Lowering the datsun s10

[p11g20t]

well, i come from the land of infiniti g20s, where parts are scarce, but the 78 200sx takes the lead for "hardest to find parts"

the rears a leaf spring, so that shouldnt be bad. but the front is a strut. are there other cars that fit? ive been searching and searching on here, the 280 maybe?

there isnt much out there about this car it seems =(

[metalmonkey47]

Just cut the springs how you like it durrrrr

[Pumpkn210]

I called the tech department at Monroe and had them search for better shocks by dimension. May have to do some modifying, but nothing major!

[p11g20t]

thanks for the replies!

cutting.. hm. lol. something id never thought i would ever consider until this car!

 

anyone have a pic of just the shock and how it mounts at the bottom?

are the struts in front the same as... ______? any others?

[Cuts metal like mad]

the s10 200sx used to be a popular strut upgrade for the 510. SO anything for a 510 struts also applies to the 200sx.

 

 

[Master-O-Turbonics]

coilovers. :-)

[datzenmike]

Lowering the car by any method will do three things...

 

1/ it will upset the camber setting. Tires will tilt in at the tops and increase wear on the inside edges. There may be some stock adjustment or you can use camber plates that allow the tops of the strut to move out towards the fender to compensate.

 

2/ It will shorten the distance the suspension will travel before 'bottoming out'. This includes bottoming out the strut cartridge and damaging it and scraping the ground with the oil pan, front crossmember or exhaust system.

 

3/ If low enough it will upset the steering and introduce 'bump steer'. The front wheels don't move up and down over a bump, actually they move in an arc around the lower control arm mount on the cross member. The wheel is closer to the car when dropped down as when falling into a pot hole, moving outward slightly when sitting level and inward again when moving up over a bump. The higher or lower the wheel position the more this inward movement increases, it's not linear but increases dramatically over a shorter distance. The neutral position is when the steering box pitman arm link, tie rods and steering knuckle arm and lower control arms are horizontal. There is the slightest minimal inward movement when the wheel moves up and down through the stock travel.

 

When the body (and the lower control arm point) is lowered it is no longer horizontal and tilts upward towards the tire. This means that when hitting a bump the tire will move inward much more than at the neutral stock position. On hitting a bump, the tire tries to move inward but can't at the back because of the rigid steering components, so only the front turns in. Both front wheels toe in on a bump and toe out on a dip in the road. On a single bump on one side, that wheel, will toe in throwing the car's steering out.

 

Reducing the LCA 's upward tilt to the wheel by placing a spacer between the LCA and the bottom of the strut will help.

 

 

 

You can replace the spring with a shorter or softer one so the car sits lower but if this spring has the same 'stiffness' or rate as the stock spring to retain the same smoothness of ride quality, it will bottom out for sure because it has less distance to travel.

 

Or...

 

You can remove a piece of the stock spring to lower. Removing a coil or part of a coil will make the spring rate 'stiffer'. Now this is good on a lowered car as a stiffer spring will resist bottoming out. It will also firm up the ride and reduce body roll when cornering. The problem is that in order to get the drop you want the spring rate may be so high that the ride is too hard and is ruined. Too many people have cut and cut and cut to get the 'perfect' ride height they want, only to find the ride stiff and harsh beyond belief.

 

Remember once cut it can't be put back . Cut 1/4 coils at a time and do both sides at the same time. Constantly check your results. Don't use a cutting torch, use a cut off saw and keep heat to a minimum....

 

 

 

.

[p11g20t]

yep i know all about lowering, ive lowered a lot of cars, my other 2 now are both lowered as well. luckily camber hasnt posed an issue for those ones, and it hasnt thrown the toe off really.

the datty looks like it will be a different story and need an alignment and camber adjustment afterwards.

ive never been one to look at cutting springs as a viable option, but im not sure in this case there is any other option. doing that will definitely blow any stock length shocks (which are already blown anyways at this point).

thats why i was hoping there was aftermarket support (coils would be great, but not likely an option) for another datsun that shared the front struts with the 200.

thanks for the responses and such!

[datzenmike]

Some if not all will come apart to replace the shock insert. You can at that time drain the thin oil and run something thicker to firm them up.

[p11g20t]

well look what i found, if you have some spare money to dish out :blink: :blink:

http://www.technotoytuning.com/vehicles.php