Shan

Ben was great - got the replacement sleeves shipped VERY promptly and they fitted over the struts fine. So to wrap up on the saga that is my suspension upgrade.... I went for koni yellows. I had the struts professionally sectioned by 25MM. With koni yellows in the front, this was pretty much all you could section out without getting too fancy or modifying the insert. 25mm should give me enough extra travel and breathing space if I decide to lower the car. I personally think sectioning any more than that - unless you plan to race the car - is probably overkill for the normal Joe. So - I had front and rear strut tubes sectioned by the same 25MM. Since the rear struts are taller, I had the rear koni shocks (inserts) properly modified with a spacer to ensure correct height fitment. I also purchased NEW matching gland nuts for the Koni Shocks. These are the nuts at the top of the strut tubes which hold the shock absorber (strut) firmly in place. In my case I had three different gland nuts used in my suspension from previous owners repairs. None of my suspension had any matching gland nuts - so I could not use them. Additionally, I thought it important that the gland nut should match the koni shock precisely. The gland nuts provided by top performance suspension (Koni distributor in Melb) hold everything in place perfectly. So my struts were cut and the rear koni shocks were height modified with these particular gland nuts in mind. You obviously need to take all these things into account (i.e strut tube, shock insert height and gland nut sizing) with all your measurements. So with my struts sectioned, my koni's height modified (in the rear) and new gland nuts - was ready to look at the sleeves. I purchased the HSD sleeve kit from otomoto and decided on the 5Kg springs all round. I had the suspension out of the car already and taking measurements of std ride height was not really an option, so I decided on the sleeve placement based on comments from Lurch with Sulio's install. In this case it was: Front: from the top of the strut TUBE to the top of the threaded sleeve is 100mm. Rear: from the top of the strut TUBE to the top of the threaded sleeve is 110mm. Since I had sectioned the 25mm from the strut tube, I also took this from the above measurements. So in my case I had insert welded 75mm from tube of strut tube on the front (100mm less 25mm sectioned) and 85mm from top if the tube on the rear (110mm-25mm). These are not on my car yet, so I do not know what the end result (as far as overall adjustment and ride) will be, but I figure it should be ok. Bloody hope so. The sleeves have lot's of adjustment as they have a bit of length, but I am also aware that adjusting too much can effect springs ability to perform (captive spring etc). So yeah - I hope I did that one right. Any feedback on what I have done would be appreciated on that. Was the only thing I was a bit funny about and had no car to take effective ride height measurements from - so had to read posts and wing it a little. I plan on putting 17's similar to sulio's on the car, so figure it should all be ok. Shan.

Yeah - agreed - Ben is helpful. This particular issue is not really an Otomoto problem.....more of an HSD accuracy issue I suppose. Good to know re. adjustment and wear of sleeve. Obviously whatever coating they have is robust enough to stop the elements. Do not plan to be adjusting mine much either, but it is bound to be necessary at some point. Cheers for the info Gareth.

OK. I did some googling. Apparently "steel" cannot be effectively anodised? "Anodizing of steel is not feasible, and the simplest explanation is that whereas aluminum oxide can form a tight, tenacious, corrosion resistant coating, iron oxide (rust) cannot." So yeah - if these sleeves are steel - I am a little more concerned. There are other ways of treating steel though - but these mostly refer to stainless steel. I doubt these are stainless steel though? Anyone got some knowledge they can share on the subject? Perhaps these sleeves are not plain steel - I made that assumption based on the cost of the units....maybe they made of something else? Ideas anyone?

Grrrrr.....suspension stuff is getting to me..... I have the HSD kit from Otomoto and I am currently trying to fit it to the strut housing. ONE of the provided sleeves slides over perfectly. The other THREE do not. Seems the are ALL fractionally different measurements. Not good. SO yeah - seems like they have not been bored out correctly and have different internal diameters. Not really inspiring my confidence in the product, but hopefully it is an isolated case. Added to that - I thought the sleeve itself was made out of plain old steel. I would have thought these would be plated or something, but otomoto say the are anodized, so hopefully that is good enough for wear and tear in the suspension area. Otomoto also said some guys heat up the inserts and drop them in transmission fluid to seal them?? If they are anodized, dunno why they would do that? Anwyays... Otomoto are being cool about it all though and seem to be coming to the party - just thought I should mention some of my concerns re. the HSD Kit. Can anyone offer experienced view on how this product is doing on their Zed? Any issue with the sleeve (fitment or wear)? Cheers!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Datsun-Z-Series-240Z-Possibly-Top-Datsun-240Z-World-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem43a3d66beaQQitemZ290511547370QQptZUSQ5fCarsQ5fTrucks Why - after putting the love into something like that - would you sell it?? Damn....

Would obviously prefer them to be in good condition BUT happy to consider what you have? If I only need to recover part of the seat - may still be a viable option for me. PM and let me know what you got. Cheers.

I am still chasing 2+2 Rear Seats in black! Any assistance would be appreciated!

Lowering the car may also have effected your steering. Search google for "scrub radius" images. Can really effect things. May not apply in your case - worth checking though.

