O.k, so my CA18DET - '74 1200 ute project is really starting to tick along....

I've opted for 14" x 6" wheels due to setting up the front end with negative camber, causing clearance issues with anything larger than 14".

I've been trying to decide whether to stick with the standard 120y springs, or go for some lowered kings springs.

Once I've got the front end sorted, I can fabricate / machine the rear lowering blocks to suit.

Questions: - Will the 14" wheels fill the guards sufficently sitting at the standard ride height? (Running 185 x 55 tyres)

Will the lowered kings springs make any signifigant improvement to handling?

I'm assuming there'll be some lowering in the ride height due to the added weight of the CA18DET + extra braking forces created by the 180sx front brake conversion.

Thanks

the king springs will make a difference to the handling, wait till the car is ready to drive before buying tyres/springs ect. that way you can set it up according to the weight of the vehicle. you will be able to get the right rate spring 4 the application. As for putting lowering blocks in the back, why would you ruin all the effort you put into the conversion and setting up the front end by putting lowering blocks in the back end? Having a high powered motor churning out 140 odd kw stock into a rear end lowered with lowering blocks is lethal. you see, the blocks allow extra movement and cause the rear end to squirm around under hard acceleration and can end up having the diff facing a direction other than straight, causing the rear end to track sideways. Not nice. Specially when youve spent so much time and effort building a sweet ride! Fork out the extra couple of bucks and get the rear springs done properly.You wont regret it.

Thanks carjunkie....

I was hoping someone else had a similar setup & could advise on how the King springs sit with the extra weight of the CA18.

It's a bit of a short cut, but was hoping to use this advice in order to get the springs sorted now as opposed to getting everything assembled & then having to pull the front end apart again.....

Interesting comments about the lowering blocks...... I had planned to use a tramp rod setup to keep the rear end under control......

Yes, reset leaves are the "proper" way to lower the rear however, I believe I'll still be stuck with axle tramp even after spending the extra $$$ - Hence the lowering blocks & tramp rod setup.

C'mon - There must be someone else out there running a CA18 & 14's

BUMP

rim offset and tyre profile will impact on your guard clearances. I successfully run 195/55/15 semi slicks on 15 X 6 TI skyline rims, all under the guards on my racecar. I dont use flares. Thats also with lengthed lower control arms [25mm] and neg 3.75 degrees camber.

185/60/14 tyres also work quite well...on 14 X 6 rims

Thanx benny.......

Are you running lowered Kings up front?

I also seem to remember you're running JT leaves on the rear..... Any drama's w/ axle tramp?

Just a note,coops. the problem i was talking about is not axle tramp, it is the rear axel not being perpindicular to the tailshaft/chassis rails. axel tramp is due to winding the springs up under load. 'tramp rods' will not solve the problem i brought up. Any how its up to you, but ive seen what lowering blocks can do, and it aint pretty!