The reason people end up cranking up the rebound is it "feels" fast.........the car ends up with a real snappy turn in and also drifts really easily.There in is the exact problem , a overly stiff car will break loose a lot sooner. Run the car on the soft side and it builds mechanical grip , it won't have that instantainous feel but you'll be 3 or 4 mph faster in most corners. It's funny to read that article because A few years ago I'd been talking with my buddy steve about this subject on his GT6 and then a couple weeks later Kaz Kastner told him the same thing.

This months Sports Car (SCCA's magazine) has an article with some of the countries top autocrossers pretty much saying the same thing we are talking about and it is possible to tune your way to a slower time.

As for Bilsteins , the couple of Scandenavians I know who build Rally cars swear by them.

Anyway let us know how what you settle on as finding something for the stock strut would be cool

Tom

ok, i asked around and apparently the golf mk1 insert will work as it's small enough to fit the 1200 strut tube. (i figured we were discussing mk3 like many 510 guys use. )

however, the mk1 insert is nearly 4" shorter, so either a spacer is used to take up the slop, or the tube itself will need to be shortened accordingly (which is probably best on a slammed car like that dark blue coupe with libres

advantages: keep lightweight 1200 strut/spindle/steering arm

disadvantage: stock front brakes; strut tube too small to easily fit coilovers

I am a big fan of the S13 brake conversion on the 1200 struts. Using the smaller of the two rotors offerred on the S13 [250mm and 280mm], most 13 inch wheels will still fit.

Also in Australia, thread tubes for coilover kits to suit the 1200 struts [45mm threaded tubes] are available.

.Noltec 2006 catalogue

The VW Golf [rabbit] shock insets look like the best candidate so far

ben, thx for that coilover info!

but more info please re: s13 brakes on 1200 struts ...

custom hub necessary, fab new caliper mounts ... or ???

ratdat mentioned to me using primera front load rotors on drum brake struts with new caliper brackets, and that sounds promising as well

No prob Matt.
The brakes are based on the std 1200 hub. Just a minor bit of machining required for fittment. Outer diameter of the hub needs to be machined so that the s13 rotor sits over the top, unlike the std 1200 rotor which bolts on from behind. The snout of the hub also needs to be machined also to match the ID of the S13 rotor. couple of MM's tops.

As for the caliper, a mounting bracket needs to be made. The bracket is bolted to the 1200 orginal caliper mounting points and then the S13 caliper is bolted to the bracket. no slimming required. All components line up. All bolts can be reused, 1200 caliper bolts to mount the bracket to the struts and the S13 caliper bolts to mount the caliper to the bracket. Also re-use the S13 wheel studs [as they are longer] in the 1200 hubs.

This convesrsion could't be easier..

The same bracket applies to both versions of the S13 brakes offered from the factory.

cheers
benny

Great info. Sounds like someone could make some money making that caliper bracket.

Question- when you make the bracket, is it a simple plate with holes in it? Or are there bends/welds? How thick is it? Just trying to get an idea of the difficulty here.

I can't wait to get some money coming in for some bilstein inserts. The s13 brakes also sound like a great idea. I hope there aren't any differences between the australian s13's and the american ones.

Its as simple as a 12mm flat plate with holes. "Kev Rowley" in Qld Australia. markets these brackets for a fair price.
Im not about to post up Kevs brackets on here as they are his intellectual property and it would not be the right thing to do.

Use the search function for Kevs contact details or maybe a few fellow Queenlanders may be able to put you in contact.

cheers
benny

I dug up this thread because I just found an American site selling Koni's and Tokiko's for all four corners of a 1200!

www.classicgarage.com.

I just ordered some Koni's for the rear of my coupe.

I'm digging up this thread once again because I've been getting questions about how I like using Bilstein VW rabbit shocks in my 1200 struts.
I got some very cheap VW rabbit Bilstein sport strut inserts used, and did considerable work to mount the special dust seals on the threaded strut housing cap (required machining and welding). I drove from SF to LA with the struts and they seemed to work well with 300 pound springs, but it turned out that the struts were blown and leaking oil. I haven't done any more development as I've taken the engine out of the car and its been sitting for over a year.
The good thing about Bilsteins however is that they can be revalved by Bilstein to suit the 1200's weight and any spring rate you use. Despite the trouble, I think they are the best option for the 1200 without spending big bucks on shocks. I'm sure Bilstein could also supply a rear shock (they have a extensive catalog online) custom valved for the 1200 to match.

1. Buy the KONI front strut kits from the aforementioned site. Bolt right in, only $200 for both fronts.

2. Buy the Nissan inserts, about $56 each. Non-gas charged -- these are the good ones.

3. Use the search box on the left to find the writeup on using VW inserts in the 1200 struts.
<--- googly search box (don't use the regular search)