should all 240's have rear sway bars

[bpilati]

Only the 73 model was had the bracketry installed. The earlier models had nothing, except the holes in the rear control arms.

[John Coffey]

The question about whether a 240Z "should" have a rear anti-roll bar (ARB) is actually up in the air regarding handling. Chet Whittle was very successful raicng an ITS 240Z with no (or a very small) rear ARB. Bryan Lampe actually did an experiment on his ITS 240 at the big track at WSIR and he shaved a second off his fastest lap ever by disconnecting his rear ARB and driving a very different line.

On my 240Z I was able to put power down much better with a Quaife diff by going with a 17mm (vs. 19mm) rear ARB. I increased front roll stiffness by going from a 23mm to a 25mm front ARB and was willing to give up a little on corner entry to be able to get on the gas sooner in the corner.

[jmortensen]

If you're running street type spring rates, you probably want the bars front and back. If you Chet Whittle or Bryan Lampe you don't need as much roll control because your springs are 400% stiffer than stock or more and the springs limit the roll.

My car with 200/250 in/lb springs needs bars.

[260DET]

Seeing I don't know the size of front bars on US S30's I'll shutup now, except to say that for a stock road S30 it would be no big deal not to have a rear bar, particularly if the front bar is on the small side.

EDIT.

[jmortensen]

True, it's not like it won't drive down the road without a rear bar. If you're going to push the car at all it is worth taking note that the US did get the wimpy springs, and to couple that with presumably a smaller front bar and no rear bar means that it's not going to handle very well compared to the non US version.

[Arne]

How much better were the Stage I or 'Euro' springs?

[beandip]

Arne , we will see , I ordered a set of euro springs and they are being made now and will be shipped after the first of the year. They are stage II springs that have been copied from a new set , completely down to the code color markings from Nissan. They will eventually be offered from Courtesy Nissan . They come in three different rates , one for the left front one for the right front and both rear are the same . Do a search on Carl Beck's post on this around the first of Dec. these springs are reported to lower the car about 1'' but the spring rate is not as severe as the competition springs that are offered by Motorsport and other suppliers , so the ride dosent suffer . The springs are a limited run so it is a first come first serve . Gary

[montoya_fan01]

Arne, the springs being made now are Euro Stage 1 (One) according to the email confirmation of my inclusion in the "group buy" that I received from Carl Beck. I can't wait for them to be ready for shipment. Been wanting a set for years! If you are interested in learning more about the springs, you can PM Carl Beck send him an email.

[26th-Z]

I ordered a set of the Carl Beck / Bryan Pilati repro Euro Springs. I also bought two sets of the stock ones. I don't expect the Euro springs to lower the car any. I don't think they are a lowering spring.

[Arne]

How much better were the Stage I or 'Euro' springs?

Actually, I have a set already on order from Carl as well. I'm pretty sure that they are what I want, just looking for more data on them.

[bpilati]

I'm riding on my new stock springs, they're great!!! I ordered a set of the Euro springs too.

[Carl Beck]

Hi Arne/Chris everyone:

1. They are the Euro Spec. Stage I (ESS-1) - as defined by Nissan Competition Parts Dept. USA in the 70's/80's.

2. They would seem to be the same springs as standard on the 240-Z's sent to Australia, but Alan believes that Great Britian at least, got the Euro Spec. Stage II springs on their 240-Z's.

3, According to the three or four people that responded, installing the ESS-I springs made no noticeable difference in over-all ride height. That is to say no one experienced any wheel/tire clearance problems. They did say that the usual "nose high" appearance of the car, was changed to a more "level" look front to rear. No one took accurate measurements of the "before" and "after" installation, because they felt their old springs were sagging anyway.

Looking at the Nissan Spec.'s the installed height of the ESS-1 springs is about 0.9 inches shorter in front, and 0.4 inch higher in the rear.

4. The ESS-1 springs are about 22% stiffer in the front and 9% stiffer in the rear.

The ESS-II springs are about 22% stiffer in the front and 9% stiffer in the rear, than the ESS-1 springs.

5. Spring Rates:

US Spec. Springs are:

Right Front 1.48 kg/mm (83 lbs/in.)

Left Front 1.48 kg/mm (83 lbs/in.)

Rear 1.85 kg/mm (104 lbs/in.)

The Euro Spec. Stage 1 Springs are:

Right Front 1.80 kg/mm (101 lbs/in.)

Left Front 1.80 kg/mm (101 lbs/in.)

Rear 2.00 kg/mm (140 lbs/in.)

Euro Spec. Stage II Springs are:

Right Front 2.18 kg/mm (122 lbs/in.)

Left Front 2.18 kg/mm (122 lbs/in.)

Rear 2.5 kg/mm (140 lbs/in)

Merry Christmas everyone.

FWIW,

Carl B.

Carl Beck

Clearwater, FL USA

http://ZHome.com