120y suspension

[Nicholas Foster]

I'm looking for adjustable height coilovers for my Datsun 120y, any suggestions?

[datzenmike]

If you have the money just about anything on line will do for coil overs. But I find that if only lowering 2-3 inches, coil overs are too expensive to waste money on when in reality, once you get your ride height set, coil overs just go along for the ride and do nothing. If you had a race car that needed 'tuning' several times during a race... sure.  Set once, never set again... foolish. The money could be better put to use on new brakes or tires.

 

If you want to lower your car and have an adjustable ride height just like a coil over, there are cheaper options if you don't mind doing some small work yourself. I mean, you have to take the stock struts off anyway if you were going to coil overs, so why not just re-work them? You can do this for about $25.

 

 

 

What about your choice of spring?

 

You can't lower forever and not expect to bottom out the strut. A few inches is ok but if you keep the stock spring the car suspension is going to travel the same distance but you are now 2-3 inches closer to bottoming out on the road or bottoming the strut. If wanting extremely low it's advisable to get shorter struts. Increasing the coil spring rate is very important on a lowered vehicle. It would otherwise travel the same distance on a bounce, but now you are dangerously closer to the pavement. Increasing the spring rate reduces suspension travel. Most cars come from the factory with a 'soft' suspension and some firming of the spring improves the handing.

 

At the same time while the coil spring is out, you can calculate it's spring rate (stiffness) and once you figure out what stiffness you want you can trim the coil to increase it. Yes, shortening a coil spring makes it stiffer. Try it and trim it more to increase the rate but have a care as once cut, you can't put it back. So far.... adjustable ride height and stiffer spring... about $25 plus $5 for a cut off blade for your angle grinder.

 

Shock absorber. (or damper) If you have the original oil filled dampers in your 120Y struts you can increase their dampening firmness by emptying the thin hydraulic oil out and replace it with 20W motorcycle fork oil. (about $20 a liter and you can go thicker or thinner and 'tune' them, something you can't do with boughten inserts) The thicker weight oil is harder to push through the internal valves. If your strut dampers have already been replaced with inserts, well it's too late for this.  Now we have adjustable ride height, firmer spring rate, renewed dampers... about $40. Interested?