Hopefully looking at making some changes to my Zed before I put it back on the road in spring. I'm looking at rebuilding as much of the underside as I have time for over the winter, including undersealing but mainly looking at swapping out the suspension and possibly adjustable arms and the like.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions on available stuff, there seems to be a fair few options on Concept Z or are people preferring stock arms?

 

Any "well if you're taking that out you might as well do..." to be aware of? (I'm sticking with HICAS).

 

Current setup is KYB AGX/Eibach fitted by a previous owner. Its had a bushing kit a few years ago before I purchased it (can't remember the brand in the receipts but bought from DTA if anyone knows who that is/was)

 

I think I'll be going with Meister R's (the £750 option) as heard good things in general, how are they on the Zed? Which option do people have for mainly road use?

Which option do people have for mainly road use?

 

KYB AGX/Eibach, stock bushes with Nismo bushes for tension rods and FUCA's with camber spacers for adjustment.

got race teins I brought from here 7 years ago to on

What is the end goal here?

What is the end goal here?

 

The plan is to replace brake lines, discs and pads which will all be needed for the MOT, and at same time underseal it and go for powdercoating on parts, but I’m starting to look into whether that would be the time to replace any arms for upgraded adjustable. Is there much point for mainly normal & fast road and the very occasional track day?

 

The bushings would have to be binned when powder coating so was looking into best options for those, whether to go stock/Nismo (unless NLA) or upgraded again. I gather the Nismo would sit in between stock and upgraded in performance/comfort? (I think I remember Si talking about these so will search that post out)

 

From what I gather the stock rear camber has a bit of adjustment and none on the front? If so, what sort of height reduction would you need to start looking at going adjustable front and upgraded rear camber arms?

With the KYB/Eibach you have now the easiest way is with:

 

https://www.z1motorsports.com/suspension/300-degree/300-degree-front-camber-kit-p-2918.html

 

Nismo bushes are a harder durometer than stock but still give good NVH performance.

 

Not all OEM bushes are available in their Nismo equivalents, most notably the rear subframe and differential

mounting bushes.

 

nismo z32 suspension bushes.pdf

Edited July 16, 20187 yr by AndrewG
diff mounting bushes

My excellent recommendations for suspension are:

 

Meister R coilovers as the level of adjustment is superb.

 

Powertrix suspension arms with additional dust boots as this will prolong the life and new bushes too.

 

It’s the set up I’m running with and I can tell you it is excellent having used others before like Driftworks and Japspeed arms which were just inferior in quality.

Funnily enough I found the old spec sheet for the car and it used to have a full set of Powertrix arms, but the previous owner reverted back to stock before I bought it. I'm thinking of Meisters as they have height adjustment. I've never been happy with how the KYBs sit since I had the springs swapped (I'm a fussy git lol!)

 

Andrew that camber kit looks good and will check through that pdf for the bushes. Think the KYB/Eibach combo lowers by 20mm if I remember, so do the standard rear arms allow much more adjustment?. I wouldn't want to go much lower than it is now but just have a bit more control over the heights which the Meisters afford.

If minimising NVH is important to you, I would avoid any adjustable arms with solid joints (everything Powertrix or similar) as they will ruin it!

 

As Andrew has pointed out, you can get the adjustment on the front with a 300degree camber kit and there is one company (SPC) making adjustable arms to adjust the rear that use rubber bushes. You can buy these arms from the US but as they haven’t been around for too long, there’s no real world reports on the durability of the rubber yet.

 

I would definitely recommend the MeisterR coilovers but, if you want a street compliant suspension that’s nice and comfortable without being crashy, ask for the 6/4 spring weight combo as it makes the car so much nicer to drive. When you take it on the occasional track session, you can dial up the rebound to firm it up a bit. You’ll also need some decent anti-roll bars to counter the body roll but once they’re on [emoji41][emoji106]

Edited July 15, 20187 yr by Joely P

The biggest issue is once you go below about 20-30mm lower you need to do things properly or not at all which is expensive and can be faffy. At this stage you only need the stock or small adjustments, no need for expensive and compromising aftermarket arms with solid bushes (which need maintenance).

