IneedHelp Posted October 18, 2012 Report Share Posted October 18, 2012 1980 510 wagon. whats the cheapest, easiest, way to upgrade my front struts without modifying anything? Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted October 18, 2012 Report Share Posted October 18, 2012 Hard too upgrade anything without mods. So in order of cheapness #1 Empty out the strut oil and replace with 20W motorcycle fork oil. This will increase or at the least return the dampening to stock. The thicker oil is harder to push through the valves so gives a firmer action. I paid $17 for a liter Bellray fork oil, enough for three struts worth. It has lots of anti foaming and rust inhibitors but $5 a gallon 20W hydraulic jack oil will work too. #2 As long as the strut is out and spring off.. cut one coil off. (if one is good 2 would be better is totally wrong thinking here) Removing spring coils increases the spring rate, a good thing, but only to a point. Once removed it can't be put back so if you feel that you want stiffer go 1/4 of a spring at a time. Now you could probably stop here and assemble your strut and things would be fine... but likely the front end would sit lower. The suspension travel distance is reduced so you are closer to bottoming the strut out, BUT the spring rate is higher too so it's harder to do this now and it sort of averages out. Or, you can trim the lower spring perches off and grind off the weld so the strut tube is smooth. Purchase a pair of 2" split collars and mount on the strut tube slide the lower spring perch on, the spring and finish assembling the strut. Your struts are now adjustable for ride height. Install on car and use a hydraulic jack to compress the spring, slide the split collar up and fasten it just under the spring perch. Do both sides and set car down. Repeat until you get the ride height where you want it. Split collars are $10-$15 each. Because your strut length is unchanged you cannot lower it as much as you might like but 2 1/2" to 3" is reasonable. Total cost for all the above.... under $50. Score around just above weld. . Tap loose. Weld needs to be ground down smooth Split collar. Quote Link to comment
IneedHelp Posted October 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2012 thats really great information, thanks alot man! how hard is it to replace the stock struts with 280zx struts? Quote Link to comment
jovial_cynic Posted October 20, 2012 Report Share Posted October 20, 2012 Do you have a good source for those split collars? I typically head to ebay, but I didn't see any 2" ones at the time of my search. Quote Link to comment
LenRobertson Posted October 21, 2012 Report Share Posted October 21, 2012 I have an extra pair I can sell you - $22 for the pair plus postage.($5.35 for a small Priority box). PM me if you are interested. "Shaft collars" seems to be the official name for these things. When I was looking for them, I found http://www.fastenal.com/web/home.ex as a possible source, although I didn't buy from them. It looks like their 2" collars are $12.81 each "Wholesale", but I don't know if that price is the same in their stores. They have a store locator, so you can see if there is a location near you. Don't know what shipping is if you buy from them online. Len Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted October 21, 2012 Report Share Posted October 21, 2012 Got mine at a local Fastenal. Came to just under $30 CDN. Made in China. Quote Link to comment
jovial_cynic Posted October 21, 2012 Report Share Posted October 21, 2012 Thanks. I went and picked up a few set of muffler clamps and will proceed that way. Super cheap, and just as effective according to some 510 veterans. I just got done grinding down the 280zx struts and I'm going to clean the 510 perches and paint them up. I think I'm good. Between that and the brackets for the rear disc conversion, I'm pretty close to getting the car to stop on... well... a dime, what else? Quote Link to comment
Uber Deaf One Posted October 21, 2012 Report Share Posted October 21, 2012 Industrial hardware or the good hardware stores usually have split collars. I get mine locally from Grangers. Fastenal will have them too. Quote Link to comment
Rustina 510 Posted October 21, 2012 Report Share Posted October 21, 2012 I did this exact same thing with 1983 maxima wagon struts and some 200lbs springs. It was a major improvement to the cars handling and stopping power. I'd didn't bring in the wheels as I had hoped but overall I was very happy with the outcome Quote Link to comment
LenRobertson Posted October 21, 2012 Report Share Posted October 21, 2012 About 2 days after I did a BIN on eBay for collars, I stumbled onto the idea of using muffler clamps. Don't know why I hadn't seen it before, as I had been reading lots on strut transplants. I probably still would have gone with collars, since I tend to be paranoid about things breaking and coming loose. By dumb luck, what I got off eBay are genuine Ruland collars, and the boxes look old enough that I'm pretty sure they are USA, not China. If I'd gotten muffler clamps or China collars, I suspect either would have worked fine. Do I feel better about having "quality" collars? Yeah I do, even though I know it doesn't matter especially. And until I actually get the ZX struts installed, it REALLY doesn't matter! Len Quote Link to comment
Uber Deaf One Posted October 21, 2012 Report Share Posted October 21, 2012 I don't think muffler clamps are designed to hold as much weight as the split collars. FYI one split collar can hold 6k lbs of weight, which is nowhere near the amount of force applied to them while driving. Quote Link to comment
jovial_cynic Posted October 22, 2012 Report Share Posted October 22, 2012 The old Jason Gray write-up says that the muffler clamps, along with lock washers, do the job. It's the carriages from the muffler clamps; you dump the u-bolts and use two carriages around the shaft. Quote Link to comment
HudsonMC Posted October 22, 2012 Report Share Posted October 22, 2012 The old Jason Gray write-up says that the muffler clamps, along with lock washers, do the job. It's the carriages from the muffler clamps; you dump the u-bolts and use two carriages around the shaft. With as cheap and available as shaft collars are, I think it would be wise to use those just for the extra peace of mind. Quote Link to comment
jovial_cynic Posted October 24, 2012 Report Share Posted October 24, 2012 Hm. When you put it that way, you are probably right. Quote Link to comment
screamer510 Posted November 10, 2012 Report Share Posted November 10, 2012 Does the lower spring perch need any reinforcing where it meets the collar or are all the angles enough? It wont bend or deform or crumple since there's no solid weld will it? Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted November 11, 2012 Report Share Posted November 11, 2012 Didn't see this answered, so.... how hard is it to replace the stock struts with 280zx struts? If you follow Datzenmike's instructions at the top of the page, but put the collars and 510 spring seats on the 280ZX strut instead, it bolts right into the car. Quote Link to comment
Uber Deaf One Posted November 11, 2012 Report Share Posted November 11, 2012 Does the lower spring perch need any reinforcing where it meets the collar or are all the angles enough? It wont bend or deform or crumple since there's no solid weld will it? I don't understand what you're asking. If you're referring to the strut tube itself, those are pretty thick. No chance you could do damage with a split collar. Quote Link to comment
screamer510 Posted November 11, 2012 Report Share Posted November 11, 2012 No the spring perch. I wouldn't think it would... but...still going this route. Quote Link to comment
Uber Deaf One Posted November 11, 2012 Report Share Posted November 11, 2012 You use the split collar as a spring perch. Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted November 11, 2012 Report Share Posted November 11, 2012 Does the lower spring perch need any reinforcing where it meets the collar or are all the angles enough? It wont bend or deform or crumple since there's no solid weld will it? No, it will not. You'll be fine. :thumbup: Quote Link to comment
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