I might sound dumb, but how do you go from a multi-link rear with separate springs and shocks to a coilover on a 6th gen. I am thinking of upgrades down the road and would like to be as well infomed as possible.

Thanks!

 

The same as how the 350z and G35 guys upgrade to coilovers. Except in this case you will need a company that makes one specific to your application.

The coilover will come as a separate shock and spring combination

 

That makes sense. The pictures I have seen show a single shock/spring combo. That is why I was confused.

 

I could be wrong, but I think I saw a picture of 6th gen with k-sports where the whole coilover assembly was installed in place of the OEM shock absorber.

It was somewhere in the big k-sports thread...

 

Maybe it was only the fronts?

 

Nope. For the Ksports, all 4 corners have the springs and shocks together, even on the 6th gen.

 

How do they mount on the rear?

 

The coilovers go where the stock shocks go. The stock springs come out and nothing goes in their place.

 

Thanks for the info guys!

 

Same with the D2's on many applications.
90% of the time, the entire assembly will mount where the factory struts went.

Mike

 

That doesnt seem to make sence. The spring holds the weight of the car, not the strut. So wouldnt that mess things up? I did springs on a G35 sedan and I wondered what a coilover set up would look like.

Heres a pic of a 350z with KW coilovers


It looks as if everything is in the proper location.

 

The static weight of the car will go through the spring, whether it is concentric with the shock/strut or in a completely separate location. When relocating springs, there is an effect on the effective rate (as measured at the wheel) that you have to adjust for. Basic motion ratio stuff, squared when dealing with rates.


That's only an upper spring seat that's been made adjustable for ride height and/or cornerweighting , not a coilover. Coilovers mount the spring seats to the shock in some fashion making them more or less concentric. The adjustment feature is similar, though.

In most non-MacStrut suspensions (like the rear suspension in the pic) you don't need nearly as much coilover rate as you would use with conventional springs to get the same wheel rate. And at equal wheel rates and damping, the coilovers will give a better ride.


Norm

 

Dang.
Norm has some of the best posts on the .org.....

 

Thank you for explaining, Norm. Saved me 10 minutes of blabbering to cover the same thing.

remember what a coilover technically is... it's the coil OVER the damper. 95% of the time, the coilover spring uses industry standard 2.25" or 2.5" diameter springs, usually made by Afco (Afcoils), Hyperco (Hypercoils), or Eibach (ERS-- Eibach Race Springs).. This allows easy spring rate and length changes that you can pick up just about any race shop and stick in there and they work. which is one of the wonderful things about coilovers in general..

The 350Z pic above is not a true coilover. it's adjustable height, but it uses an OEM type lower spring perch and spring, with simply a collar/sleeve to adjust static ride height.

 

Well, unlike a lot of the other "knowledgeable" people on the org, Norm is actually an engineer, either Civil or Mechanical I can't remember which. Either way, both fields have to do a lot of static and some dynamic problem solving. It's probably a little easier for him sometimes to understand what the hell is going on, then try to explain it.

 

that directed against me?
Just becasue I'm an electrical engineer doesn't mean I didn't take quite a bit of physics, materials, and dynamics!

(yes I know you're not talking about me- I'd have to kill you otherwise)

 

Hell, I'm a naval engineer and I don't even know what the hell Norm is saying sometimes.....then again, I just pretend to be "knowledgeable"

 

The two people that respond are exactly the two people I WASN'T talking about. such is life......

Anway, I don't think you have the juice to have me killed anyway, Irish, Chernmax probably have some nasty connections.

 

blah..blah...blah
I have bad flashbacks when I read some of Norm's posts, I understand most of them but more often than not they hurt my brain.

Matt, EE's don't have to take statics or more ME derived dynamic motion classes do they?

 

Depends on the school and the "requirements". I had to take statics and dynamics. Statics was easy; however, dynamics kicked all the EE **** and we were happy to get our Cs and move on.

 

I took racquetball in college, FTW

 

I was on the club team at Penn State....wanna go 2 out of 3?

 

I had to take statics and thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, etc for Aeronautical Engineering and they were all cool, but the damn EE class I had to take absolutely kicked my ****. Not being able to visualize something physical = FTL for someone like me.

 

negative, playing HS/College tennis ruined me at racquetball....I can't hit withOUT topspin/backspin any more!

I mean...I'd beat you anyhow. i'd just have to use my left hand

 

I'll take a left-left 2 out of 3, when I would come back from PSU my friends would want to play me, so I used to play them left handed so that way it would stay interesting for me and whoever I was playing.
The only game I ever got blown out was when I played a prof who was ranked 15th nationally the year before....but he didn't tell me he was that good....it was friendly for 3 points then I slammed a shot into the corner...then he started playing and godzilla suddenly was stepping on my feet.

 

racquetball helps your golf game, I figured you would have kept it up whitey...