G'day, I'm half way through a 45mm coil over conversion to my 120Y struts.

I got a set of larger stub axle 120Y struts, a otomoto 45mm coil over kit, Kev Rowley S13 brake caliper brackets and S13 brakes ready to go once I machine the hub down to slide the S13 brakes over.

My problem is now working out what strut insert will be best.

I've read the Mk1 Golf insert will fit, I went to Heasmans and they didn't have the Mk1 Golf inserts in stock but they had Porsche 944 ones which are the same 1.5inch (38.1mm) diameter.

They didn't really come close to fitting in, they said they would have to machine down the body of the insert and maybe get the strut honed out.

Then i'd need to cut the strut down 100mm and get the end of the strut tube re-threaded, either on the inside or the outside of the tube.

But anyway a good insert in 38.1mm isn't easy to come by in Australia, and I'm not real sure how much I should shorten the strut by for good ride height, 100mm seems a bit much.

Has anyone gone through this process in Australia, and what inserts did you use?

I've searched on here but the information isn't in as much detail as I'd like.

I've gone so far now with the 45mm struts i don't want to ditch the idea for 50.8mm ones, then my Kev Rowley brake upgrade won't work.

Also has anyone used series 1-2 Rx-7 inserts? They seem to be the same 38.1mm body but are a bit longer than the Golf's at around 352mm which sounds ideal. Plus I could get a KYB or Pedders pretty easy.

Not sure is Bilstien or Koni are worth it for a 95% street driven 1200 coupe with a L18 in it, or with the heavier motor should I spend the extra and order some Bilstien Golf inserts from the states?

Any advice would be awesome, cheers

I went through this conversion abit over a year ago now. Very happy with teh results.

I ended up going with a KYB Mk1 Golf/Rabbit inserts sitting on 1 inch spacers at the base of the strut tube. I got the insets online out of the US.

I would say, having done a strut conversion reasently, DON't cut it, make a 100, 95, 90mm spacers put it at the bace of the strut (below the shock). I cut myne and it's a pain I can make it lower but the max hight is a bit low.
If the coilspring is that bit longer it helps for a softer right.

Gold inserts are the way to go

i cut my 180b struts and it was easy with the help of some other members ,i cut mine and rewelded the thread back on ,this way i can still lower the car and dont have to worry about bottoming out ,and i thought about getting it rethreaded but the inside of the strut would need boring out and then trying to find someone with the right size tap and die set would also be a huge hassle

honing the strut would be the way to go ,as when i cut mine they were realy thick after the 25mm of thread inside the tube ,so there wouldnt be any problems with making the tube too thin

estyre, that sounds like the way to go with re welding the old threaded strut tube top lower down. Was there any rough bits on the inside of the tube on the weld area that needed smoothing?

The question is now how much is a good amount to take off the strut height so I don't have problems with being too low with the coil overs full height? If I go the Golf inserts I'm thinking 50mm off the strut and run about a 50mm spacer inside

Thanks for the advice

yea you dont cut the thread off, that would just be a pain in the arse, just cut a section out, insert new shocks, check height, tack it, remove shocks, weld like a mad crab, linish welds, paint, re install shocks, ride low and dirty :)

its too easy guys, ive shortened 2 sets of struts now, did some in my sigma the other day, only took 20 mins each

Tuff-110, whats the specs on the gold inserts? can you get them in OZ? Are they shorter?

Kiri1, so you cut the full 100mm off and it's too much, I'm thinking 50mm is a good amount. I'd like to limit bottoming out and trying to keep the spring captive

Benny, how much did the KYB's end up costing shipped and how long was the wait? Who was it through?

Thanks again

From memory it cost ~$90 in total shipped to my door within 10 days. search for KYB GR-2 361005.

If you use a linear coil spring you will probably need a tender spring to hold the assembly captive. I ended up going with a pair of Single taper king springs. They are nice and comfy around town and firm up just right with sports driving. They are an exponential spring. At there current ride height the calculated spring rate is ~ 185lbs and at 2 inch bump that rate jumps up to ~270lbs

pic attached shows the comparison between to two different spring type. Both when istalled acheived the same ride hight.

if you want to keep the spring captive then you are best to cut as much out as you can

best way to do it is figure out the extended length of the new insert. figure out the ride height its going o be at, then allow about an inch or 2 drop (so at ride height the shock is compressed an inch or 2 then

i cut about 100mm out of my stanza struts to run my corrona ones and the wheel only drops about an inch when the car is jacked up so you cant really go much higher than what it is

but yeah, i can think of many ways to figure out how much the should be spaced but its a bit hard explaining it without having a strut and shock and some pointing/explaining hands