Another Shock Question

[87mj]

I am a bit odd.  While many on the forum like lowered springs, I always liked the slight rake in the rear suspension of the 280z compared to the 240z.  I never liked the squat in the rear of the 280zx.  I am about to replace my factory shocks and my rubber strut mount insulators on my '71.  

I drive the car about 1,000 miles per year and it has about 60,000 miles on it.  I don't race the car or drive it hard.  It still has the factory springs and I planned to keep them. Will replacing the rear shocks with adjustable shocks such as Tokico adjustables reduce the amount of squat on acceleration?  Will doing so make it ride like a log wagon?  Will it have any affect on the height?

Does anyone object to putting Tokico adjustables on the rear in hopes of keeping her butt from sagging and regular old KYB shocks on the front or would KYB shocks on the rear have the same effect?

Any advice, right or wrong would be appreciated.

Thanks

Gary

[dmorales-bello]

Hi Gary,

I'm not sure how much this might help you but I have Eibach lowering springs and Tokico blue (non adjustable) struts on all fours in my '78 280Z and I even though I love the ride (smooth, controlled, not jarring at all) the car's rear end still dips quite a bit under acceleration. I have a new set of 4 Tokico Illuminas (adjustable) which I will be installing over the holidays hoping that I can dial in a stiffer rear and reduce the squat. I'll let you know how that goes.

David

Edited December 8, 2016 by dmoralesbello

[grannyknot]

Rear end squat as I understand it has more to do with the spring rate than the shock, a stiffer shock like the Tokico Illumina on setting 5, the stiffest, will slow down the rate of the squat but the rear end will still end up at the same height of squat or close to it because it is the spring that is holding the car up not the shock. (If I have that wrong someone please correct me) The Illuminas on setting 1, the softest, will probably give you a stiffer ride than what you have now but a different shock shouldn't effect your height. Your original springs are 46 yrs old now so are probably a little tired,  new springs of the same rate as the originals would help your situation, but there are many threads in the archives where guys mention that installing stiffer springs did not adversely effect the ride comfort. For the kind of driving you say you are doing a new set of 4 KYB's would work well for you, they are a great shock for the price and a good all a round shock.

[87mj]

21 hours ago, dmoralesbello said:

Hi Gary,

I'm not sure how much this might help you but I have Eibach lowering springs and Tokico blue (non adjustable) struts on all fours in my '78 280Z and I even though I love the ride (smooth, controlled, not jarring at all) the car's rear end still dips quite a bit under acceleration. I have a new set of 4 Tokico Illuminas (adjustable) which I will be installing over the holidays hoping that I can dial in a stiffer rear and reduce the squat. I'll let you know how that goes.

David

Thanks.  Looking forward to hearing your results.  I was actually considering installing rubber 280z rubber strut mounts on the rear to see if that helped.  But I suspect I would need 280z shocks, then perhaps springs, on and on... Then it may not even work.  Plus, as I understand it, you cannot get new ones any longer.

[SeafireXV]

You will always get some squat on a car with independent rear suspension. Its just a part of the mechanics involved. I suppose the stiffer the spring, the less squat on acceleration. ZX's have more exaggerated squat because of the type of IRS, namely semi-trailing arms vs. Chapman struts on the S30. Swing axle IRS will squat even more.