High-flying rear end

[Oddmanout84]

I'd really like to know why the rear of my 280Z seems so much higher than everyone else's. Even after installing a new suspension setup with tokico shocks and Eibach progressive lowering springs, the rear of the car is still flying up there, and to me it looks way more pronounced than any other 280's I've seen. This picture was taken after ensuring the springs were properly in their perches, the suspension torqued while loaded, and the car had been driven around a bit to make sure it was settled.

 

I've even jumped a little on the back of the car to no effect. My Z has never sat this high on the rear end before, and back then the struts/shocks were bone stock and shot! Tires are 195/75/R14's all around. The front end of the Z looks normal, and slightly lowered, as it should. I have not done anything drastic enough to affect my F/R weight ratio. This is really killing me, and throwing me off with my ZG flare install. So much so that I can't tell if I screwed up the placement of the rear flare. I need to drop this thing, now.

 

I doubt even the bigger set of 16" wheels+ slightly beefier tires is going to reduce this hideous gap to an acceptable level. I'm not looking for a slammed look, but at least reduce that gap by half.

 

From what I've read before, the early strut tower insulators on the 240z are shorter, so this is my main consideration now. The only thing holding me back is a comment made in another thread stating that it would, "make the car look like it was dragging its ass". This seems like the most viable option, I'm just hoping it won't drop the car too much. $100 is a lot to spend for a pair of these from motorsport auto, I can't afford that costly a mistake at this stage. None on ebay. If someone has a pair they'd like to sell, let me know. I can't see what else could help, besides coilovers, those are out of the question for now.

[JMortensen]

240 isolators by themselves will drop the rear of your Z about an inch. Swapping in 240 rear struts with the isolators will drop it 2" and make it look like it is dragging ass compared to the front. I'd do the insulators since that doesn't reduce any suspension travel. It's almost like sectioning the struts in that way. If that doesn't do enough, then I would cut the springs 1/2 coil at a time until you get it where you want it.

[Oddmanout84]

Ahhhh.... I think that I didn't process that right. I was only going to swap the insulators, so I guess I shouldn't have anything to worry about. 1" will probably be perfect.

 

Thanks a bunch!