MONGO510 Posted May 18, 2010 Share Posted May 18, 2010 (edited) I finished up the prototype of the rear suspension and I will be installing it in the next couple of days. It will bolt to the floor behind the passengers and will be accessable and adjustable thru the hatch. The upper arms have been changed from my original design. They are adjustable for length, pivot height and camber settings. The shocks have an adjustable lower mount as well as an adjustable moment arm length. The shocks are double adjustable, and the spring has an adjustable preload. If you take a look you will see that all rough adjustments are done by moving locating points and fine adjustments are done by adjusting the Heim Joints. There are serveral things I will be looking at to improve as I develop this system and I will probably be adding an adjustable sway bar in the future. This setup is fairly heavy at a total of 80#. It will be substantially lighter when it is fully developed. It has been built with extreme reliability and adjustability in mind. Once the final dimensions are worked out the arms will be redesigned with weight savings in mind. I believe I can reduce the final weight buy 25-30#. This will put it at a weight gain over stock of 20-30#. The last few pics are of the complete suspension with the old design arms. They should help give you an overall picture of how it goes together. Any way, here it is. I have added some pics with it installed in the car. More pics to follow as assembly progress's Mongo Edited May 18, 2010 by MONGO510 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leon Posted May 18, 2010 Share Posted May 18, 2010 (edited) That looks fantastic!!! Can't wait to see it mounted and in action! Edited May 18, 2010 by Leon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted May 18, 2010 Share Posted May 18, 2010 That's the most ambitious rear suspension I've ever seen built for the S30. Great effort and I hope it works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ModernS30 Posted May 18, 2010 Share Posted May 18, 2010 You have so much going on there I don't even know what to say. You have some skills. You could probably sell that stuff too. Cant wait to see how it works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Bone028 Posted May 18, 2010 Share Posted May 18, 2010 (edited) Can someone give me a crash course in how this works? Still trying to wrap my head around it...I've never seen this before and there isnt much on the web regarding rocker arm rear suspension. Is it anything like the video in the link below, except in your application, inverted upwards? http://www.speeddirect.com/index.aspx?nodeID=132 Edited May 18, 2010 by T-Bone028 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olie05 Posted May 18, 2010 Share Posted May 18, 2010 Can someone give me a crash course in how this works? Still trying to wrap my head around it...I've never seen this before and there isnt much on the web regarding rocker arm rear suspension. Is it anything like the video in the link below, except in your application, inverted upwards? http://www.speeddirect.com/index.aspx?nodeID=132 search google for "push rod suspension". That is sort of what's going on here... at least it will get you thinking of how it works. There should be more results for that than "rocker arm suspension" This is a very interesting take on getting an upper control arm into the rear of the z. While other people have done the 240sx, c4 irs, or jag irs swap, this option seems like it would provide the most adjustability. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stony Posted May 18, 2010 Share Posted May 18, 2010 WOW!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators BRAAP Posted May 18, 2010 Administrators Share Posted May 18, 2010 Nice work John. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
74_5.0L_Z Posted May 18, 2010 Share Posted May 18, 2010 VERY NICE!!!! I've considered doing something similar for a long time (I even have a set of those shock/springs under my workbench). Do you have target camber curves and roll center heights in mind? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MREDDLE Posted May 18, 2010 Share Posted May 18, 2010 GOOD WORK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
280zjoel Posted May 19, 2010 Share Posted May 19, 2010 :hail: :hail: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MONGO510 Posted May 19, 2010 Author Share Posted May 19, 2010 Thanks for kudos fella's. I will keep you posted on progress! Mongo(John) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasper Posted May 19, 2010 Share Posted May 19, 2010 (edited) This looks very familiar...... Seriously.......VERY IMPRESSIVE WORK Edited May 19, 2010 by jasper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supra510 Posted May 19, 2010 Share Posted May 19, 2010 Crazy effort here. Good work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FricFrac Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 Wow John! Amazing cantilever suspension! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nismo280zEd Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 That is truely impressive work and fabrication but I think I'm misunderstanding the purpose. You went through all that trouble just to use old school factory Z lower control arms? I'm replacing my rear setup as well and have been planing out cantilever suspension setup, but the whole purpose for mine is to have the car lower to the ground but still have correct suspension geometry and better travel. Either way an amazing fabrication project! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MONGO510 Posted July 16, 2010 Author Share Posted July 16, 2010 Thanks! As for the lower control arm, the stock unit is strong, lightweight, and I have never seen one fail. The only disadvantage I can see is the lack of adjustable toe, which to me is minor. Mongo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 Very nice! Great fab work. The view through the hatch glass will be amazing! Derek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nismo280zEd Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 Thanks! As for the lower control arm, the stock unit is strong, lightweight, and I have never seen one fail. The only disadvantage I can see is the lack of adjustable toe, which to me is minor. Mongo Well true, but the stock design is also limiting to axle strength do to hub size, and the diff mount and lower control arms are subject to flexing under load. Either way man, that was a huge engineering project you tackled!! Kudos to you for making it bolt in even!!! -Ed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rturbo 930 Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 You asked in your car's build thread about a suspension design program. I'm wondering what, if anything, you found? For the same reason you asked, how to figure out how long the upper arms should be, etc. I have an idea brewing and I want to see if it's feasible. 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.