A modest drop, with a spring rate no higher than the 6-4 recommendation, front camber adjustment with shims and some new bushes will give you a very compliant car that’s useable and real world quick. Every bit lower and every aftermarket arm adds compromise. Wether that’s, vibration, noise, crash or simply the places you can go.

My cars great but... it’s full of compromises.

I’m hoping to do the same sort of thing this winter Adam. My aim is to have a smooth, quite ride whilst trying to remove roll whilst retaining and restoring as many of the original components as possible (OEM+).

I have tokico illumina shocks on standard springs (although I do want to lower it a little, so if anyone can recommend a set that would fit my brief I’d be great full for the advice). I’ve been looking for Nismo bushes but they seem hard to find. Theres also a lot of Whiteline and Energy Supression products but from what I’ve read these seem to be former than the Nismo product.

Stephen said it with what is the end goal, expectation and achievability of that is not always clear.

 

One thing I will say from the off is, all after market suspension will by design not last as long as standard, many rose jointed arms will not have adequate dust and water seals on the ball sections, the actual construction metal whilst light weight will be more susceptible to damage via the zillion pot holes on UK roads and many more things such as cost and quality become an issue with after market parts.

 

The use of standard new shocks on slightly lowered progressive springs that firm up in the corners but give a comfortable ride when cruising along are in my opinion just perfect for the z.

 

Add in some new genuine anti roll bushes drop links front and rear, do not what ever anyone says fit nylon bushes to the subframe unless you have a dentist on speed dial, along with a hearing specialist too.

 

On my own zed, I started at the rear and over an 18 month period, I worked forward replacing all the moving and complaint parts that I could with new stock items, the only non genuine been a set of chassis dynamic springs. what I ended up with was a factory tight drive with good comfort and a nice stance, added in set of 18" shiny wheels and over 13 years later the car was still a joy to drive.

 

Now here is the thing, in that time I did around 20k miles so not exactly a perfect test of my approach as a long term mileage test, but I would hazzard a guess that very few zeds are daily drivers in the UK and if so, still not massive mileage.

 

It is knowing what you want, what you can live with and in a time frame that suits you, along with budget too, it is actually likely I paid out more for genuine Nissan parts than after market stuff, so was not a cost thing for me, just choice.

 

Jeff

 

Edited July 15, 20187 yr by JeffTT

I’m not very hot on springs, what do you mean by “6-4” and “chassis dynamic springs”? Can you recommend a spring set that will drop the car around 20-30 and not be harsh?

Kg per mm, the amount of force required for compression.

I’m hoping to do the same sort of thing this winter Adam. My aim is to have a smooth, quite ride whilst trying to remove roll whilst retaining and restoring as many of the original components as possible (OEM+).

I have tokico illumina shocks on standard springs (although I do want to lower it a little, so if anyone can recommend a set that would fit my brief I’d be great full for the advice). I’ve been looking for Nismo bushes but they seem hard to find. Theres also a lot of Whiteline and Energy Supression products but from what I’ve read these seem to be former than the Nismo product.

 

I had Energy red poly bushes, Whiteline ARB's and Tein coilovers on my Prelude a while back. I'm surprised I'm not crippled with that combo! The Energy bushes are quite harsh definately a fair bit over stock on that car, although the ones I replaced with were fairy worn.

 

I think I'm definitely looking for similar setup to what you are after, softer ride bout 20-30mm lowered.

 

Cheers for the advice everyone so far, so thinking at the mo:

 

Meister-R coilovers

Uprated ARB's

OEM/Nismo bushings

300 degree front camber arms

Powder coating remainder of OEM arms

 

Just a couple of questions:

 

1) On the Meister R's can you specify spring rates on the lower priced version (£749 ZetaCRD 8/6) or is it just the £1500 GT1 made to order model?

