silicone boy Posted June 5, 2002 Share Posted June 5, 2002 Guys, I've never seen this discussed before, but does anyone know objectively how well a hotly suspended Z handles. I mean this in numbers, and I realize that they really don't mean all that much, but does anyone have skidpad figures or slalom times to compare to a Z06 Vette? I've seen ITS and BSP Z's and they oversteer a little but catch very well. They were very competitive with the BSP C3 Corvette. My setup is gonna be 225 # coil overs front and rear with the standard upgrade front and rear sway bars and bushings in all around. I'm not going to run really radical camber, but I might use road race rubber (BFG Comp TA R1's) since I don't drive it on the street all that much. I was just wondering how this would compare to the latest factory offerings from Detroit and Zuffenhausen. It's important in my neck of the woods when you are zooming up a twisty mountain road with a 1000 foot cliff to drop off of if you mess up. Talk about white knuckle time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike C Posted June 5, 2002 Share Posted June 5, 2002 I don't have specific numbers for you, but a modified Z handles like a go-cart. Especially with a 225 section 16 or 17 wheel tire combo. You should have no trouble equalling the skid pad numbers of Detroits finest. What you won't be able to do is emulate the luxo barge ride they have in addition to being great handlers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted June 5, 2002 Share Posted June 5, 2002 There are two schools of thought regarding ITS Z car suspension setup: East Coast 325 to 375 lb. in. front springs 250 to 300 lb. in. rear springs Big front anti-roll bar No rear anti-roll bar West Coast 250 to 275 lb. in. front springs 275 to 325 lb. in. rear springs Small front anti-roll bar Medium rear anti-roll bar Both seem to work. You do need a rate difference between the front and rear springs of at least 25 lb. in. Since I'm a west coast guy, I suggest you run 225 front and 250 rear to start with. And spend as much money as you can on shocks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted June 5, 2002 Share Posted June 5, 2002 I've not had the chance to run my car on a track but my setup is: 275lbs. front (waisted struts) 300lbs. rear (aftermarket struts) Monster front anti-roll (+2") stock 2+2 rear anti-roll (?") I highly suggest running racing style struts, the high comp. spring needs a stonger valved system. With this setup I still squat. On my 79' (may it rest in peace) I ran Eibach Pro springs and Tokico's with .25" squat! The perf. struts help a butt load. With the setup on my 77' (listed above) I can take any corner at any speed (ZERO BODY-ROLL!)! And then my tires break traction and I spin out, but the body is solid! All that and no strut braces.... but I just got my front brace in the mail today!! Wooo Hoo party baby! All i need now are some bigger wheels. I always thought the rear springs should be higher by at least 25-50lbs. and sways have to be big to prevent body roll. The braces are sweet because they help stiff'n the car. This is not a problem currently, but hey...strut towers look cool! Nic Nic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SpudZ Posted June 6, 2002 Share Posted June 6, 2002 John, When you say the best shocks in what order are you ranking them ? The Penske , Motons and even the Advance Designs are out of my league for now. Most folks are using the Tokico adjustables, but for what I hear they fail at high spring rates. I haven't heard to many people talk about the Koni's and the Carrera's. Also is Eric still making camber plates for the 240 ? Thanks, Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silicone boy Posted June 6, 2002 Author Share Posted June 6, 2002 Guys, thanks for the hints. I wasn't aware of the 2 schools of thought on Z ITS suspensions. That explains some of the discrepencies I've heard. Also, a 2" swaybar? Wow. Did you get that fabricated? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
260DET Posted June 6, 2002 Share Posted June 6, 2002 The Koni Sport is quite a good shock for the money, it is adjustable for rebound only. Toy Celica cartridges for the fronts are valved reasonably OK for the Z and have the advantage of being shorter than stock Nissan when converting to coil overs, so you can lower your ride height and still have a fair amount of suspension bump travel. This setup gives a nice balance for road/track use but would not be the ultimate for track use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted June 6, 2002 Share Posted June 6, 2002 260 DET. How much shorter are those Toyota Celica strut cartridges and what year are they since All I have heard is that VW Rabbit and Toyota Mr2 were the only solution applicable to sectioned Datsun front strut tubes? Silicone.. if you go to heavy weight springs make sure your sway bars are heavy weight in match and your strut cartridges can dampen the heavy weight spring loads without premature failure from overwork. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z-Dreamer Posted June 6, 2002 Share Posted June 6, 2002 Johnc, what would you consider a "small" front sway bar and a medium rear sway bar? What about Tokico Illumina's? I'm asking because I'm building a street legal road racer. Any advice is greatly appreciated! Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
260DET Posted June 6, 2002 Share Posted June 6, 2002 'day Tomahawk Z, Celica 10/89 to '94 cartridges have a body length of 331mm, according to my Oz info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted June 6, 2002 Share Posted June 6, 2002 The Koni's are a good choice and you can get them revalved fairly cheap from True Choice and Tri-Point Engineering. Bryan Lampe runs the 3012s on his ITS 240Z. Carerra's are also a good shock and Wayne Burnstien (east coast ITS racer) swears by them. Tokicos are OK but they go woogy with spring rates over 275 lb. in. They don't have enough rebound control at that high a rate. Front anti-roll bar sizes: 27mm big, 25mm medium, 23mm small. Rear anti-roll bar sizes: 22mm big, 20mm medium, 18mm small. And yes, Erik still makes the camber plates and he's got a couple sets machined. He just needs to assemble them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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