Guest JESTER3798 Posted November 8, 2002 Share Posted November 8, 2002 i know its a dumb question but can someone tell me the difference between the stock 78 280z suspension and the "coil over" setup i keep reading about. winters coming the ls1/t56 are just about in and suspension is the next topic on the project. any help would be appreciated. thanks in advance ryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted November 8, 2002 Share Posted November 8, 2002 Coilover springs were originally produced to fit over shock absorbers making a very light and compact application as opposed to conventional coil springs.The Datsun Z has a McPhearson strut suspension which is basically an enclosed "shock absorber" in a strut tube with a conventional coil spring wound around it. The 2 1/2 inch "coilover springs" are much smaller in diameter than the oem springs and allow bigger tires to be used plus the coilover springs have undeneath them, the optional adjusting nut and threaded sleeve for height adjustment. The coilovers are easier to remove than the larger conventional springs, Coilovers come in a variety of weight and height settings to custom tailor your driving needs. A 10 inch high coilover spring bottom perch can be located in the same place on the strut tube as the oem conventional spring perch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted November 8, 2002 Share Posted November 8, 2002 Coil over suspension is a substantial up-grade verses stock, however they are NOT cheap and are usually labor intensive.I have them on my 260Z so I would have to recommend them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike C Posted November 8, 2002 Share Posted November 8, 2002 Hmmm. This is technically a mis-nomer in Z-car land. The Z car is a strut suspension. This means the "shock" not only damps but is a structural member of the suspension, a locator if you will and the spring is around the strut cartridge. Coil over in other arenas means that instead of the spring being separate from the shock, the two are combined into one unit (coil is over the shock). Thus the stock suspension is coil over as well, technically. On this board coil-over is used to mean the stock large diameter springs and mounts are replaced with a smaller diameter spring and adjustable perch so you can change ride height, spring pre-load, and increase tire clearance on the inside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JESTER3798 Posted November 8, 2002 Share Posted November 8, 2002 thank you all for clearing that up, ok now where can i get a coil over setup? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted November 8, 2002 Share Posted November 8, 2002 Try this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted November 8, 2002 Share Posted November 8, 2002 > The Z car is a strut suspension. Correct, McPhereson struts in front and Chapman struts in the rear. > This means the "shock" not only damps but is a > structural member of the suspension, a locator > if you will Nope. The strut tube is the structural component. The shock itself runs inside that tube as either a piston running directly against the internal wall of the strut tube (as originally delivered by Nissan) or as a completely sealed insert inside the strut tube. > and the spring is around the strut cartridge. Nope, its around the strut tube. When a shock body in a custom installation also works as the strut tube its mostly referred to as a "strut" by SCCA and NASA but, occaisionally, its called a "shock" (in particualr when referring to threaded shock bodies). Go figure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Baldwin Posted November 8, 2002 Share Posted November 8, 2002 John, That's the first I've heard that the original dampers used had a piston up sliding inside the wall of the strut tube, I thought they used inserts from day one, with oil between insert and strut wall. Did they really come originally with the strut housing as the damper housing? The shock insert can be considered as structural, as the male slider has to carry some side load, which is transferred to the strut housing at the gland nut. Ever driven around with the gland nut loose? It feels like that corner of the car has no damping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike C Posted November 8, 2002 Share Posted November 8, 2002 Like those other guys said, from the top of the strut tube to the bearing the slider is load bearing,like forks on a motorcycle. The original Z dampers were inserts as well and the oil in the housing is used as a heat transfer medium to get heat from the insert to the outer tube so it can be transferred to the air. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted November 8, 2002 Share Posted November 8, 2002 OK, I forgot the shock shaft is structural too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted November 9, 2002 Share Posted November 9, 2002 Yes they came stock with oil filled internals. I still find the OEM dampners inside the tubes.( and sometimes very difficult to extract) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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