What's up with these springs?

[HAZELNUTRACER]

Howdy Folks,

My '71 240z is equipped with tokico adjustable shocks and eibach springs from the PO. The ride is very harsh even on the softest setting.The .001s are in the front and the.202s are in the back. The rear springs have most of the coils touching(see photos). Is this common when springs wear out? Or could they be installed incorrectly. The fronts look pretty normal. The car is riding on some pretty stiff(and worn) Falken tires which I plan on replacing with something a little less aggressive once I get the suspension issue sorted out. Thanks for any help

[jmortensen]

Search and you'll find that those are progressive springs, and what you see there is normal for a progressive spring. Yours are installed upside down, but that really doesn't make any difference in the ride.

[beandip]

Howdy Folks,

My '71 240z is equipped with tokico adjustable shocks and eibach springs from the PO. The ride is very harsh even on the softest setting.The .001s are in the front and the.202s are in the back. The rear springs have most of the coils touching(see photos). Is this common when springs wear out? Or could they be installed incorrectly. The fronts look pretty normal. The car is riding on some pretty stiff(and worn) Falken tires which I plan on replacing with something a little less aggressive once I get the suspension issue sorted out. Thanks for any help

The setup you have should be super for the track. Since I use my Z 99% on the street I went with a softer ride. Still handles vary well on the twisties . My springs are linear in design, all the coils are evenly spaced. I have the euro stage 1 springs that Courtesy Nissan might still have in stock. Also KYB G-2 struts. I have lowered my Z a couple of inches and the ride is smooth but firmer than stock. I installed bump stops all the way around also. I am vary happy with how my Z rides and handles. A few years ago Courtesy had 40 sets of these springs only and no other dealer would have them.

Gary:rambo:

[gotswap]

Interesting that you mention this. Whatever springs that were put on my newly purchased Z are amost completely bound. It seems that I may have at max 2" of compression travel. Those will be replaced soon.

[jmortensen]

Interesting that you mention this. Whatever springs that were put on my newly purchased Z are amost completely bound. It seems that I may have at max 2" of compression travel. Those will be replaced soon.

Those are probably the Tokico springs. Search that and you'll see similar threads...

[gotswap]

That is it exactly. Good read

Thanks!

[HAZELNUTRACER]

I believe (per previous threads) that they are installed right side up as the Eibach logo and id numbers are right side up. I figured the 6 or 7 coils touching equalled zero travel from those coils. If they are supposed to be that way I guess I don't fully understand how progressive springs work. Beandip, I've wanted the euro springs because that's the ride I'm looking for. Unfortunately I cannot find any for sale. Anyone know of a similar spring to the euro? How about the tokico hp?

[Arne]

The euro springs are a good compromise, once they have been cut down to correct the ride height. (Mine are cut 1.5 coils in front, and 2 full coils in back to work with my KYBs.) But - as you've found - Courtesy is sold out now. All of the currently available third-party springs except one are designed to lower the car, and are therefore harsher riding than the euros. The exception is Arizona Z Car's springs. They don't lower a 240Z, and are linear, not progressive. But their spring rates are much higher than the euros, and so are probably quite a bit harsher.

Watch the classifieds here, as well as eBay. Every once in a while a set of euros is offered.

Edited August 12, 2008 by Arne

[jmortensen]

I believe (per previous threads) that they are installed right side up as the Eibach logo and id numbers are right side up. I figured the 6 or 7 coils touching equalled zero travel from those coils. If they are supposed to be that way I guess I don't fully understand how progressive springs work. Beandip, I've wanted the euro springs because that's the ride I'm looking for. Unfortunately I cannot find any for sale. Anyone know of a similar spring to the euro? How about the tokico hp?

The top half of a spring is sprung weight, and the bottom is unsprung weight. When you install the spring with the bound coils down, you increase the unsprung weight, which is bad. They should be installed with the bound coils on top, regardless of how Eibach is printed on them.

Similar case with the halfshafts. The heavy part should be attached to the diff, the light part should attach to the wheel, for the same reason.

[Carl Beck]

Is a coil spring, with "0" clearance between the coils really a "spring" or is it just a "coil of spring steel".

Is it possible that someone has heated these springs, to let them collapse? Maybe to lower the ride height?

???????

Carl B.

[HAZELNUTRACER]

Thanks to all for the continued help and info. Arne, I just checked out your website. Awesome. What a wealth of information for a novice such as myself. Jmortenson, thanks for the explanation though I'm still a little foggy on understanding it. But if flipping the rear springs will soften up my ride, that is a simple solution to save my aching spine and also some $$!! Thanks again.

[John Coffey]

The exception is Arizona Z Car's springs. They don't lower a 240Z, and are linear, not progressive. But their spring rates are much higher than the euros, and so are probably quite a bit harsher.

FYI... the Tokico springs for the 280Z are linear front and rear and have the same rate as the Arizona Z Car springs (185 lb. in. front and 200 lb. in. rear). They will work on a 240Z but you have to cut coils to get the ride height you want.

FYI2... shock compression damping has a much larger affect on felt ride harshness (impact harshness) then spring rate. A really good shock with stiff springs is a much better ride then a crappy shock with soft springs.