Pennyman Posted June 29, 2006 Share Posted June 29, 2006 Ok, I've searched and searched. I haven't come up with any definite answers. I hope this thread helps more than me. I'm pondering getting coilovers, and it seems like sectioning the struts is the best way to keep everything set up right. But the majority of the info regards the 240z ONLY. I have a '76 280z, and we all know that the rear strut tube is one inch taller then that on a 240z, AND the OD and ID of the tubes are different. The larger outer diameter is not a problem, you just simply order a 280z coilover kit, but it's the ID i'm concerned about. Because of the different ID, the trusty "240z fronts in the rear, and MR2 in the front" will not work, correct? So what struts to you use to make up that difference? Of course you could find some 240z strut tubes and swap them onto your 280z, but that's not really feasable, especially when there's 10 280z's in a junkyard for every 1 240z (even more rare by the minute too). I read that the extra space in the 280z strut tube can be used to insulate, by pouring oil into it, but is this really necessary? I also read that the gland nut does a fine job of holding everything down, so the extra space in the tube doesn't matter. What's the concensus on this? We'll start with this. There are other issues I haven't seen covered regarding 280z coilover conversions, but this is a good start. Thanks for your understanding! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted June 29, 2006 Share Posted June 29, 2006 Because of the different ID, the trusty "240z fronts in the rear, and MR2 in the front" will not work, correct? So what struts to you use to make up that difference? Actually the same struts for the 240 should work fine for the 280. You just need to make a 1" spacer for the bottom of the rear strut, because if you sectioned the tube to fit the strut the butt would drag. I read that the extra space in the 280z strut tube can be used to insulate, by pouring oil into it, but is this really necessary? I also read that the gland nut does a fine job of holding everything down, so the extra space in the tube doesn't matter. What's the concensus on this? Oil in the tubes is a good idea. Transfers heat from the strut to the housing and also prevents the strut from getting rusted to the housing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pennyman Posted July 1, 2006 Author Share Posted July 1, 2006 Thanks John for all your input, I'm going to see if there are other opinions as well. For those of you using sectioned struts, would you say the 280z gland nut size is the same as the ones you are using on the 240z? (MR2 front the same gland nut as well?). I heard they were different, which would mean I'd have to buy them seperately, arg. Is there anyone who runs a 280z with sectioned struts that I can talk to? Thanks again for all the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PUSHER Posted July 2, 2006 Share Posted July 2, 2006 Is a gland nut refering to the piece that threads into the top of the strut housing holding the shock/strut in or the nut at the top of the shock/strut that holds the rubber mount? I'm kind of confused why your worried about gland nuts when you have the stock ones to use. edit: I have time so I'll give you as much info as I can. For clarification...(might not be correct terms but whatever) gland nut= piece that threads into strut housing. strut nut= picee that threads onto the top of the shiney compressable part of the strut. I originally bought the tokico illumina and spring combo set for a 280z off of ebay. This came with 4 new struts(all the same size, they came with 2 spacers for the front and 2 for the rear), 4 new strut nuts, and 4 new gland nuts. I then bought 2 mk1 mr2 rear tokico illumina struts, this came with the a strut and a strut nut each, no gland nut I believe. I then went coilovers and shortened my strut housing by 1.25''(I think?) all around. The mr2 struts were used in the front with no spacers and the 280z gland nut that came with the ebay kit(although I could have used the stock ones) and the strut nut that came with the mr2 struts. The rear spacers were cut by 1.25'' and were used with the 280z struts that came with the ebay kit. One thing to note is that you may have to grind your stock strut rubber top mount pieces this is because the piece that goes through it might be completely circular while the stock piece is circular with a flat notch. Hopefully I have accomplished my goal of thoroughly confusing you. Lol, just recognized your avatar from ziptied. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pennyman Posted July 4, 2006 Author Share Posted July 4, 2006 I was just curious because my current gland nuts (thread into the strut tube) are circular, with 2 notches on either side. I know this is OEM, but its about as user UN-friendly as possible. I had my gland nuts loosen on me and I had to tighten them up, and instead of using a wrench, I had to use a hammer and a screwdriver to pound it tight chisel style. Lame. I guess I could get some new ones from a parts shop, hopefully they'd have ones with a hex shaped head. I just thought the gland nut was individual to the thickness of the strut shaft, but I guess not. BTW Pusher, how is the fit of the MR2 struts in the front? Do they fit snugly in the tube or do they have a gap that you have to fill with oil or something? Yeah, Ziptied, haha. I love it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyind Posted July 4, 2006 Share Posted July 4, 2006 Pusher, where did you get your sleeves for the 280 tubes from? Both Ground Control and MSA sent me ones that will not fit over the 280 tubes, they will fit the 240 2.02" OD tubes... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted July 4, 2006 Share Posted July 4, 2006 If you're still concerned about the nuts, I just remembered I sold my friend a couple of Illuminas and nuts from the front of my 240 that he was going to use in some 280ZX front struts he was installing in a 510. So if the nuts fit the ZX, you can bet they fit the 280z. The oil in the housing isn't to fill the gap, and the strut inserts are the same size regardless of the 240 or 280 tubes. The oil conducts heat and keeps the strut from rusting. When you tighten the gland nut it pushes down on the strut and forces it into the bottom which is slightly concave. This centers the strut and it doesn't normally contact the wall of the strut tube. Cyind, MSA and Ground Control should have the sleeves for the 280 struts as well as the 240 struts. If you got the wrong thing they sent you the wrong size, that's all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PUSHER Posted July 4, 2006 Share Posted July 4, 2006 jmortensen answered the oil question, mr2 struts don't have much if any play when the gland nut is screwed down. I got my sleeves from modern motorsports. