Edited; November 19th 2021. Included is a link to the most up to date 350Z swap thread, which is also directly above this in the "Suspension" tab. Mine is outdated and my interests have moved. @s550andmn12 has completed the swap and is perfecting it, so click the link to his thread for the newest information.
If you are only interested in fitting the front struts/coilovers onto your car, skip to post #11. The first installments are fitting the rears which take more modification and there are easier options. If you want full coilovers, read on
As long as I have been on this forum (granted, Ive been gone for a while), one of the biggest and most asked questions have had to do with struts/shocks. Since Tokico stopped producing pieces for our cars, we have had to resort to finding NOS pieces, making our own, or dealing with the soft shocks that are available. I had found a set of NOS sport shocks that ended up going on my 96. They are starting to soften, I guess just with age they can go bad. I found another set of sport rears, also NOS, that were blown right out of the unopened package.
I had heard of people mess with the Lexus SC coilovers but I looked at another vehicle. The Nissan 350z. It, like our cars, has a 2 piece rear design with a strut up front. Both have similar mounting points. The 350 is lighter but both cars have similar spring rates. So, I tried a set of 350z coilovers on my old 89 SC. And by God, they fit just about directly. I just about because I had to get a longer bolt for the rear lower shock mount and I did have to cut the centering perch (I just made up a name) out to fit the spring. I also HAD to use mark 8 lowers to cut a lower centering perch small enough for the spring to not move around.
I have not sat the car down yet so I dont know how low it will sit, or exactly how it rides. But given the aftermarket support for the Z, and knowing now that the pieces fit, I can imagine this might be a big deal for those who want to have more faith in the corners without buying a lathe, or those who just want to bolt in some new shocks, which I will be doing on my Red 90 because I also have stock Z components to try on that. I have not installed the fronts yet but I know the LCA strut bushing will have to be trimmed, which I see no issue in doing.
Yes, pictured are 2 different brand coil overs. No name oranges are going on the 89, Teins will be going on the 96.
Biltstein B8 350Z front shocks installed on 96 XR7
First and foremost I just wanted to say I have been a long time lurker soaking up information throughout the forums and been following the 350Z shock thread closely. I just wanted to join to say this project is not a bust and give credit where due to Wile E. I chose Bilstein B8's because they...
www.tccoa.com
If you are only interested in fitting the front struts/coilovers onto your car, skip to post #11. The first installments are fitting the rears which take more modification and there are easier options. If you want full coilovers, read on
As long as I have been on this forum (granted, Ive been gone for a while), one of the biggest and most asked questions have had to do with struts/shocks. Since Tokico stopped producing pieces for our cars, we have had to resort to finding NOS pieces, making our own, or dealing with the soft shocks that are available. I had found a set of NOS sport shocks that ended up going on my 96. They are starting to soften, I guess just with age they can go bad. I found another set of sport rears, also NOS, that were blown right out of the unopened package.
I had heard of people mess with the Lexus SC coilovers but I looked at another vehicle. The Nissan 350z. It, like our cars, has a 2 piece rear design with a strut up front. Both have similar mounting points. The 350 is lighter but both cars have similar spring rates. So, I tried a set of 350z coilovers on my old 89 SC. And by God, they fit just about directly. I just about because I had to get a longer bolt for the rear lower shock mount and I did have to cut the centering perch (I just made up a name) out to fit the spring. I also HAD to use mark 8 lowers to cut a lower centering perch small enough for the spring to not move around.
I have not sat the car down yet so I dont know how low it will sit, or exactly how it rides. But given the aftermarket support for the Z, and knowing now that the pieces fit, I can imagine this might be a big deal for those who want to have more faith in the corners without buying a lathe, or those who just want to bolt in some new shocks, which I will be doing on my Red 90 because I also have stock Z components to try on that. I have not installed the fronts yet but I know the LCA strut bushing will have to be trimmed, which I see no issue in doing.
Yes, pictured are 2 different brand coil overs. No name oranges are going on the 89, Teins will be going on the 96.