'74 260z project

Gotcha. Believe stock springs are progressive as well aren't they? I am edging towards just taking a coil off mine for the time being this year and perhaps going down the struct sectioning and adjustable platform route next winter when I want to strip all the suspension off anyway.

I read the 4.5" was for a 260 with the lower front perches, and that a 240 had more? This seems to be backed up by the fact that there appears to be about a thumb's width between the back of my 6J rim and the perch, and I make the backspace on my 6J to be 3.75". Yeah hadn't considered the 17" bit.

From what I've read 10.5" -20 should fill the rears nicely but yeah, might need a wee bit more on the fronts.

Re. centre caps there was a guy selling super cheap stainless ones on eBay and RR a while ago. I got a set, and I haven't had the front wheels off to check yet, but i think with a little cutting they might actually just work.
 
I'm running 225/50's on the rears which i had on my 15 x 8 minilites but they are streched a bit though because I was worried about the spring perch clearence issue, but when I converted to coilovers the perch is lower down and the springs are a smaller diameter and now it sits inside the rim.
 
I've read so much in the past about backspacing on 240z/early 260z/280z both with stock suspension and coilovers and Arizona Z Car rear hub conversions that to be perfectly honest I can't be certain about any of it any more! That, and the fact that some of it was probably incorrect anyway means the only way to really know is work it out on your own car rather than hope for the best. Unfortunately I never wrote any of it down but I'm hoping what I remembered of it was ok when I ordered the wheels :)

I was also considering sectioning the front struts but then again I don't really fancy buying yet more shocks; the rear isn't so much of an issue as there is more shock travel anyway in comparison.

atomman: stretched a bit? :p got any pics? I would have thought even 245s on a 10 inch wheel would be stretched?
 
Haha, I can sympathise. I've probably spent 10-hours reading the same stuff just this week! Like you say, impossible to know what you can actually trust anyway. The info I have the most faith in is the post from NZeder at the bottom of this page 240Z & 260Z Wheel/Tyre Options, Offset, Backspace and the first two posts from him on this page 240Z & 260Z Wheel/Tyre Options, Offset, Backspace

Yeah you bought Tokicos didn't you? I hear you, I want (need) to spend as little as possible. Adjustable platforms with front dampers in the rear and MR2 dampers in the front seems like it could work out quite an economical option, but honestly a coil out of the stock springs will get me where I want to enjoy the car for the summer at this stage I think. Fair to say I am not being quite as thorough as you, haha.
 
heres the 225's on the 10's
I just got these put on as i had them already, could go a bit wider now i know how they sit on the car,
I only had to cut about 30mm off the arch to get the clearence but they are 15's not 17's
I've ended up sectioning my front struts but with the backs I just used shorter springs, if you need any more details just give me a shout:)
 

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When you say shorter springs - different springs, or the original springs cut down? If the former what springs and if the latter how much did you cut off?
 
Interesting; not as stretched as I was visualizing, lets you go a bit lower without fouling the flare too. Diameter wise there shouldn't be much difference between your rim/tyre combination and mine but I am sure I will need more than 30mm cut out. Then again I have cut my bumpstops in half so that provides a bit more shock travel that needs to be accounted for. Also the ZG flares need to be positioned quite specifically in relation to swage lines and rear bumper indents so I'll use that as my starting point then work out maximum shock travel vs top of tyre and see where that gets me!
 
Yeah I did see that one too. And about 45-pages of the wheels thread on Hybridz before I couldn't take any more. Noone ever seems to be running quite what you want to. I think eventually you just need to get something and make it fit!
 
Bump stops ? dont think I have any on mine am i ment to ?

Hello Tim, I used 2" 1/4 250lb 10" long springs on the rear with adjustable coilover perchs. but i did chop the springs first to see where it would sit, 2 coils gave about 60mm drop, but standad springs are progressive so you need to take it from the top,
 
Ah right yeah gotcha - I almost got the impression you were saying you hadn't done the conversion on the rears, just whacked shorter springs on. Yeah 30mm per coil pretty much tallies with what I have been told by others. From the top, righto.
 
your both right about whlel back space/fittment :smash:

I read so much about it in the end i just brought some nissan almera steels off ebay and went from there
 
The original springs are linear as far as I am aware, aftermarket springs are available linear and progressive.

Those are the bumpstops I have Tim, I cut half off. Atomman - you really should use bumpstops; depending what shocks you have the valving can be destroyed because the shock will bottom out on it internally.

Also, cutting coils off springs will get you different levels of drop and increases in spring rate depending on how many coils the spring has overall and whether it is progressive or linear. Don't forget to take into account the end of the spring which is 'flattened' to sit in the seat compared to the other coils towards the middle of the spring.

Also, if your springs were 250lbs to start with and you cut two coils off, they could be around 300lbs now. You'd better find out what your rear shocks can handle because they could blow with that high a spring rate. Or do you mean you cut the original springs? That would make more sense :)
 
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yep I cut the original springs not the new ones, i wanted to see how it would sit, before cutting off the spring perchs etc.

cheers I will order some of those bumpstops, cars not on the road yet so havent got to try it all out yet,
 
Test fitted one of the front wheels today, the spring seat is actually higher than I thought it would be in relation to the wheel but thank god there is 12mm clearance

IMAG0568_zpsd411b7d9.jpg


Not so sure I will need a spacer any more, but it's hard to tell until it has tyres and is sitting on the ground. Will need some longer studs if I end up using a spacer, dunno if I can be assed with the hassle to be honest!

IMAG0569_zps185132fa.jpg
 
Plenty of room. Must admit I thought the rim would be above the spring perch with a 17. So that's a standard 260 strut with the 1" lower spring perch and a 17x8.5 ET-10? Don't suppose you could do me a favour and measure the backspace on that rim if you get a minute could you? 4.3 - 4.4"? And even while you're there the distance between the bottom of the perch and the thicker bit of the strut at the bottom, so I can see if we have the same struts? I really want a set of 15x8 ET0s (so 4.5" backspace) on mine if they'll fit.
 
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If you convert the -10 offset on a 8.5" wide wheel into a backspace measurement it comes out to 4.35", so maximum possible backspace would appear to be 4.82" with the stock suspension. You will probably have to be a bit careful with your choice of tyres and make sure it doesn't have too much sidewall 'bulge' on a 15" wheel.

As it happens, I actually took strut measurements while I had them off the car:

frontstrut_zps27ad1f1c.jpg
.
rearstrut_zpsa11b7f16.jpg
 
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