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyind Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 Thanks Pusher... Jon, The MSA fix was to send me instructions with hand writing in big black letters "For 240 Strut Assy." on both sheets... And my order shows a 1976 280Z on it. When I first got them I saw the 4" sleeves and never tried to fit them. This has been my third call to them and they think I should spend more money and find 240 housings to fix their mistake! This was on a 2700 dollar order at that. I'm tired of dealing with them and I ask Ross C for the right parts this time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dr|ft Posted July 13, 2006 Share Posted July 13, 2006 ** Thank Goodness for the SEARCH Button!!** I can relate to the original post. I was ready to purchase BZ3099 and BZ3015 which seemed to be the famous tokico 5 way part number floating around. I, however own a 77. So right as i was placing my order, I realized and saw that those 2 shock part numbers were for 70-74? So then I looked into the tokico catalog and saw that BZ3012 and BZ3013 were the part numbers for the 77 Tokico 5 way adjustable. So pretty much I would like to know.. AM I IN TROUBLE?!?! Will this still work for sectioning / coilover set up? Any complications? or will this still be a walk in the park? Im kinda scared. Maybe i should have just gone with the flow and ordered what everyone else is running! >.< Or did i do something ok?!? Well i hope i can sleep well soon. Edit: Will be running 225/250 as well. If i can use those struts, will they handle them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted July 13, 2006 Share Posted July 13, 2006 Read the rest of the thread, and disregard the thing from Cyind. He got the wrong parts, he just needs to return them and get the sleeves that fit the 280 tubes and he'll be good to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dr|ft Posted July 13, 2006 Share Posted July 13, 2006 Thank you jmortensen for answering my questions. I guess i still need to dig deep and understand what i am doing. But for the rookies out there like I, do not get the 280z struts. Here is a quote from a message received from jmortensen regarding the 280z struts from tokico (Part Numbers BZ3012 and BZ3013) "If the 3012 and 3013 are 280Z struts, then here's what you'll get. You'll get two 280Z front struts, and 2 more struts exactlly like them with a 3" spacer on the bottom. You can't use the front struts, because they'll fit the front tubes correctly. So if you sectioned the tube 1.5", the strut will stick up out of the housing 1.5". That's not going to work. You CAN use the rear strut, and it already has the spacer on it which is good. You just need to cut that spacer down to the right length and you'll be good to go." Very well explained. Thank you again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pennyman Posted July 13, 2006 Author Share Posted July 13, 2006 Yeah, and Pt. #BZ3099 should work on the front of a 280z. Only difference would be maybe a little varience in strut diameter, but the gland nut and concave bottom of the strut tube solve that problem as I now know. I believe the amount you section with these struts is about 1.25" as PUSHER stated, and he also layed it out very clearly. For sectioning on a 280z, here's what you need: Pt. #BZ3099 87-89 MR2 rear struts (for front) (X2) Pt. #BZ3013 280z rear struts (for rear, works because of "pegleg") (X2) Cut front strut tube amount "A" to fit new MR2 strut (X2) Cut metal spacer on new 280z strut the same amount "A" (X2) Cut rear strut tube to fit shortened 280z strut by sectioning amount "A" (X2) Pretty strightforward I guess! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dherde26 Posted July 13, 2006 Share Posted July 13, 2006 If anyone is intersted I have a set: 2x BZ3099 2x BZ3015 brand new never been touched or anything I think with shiping and everythign I have about 500 invested well sell them for 400 plus shipping Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dr|ft Posted July 14, 2006 Share Posted July 14, 2006 Cool. Went with the BZ3099 and the BZ3015 set up. Hope it wont be that hard. 1 inch spacer with the BZ3015 in the rear, well.. ill let you all know how my experience goes. Wish me luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
78zlt1 Posted August 15, 2006 Share Posted August 15, 2006 You guys get your struts installed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dr|ft Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 Well, I finally have ALL the parts now. There was some G/C part problems.. had to send them back to get the right ones.. happened twice *distributor's Fault.. G/C was Very VERY helpful* But its all here... and ready to be installed this friday. I do have a question. Right now i have Konig Rewinds 15x7. When setting up the coilovers, is there a "safe" setting that i can do where i wont have to "re-adjust" the bottom perch when i decide to go with 15x10 in the rear with 255s/275s? Its hard for me to do a visual... we do not have any 15x10 at the shop w/ those tires as well. Anything i can use to visually see where i should put the perch? I do have an 8 inch spring that i will be running in the rear. I would just like to weld the bottom perch once, unless there is no way of getting away from it. I also have to consider Flares. I have ZG flares... and will be cutting for sure. But i think that will done when i get the 15x10's. So there is alot that is going through my mind, and there is alot of factors. Another factor are Camber Plates, which i wont be installing this friday but is definetley in the "To Buy" list. Wow, i have alot in my hands dont i? First time peering into suspension tuning so sorry for the noob questions. And also first time playing with Z suspension. Read alot of great threads, and all very helpfull. I hope to tune my suspension for Auto-X. *Whats the lowest height recomended as well?* Any other surprises i need to know?!? And piece of advice would help. Thanks All Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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