Thinking of buying this brake/suspension setup, thoughts?

[zeeman1972]

I have been looking into bolt on brake and suspension setups for the LS1 project 260.



My current favourite is the Arizona Z suspension/brake kits; coil over height adjustable struts, 6 piston Wilwood callipers front and 4 piston rears, rose jointed chromoly control arms front and rear and 5 lug hubs running from a 280ZX master cylinder. (I'll post some pictures of it in my gallery shortly)



As I have mentioned previously the car will be predominantly used for daily driving however, I do also envisage it being used on track.



I'm certainly open to other suggestions, all opinions gratefully received.



Steve

 

[Black Bug]

Dave's stuff is top quality for sure. I ordered a set of rear control arms the other day, should have them in a couple of weeks. He does say that his control arm setup isn't really street oriented as it's harsh due to lack of poly bushes but what the hell I say! I'll make some bushes up out of Nylatron GSM, thought I'd give that a go instead of Delrin for a change.

It should be noted that the rear brake setup doesn't have any handbrake functionality so car is instantly illegal. The only way to get a UK legal handbrake set up with the AZcar kit is to use one of Wilwoods little spot calipers, but you have to fabricate a suitable mount yourself and figure out how to connect it to the handbrake cables.

I'm sure Dave would be willing to sell you his complete set up minus the rear brake part so you can figure something out yourself or even just run the stock drums for a while.

Other alternatives lie at Modern Motorsports:
http://www.modern-motorsports.com/
Always worth having a nosy around.

BTW if you look in my gallery there's a couple of pics of Dave's full suspension setup already.

Cheers,
Rob

 

[zeeman1972]

Thanks Rob!

Must admit from my research stateside I have never heard a bad word said about AZ products apart from a slight grumble about the price.

Had a look at your gallery, nice car BTW. When I spoke to Dave a week ago he mentioned that he has updated the struts from those shown in the Z section of his site to the fully threaded strut type that screws into the hub enabling the ride height of the car to be adjusted without losing suspension travel. When my pictures are approved you should be able to see them (he sent me some recent pictures of some he had made for another client).

Thanks for the Modern Motorsports link I'll have a look.

And cheers for the mention of the handbrake, yes i only came across that little issue a couple of days ago! I think I'll still progress with the full kit but as you say find some small callipers to act as the handbrake!
Regarding the bushes I agree with you, however don't fancy making up two sets though do you???

 

[Black Bug]

Must admit from my research stateside I have never heard a bad word said about AZ products apart from a slight grumble about the price.

Blimey, I always thought his stuff was really cheap (relatively!). Of course we've got the downside of extra shipping and customs duty to pay

When my pictures are approved you should be able to see them

Sounds interesting, I'll keep my eyes open.

Thanks for the Modern Motorsports link I'll have a look.

Ross Corrigan is also very highly regarded in the Hybrid Z world. You might want to check out his big rear brake kit as that does include a caliper with working handbrake function. His prices are a bit higher than Daves though.

And cheers for the mention of the handbrake, yes i only came across that little issue a couple of days ago! I think I'll still progress with the full kit but as you say find some small callipers to act as the handbrake!

This is the caliper a few people have used:
http://www.rallydesign.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=8312
Like I said though, you'd need to come up with some whay of mounting it in addition to Daves mount for the big caliper.

Regarding the bushes I agree with you, however don't fancy making up two sets though do you???

Let me make mine up first and if I don't bugger them up too much I'll be happy to knock out a set for you. Biggest problem I seem to have with my lathe is that it's marked in imperial and everything I want to make is metric, one of these days I'll get the hang of it though!

Cheers,
Rob

 

[Russ]

I've been looking at that gear for years now, really interesting thread, keep it going

 

[grolls]

i must admit this stuff looks the part and i should imagine will transform any Z. only thing is that pees me off is that in five years it will look rusty n tatty if not looked after 100%. maybe better made from stainless steel?