Sorry mate - will be fitted to my car in the next couple of weeks all going well. Did not mean to mislead you - only posted picture to assist! You may wish to try hybridz and ebay US - see them on there from time to time. Good luck.

OK. Been doing further research on this. All I can say is it gets VERY complicated the more I dig into it (either that or the people I speak to are making it complicated for me). Guys at TopPerformance really know their stuff - my head was spinning after a chat with one of the guys there. Good advice though. NatO was also awesome with his assistance - very helpful. Like NatO mentions above, he left the strut housing alone (no sectioning) and used shims (like spacers/washers) to ensure the smaller Koni strut insert (shock absorber) fitted into the longer strut housing/tube without moving around. So essentially, with the use of cleverley made spacers, he made the shorter Koni inserts fit into the longer strut tube. Plus point is no structural changes were needed. Aside from fabricating the spacers (which he had made properly), nothing needs to be changed. Only negative point is the strut insert "travel" is compromised - if only a fraction. Not an issue in most circumstances. However - if you plan to go LOW - you will likely need every bit of travel the the strut insert (shock absorber) can provide. In these cases sectioning is necessary. Sectioning has been explained before, but essentially this means you chop a section out of strut tube/housing. i.e cutting in the middle of the strut housing - taking a section out, then welding it back together to make it shorter. Thereby making the strut housing shorter to suit the new shorter strut insert (i.e shock absorber) you are putting onto the car. Bump stops are also recommended if going low. For those who do not know - these are basically a donut which slides down the shaft of the strut insert (shock absorber) to stop it from bottoming out. So if you hit a heavy bump, your shock absorber (strut insert) contracts and hits the bump stop (instead of damaging itself). Like a doorstop in your house prevents you from damaging walls if you open a door too far. Same concept. Now I found a guy willing to provide a RWC with the coilovers (mate of a mate etc), so my options have changed. I was going to follow NatO's advice and get the car on the road first - chop later. There was going to be a bit of work putting suspension back on the car - only to have to take it off again, but it was a BETTER option than getting an engineer. For the record - it will cost at least $250 for an engineer to "start" a file on your car with some photos and info in it. After that - there are more costs. I reckon it would end up costing anywhere up to $1000 to get just the suspension engineered - nothing else. "If" you decided to section and go the "official" route for RWC - it will cost. NatO's suggestion was a good one if you were concerned about the RWC. You can get the strut inserts you want, with the springs you want and still get the RWC. If you found later you did need more suspension travel - then section the strut with no-one being the wiser. There are a LOT of other things to consider though. If you are going low and changing tyre offsets - there are things like camber and scrub radius to consider. It can all get VERY complicated. Do your research and make sure you know what you are getting yourself into. If you are going for a coilover insert from Otomoto, you also need to carefully consider what you are doing, where you are going to weld the coilover sleave on the strut, what spring rates (spring strength) you are getting. This is not just for the ride/feel, but the spring needs to suit the shock absorber/strut you have purchased. For those who want to know - this is what I reckon I have settled on: - Koni Yellow (for external adjustment) - Sectioned struts - Otomoto coilover with 5KG springs (was thinking 4KG, but Koni yellow more suited to a 5KG). - Possibly Otomoto camber plates to suit (to assist with handling and tyre wear). Still have a lot of research to do though... Hope this helps some of you other suspension rookies.

I think he is after something like the unit I have. Looks a like this after a polish and a nice fuel rail....much tidier than std with all the pollution rubbish on it.

I am after some rear seats for my 260z. Want them in BLACK only though. Let me know where you are and how much. Cheers.

Just had a look on my ebay to check what I ordered! Gauge I purchased definitely says VOLTS. Thankfully! Thought I might have ordered an AMP unit by mistake for a minute there!

Hi Alan, I got impatient and ordered one in from the states yesterday! Bugga. Thanks for the kind offer though. Cheers.

I have mentioned this before - educated guess - I would say this is a "tax dodge". I reckon the two Zeds he continues to advertise "for sale" are his personal cars. If he advertises them and "never" sells them - he can claim the stock as a loss on his business books. That's why when people ask if it is for sale - his staff say "kind of" - 'cause they do not know if the question is coming from an undercover tax inspector OR a genuine enquiry. Essentially he gets to own the cars while his business slowly pays for them via the loss adjustment. Cars will eventually pay for themselves and will be written off as "unsellable stock". Not a very honest way to be going about things. Possibly a reflection how he manages the rest of his business? Dunno. While I can't blame a guy for wanting to get back at the taxman - doing it this way would be confusing a lot of potential Z car owners - which ain't so cool. Would laugh if someone comes up with cash and goes the "buy it now" option on ebay. He will be legally obligated to sell! Just guessing mind you.....

Shim above the insert? Hmmm... Sent you a PM.

Hmmmm... Will call the engineer I have details for next week and suss it out.....see what is involved "exactly" with suspension approval. He worked on Zeds previously, so should be able to set me straight fast enough. That being said - if whole strut is painted and looking schmick with new springs, inserts etc etc - not sure how anyone is supposed to tell whether it is a sleave kit or a new coilover manufactured "package". :-\

Hi guys, Looking for a fuel/volts gauge to replace a faulty unit in my datto. Let me know where you are and how much ya want. Cheers.

