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Shorting 510 strut


edekalil

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If all you do is lower then the car suspension will travel the same distance going over bumps and dips in the road at the same speed. Nothing has changed but the vehicle is now closer to the moving ground.

 

So you can stiffen the spring. This will reduce suspension travel. Stock springs are too soft to begin with and if not taken to extreme it will 'feel' better too.

 

and/or...

 

You can firm up the dampening of the shock absorbers. On the Nissan strut you can spring for a premium strut 'insert' and your old cars may already have been changed which makes this even easier. Another method, if the strut still has the original oil bath dampers is to replace the thin hydraulic oil with something thicker. Thicker fluid is much harder to push through the tiny valve orifices. This keeps the original compression/rebound valving for YOUR car as opposed to a generic insert that fits many cars. In fact this is how motorcycle suspensions are 'tuned' to the riders preference. The shock absorber oil 'weight' or thickness is increased or decreased. I did this on my Maxima struts I put on my 710. I used 20W BelRay fork oil. My other 710 I tried ATF which has no specific weight but generally is around 7-12W. Haven't driven the sedan much but the wagon with the Maxima struts and 150 lb/in springs lowered... I like it...... I like it a lot.

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Mike just wondering, Are what you all are saying is that you can keep the stock 510 strut without cutting it, remove the perch, grind the weld and use the collar to set the ride height with the stock springs not cutting them and get a ride that will not bottom out?

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But if I did shortin the strut to fit a 280zx insert that would give me some extra advantage I would figure for sure with the shorter springs I had bought way back that are stiffer and would lower the car 2 " because they where 2" shorter without cutting . Here is a pick of one on a 280zx strut I had plans way back in the late 90's to use on my blue 2 door but now plan to go the newer route like some coil overs on it now. And still if using stock springs would you have to cut them. I'm not looking to go more than 2" low due the roads here and in New Orleans. Not trying to beat any dead horses just trying to get a little better understanding of it all.

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As soon as I get the goon up and running I plan to get on the blue 510 and move all the stuff off her and from under her. She's the one I would like to fix all up and put the 280zx struts on and a l20 b in with side draft carbs on. I would love to run it on the track they built in Avondale,La.

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I'll let you know after this weekend when I test it....I have 280zx inserts in those tubes...

You have the stock struts with 280zx inserts, I take it the struts where cut to fit the inserts befor at some time. And using cut stock springs.

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Mike just wondering, Are what you all are saying is that you can keep the stock 510 strut without cutting it, remove the perch, grind the weld and use the collar to set the ride height with the stock springs not cutting them and get a ride that will not bottom out?

 

A couple of inches but you are 2 inches closer to bottoming so... best if you stiffen the springs too. A shorter zx strut is twice as good. It's lower to begin with and has a nice brake up grade.

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A couple of inches but you are 2 inches closer to bottoming so... best if you stiffen the springs too. A shorter zx strut is twice as good. It's lower to begin with and has a nice brake up grade.

That's what I thought, so I will get them shortened to fit a 280zx insert and use the shorter stiffer springs I have and the collars to set the height. That should give me what will work. If I can get to my friends junkyard here in the near future I will look for extra set of 280zx struts with brake components. The ones I already have will be used on the blue car. In the future.

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