Guest nezzie76 Posted August 23, 2001 Share Posted August 23, 2001 I'm interested in the coilovers sold here at the store. It says 280z coilover kit but what does it consist of? Has anybody used this particular kit before? I'm curious if other parts need to be bought along with the kit. thanks, Nathan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKMGK Posted August 23, 2001 Share Posted August 23, 2001 That's SCCA's kit I believe and is on my car. It consists of threaded sleeves, perches for the sleeves, the upper spring mount, and the springs. You'll have to cut off the stock spring perches and weld on new ones for the sleeves so welding IS involved. If you search a bit here on coil-overs you'll get tons of informaiton on this swap. My WEB site should have some pics of the work that was done on my car to install them I think.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest nezzie76 Posted August 24, 2001 Share Posted August 24, 2001 Do you know if the springs are progressive? Also are those springs really stiff or can they be used on the street? Is it a good idea to replace the struts or the cartridges when doing this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted August 24, 2001 Share Posted August 24, 2001 No, the springs are not progressive--this just came up in a recent thread, use the search function. Mike (scca) says not to use progressive coilovers. It really comes down to the amount of travel left after lowering the car. 2" of travel is not a whole lot... A number of guys are using them on the street. What feels stiff is relative to what you expect and what you are used to. Sorry I can't be more specific. Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest scca Posted August 24, 2001 Share Posted August 24, 2001 coilovers themselves are just a spring.... they come in any length you want from 7" up to 14" length. and in spring rates from 150 lb up to 1000.... i generally suggest a starting point of 175 and 200 lb and in a 10" length for a mild street L6 240..... pics are online on my site www.outlaw-brakes.com or look at some of the others here... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueovalz Posted August 24, 2001 Share Posted August 24, 2001 question: The Z car is the only car I've ever had that (from what I have observed) uses a higher spring rate on the rear springs than the front springs (for a front engine vehicle). Every other vehicle that I've raced or messed with always had considerably higher rate springs on the front. Can anybody out there shed some light as to why the Z car is different? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest scca Posted August 24, 2001 Share Posted August 24, 2001 race cars will (even Z's) will use a higher front rate. only 25-50 pounds though.. here's the reasoning. on a street car most of the forces are genereated on acceleration. thus a stiffer rear spring is needed to control the launch and rear squat effect. this seems to be a 510/z issue more than most cars. my 66 mustang is more likely to get wheel hop than the rear wheels going up in the 1/4 panels. - i'm guessing this is a IRS issue. both 510/z seem to need stiffer rear springs right from the factory if you drive it hard.. on a race car this isnt a issue, you arent going from a standing still condition. the squat in accelation at 80mph is not a lot- most of a race car force is directed at the front end while braking this downforce is greater than the acceleration one. or the cornering forces generated are pushed towards the front as well.. as soon as you tap the brake pedal all the force and weight transfer goes forward - so the front springs/shock combo should be set stiffer to compensate... also the rates used on the track are a lot higher in general. (ie) i would start a mild track car at the 275 -300 range up front and 250-275 rear. and higher as needed . the stiffest i have seen is 350 front 300 rear. but this is car and driver specific. the thinking of going real stiff is on its way out. better handling is generally had from softer spring and more damping on the shocks. although soft for a race car is 300lb .. this is my thinking anyway..... did it make it more clear or more mud [ August 24, 2001: Message edited by: scca ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKMGK Posted August 24, 2001 Share Posted August 24, 2001 Uh oh, guess who put the 225lb springs in front and the 200's in back? Ah well, if it drives and handles well I won't care. They're easy enough to swap out too. Car looks kind of silly righ tnow with the front end up higher than the back due to my spring settings but until I'm sure it's not taking any trips on a rollback that's the way it's staying! Coil overs are great for being able to adjust ride height although getting to them is a PITA. I've also noticed that my front tires were rubbing a little bit on somehing during turns while we were pushing it around - possibly the front of the fender? Will puzzle that out when it's back running on the road! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modern Motorsports Ltd Posted August 24, 2001 Share Posted August 24, 2001 quote: Coil overs are great for being able to adjust ride height although getting to them is a PITA. PITA to access? Yours must tuck down below your tires then even when it's jacked up. I can jack up one side of my car and alter both coilovers on that side in a few minutes and then same on other side. One LONG extension with allen head socket makes it easy 4 me. I have to keep my collars above my tires to give my tires clearance to my struts up front (~1/8" ). BLKMGK, you're saying your front is higher due to your present perch locations, not a 25 lb spring rate difference right? If you start playing with testing your brakes as boat anchors the way I like to you, you may want even higher rates up front. Thanks for the extra spring rate related to usage info Mike. I knew the combo in my car was working well and I've quite enjoyed it but I hadn't understood why my rates were so different from all others I've seen....(GC chose all components on info of what I do, I emphasized lapping days at SPEED were my priority and I didnt mind sacrificing some stiffness off track). My setup is 375 fronts (they wanted 340-350 but it wasn't easily available in a 7" spring at the time) and 250 rears. I'm real glad I had the coilover setup installed prior to my 13" big brakes or I guess I would have experienced massive nose dive and possibly blown the shocks? Info I gave them was 3100lb car loaded with driver/full gas max speed 150-160mph, 50/50 (or 49/51?) weight ratio and some other info and I'm very pleased with the spring setup chosen. Looking fwd to swapping out those OEM upper front perches to fit an 8" spring in their though....my hammertime around town attitude has bottomed it on occasion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueovalz Posted August 24, 2001 Share Posted August 24, 2001 BLKMGK, The inside of the tire may be rubbing the T/C rod. With my deep backspacing I had a rubbing problem too. Found all the paint rubbed of the rod from the sidewall. That's when I made an aluminum plate "stop" attached under the T/C bolts to limit the travel of the steering arm at full lock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueovalz Posted August 25, 2001 Share Posted August 25, 2001 By the way, thanks for the spring rate replies. I guess the Z is no different than my other cars, just a little more balanced weight (thank goodness). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKMGK Posted August 25, 2001 Share Posted August 25, 2001 Ross, I'm still at the point where I meaure them carefully and am still getting used to this whole idea of being able to adjust ride height I've nto been able to easily get my meat hooks in there and yeah the perch is below the wheel rim (shrug). The front IS higher due to the adjustment, NOT spring rate. It actually doesn't look too bad IMO and I'm considering bringing the rear up a bit as well. I'll see how the front reacts when I hit the brakes here soon enough! With a larger MC I think the brakes are all set except for final bleeding. Blue - good point! I hadn't thought of that but I'll bet that's it. I'll check ASAP and see what's up. Thanks for the pointer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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