I noticed the car sitting agains a block and was just wondering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olie05 Posted March 24, 2006 Share Posted March 24, 2006 here's a new reference pic of the front: (225-50-15) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
280Bob Posted March 25, 2006 Author Share Posted March 25, 2006 Sorry I haven't been able to take any pics yet. We are in the process of moving and I have been trying to get the car ready to go over to the new house and now it doesn't start:evil: . I will take some of the pictures you guys asked for tonight. The car does have the engine and trans in it, and it is on the stock 280 insulators. Do the 240 insulators really drop it about an inch? I don't know it still seems like this thing sit entirely too high. I will take better reference pics tonight. Thanks, Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruxGNZ Posted March 25, 2006 Share Posted March 25, 2006 Do the 240 insulators really drop it about an inch? Yes, but lets see what's going on before a quick fix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaleMX Posted March 25, 2006 Share Posted March 25, 2006 On my 280 I figured that stock ride height would put the aluminum adjuster down about 2 1/2" - 3" down from the top of the strut tube. You have got tons of travel on the strut. Personally I would pull the struts out, grind off the welds and put it where it belongs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
280Bob Posted March 27, 2006 Author Share Posted March 27, 2006 Ok, I was finally able to borrow a camera. Here are the pictures I think you were asking for... I jacked the car up in the rear, set the zip tie down against the gland nut, then lowered the car onto the ground. These are of the front, I know I can cut the bump stop down, but is this a normal amount of travel? DaleMX, How much travel do you have left in your suspension? I don't want to sacrifice suspension travel and handeling just to drop it. If you have any pictures of your set up similar to the ones I posted that would be great. Thanks for all the help guys, and sorry for taking so long to get the pictures up. Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueovalz Posted March 27, 2006 Share Posted March 27, 2006 Not sure what I'm looking at. Is the top photo a rear strut photo of the tie-wrap prior to pushing it down onto the gland nut, or is it the position after the suspension was set and then jacked back up again? If I am seeing this correctly, you've got the front suspension (last photo) sitting on the stops Doesn't look promising in that for the suspension to be set at a usable range, you need to raise the front by at least 2" and the rear by perhaps 1" more. This is where sectioning the case, and using shorter inserts becomes applicable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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