v80z Posted November 11, 2006 Share Posted November 11, 2006 I want to make my car be a litle more forgiving on the street. Right now I have sectioned struts and eibach coilover. Not sure of the strut package. I am sure it would be great for the track but when I drive it on the street I feel like a need a mouth guard. IT has a very rough ride and bounce alot oln the springs. 1. How do I identify which pound springs I have? 2. Is the rough ride a function of the springs, struts or both? 3. What is a good setup for a street machine with a few track events each year? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators RTz Posted November 11, 2006 Administrators Share Posted November 11, 2006 1. How do I identify which pound springs I have? 2. Is the rough ride a function of the springs, struts or both? 3. What is a good setup for a street machine with a few track events each year? Thanks 1. Its printed on the spring... three numbers seperated by a period. For example... 0800.250.0350. This means 8" free length, 2.5" dia, 350lbs. 2. Rough ride can be a function of many things. Struts can be the largest contributor. 3. That question is SO subjective (personal tolerances) and open to MANY other variables that there cannot be ONE answer. Tell us more what "track events" means to you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v80z Posted November 11, 2006 Author Share Posted November 11, 2006 Ron Thanks Looks like I am running 275 front and 300 rear 2.50 diameter. I guess that is an all out race spring setup. My main purpose for the car is a street car although I will go to HPDEs in the future. I have raced SCCA and NASA in my old zcar. This is my 2nd car with a v8 conversion 76 280z. I guess the best thing to do is get a set of street springs and then change them when I go to the track. What would you suggest for a street application 175/225 seems to be a common recommendation from the searches I have done. Also I need to identify the struts I am running. I believe they are tokico brand. Not sure of the model. There is a large nut on top and it has a large slot like a large flat head screw driver on the threaded portion. Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators RTz Posted November 11, 2006 Administrators Share Posted November 11, 2006 I guess that is an all out race spring setup. Not really. Double that might be What would you suggest for a street application 175/225 seems to be a common recommendation from the searches I have done. Too subjective. The rates you already have would approach my tolerance levels for street duty, depending on the strut, bars, etc. If free length is same (front and rear) then I would suggest a 'free' experiment. Swap them. Yep, front to rear. Don't forget, in an Z, you are practically sitting on the rear wheels. Small changes in rear rate are very noticeable. Try it and let us know what you think. Yeah, I know, that might screw up the balance. The key word is MIGHT. Cars that are front camber challenged sometimes respond well to a stiffer front, damn the books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katman Posted November 13, 2006 Share Posted November 13, 2006 Ron had it right in his first post- struts (shocks) can be the biggest contributor to ride "harshness". You need shocks matched to the springs for the application (street) and it's extremely unlikely you will ever get that since these cars are way past the time when anybody in the shock business was interested in valving shocks for Z's. Good luck. What shocks are you using? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators RTz Posted November 14, 2006 Administrators Share Posted November 14, 2006 You need shocks matched to the springs for the application (street) and it's extremely unlikely you will ever get that since these cars are way past the time when anybody in the shock business was interested in valving shocks for Z's. Just takes money Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v80z Posted November 14, 2006 Author Share Posted November 14, 2006 I found out that these are a set of carrera struts valved 100/300. Not sure exaclty what that means. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buZy Posted November 14, 2006 Share Posted November 14, 2006 Hey v80z I have the same springs with illumina struts. Yea the car ride is firm to say the least but handles well. My point is before I had 200/225 springs. The ride was softer but body rolled too much in transitions. Stock sway bar front and no rear bar. What are you running for bars? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katman Posted November 14, 2006 Share Posted November 14, 2006 300/100 is what we valve Bilsteins for full race. Plus they're Carerra's which I'm not fond of to begin with. Check to make sure you have 3 inches of bump and 2.5 inches of rebound travel in the shocks at static ride height. Regardless, you proly have way too much bump damping for the street. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v80z Posted November 15, 2006 Author Share Posted November 15, 2006 Thanks Katman et al. How does one go about checking bump and rebound travel. Mark the strut with it on the ground and then mark it at the extremes of the travel up and down? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted November 15, 2006 Share Posted November 15, 2006 Standard Z strut has ~6 inches of travel. Put a zip tie on the strut shaft right down at the bottom with the wheels in the air. Set the car down and roll it around to settle the suspension. Jack it back up. That will tell you how much sag you have. From there you can pretty well figure out how much bump and rebound you have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heavy85 Posted November 15, 2006 Share Posted November 15, 2006 I'm running 225/250 which is mostly driven to and from the autox with SA Koni's. I'ld have to say yeah the ride is tolerable but not exactly comfortable. It does handle very flat and I'm pretty happy with the results on the track but if your doing mostly street driving I would personally go down a couple steps in springrate and an accordingly 'softer' strut. Cameron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
260DET Posted November 16, 2006 Share Posted November 16, 2006 275/300 springs should not be rough, but the dampers must be good, thats the key. My S30 was driven interstate with 275's all round and where the road surface was reasonable so was the ride. Around town there was never a problem, provided the rare pothole was avoided Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators RTz Posted November 16, 2006 Administrators Share Posted November 16, 2006 275/300 springs should not be rough, but the dampers must be good, thats the key. "Good dampers", will cause the ride to be firm, even with rates as low as 200. Years ago, I ran Illumina's with a 300lbs spring. I have also run Advance Design dampers, valved for and with 200lb springs. The 300lb set-up rode 'better'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katman Posted November 16, 2006 Share Posted November 16, 2006 "I have also run Advance Design dampers, valved for and with 200lb springs. The 300lb set-up rode 'better'." Not surprised. Couldn't get the AD shocks to work worth a hoot on the ITS car after the panty wearing loosers lobbied SCCA to ban remote reservior shocks, and had them on the ITS E36 Bimmer and they were total JUNK. I love Jay's other parts, but I'm not impressed with the AD shocks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators RTz Posted November 17, 2006 Administrators Share Posted November 17, 2006 Not surprised. Couldn't get the AD shocks to work worth a hoot on the ITS car after the panty wearing loosers lobbied SCCA to ban remote reservior shocks, and had them on the ITS E36 Bimmer and they were total JUNK. I love Jay's other parts, but I'm not impressed with the AD shocks. Katman, Interesting... I purchased a set primarily for street duty... autocrossed on them twice. They were oodles better than the Illuminas, but that's not really saying much. I never campaigned the car long enough to decide how good/bad they are. I know of a couple national level autocrossers that are doing well with them, as well as Tube80Z. The other pitfall, as you know, is that they seem to need regular maintenance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators RTz Posted November 18, 2006 Administrators Share Posted November 18, 2006 Katman, I realize everything is relative... triple adjustable Penske's are going to make the AD's seem like "junk". However, in your experience, considering the price, what dampers are better (for competition)? Blanketing them as junk is really not of much value... what specifically do you not like about the AD's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted November 19, 2006 Share Posted November 19, 2006 Ron, read this: http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=106354 Keith gives reasons and alternative strut suggestions, Cary states the case for the AD. Plus a lot more... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators RTz Posted November 19, 2006 Administrators Share Posted November 19, 2006 Perfect. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v80z Posted November 20, 2006 Author Share Posted November 20, 2006 Thanks for all the info guys. I am trying to digest it all. One suggests the 275/300 should be ok for the street as long as the struts are "OK" ? Define OK. the original owner, clarkspeed' said they were carreras valved 300/100. Not sure what that means. Need help and direction. I want to get a semi street setup for around town and a keep this setup for track without spending a ton of money. thankss Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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