tokico 254 suspension kit tooo high

[germanz]

Hell friends.

At the moment I try to install a new suspension because auf problems with the old one. But the springs whill not not realy fit

Old:

- stock shocks, no cartridge.

- blue MSA Springs (told by preowner).

- rear strut not enough rebound, when wheels are free from the ground, the sprong had about 1 inch play.

- The car was on his maximum lowered, because the was not much working space left till the bump stopper get in contact.

Distance to the ground (edge of fender) 64,5cm Front and 62,5 rear.

Now my new tokico illumina's and springs:

Rear:

rebound nearly o.k 5mm missing.

Front:

the strut rod is about 3cm too long, on the picture you can see that the sprong is about 1 cm shorter. So the new strut must be longer.

Distance to the ground (edge of fender) 68,5cm Front and 67,5 rear.

That means +4cm front and +5cm (+2"). that looks like a 4 wheel drive.

I'm sure that I missed not parts,or swapped them.

parts:

springs 5022 F and 5022 R

Strut BZ3012 and BZ3013

- My car is a european version, much ligther than a us version.

- The new strut whill allways expand, does this force push up the car ?

Has anybody ideas for me ????

Thanks for your attention

Rainer

[Mr Camouflage]

I dont really know waht you mean, but

Now my new tokico illumina's and springs:

Rear:

rebound nearly o.k 5mm missing.

No idea, sorry I dont understand what you mean.

Front:

the strut rod is about 3cm too long, on the picture you can see that the sprong is about 1 cm shorter. So the new strut must be longer.

Unless you have coilovers you cant adjust the strut length.

If the springs are a stiffer rate (they look fatter so they probably are) then they wont compress as much, so they could stit at the same hieght as a weaker spring of a longer unloaded height. which is probably why they are shorter.

Distance to the ground (edge of fender) 68,5cm Front and 67,5 rear.

That means +4cm front and +5cm (+2"). that looks like a 4 wheel drive.

I'm sure that I missed not parts,or swapped them.

parts:

springs 5022 F and 5022 R

Strut BZ3012 and BZ3013

The rear should looked too low in the photo. The rear should be the same if not more higher than the front. shouldn't it.

- My car is a european version, much ligther than a us version.

US and European 240z should be the same weight. Unless you got springs for a 280z. that might make the car ride higher as the 280z is heavier isnt it.

- The new strut whill allways expand, does this force push up the car ?

Yes, springs are designed to push the car up off the road. The stiffer the spring the higher it will sit (shock cartridge length has nothing to do with the ride height of the car, unless you put in ones that are way too short).

Has anybody ideas for me ????

Thanks for your attention

Rainer

Maybey you ordered 280z springs. Maybe you ordered standard ride height springs, instead of lowered springs. Maybe you ordered extra stiff springs.

Check with the manufacturer.

Have you got photos of the car with the new springs?

[Ed]

To me it sounds like you replaced your old worn out MSA springs with new Tokico springs because you were having problems with your old MSA springs. I would guess that you were bottoming out a lot and the strut assembly would hit the bump stop. Creating a rough ride.

The shocks will do nothing for ride height unless they are way to short. Then they will hold down the spring. If they are too long then you might have a problem with the shock bottoming out before the strut assembly hits the bump stop.

The new Tokico springs you have could also be the correct ones for the 240. You mentioned you only had one inch of play in the rear (3cm). How much do you have now? If your old springs were sagging then the new ones just put the ride height back to where it's supposed to be. Maybe you need to get used to your car looking like it's a little higher.

Besides that I'm not really sure what you mean by they don't fit. It sounds to me like they fit perfect.

[germanz]

Hello to all,

I made some pictures and it will clear my story. I twisted the the names strut and shocks before. That will confuse. :stupid:

I will not say that the old MSA springs are worn,because they were installed short before I bougth the care, so that mean 10 k miles.

But the new springs don't fit nice because :

-he care is too high,

-The uncompressed spring is to short, or the strut is too long. On the front about 3cm rear abou 5mm. This will give problems with the german laws and coil over is not allowed too for road use.

Possible solutions:

-Get other springs from Tokico, but I bougth them in USA and ship them to germany. That's not so easy.

- install the shorter strut mounting isolator from a front on the rear side too, than I'm about 1 inch deeper.

But for the front ????

Has anybody a service contact adress from tokico USA ?

Cheers Rainer

[germanz]

gentlemen,

the fog clears up.

www.atlanticz.ca

It looks to be normal that the spring is compressed in all situations.

http://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/suspension/tokicoupgrade/strut21.jpg

For a test I installed the old springs back, but now my car is still about 2cm higher. The only conlusion is, that the expansion force of the new shock (20KG) will push up the car. Has anybody similaer experience ?

So far Rainer

[Mike]

If you are replacing the springs, I highly suggest that you replace the strut catridges. Buy the cartridges that are designed to go with the springs you already have.

[260DET]

No, gas shocks will not raise the car by any practical amount. Your problem seems to be that the shocks have too much droop ie they allow the suspension to drop down too far which affects spring retention.

When you lower a car you reduce the amount of required shock travel if the suspension is otherwise left stock. Therefore, to prevent excessive droop, you need shorter travel shocks. Approximately the amount of suspension travel required is 2/3 in bump (compression) and 1/3 in droop.

For your problem you may be able to use tender springs, which will take up the gap between the main spring and the perch at full droop. Using tender springs is I believe common in Europe because of the regulations there.