 

[Black Bug]

The control arms are plated chromoly steel, serious strong stuff. Stainless steel is generally avoided in parts that experience vibration, not entirely sure why but presumably it fatigues or summat technical. Shame though, bloody rust! I'm thinking of painting my control arms with Glisten PC which is a POR15 product that's supposed be be incredibly tough, time will tell!

Cheers,
Rob

 

[zeeman1972]

Blimey, I always thought his stuff was really cheap (relatively!). Of course we've got the downside of extra shipping and customs duty to pay

I think thats because the americans haven't seen the prices we pay for anything automotive and I suppose $5,500 for some suspension and brakes is more than a quarter of a 2005 Mustang

Sounds interesting, I'll keep my eyes open.

I think they are up now

Ross Corrigan is also very highly regarded in the Hybrid Z world. You might want to check out his big rear brake kit as that does include a caliper with working handbrake function. His prices are a bit higher than Daves though.

Thanks for the link, nice kit I must admit. I still feel that the new AZ stuff has an edge, especially as far as price is concerned, however, its bloody hard to get a feel for either of options without being able to see them close up

This is the caliper a few people have used:
http://www.rallydesign.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=8312
Like I said though, you'd need to come up with some whay of mounting it in addition to Daves mount for the big caliper.

Thanks very much for this link, ideal! I'm sure there must be a way to hook things up. Do you know if a hydraulic handbrake is still legal or does it have to be mechanical?

Let me make mine up first and if I don't bugger them up too much I'll be happy to knock out a set for you. Biggest problem I seem to have with my lathe is that it's marked in imperial and everything I want to make is metric, one of these days I'll get the hang of it though!

Rob, again thanks! I was really was only being cheeky, but I would be eternally grateful as my 'skills' on a lathe have been rusting for more than 15 years. In fact they might go as far as, insert work peice in to chuck, tighten, turn on, remove chuck key from forehead, turn off lathe, leave and never come back

Regarding the control arms, I was going to look in to the possibility of powder coating them black with the flexible plasticote variety. No idea whether this would be possible but I have seen a few classic Jaguars where this was done to pretty much all of the suspension including the springs. Truly amazing stuff. Thoughts?

Cheers,

Steve

 

[Black Bug]

I think they are up now

Looks interesting, I'm sure Dave has done the engineering theory on them, I'm just not 100% sure on the idea of having a separate strut tube just screwed in. Do they still use the regular style strut inserts? Cool idea though!

Thanks very much for this link, ideal! I'm sure there must be a way to hook things up. Do you know if a hydraulic handbrake is still legal or does it have to be mechanical?

Has to be mechanical to be street legal, real pain eh?!

Rob, again thanks! I was really was only being cheeky, but I would be eternally grateful as my 'skills' on a lathe have been rusting for more than 15 years. In fact they might go as far as, insert work peice in to chuck, tighten, turn on, remove chuck key from forehead, turn off lathe, leave and never come back

Sounds a bit like what I did shortly after setting my lathe up. Luckily the key only took out the perspex splash guard before visiting the other side of the room. D'oh!! Happy to make up some bushes though, delrin/nylon stuff is really, and I mean really easy to machine.

Regarding the control arms, I was going to look in to the possibility of powder coating them black with the flexible plasticote variety. No idea whether this would be possible but I have seen a few classic Jaguars where this was done to pretty much all of the suspension including the springs. Truly amazing stuff. Thoughts?

Powder coating is good in my book but you might want to check with Dave for this particular case though as the heat used in the curing process might affect the temper of the chromoly. I know that powder coating alloy wheels can cause them to fail later if the aluminium is heated to over 400deg (I think).

Cheers,
Rob

 

[zeeman1972]

Rob,

Yes I thought the struts were an interesting design and i must admit I wouldn't consider taking the risk if AZ didn't have such a good reputation.
I believe they do still use the regular type of strut inserts.

Mechanical it has to be then! I'll get an order placed for those spot cailpers and see what needs to be done when they get here.

Cheers for the heads-up on the powder coating, I'll drop Dave a quick email on it.

Thanks for all of the advice!

Cheers, Steve