Danno74Z Posted September 10, 2002 Share Posted September 10, 2002 I search for about an hour through the archives and I can’t find the “recommended†Tokico Illumina rear strut when used in the front of the Z with sectioned struts. There are three numbers depending on the year of the MR-2; 85-86 BZ1086, 87-89 BZ3099 and 90-95 BZ3126. Any help would be appreciative. Danno74Z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted September 11, 2002 Share Posted September 11, 2002 Danno... What year struts are you using? And what is your section length to take out? No one could specifically answer my "what year MR2 strut question" a few months back. I could not even get an answer on front or rear Mr2 struts and where to use them in the front or rear of the 280 Z..I gave up! Went to a shop and measured two different 80's VW Rabbitt KYB GR2 struts and found the larger and much stouter of the two (KYB GR2 #36014) fit my 2 inch sectioned 280 Z front struts like a glove with no spacer in the tube and the gland nut locked the KYB GR2 firmly in place. I would suggest that you go to a shop and measure all 3 of the MR2 struts in question and then estimate what length you will need after sectionong.If you take out too big of a section from a strut then the whole strut is toast When you get this all figured out report your results back on this thread for future reference since there is no specific hard data to answer your question in any search that I performed.I actually bought some new KYB's on ebay for half the new price but had no idea what MR2 struts were applicable and missed a few bargains in that category on eBay . Be a lot of strut bargains this winter.Keep us posted on the details. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danno74Z Posted September 11, 2002 Author Share Posted September 11, 2002 Tomahawk, Like I said I did do some digging in the archives but really found no concrete information. Boy, would it be nice if detailed strut data was available and not this hit or miss stuff. I will let you know what I find out. Danno74Z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted September 11, 2002 Share Posted September 11, 2002 Yes, let us all find out and get this documented for refence. Somewhere there has to be a better solution than using the front strut cartridges in the rear sectioned strut since an inch or better sized spacer has to be fabricated to place at the bottom of the strut tube to cinch the gland nut firmly on the strut cartridge. I do not now know what year of VW Rabbitt/GTI front strut fits the 2 inch sectioned 280 strut tube but I do know the KYB GR2 stock #. If I knew the Mr2 specs then I could cruise ebay for the alternative strut for my second project.Many people have done this MR2 conversion without recording it here completely but moved on and the memory has lapsed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danno74Z Posted September 11, 2002 Author Share Posted September 11, 2002 Tomahawk, I forgot to mention I have an early 74 260Z car I'm working on. This uses the same strut carts. that the 240Z uses. I will not be using camber plates as this will be a daily driven car and the plates yield a rough ride IMO. Having said that, I want to use the OEM solid rubber hats (somehow) but use coil over springs. I already have the coilover's from GC and the REAR Tokico Illumina Struts #BZ3016. I thought I made a big mistake but luck was with me. As it turns out, the only difference between the fronts struts #BZ3015 and the rears #BZ3016 is the spacer that comes with the rears. This spacer comes in the box already attached to strut - just pushed on to the little pad at the bottom of the strut tube and easily removed or modified. I called GC and asked them about this and they said the spacer is the only difference between the two. Just passing on that information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted September 11, 2002 Share Posted September 11, 2002 Danno,No problem using the OEM rubber upper strut mounts. You should have recieved thses alunimum hats to place between the coilover springs the OEM rubber mounts with a large steel washer spacer betewwn the aluninum hat and the rubber mounts. For a street car there is no need to section. Coil overs alone will drop/lower the car about 2 inches if the coilovers are 10 inches in free height and resting on the welding bead from the original spring perch. Sectioning the strut tubes will just lower the car more in proportion to the section removed. One way to correct the camber problem associated with lowering is to remove the entire front cross member and re-locate the front suspension control arm pivot hole in the cross member upwards 3/4 of an inch.Or strut spacers are avaialable for lowered cars to help adjust the camber due to lowering. We sectioned 2 inches out of Nate's 76 Vello Rossa with the 10 inch coilovers and got a 4 inch drop. No relocation of the control arm was done and a noticeable negative camber is found on both front and rear of the Vello Rossa but has not affected the handling except improve it (Tire wear ?) My Tomahawk's control arm hole on the cross member was moved up 15/16 inch in relation to the 4 inch drop and negative camber is not obvious You can adjust the camber by slotting the 3 strut bolt holes on top of the strut tower. Also you will need to place an o-ring between strut tube and adjusting sleeve to turn the adjusting nut without the sleeve turning with the nut. I have heard that a good coat of silicone caulk between the strut tube and the adjusting tube will lock the two pieces together for adjusting purposes. The only reason the struts on the Tomahawk and Vello Rossa were sectioned 2 inches and coilovers were used because it was the only way to adequetely lower these light vehicles. Fortunately the 15 inch 50 series tires will raise them up to a safer operating level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruben Posted September 13, 2002 Share Posted September 13, 2002 Bump! I would also like to know for future reference. Ruben '72 240Z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest scca Posted September 13, 2002 Share Posted September 13, 2002 tsk tsk tsk Ruben -- you should know where to ask by now! KYB are not stiff enough for coilovers IMO the valving is far too soft - tokikos are stiffer valved Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest scca Posted September 13, 2002 Share Posted September 13, 2002 oh and i have to comment on the part on sectioning.. while it isnt NECESSARY it all depends on the ride height you want the car at -- as a idea my car has 16x7.5 with 225/55/16 sectioned struts front and rear AND camber plates all 4 corners.. low ride height and LOTS of travel so food for thought and IMO camber plates dont add to the ride harshness you can add a 1/2" sliver of urethane to eliminate noise if you want but so far no one complains about the ride quality of my car wtih 225 lb coilovers .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gramercyjam Posted September 13, 2002 Share Posted September 13, 2002 FYI. I got the old front and rear struts from Andy Craig's National Champion F Prepared car (now Tom Holts - can be seen at http://www.ccsi.com/~tholt/ ) for my car when Tom upgraded his. The _front_ inserts for the 240Z are the Tokico BZ3099 MR2 rear inserts. John B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nismo280zEd Posted September 20, 2002 Share Posted September 20, 2002 OK... so what year is that strut from? The MR2 strut. Also.. MIKE what camber plates are you using?... just food for thought.. but if an MR2 strut fits.. then maybe an MR2 coil-over kits fits? just a thought... ED Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danno74Z Posted September 20, 2002 Author Share Posted September 20, 2002 There are three numbers depending on the year of the MR-2; 85-86 BZ1086, 87-89 BZ3099 and 90-95 BZ3126. Looks like the 87-89 MR2 is the one to use based on BZ3099 mentioned. Danno74Z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.