Which Coilover Setup to go With?

[amocrace]

Originally Posted by franky

For me the GAZ wins hands down, spring rates to suit the application with dampening to suit too. The others don't offer that or the larger diameter piston that comes with GAZ.

Also price, i'm pretty sure the GAZ will be the most cost effective solution too at about £1k.

Arizona Z set up has the largest diameter strut not Gaz? having used the AZ set up for race it is good but remember the damping rate adjusts at the bottom so is ok on rear but a pain in the butt on the front. you have to split the suspension to adjust rate! on the road even set soft it seems stiff at low speed but damps well if you are pushing hard. I look after a car in another series where we are limited to Gaz dampers and am seriously looking at getting the 'innards' rebuilt by a shocker specialist as in std form they are really poor in relation to the bump to rebound ratio.

[Ian]

Thanks for all the replys. The more views on this th better.

Originally Posted by IbanezDan51

AST also offer the same as GAZ but I would say they are more orientated towards racing - but they are around 3k! Which is well out of my budget.

Had a look at ASR, their coilovers look very nice, but like you 3K is bit too much for me.

Originally Posted by franky

Dan, I think that's more to do with his geometry set-up. I'm pretty sure he says he running zero or close to zero rear toe which would make the car wander as rwd cars toe out under power. Also he's got a fully adjustable setup so its not quite comparing eggs with eggs.

I'm sure geo setup has a massive effect on the handling, unfortunatly there isn't really anyone near me who knows how to set a car up well so I'll have to rely on my understanding of setup.

I thought RWDs toe in under power at the rear and toe out at the front and FWDs toe out the rear and toe'd in at the front? That makes sense to me as the wheel is being forced forward around a central mounting point which would make the front of the driven wheels toe in? Thats the reason I have my Civic setup with 0.5mm toe out up front, under power it ends up being neutral or toeing in slightly and it gives me nice turn in.

Originally Posted by mark240z

I've got the McKinney setup can't fault it I looked at all the other options and money was no object and these best suited what I want

After getting more info on this I'm really leaning towards this setup.

Pity you haven't driven on them yet for a full review. What kind of height does your car sit at with the height adjustment about mid way?

Originally Posted by johnymd

Firstly, I hate recommending something as not everyone has the same opinion as to what is good. I chose the GAz setup for a number of reasons, one of which was being only 2 miles from where I live. I like to go and meet people and talk about their products before buying. I think people of my limited driving ability would find it hard to tell the difference between a very good setup and a very very good setup so I'm guessing most of us would struggle to tell the difference between any of the above mentioned equipment. If one did feel better then it would probably be down to how it was setup anyway. So to sum up, all of the above will feel superb if setup properly. I love my entire setup and any issues I have will be tuned out over time as I gain the knowledge to do so. Can't wait till the next trip to Spa.

If I lived that close I would definitly use them also.

It would probably be hard to tell much difference beetween them it terms of outright performance so it comes down to the quality of them and the quality of the valving.

Originally Posted by moggy240

threaded weld in sleeves with weld in camber plates $299,you then have to buy the megan coilover kit about $1000.

i like this one as you can adjust the ride height without messing with the springs etc

The kit comes with everything you need, no need to separatly order anything, if you only saw the sleeves you need to look further down the page.


I also like this kit and the AZC kit for the same reason.

Originally Posted by franky

I've had a look, looks like the generic Ksport/megan stuff? No mention of spring rates/spring sizes or if the dampening is matched to the given spring rates?

Its not just generic stuff, I've looked into it more and I'm quite impressed.

Originally Posted by amocrace

Arizona Z set up has the largest diameter strut not Gaz? having used the AZ set up for race it is good but remember the damping rate adjusts at the bottom so is ok on rear but a pain in the butt on the front. you have to split the suspension to adjust rate! on the road even set soft it seems stiff at low speed but damps well if you are pushing hard. I look after a car in another series where we are limited to Gaz dampers and am seriously looking at getting the 'innards' rebuilt by a shocker specialist as in std form they are really poor in relation to the bump to rebound ratio.

Theres way to adjust the damping with it attached, you just need have a whole in the side of the tube and use one of these attached to the outside to adjust the valve: AST Remote Cable Adjuster Kit - Vorshlag LLC


Thanks for the review on the AZC setup and Gaz's. I'm prepared to have a slightly hard ride but don't want it to be too bad as its main use will be road.What spring rates are you using with the AZC setup?






I've looked more into the Mckinney kit and I'm quite impressed. It turns out the coilovers are actually built by BC and are custom built for this kit rather than just been taken from an S13 setup and have the valving custom matched to the springs rates which are 5 and 6kg, so not too stiff which is good for the road. I haven't checked yet but I think he can do different rates if you request.

I like this kit because its a dual perch setup which is what I really want, allows ride height adjustment without messing with the springs and also means I can setup whatever preload I want. It doesn't seem to have a huge threaded section of tube however which could be a problem if I need them wound up to keep the car higher, I will try to find out roughtly what height a 260z sits at with them mid way adjusted. You're going need to about 2cm of thread inside at least to keep them safe and if you go the other way you could run out thread before they are low enouth.

[franky]

Originally Posted by Ian

Thanks for all the replys. The more views on this th better.




Had a look at ASR, their coilovers look very nice, but like you 3K is bit too much for me.





I'm sure geo setup has a massive effect on the handling, unfortunatly there isn't really anyone near me who knows how to set a car up well so I'll have to rely on my understanding of setup.