And a valuable 2.2cents worth it is! So you reckon the K-Mac camber adjustment is not worth looking at? Was considering what I was going to do about camber adjustment - particularly since I plan to lower the zed a fair bit. That was my other dilemma - did many of you guys bother with camber adjustment after lowering? Should I bother with camber if vehicle is mostly for general road use? I was thinking about tyre wear and safety etc etc, but I am beginning to think that maybe it is not that necessary. Does not seem like the majority have bothered (unless track work is involved). Would appreciate thoughts on that. For the record - I am leaning towards the following: BenZed Coilovers. -Seem to be the best value around that I can find. 4KG Springs. - Based on comments (so far anyway), the 4KG should provide a comfortable ride for general road use without being too soft. Insert Koni Yellow externally adjustable - was thinking of saving a buck or two with KYB AGX's, but if I am doing this - might as well go the whole nine yards. Koni seem to be the favoured insert amongst forum members - with the exception of the odd KYB fan. Going with the numbers on this one I think. Sectioning struts (after measuring). Suspect it will be about 25-30mm from what I have read. New bump stops. Not a necessity, but extra insurance against insert damage. We have also concluded (kind of) that: a) coilover are OK for Roadworthy b) sectioning not ok BUT very hard to tell once conversion is done. I reckon a good chance to get away with it (each person should make their own judgement call on that though). c) camber adjustment - still waiting to decide on that. Will let a few more peeps weight in I reckon...

KatoKid - that was a good question also. According to the posts I have seen - coilover replacement is legal. One you section the struts and all that - is another matter altogether. It may get past the relevant inspectors. Depends on how tidy the work is. How the hell a vic roads inspector will know if a strut has been sectioned - I don't know. How they know a Datsun strut does not look like that from the factory is what I woud be interested to know. Confirmation on this would be helpful.

Just to throw a spanner in the works - anyone seen these before: http://www.k-mac.com.au/pages/newprods/datsun/datsun_coil_jackers.htm Dang!

Thanks for the great advice guys. Gareth - I now recall you mentioning these KYB AGX's in another post. 4 way externally adjustable sounds VERY attractive as well. Just did some research on them and they seem like a great alternative. Fair price as well. So if I was to go down this path, you are suggesting the following: Springs = 4kg Inserts = KYB AGX's Struts = sectioned 30mm to suit AGX's Other = new bump stops + drill out strut top locating hole + Benzed coilovers Doing this should provide me with 4way adjustable coilovers with nice road handling. Have I got that right?

OK. Revisiting one of my old threads. Managed in the end to get the suspension out of my car. Currently on a hoist in the shop who agreed to leave it there for now. Had saved my $$$, had packaged up my struts for shipment and was about to send the up to BenZed to get the HSD/TT Damper conversion done...but... appears that Otomoto have run out of TT dampers and do not know when they are getting the next order coming in - TBA. Grrrrrrr. My timing - as always - is impeccable. Car cannot stay where it is for long, so need to look at other options now. So was going through my options again and wanted to get some clarification before actioning..... Although out of TT dampers, Otomoto DO have the HSD sleeve/coilover kits. So in line with the previous options listed on this post - I was thinking of doing the following: 1. Get the struts sectioned as Dimitri suggested. 25mm from front and back struts. "Metalworks" he mentioned in Moorabbin is not far from my work - so can drop them off in a lunch break. 2. Get the coilover kit from ben. Comes with everything I need including the springs. 3. Get the correct insert/damper to suit spring rates. 4. Have a crack at fitting it all together (based on the info here on the forum + kind advisors - should be simple enough). So - what I was hoping confirm with you all was the following..... Some obvious questions - I know - however just want to clarify what I have read is correct ok. 1. Sectioning struts? - I just tell the shop to section 25mm from the middle of each strut and they will do the rest? Anything else I need to tell them? - Also confirming I get them to take same 25mm off front AND back? Should I cut more out for greater suspension travel or is 25mm plenty? **Will use Metalworks as Dimitri suggested. 2. Coilover kit - seems otomoto provide options with different spring rates. I checked and they have all springs available in stock, so can pick what I want. Suggestions? I will be mainly road driving/cruising with occasional hard driving. I do not want a ride that knocks my teeth out when I hit a bump. I know Lurch suggests in a post to get 6kg rears and 5kg fronts - will this provide a suitable comfort level without being too soft? - want to lower my car as well. I assume the HSD springs provided with the kit are a "lowered" type of spring yeah? Or am I wrong? 3. Inserts. - Koni's seem to provide the most bang for buck from what I have read. KYB and Billsteins are also mentioned. Based on my above requirement for lowering, but considering comfort/bit of fun over "extreme" performance - which is the best insert for me? - Where is the best place to purchase and get them "valved" correctly? Thanks as always! Shan

Congrats mate! Looks awesome.

Like seagulls to a thrown chip..... I am away this weekend maygz, but if you could hold off until monday on the sections I have indicated - (drivers side front and passenger pillar) - I will give you a definite answer then. At this point they are the only sections I require.....(god I hope so anyway!).