JustinOlson Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 I'm interested in adapting a set of 2nd Generation RX7 FC front lower control arms to my 280z. Attached are some pictures of a 240z owned by marcg: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/563982/2 He went ahead and built a subframe to mount the control arms to. I would simply like to make mounting points that are permanent. What are peoples thoughts on doing this? 2nd generation RX7 control arm, Mitsubishi ball joint, stock 240Z strut and steering knuckle, 84 Z31 AE spindle. Regards, Justin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e_racer1999 Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 that is one trick car! and some killer fab work.... i wonder how he figured "oh, this control arm will work in my car!" anyway, seems to be a lot more sturdy design... however fine tuning looks hairy... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustinOlson Posted August 21, 2007 Author Share Posted August 21, 2007 It just looks like a clean way to get rid of the T/C rod to me. I'm not sure that you'd gain much from a "sticktion" standpoint in freedom of movement. Justin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcg Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 The reason I had to resort to such a control arm design is due to the fact that the stock VH45DE exhaust manifolds wanted to be in the same location as the tension rod box. By removing this I now had more room to later put in a proper tuned header system as well. The draw back is that unlike the adjustable tension rods, making suspension adjustments for the castor is more difficult. It was allot of work but I had little other options. The Mitsu ball joint has the same taper as the stock Z steering knuckle. Due to it's design it was easy to machine an arm to adapt it to the RX7 control arm. The front pivot mounted into the stock subframe without too much trouble. I'm interested in adapting a set of 2nd Generation RX7 FC front lower control arms to my 280z. He went ahead and built a subframe to mount the control arms to. I would simply like to make mounting points that are permanent. What are peoples thoughts on doing this? Regards, Justin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZROSSA Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 Once you have gone to that amount of trouble you may as well use the mazda strut as well. That way you get nice light weight hubs and vented brakes with 4 pot calipers as well. They are also front steer so it should work out nicely. Douglas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustinOlson Posted August 21, 2007 Author Share Posted August 21, 2007 Once you have gone to that amount of trouble you may as well use the mazda strut as well. That way you get nice light weight hubs and vented brakes with 4 pot calipers as well. They are also front steer so it should work out nicely. Douglas But then you have to check the strut tube length as well as the hub to steering rack mating up. From what I've read, the amount of caster needed is highly dependent on which wheel/tire combo you are running. I will likely just settle for a middle of the road caster angle since I wont be able to easily adjust it. Justin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcg Posted August 22, 2007 Share Posted August 22, 2007 That's why I kept as much Z stuff as I could. I had done several Z car suspensions and thus knew what I had to do to get them lowered and working right. I had enough new things to design and make that working with Z parts would be a no brainer. As far as castor goes, be careful not to get too much castor with wide wheels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
260DET Posted August 22, 2007 Share Posted August 22, 2007 Once you have gone to that amount of trouble you may as well use the mazda strut as well. That way you get nice light weight hubs and vented brakes with 4 pot calipers as well. They are also front steer so it should work out nicely. Douglas The motor he is using may create a problem as far as clearing the front Xmember and steering rack but I agree with you in principal. As a general rule, later model suspensions have better geometry and heaps of aftermarket stuff available too. Another way around his exhaust clearance problem would be to use a strut suspension which has front located tension rods eg S130, S13/14/15. Still its a nice job he's done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustinOlson Posted August 22, 2007 Author Share Posted August 22, 2007 So which model Mitsubishi did you get ball joints from? I'm going to pick up a set and take the whole assembly to the machine shop this next week to get things sorted out. Regards, Justin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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