Im trying to buy some inserts for my 1200 45mm strut, i don't want to cut the strut if i don't have to.

What inserts are people using?

Where do you get them from?

What are the best/ quality/ value shocks?

Also! do they make aftermarket shorter shocks? mine are bottoming out and i need to shorten the shock and rethread.

These guys do Koni replacements Classic Garage.

Hopefully tomorrow I am trying a set of Series 1/2 RX7 inserts to see if they are doable. If they are, there are a few options available for performace units for these.

They are shorter but unsure as to how much yet.

Will post up what I find out.

How much shorter do they need to be?
We used to put 20 cent coins in the stut tube to pack it up a bit (yeah dodgy!) but it worked.
Cant remember what inserts we used though.

MK1 Golf inserts are the go, they require the strut to be shortened by 3- 4 inches but they do fit in and won't bottom out and can control a stiff spring unlike the stock 1200/ 120Y inserts.

Ordered mine from Pedders yesterday, about $150 per shock.

3-4 inches is a lot, how much droop does the car have when sitting flat?

What spring rate are you running?

Have seen so many poorly designed setups that have no droop etc. due to too short struts..

I'll post some pics up soon when its underway but basically i'm copying a friends setup which has just been finished.

I'm using HSD s13 camber tops with HSD 45mm weld on coilover kit with 4kg (approx 220 pound) springs and tender springs which are approx 2.5" high.

My mate has the struts in his coupe and its not too low and with the height adjusted approx halfway along the sleeve the springs are captive thanks to the tender springs and it sits at a nice respectable height.

The golf inserts are a much stiffer valving than stock inserts and control the 4kg springs nicely.

Once again I can't take the glory for the brains behind the setup, just copying a mate's setup but it does work out quite nicely.

I'm also going to use some custom bump steer correctors which are approx 1.5 inches to keep the LCA's on a respectable angle.

Hopefully get mine started in the next few weeks and i'll post up some pics and details.

Cheers

Matt

Quote:

Yes i agree, alot of setups have very little to no droop. I use the Mrk1 golf inserts for my coil over conversion. I ended up using 1 inch steel spacers in the base of the strut body. In my opinion the overall free length was still not long enough to have any substanial droop, the LCA's were more or less still horizontal. To overcome this problem I installed some 30mm bump steer spacers and got some decent angle back into the LCA's, the handling improved significantly.

Springs on the other hand were another major hassle to find that ride v's performance trade off. I tried linear springs with tender springs [linear springs are great for setups where where small suspension travel is desired]. To overcome the ride height i wanted i had to install a stiffer spring ~280lb/in to overcome the short shock travel. The ride was harsh. Because the setup was installed in my streeter i wanted a ride that was a bit softer and at the same time perform well through the corners. So in the end the linear springs with the tender springs came out and I ended up installing a pair of Kings single taper springs [KST150]. They work with an exponential response.

The calculated spring rate at the current ride height is 150lb/in but when the suspension travels 1 inch on bump the rate increases upto 210lb/in, you get the idea. Another thing to remember with tender spring setups is that you loose the thickness of the tender spring [when its compressed] from the piston travel measurement. It can be an issue when piston travel is limited. I will see if I can find a pic of the complete assembly.

cheers
benny

edit. The pic shows the comparison of linear springs v's single tapered springs. believe it or not both springs acheived the same ride height, but the ride is worlds apart.




and a pic of the bump steer spacers.

yeah tyhose tender springs sucked benny, piggy took them out cause they annoyed him so much, they also coause d some lfatiness in the front end i found.

intserested in your king spings, so softer lb but full travel and the sping stays captive now?

im interested. pm cost if possible, might help my handeling out a bit too

That's great info Benny, thanks.

What droop/bump ratio did you end up with?
When I say droop I mean the amount the car settles on the springs while at rest.
Say you have 300mm total travel and when the car is at rest it takes up 100mm of that travel under it's own weight, that would be a 1/3 droop to 2/3 bump ratio (which is apparently the recommended figure).
Droop is really important to allow the wheel to follow the road.

Once again Benny comes through with the awesome info!

I'll see how I go with the 4kg plus tenders, if its not great then i'll go straight to the Kings as recommended by Benny.

Also, I think the MK1's work out to about 4 inches shorter in the body, but I plan to cut 3 inches out and have a 1 inch spacer in the base of the strut.

Its good to see more development and use of the 45mm struts. They work out great in a 1200 with the s13 brakes, the brake conversion transformed my car. Particularly for A series powered beasts, going to stanza/ 200B etc just adds a lot of weight which really isnt neccessary with the light weight of an A series car.