Rear suspension upgrades

[gnosez]

Having installed a similar rear bar last year I would suggest adding a spacer to move it about 3/8-1/2 inch back on the carrier legs. Note the angle of the link ends and then consider that angle at full compression. I used two pieces of metal with a cut out tab at end end to hold them in place. Drilling them out will do as well.

[Weasel73240Z]

Having installed a similar rear bar last year I would suggest adding a spacer to move it about 3/8-1/2 inch back on the carrier legs. Note the angle of the link ends and then consider that angle at full compression. I used two pieces of metal with a cut out tab at end end to hold them in place. Drilling them out will do as well.

I though it seemed like the end link was leaning a bit forward, but I figured it was engineered that way. So you put spacers between the new suspension hangers and the sway bar brackets? I see how that would take the leak out of the end link. Did you have a problem with them, or did you just do it because the angle of the end link concerned you?

I have some time, since I have to wait for my new front end link bushing kit to arrive. I guess I should mock up some spacers. Thanks for the input.

[Weasel73240Z]

Installing a rear sway bar should not make you ride any higher. That is strange. Perhaps since the car was jacked up and the suspension was unloaded the car just sits higher since the struts were fully extended. That close clearance spooks me. I guess It is designed to work.

It only lifted it about 3/8" (from 24 5/8" to the wheel arch to 25" after the job), but it does make sense, I think. This is after a 2 mile drive, so everything was settled into place. I always thought my Z had a slight sag in the tail. Now it has to extra strength of the rear sway bar factored into the mix, so I expected the rear would lift up slightly. Just one more rigid member holding the arse end up, or so I assume.

The clearance is spooky, but since everything moves in concert (the sway bar end links and half-shafts are both connected to the lower A-arm), I think the clearance is pretty much a constant.

[LeonV]

An ARB does not nor should not affect ride height, unless it is binding somewhere which would not be good. The only time the ARB comes into play is when the ends are deflected, meaning it only applies a force when one wheel moves with respect to the other wheel. It should not be weight bearing.

[Weasel73240Z]

An ARB does not nor should not affect ride height, unless it is binding somewhere which would not be good. The only time the ARB comes into play is when the ends are deflected, meaning it only applies a force when one wheel moves with respect to the other wheel. It should not be weight bearing.

Nothing is binding, I can move the rear end by hand, by pressing up and down on the bumper. But if you look at the end links, they are leaning, and as Gnose pointed out, that's not good. I suspect the leaning end links could be restricting the rear end from settling all the way down, which may be why it is 3/8" higher now. I bet when I put in the spacers, the 3/8" will be gone.

[bpilati]

I would be cautious in going 100% poly. What you have is a 38 year old structure that has seen its fair share of transient loading and vibration. You might want to keep some rubber in key locations on all corners to allow some pliability. It seems you're building a street car, so I would be careful about stiffening the springs too much. Remember, the Z didn't have a Cadillac suspension to start with. Stock doesn't mean soft, it means a lot better than the worn out suspension you have now. Few people on this site even know what a stock Z rides like, including me. That being said, stock springs are not available from any store or website. We once had some made but to my knowledge they were all sold. You can check with Courtesy Nissan to see if they have any of the Euro springs left, that we had made as well; I don't know if they do. I'm not trying to push a stock setup for everyone, but there was a time where everyone was taking their beatup old Z from worn out to track stiff and lowered, and were later sorry they did. If you're racing and autocrossing a lot, there is no question what you should do. If your driving pothole ridden America, think twice before you make big leaps.

Cars built today are far more rigid and heavier as a result. You can't treat a Z like those cars. You have a 2400 lb GT, not a Formula 1 racer.

I'm building a road car for taking trips, etc.... so I installed new stock springs, stock-type shocks, some poly and an upgraded fr/rr anti-sway bar kit. You might be able to deflect a corner of my car by an inch if you lean on it.

That's my 2 cents. Good luck.

Edited March 14, 2011 by bpilati

[Weasel73240Z]

I'm putting urethane in the front end link bushings. All of the other mounts are stock rubber. My springs are all stock, 38 years old.

Also, my Z only has 29,000 miles on it, 26,000 of them put on by one owner, a very nice old lady from Hopkinton, MA. The other 3,000 were me. Before I started changing things, everything was 100% stock, down to the radio. So it hasn't really been stressed at all, and I have a pretty good idea about how a "stock" Z rides. It certainly isn't a beatup old Z! If my Z had 129,000 miles I'd be concerned about over-stressing it, but this car is barely even broken in, so I think the unibody can handle it. And I don't drive it crazy, just like to push it occasionally.

Once I replace the front end link bushings, I hope I'm done with the suspension changes. Thanks for the input.

[kerii]

Hello,

Yes you are right. i also just changed my sway bar and control arms and they gone because of bad roads. i bought them form this ebay store on very reasonable rates. and now they are working great.

[Zed Head]

Spammer alert. Selling EBay stuff.