2) Any recommendations on ARBs? I have used Whiteline in the past and been happy with them both performance and durability

 

Cheers!

Edited July 15, 20187 yr by Adam D

Whiteline ARB’s are good I’ve had them before on a zed and I don’t think there are any others that come close although there are a very limited selection for zeds.

1) On the Meister R's can you specify spring rates on the lower priced version (£749 ZetaCRD 8/6) or is it just the £1500 GT1 made to order model?

2) Any recommendations on ARBs? I have used Whiteline in the past and been happy with them both performance and durability

 

Cheers!

 

1) You can specify spring rate when ordering on all versions

2) Im not sure Whiteline offer a rear ARB anymore for the Z32. If you want to research ARBs, then they are called "Sway bars" in the U.S

1) You can specify spring rate when ordering on all versions

2) Im not sure Whiteline offer a rear ARB anymore for the Z32. If you want to research ARBs, then they are called "Sway bars" in the U.S

 

Stillen kit...........................https://conceptzperformance.com/items.php?c=1&p=155&page=1

 

Combine this with the Meister coilovers to form the basis of a great handling car.

It’s my understanding that UK cars have thicker ARBs already. Is it still worth replacing on UK cars?

It’s my understanding that UK cars have thicker ARBs already. Is it still worth replacing on UK cars?

 

On the rear only- 21mm vs 27mm

 

Fronts are the same.

If you want sale your lowering springs, i am taker ;)

On the rear only- 21mm vs 27mm

 

Fronts are the same.

 

Thanks mate. Just to confirm JDM is 21mm and UK is 27mm. Is it really worth changining the rear on a UK car for another mm or two?

Thanks mate. Just to confirm JDM is 21mm and UK is 27mm. Is it really worth changining the rear on a UK car for another mm or two?

 

The Stillen ARB kit uses a 21mm thick solid bar on the rear. This is significantly heavier than the 27mm hollow tube found in UK cars and has arguably the same performance. What you do benefit from is the adjustable position for the drop links so you can customise the leverage of the bar. Based on that I’d say yes, it’s certainly worth upgrading to the Stillen kit.

 

You’ll need to upgrade the front anyway and I’m fairly sure that Stillen only supply these as a kit. The Stillen front bar is 28mm solid. Mike Feeney (MJP) is an authorised UK Stillen dealer so it would be worth asking him for the current best price.

Thanks mate. Just to confirm JDM is 21mm and UK is 27mm. Is it really worth changining the rear on a UK car for another mm or two?

 

That mm or two as you put it is significant when you do the maths.

21 to 27 is 6mm.

But when you look at cross sectional area this is what you get.

21mm = 346 sq mm

27mm = 572 sq mm.

A 65% increase.

 

Thats comparing hollow bar to hollow bar.

You cant directly compare it to the solid Stillen bar.

Stillen kit...........................https://conceptzperformance.com/items.php?c=1&p=155&page=1

 

Combine this with the Meister coilovers to form the basis of a great handling car.

 

 

 

The Stillen ARB kit uses a 21mm thick solid bar on the rear. This is significantly heavier than the 27mm hollow tube found in UK cars and has arguably the same performance. What you do benefit from is the adjustable position for the drop links so you can customise the leverage of the bar. Based on that I’d say yes, it’s certainly worth upgrading to the Stillen kit.

 

You’ll need to upgrade the front anyway and I’m fairly sure that Stillen only supply these as a kit. The Stillen front bar is 28mm solid. Mike Feeney (MJP) is an authorised UK Stillen dealer so it would be worth asking him for the current best price.

 

 

Cheers guys, liking the look of the Stillen kit so will give Mike a shout

Thanks for the info.

 

Cheers guys, liking the look of the Stillen kit so will give Mike a shout

 

We could try a little group buy if there’s the interest?