I thought RWDs toe in under power at the rear and toe out at the front and FWDs toe out the rear and toe'd in at the front? That makes sense to me as the wheel is being forced forward around a central mounting point which would make the front of the driven wheels toe in? Thats the reason I have my Civic setup with 0.5mm toe out up front, under power it ends up being neutral or toeing in slightly and it gives me nice turn in.






After getting more info on this I'm really leaning towards this setup.

Pity you haven't driven on them yet for a full review. What kind of height does your car sit at with the height adjustment about mid way?





If I lived that close I would definitly use them also.

It would probably be hard to tell much difference beetween them it terms of outright performance so it comes down to the quality of them and the quality of the valving.






The kit comes with everything you need, no need to separatly order anything, if you only saw the sleeves you need to look further down the page.


I also like this kit and the AZC kit for the same reason.






Its not just generic stuff, I've looked into it more and I'm quite impressed.




Theres way to adjust the damping with it attached, you just need have a whole in the side of the tube and use one of these attached to the outside to adjust the valve: AST Remote Cable Adjuster Kit - Vorshlag LLC


Thanks for the review on the AZC setup and Gaz's. I'm prepared to have a slightly hard ride but don't want it to be too bad as its main use will be road.What spring rates are you using with the AZC setup?






I've looked more into the Mckinney kit and I'm quite impressed. It turns out the coilovers are actually built by BC and are custom built for this kit rather than just been taken from an S13 setup and have the valving custom matched to the springs rates which are 5 and 6kg, so not too stiff which is good for the road. I haven't checked yet but I think he can do different rates if you request.

I like this kit because its a dual perch setup which is what I really want, allows ride height adjustment without messing with the springs and also means I can setup whatever preload I want. It doesn't seem to have a huge threaded section of tube however which could be a problem if I need them wound up to keep the car higher, I will try to find out roughtly what height a 260z sits at with them mid way adjusted. You're going need to about 2cm of thread inside at least to keep them safe and if you go the other way you could run out thread before they are low enouth.

They toe out, the physics of wheels turning forwards and gyroscopic forces causes it. That why with a stationary toe in you'll end up with zero toe under power. It can be limited with plastic bushing etc. When I built the kit car's I played with suspension lots, I in no way fully understand it or could set a car up for others, just have a limited understanding from a few books and building/playing with my car.

Have you got fully adjustable geometry on your car? Where are you located, I can lend you caster/camber and alignment gauges but it'll cause sleepless nights.

Good luck with the search, let me know how you get on, its good that people are splashing their cash before I have to spend mine

I don't want to cut strut tops but would like to adjust camber

[moggy240]

i have seen the other Mckinney coilover systems now ,i only saw the threaded sleeeves first time round

[Ian]

Originally Posted by franky

Have you got fully adjustable geometry on your car? Where are you located, I can lend you caster/camber and alignment gauges but it'll cause sleepless nights.

I haven't got full adjustable geo yet, but I will have. Will be a while before I need to properly setup the full geo on my car at an advanced level.


I'm located in Portrush, in Northern Ireland.

Good luck with the search, let me know how you get on, its good that people are splashing their cash before I have to spend mine

Thanks, I'll update with how I get on, at the moment it looks like I'll be going for the Mckinney setup. I'm doing loads of research before parting with any cash to make sure I get the bst seup possible.

[mark240z]

Good choice my man

[riske]

Sorry to dig up a fairly old post but I would be interested in knowing how things went? I am looking at coilover set ups at the moment.

How do I know if i'm an early or late 260z? Looks like the OD on them are different, 240 and 280 are different.

I was looking at the trying to go with following set up but where can I locate this stuff in the uk?
Front and rear weld in camber plates
T3 front and rear LCA
T3 roll center adjusters
T3/ Ground Control full weld on coilovers ( potentially a1racing.com)
Eibach Springs: F – 350lbs / R – 300lbs
Tension control rods
Tokico HTS AE86 (HTS112F) cartridge short stroke shocks
Polyurethane bushings
Front + rear sway bar

[moggy240]

MJP Eastern Auto

will have most of the stuff otherwise its ebay and the internet searching.

early 260z strut tubes are 51mm later 260z are about 58mm I think

[No Hands]

240 260 280Z parts Products McKinney Motorsports

scroll to bottom of page,

[riske]

WELD IN COIL OVER CONVERSION FOR THE 240Z AND EARLY 260Z WITH 2.00 DIA STRUTS* ONLY.....

How do I know if mine is early or late?

[morbias]

Originally Posted by riske

WELD IN COIL OVER CONVERSION FOR THE 240Z AND EARLY 260Z WITH 2.00 DIA STRUTS* ONLY.....

How do I know if mine is early or late?

Originally Posted by moggy240

early 260z strut tubes are 51mm later 260z are about 58mm I think

That would be the best way of making sure they fit your car

[riske]

Originally Posted by morbias

That would be the best way of making sure they fit your car

Ok so no sure way of knowing without taking off and measuring. Wasn't sure if there was a way of telling by looking at chassis numbers etc. Thank you.

Now to decide whether to go with McKinney conversion or Threaded sleeve set up.

[moggy240]

do your floor pans look like this
https://www.google.com.au/search?q=2...17%3B360%3B192

[No Hands]

if you order at mckinney you can just tell them you have a late one or tell them the diamater of your stock shocks and the match the set for that, its just a larger diameter set.

[riske]

Originally Posted by moggy240

do your floor pans look like this
https://www.google.com.au/search?q=2...17%3B360%3B192

No they dont have that oval shaped section on the floor...


Will 240z struts fit the 260z? What diameter are the 240 as i'm going to buy a spare set and get them sectioned whilst my car is being welded.