Coilover Experience

[ctdavid73510]

I'm hoping to get some feedback. I just bought a pair of 280zx struts for my 510. I'm one of those that started out with the "I need coilovers" mind set. After doing some research I'm starting to question my reasons. The only reason's I come up with for going with coilovers are adjustability and wheel clearance. Adjustability isn't all that important once the car is setup the way I want it for my intended use. Wheel clearance may be a consideration as I would like to go with 16 wheels of some sort. That being said I hear there is a lot of wear out the coilover setups and they can be noisy. I'm hoping members that are experienced with coilovers can tell me about their experience. I'm at a crossroads on how I want to setup the struts so I'm looking for opinions and advice.

[bertvorgon]

Coil overs are NOT noisy...why would that be? Any noise transmission usually comes from the OTHER solid mounts that people use. If the spring is loose at the top of the travel that means the whole setup is not right, the spring should be able to do it's thing through the whole range of suspension travel.

Wear out....they would wear out ( the shock that is) not different than any other shock...depends on quality...My Bilstien inserts have been in my 280ZX struts for over 32 years now..and are just starting to need a re-build...and that was with 27 years of competition....

A well cut threaded collar should last the life of the strut..again mine are as they were made some 32 years ago...

Biggest thing with ANY coil over is that lets you move the top of the strut closer to the engine bay, which then helps with camber adjustment, given you have some camber plates. The smaller diameter springs is what accomplishes that.

Speaking of springs, as long as they come from a reputable supplier, they should last for many, many years with out failure. My springs have been there for 32 years now.

That all being said, you will need some camber to help with handling, that is just a given. Even on my car, which was raced, once I got the magic setup, I have not changed my camber in about 30 years....for that matter...I have not touched my settings at all.

I cannot remember how much camber you get by just slotting the stock upper spring mount mount, others may chime in on that. Do not discount the ABILITY to change things..because that is what it will take to get to YOUR intended use...then it never has to be touched again. Our 510's do need a bit of fiddling to get them to work well, be it street use or all out competition.

[okayfine]

Coilovers can be an answer, but they aren't the answer. Depends mostly on what you want from the car and whether coilovers are an economical choice to get you there. Some people talk about coilovers like they convey magical handling properties to your car upon installation, but they're just an easily-adjustable spring.

If that's part of what you need to realize your goals for the car, then you have to decide if having the ride height easily adjustable is worth $200. It's not like there aren't alternatives, including the DIY Coilovers described here and in DQ, slotting the strut towers like Keith mentions above, converting to 2.5" OD springs if you need the room in the wheel well, etc.

Gotta figure out what you want from the car before ordering parts that might not get you there, unless cost is not an issue.

[ctdavid73510]

Coil overs are NOT noisy...why would that be? Any noise transmission usually comes from the OTHER solid mounts that people use.

Wear out....they would wear out ( the shock that is) not different than any other shock...depends on quality...My Bilstien inserts have been in my 280ZX struts for over 32 years now..and are just starting to need a re-build...and that was with 27 years of competition....

A well cut threaded collar should last the life of the strut..again mine are as they were made some 32 years ago...

.

I've only heard that they can make noise where the springs seat. Do you have recommendations about a solid mount?
I've also heard that the threads on the sleeves get chewed up. I'm guessing that could be a quality issue. I don't have enough experience to determine what products or solutions are of good quality if that is the case. Sounds like you had yours made. Not an option for me. Do you have any opinions on the ones offered by Ermish, TTT or other vendors?
As always thanks for the feedback.

[bertvorgon]

I have never had noise from mine, as once that suspension is down, there should be no mechanical movement of the spring on the spring purchase, at least from any that I have run into. If the inner diameter does not match the spring, maybe that could be an issue, but that then says that they did not put any care into their machining or parts fitment.

Again, if the threads get chewed..What the hell!!!!! Something wrong there for sure, crap metal and too loose a thread cut to the threaded collar.

I wish I could offer a suggestion on the others, but, I have no experience here locally in Vancouver, but, I know the crowd I run with has had no issues with any of the stuff they run and may chime in on brand.

Any of the Stuff that Specialty Engineering has made has had no issues.

I'm sure people will chime in that had purchased Troys stuff, etc.

[JordanTr]

I'm running Bicknell Racing sleeves/perches. They're quality, sick looking and affordable. Like Keith said. Preload is your friend to stop things from rattling around... I had a set of rattlers once since I tried to slam the car on inserts that were too long (280zx).

[ctdavid73510]

I'm running Bicknell Racing sleeves/perches. They're quality, sick looking and affordable. Like Keith said. Preload is your friend to stop things from rattling around... I had a set of rattlers once since I tried to slam the car on inserts that were too long (280zx).

Do you have a link to those? I can seem to find them on the Bicknell site. What's retail?

[ctdavid73510]

Do you have a link to those. I can't seem to find them on the Bicknell site. What is retail on them?

[funwithmonkeys]

I have the TTT kit and there is no noticeable noise from it. It has no preload and was $200 US I think a couple of years ago. Everything on my car is solid mounted so it is pretty noisy already. I have run it with 200 lb and now 300lb Springs. Jordans setup looks way nicer than mine though. When I replace my inserts I will be going to shorter ones so I can have some preload on the springs.

[JordanTr]

Sorry, it was actually quite difficult to find them back... You want the 2" ID ones to suit 2.5" ID coilover springs. Likely 250, 275 or 300#/in or ~4/5/6 kg/mm springs. I'm running 275#/in 8" springs-- upgraded from 200#/in shown above.

http://us.bicknellracingproducts.com/SH ... lder/30181