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210 front suspension


terrence

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I am planning on a coilover conversion for a 210 and trying to weigh my options.  I can buy 280zx strut/brakes/springs/hub for $250 locally, but I am going to be chopping up most of it to put on adjustable perches, new springs and shocks.  Is the brake upgrade from 280zx really worth the money if I am only going to run stock motor?  My other option is to just convert the stock suspension and use the saved money to get camber plates.

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So you're instead spending that or more on adjustable coil overs that once set to the ride height you want, never get adjusted again? That's a lot of money riding around doing nothing. Get the 280zx struts and cut the lower spring perches off and put your B-210 ones on supported in place with split collars. $25 and also adjustable, with some effort, but not tying up hundreds of dollars. You can trim the B-210 spring to make them stiffer and add new (shock) inserts.

 

 

 

What I did was remove the stock coil spring and carefully cut the bottom spring perch off so it's free to move up or down the strut tube and use 2" split collars to support them. The collars are about $20-$25 for two pair and each can support 5,000 pounds.

 

Lowering the ride height on the same springs is likely to result in bottoming the car out so a stiffer spring rate is advised. Springs get 'stiffer' the shorter they are cut. 

 

Next I worked out the spring rate using a handy formula using multiply and divide (anyone can do this in seconds with a calculator and some careful measurements of their spring) and selected how much to cut off to get a 50% stiffer spring. Best to cut lesser amounts and try it rather than cut too much... you can't put it back on if you cut too much.

 

Last....my struts still had the original oil bath dampers so I drained the old thin watery hydraulic fluid out and replaced with thicker motorcycle fork oil. I selected 20w and it's thicker and harder to push through the valves giving a firmer ride. If you don't have them they were likely replaced with inserts which are expensive. Twenty weight Bel Ray fork oil was under $20 a liter.... enough to do 3 struts.

 

The way I see it, once you get your ride height dialed in, what good are adjustable coil overs??? They are just hundreds of dollars going along for the ride.

 

So my 710 has a firmer ride, spring and damper (shock) and if I wanted I can adjust the ride height but haven't in 5 years. Total cost under $50.

 

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Carefully slit the spring perch off by cutting just above the weld... Angle grinder or even a hacksaw will do.

 

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Smooth away the weld so the perch and split collar is free to slid past it to adjust...

 

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To get 150 lb/in spring rate I cut about 1 1/4 coil off. Yours will be different, all springs are different.

 

 

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Pipe wrench to remove gland nut.

 

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Fish out this O ring and everything lifts out.

 

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Pour out the old. Fill with new oil and assemble. Loosely fit the gland nut and pull the strut rod out to full length and compress. With help hold strut upside down and do the same to get all the bubbles out. Check the oil level and top up, leaving 1/4" for heat expansion.

 

You can do this in a morning or a day if you take your time. $50 and you can say...

 

 

I did this using Maxima struts and the brakes are great. Big caliper and vented rotor.... but like coil overs........ no one can see them.

 

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