Guest Anonymous Posted May 9, 2000 Share Posted May 9, 2000 Who out there has used VW Rabbit strut cartridges in your chopped struts??? I'm about ready to chop mine but have a few questions! Q1)Would the same cartridges used in the front work equally well in the rear if spacers were used? Q2)Is there a specific year of Rabbit that fits best? Q3) What performance shock options are available for the Rabbit application?? SpencZ MonsterZ Cont. http://members.xoom.com/SpencZ/index.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted May 9, 2000 Share Posted May 9, 2000 I have them in 1.5" shortened front struts. I don't know the year of the part I have. Les, who used to work at Carerra told me the MR2 strut was actually stronger (larger dia. shaft) and the right length to use in the shortened (how much?) strut tube. Ground Control or Top End Performance sell an adapter to let it bolt into a stock Z top isolator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted March 28, 2001 Share Posted March 28, 2001 I know this is an old post but wanted to reply to it since I've done both rabbit struts and MR2 struts. I once bought a set of stock-type rabbit struts and sent them back before I even put them in. Just stroking them by hand I could tell that the damping was way too wimpy. I then got 5-way adjustable KYB rabbit struts and ran them for a while on the stiffest setting, but I still felt they were only maybe equal in stiffness to a stock Z strut. I wanted something stiffer than stock. Since I also had an '85 MR2 at the time, I noticed that the rear struts on it were about 3/4" shorter than the front 280Z strut. I then cut off the nib on the bottom of the MR2 strut so it is now 1" shorter than Z. I welded a piece back into my struts so that the length is now about 1" shorter than stock. I know this is not as short as a rabbit strut, but I felt it was worthwhile to get better damping. The top of the MR2 strut fits into the Z strut nut with just a slight modification. So what I ended up with is Tokico Illumina adjustable struts for the REAR of an '85 MR2 in the front of my '75 280Z (not sure if they'll fit in a 240 strut tube). The damping is much, much better than a stock Z cartridge, or the KYB rabbits I used to run. I have the usual gas adj. front Konis in the rear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QWKDTSN Posted March 28, 2001 Share Posted March 28, 2001 You want the MR2 strut cartridges. I'm not sure of the part number for Illuminas (wish I knew so I could tell you, but they're already installed.. I could get it from the guys I bought them from). The Rabbit cartridges apparently don't come with the right size gland nut, or one at all. The MR2 carts come with the correct one. They're about 2 inches shorter than stock, you can do a 2" drop like I did or 1.5" and put a 1/2" spacer beneath the cart inside the strut tube. The front struts can be installed in the rear. I picked up Illuminas front and rear. Haven't had a chance to test both sets since my rears are being sectioned right now by a shop, but at the 3rd setting the front was nice and firm when I got a chance to drive it with them installed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted March 28, 2001 Share Posted March 28, 2001 Nion, thanks for that tip. I have shortend my strut tube 1.5" and I've not gotten the chance to try my newly acquired MR-2 strut cartridges in the struts yet. I'm glad to hear they'll fit. ------------------ Pete Paraska - 73 540Z - Marathon Z Project pparaska@home.com Pete's V8 Datsun 240Z Pages Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeromio Posted March 28, 2001 Share Posted March 28, 2001 I have a small, semi-informative blurb on my site, 240z.jeromio.com. I used front 85 Rabbit GTI struts in my shortened (by 1.5 inches) front strut tubes. I had to drill out the flat part of the hole of my isolator with a grinding stone in a die grinder. The rabbit shaft is allen keyed at the top which is a much better way to tighten things down - I managed to mess up a rear cart (actually a front 240 cart that is installed in the rear sectioned strut) because the flat spot gave out and allowed the shaft to spin. I also had to use a section of pipe under the Rabbit cart. of approx. 1/4 to make up some of the space. Tokico mailed me (Free!) a set of gland nuts to use. It's odd that revac's MR2 cartridges were merely 1 inch shorter - I thought they werwe 2 inches - same as the GTI. Perhaps some clarification on specific model years would be helpful. As to dampening, the GTI carts are plenty stiff for me. But, I suppose if I had it to do over again, I'd probably order MR2 carts (provided they're actually 2 inches shorter...). ------------------ 240Z.jeromio.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted March 29, 2001 Share Posted March 29, 2001 SpencZ, long time no see. How is the full bore monster Z project doing? Hope its going the way you want! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted March 29, 2001 Share Posted March 29, 2001 Hi Guys, I used the VW Golf Struts. I used the Koni 'yellow' inserts, they have heavier valving than the stock replacements. I have set them about midway in their adjustment and they seem nice and firm. I also used Koni in the back. . .I got 240Z front strut inserts and put them into the back struts. They are approx 1.5 inches shorter and because they're from the front of the Z they are stiffer than the original back z ones while still having the travel. Ive only been driving mine now for a couple of weeks, but it feels pretty damn good so far! Im also using 65mm dia. springs on adjustable perches. Ride hight adjustment. .a breeze! Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted April 5, 2001 Share Posted April 5, 2001 I am positive the struts I used were from the REAR of an '85 MR2. I know because I used to have an '85 MR2. They were about 3/4" shorter than a 280z front but you can cut the nib off to get about 1" total shorter. Now, maybe some guys are using struts from the front, I don't know what the length of those are, or if other years are different. I do know that the '88-89 MR2 SC's (I've had one of each) struts are a little bigger in dia. than a MR2 NA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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