O.k, so everything's in & running well, but with the CA in the font the thing handles like an upside-down turtle.

Time for a suspension upgrade.....
I'm trying to decide whether to go with welding threaded collars to my 120Y struts to allow fully adjustable coilovers or just to stick with some lowered springs.

I can't really see the point of fully adjustable if once you get the ride height you want, they get locked off & left alone.

Thinking some 1" lower 200lb (Kings or similar) springs & if the ride height needs adjusting, I can just grind & re-locate the standard 120Y spring retainer.

What do you guys reckon?

Also - Any advice on a good shock insert (front) & rear shock to use would be welcome.

Cheers,

Coops

Are you planning on doing any track work with the car?...... if so, small adjustments in ride height can help dial in the suspension at the track.

If it's simply for use on the street, coilovers are probably overkill...... but nice to have

Was planning entering some SE Qld sprint series events, along with the occasional track day.
Do you think that would justify using fully adjustable coilovers?

I don't understand how changing the ride height would affect the handling all that much.... On a 1200 ute anyway.

Preload was something we used to play around with a lot when I was into road bikes, but this was critical as the centre of gravity is a major consideration when setting up a bike.
I'm pretty inexperienced when it comes to car suspension though & don't know if the same rules apply.

i wouldn't recomend lowered springs with 120y struts,
unless your willing to cut 1.5-2 inchs out of the strut tube

with the extra weight of the CA your going to be bottoming out all over the place.

if your going to be cutting the strut tube then you might as well fit the coilovers in,
if you decide to go racing you'll be set.

What brakes are you using? the 120Y brakes fade too easy with an A15...

Quote:

Surely only going 1" lower wouldn't cause the struts to run out of travel...... Would it?

Good point though regarding cutting the stut tube.

B210sleeper - I'm running a 180sx front disc conversion & the engine is a CA18.

Ride height and spring rates are a bit of a science,if you reckon you can get it right the first time or even the second time go for the fixed units.If you need more attempts to be 100% happy then the costs of a full coil over set up will start to come into play,as for track work,if you start to get serious you will potentially have a differant set up for each track.eg. there is no way you would use the same set up at Q.R. as at Pittsworth Sprints(too bumpy)if you did"nt have to.As with bikes the CG is the base point for handling on any thing with four wheels,get this as low as possible without changing base geometry and everything else will follow.It"s all a compromise with production based vehicles and in most cases with the size of your cheque book,give yourself some thinking time to fully address all the issues.Cheers

if you just want to lower it an inch or so, improve the handling and do a few events, there's no need for coilovers.

having said that, aftermarket lowered coils for Datsuns are rubbish! If you had a Holden or Falcon they put a bit of effort into making coils that work, but for old Datsuns etc they're just whatever they already had that fits. Eg - Kings springs lowered stanza coil is the exact same part they list for a standard 1200 coil!

Go and get a set of Gemini coils from a wrecker and cut them. leave the variable rate part on there and you get fantastic ride quality and a big handling improvement.

Now you're talking........

Should I be looking for any particular model of Gemini (TC, TD, TE etc.), or are they all the same?



P.S: Guess I'm lucky SOMEONE (along with everyone's favourite dog) changed my mind on cutting springs. lol

Yes dont Cut springs. I have been there many times. You will find very little travel with 200b struts in your 1200. I had stanza and cut springs and it wasnt a fun experience even with travel becaause there wasnt much of it!... Then i went to far and started breaking shocks This was with a lighter Aseries motor too! So A CA is going to be even worse. Lets not forget how bad brissse roads are too... With little travel its like "Bottom Out City".

Now I have gone Coilovers I am so happy with the result. I got all my hieghts and so much travel with top qaulity stuf. This wasnt the cheapest option. But if you want travel without going to coil overs I would suggest just cutting the strut down and re-welding the sping seat on. Because you will go thorugh alot of hassle when you could spend few hundred bucks just cutting the strut down. I have a number of a guy that did my struts on the side took a week and he worked for fulcrum for 17years ... And can do all the welding and measuring you require at nice cheap rate

Just a pic to get you thinking