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Strut insert ??


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Hi.ratsons

 

I am planning on swapping my stock front struts with 280zx ones,chopping one ring out of the coil.now my question is what strut inserts are little smaller in length then the stock 280zx one??.thanks guys

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If the original oil dampers are still there why not empty out the thin old oil and replace then thicker viscosity 20w motorcycle fork oil? Thicker oil is harder to push through the valves and increases the damping action but retains the proper compression /rebound. You can go up or down by raising or lowering the oil viscosity. This is what I did for under $20 CDN. If replaced already, you have little choice but to pay for new inserts.

 

 

Iwxr9o0.jpg

 

...............................................510................................................................. A10........................................................ 280zx

 

Cut the ZX coil? The ZX coil is too large a diameter to effectively fit the 510 strut tower and certainly wouldn't allow much room for camber adjustments. Better to cut the 510 and the ZX lower coil perches off their respective strut tubes and put the 510 lower perch, coil spring and top hat on the ZX strut tube. Secure the lower coil spring perch in place with a split collar. Ride height is now adjustable but within limits. 1 1/2 to 2" is safe enough on a ZX strut . Each split collar will hold 3,000 pounds.

 

Stock 510 coils have a spring rate of 99 lb/in. Removing one coil will raise this to 115 lb/in. This assumes a 510 front coil wire is 0.472" thick, the coil 5.121" diameter and there are 7 active coils. Yours may be different.

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It's a 2" diameter same as the strut tube.

 

 

First loosen/remove the large gland nut and empty the damper or insert

 

1chQBG9.jpg

 

Trim perch with hacksaw or angle grinder just above the weld. Don't go too deep, just enough...

 

bD7FSOK.jpg

 

 

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Loosen and slide off strut tube...

 

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Grind down the remaining weld bead so the perch and split collar can slide up or down on the strut tube.

 

Zym2fxc.jpg

 

Assemble with split collar on tube, the spring perch, spring and top hat.

 

facikh7.jpg

 

Here I'm compressing the spring with a block of wood and a jack.

 

RgfEkVc.jpg

 

Tighten split collar and do the other side to match. When the other side goes up it will affect this side and will probably make it too high. So lower and check back and forth till you have the ride height you want. Make sure those screws are tight! Just to be sure it could never slip, I put a small weld under the collar where it's easy to get at should I need to remove the collar. Each collar will hold the entire weight of 1.3 510s

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1983 VOLKSWAGEN RABBIT 1.8L L4

MONROE 86355 (86355:P)

 

These are about 2" shorter.. i.e 2" needs to be sectioned or made up with internal spacers or a combination of spacers and sectioning with the 280zx strut.

 

Can't speak to ride quality on these Monroes, still piecing together my front end but rockauto had them for cheap. FYI based on a quick mock up, I'm finding I'll bind my TC rod and stock sway bar before bottoming the 280zx strut (un-sectioned).

 

Protip, add some spacer above the insert ( in the strut) so even if the strut body bottoms out the insert will not.

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Thanks Mike .I am doing what u posted

 

Inserts are ok but they are intended for either a different car or a wide range of different cars, a 'universal' fit. I prefer the original valving just firmed up.

I went to a motorcycle shop and bought a liter of BellRay 20W fork oil, about $17 CDN. Enough for three struts. This may all be moot as a previous owner may have already replaced them with inserts anyway.

 

The spring can be cut to tailor your spring preference by making a few careful measurements and some multiplying and dividing math. If you very carefully measure the wire width, the number of coils not touching each other (or free coils) and the outer overall diameter of the coil I can work out your rate more accurately and indicate how many coils to remove to get a rate you want. The split collars (aka shaft collars) are about $20-$25 and available on line or a fastener shore. I bumped my 710 from 100 to 150 lb./in. Alternatively you can buy coils with the spring rate you want but they may not fit the perch and top hat properly.

 

Extra firm shock, increased spring rate and adjustable ride height for under $50. The way I look at it is, expensive coil overs get set once and then are just along for the ride. You can tie up many hundreds of dollars on something you only use once.

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1983 VOLKSWAGEN RABBIT 1.8L L4

MONROE 86355 (86355:P)

 

These are about 2" shorter.. i.e 2" needs to be sectioned or made up with internal spacers or a combination of spacers and sectioning with the 280zx strut.

 

Can't speak to ride quality on these Monroes, still piecing together my front end but rockauto had them for cheap. FYI based on a quick mock up, I'm finding I'll bind my TC rod and stock sway bar before bottoming the 280zx strut (un-sectioned).

 

Protip, add some spacer above the insert ( in the strut) so even if the strut body bottoms out the insert will not.

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