How many threads on coilover to be safe?

[gnosez]

-return those springs get longer ones. Problem solved in five words.

Where's Captain Obvious when you need him?

Edited March 6, 2018 by gnosez

[Captain Obvious]

58 minutes ago, gnosez said:

 -return those springs get longer ones.

Ummm.... That's six words.

You sure you wanted me involved?    

[gnosez]

And I keep throwing you softballs in the hopes you will hit at least one out of the park.....

[AlbatrossCafe]

2 hours ago, gnosez said:

-return those springs get longer ones. Problem solved in five words.

Where's Captain Obvious when you need him?

This changes the shock travel range, right?. I don't want my shock to be almost topped out because I crank the preload up or I use really long springs.

Edited March 6, 2018 by AlbatrossCafe

[Zed Head]

Did you just finish a game of Quidditch when you took that picture?  

I mentioned an extension earlier.  I meant for the spring.  Same as getting a longer spring.  I saw cgsheen's comments over on Hybridz and he contradicts the Stance instructions about preload.  So, apparently, you could add a spring spacer, or use a longer spring, if you needed it, since Sakura didn't design their setup for preload.  Just moving the spring perch should do it since the spring is just "perched" there, not loaded.

But, before you get too far along in fixing things I'd still assemble everything without the springs and run the wheel through it's expected stroke.  You might find other potential problems.   Adjust the sleeve so the shock piston is where you want it at desired ride height and the top and bottom of the stroke don't damage anything.  Then adjust the spring, via the perch or a spacer or a longer spring.  If you can't make it work that way then you'll know you need to get more drastic.

[cgsheen1]

On 3/5/2018 at 9:30 AM, AlbatrossCafe said:

If you look at their website, it says "The damper threads into a weld-on threaded adapter tube, allowing for adjustable right height with no loss of travel."

http://sakuragarage.com/products/datsun-suspension/

can see in one of their pics that the threads start to be seen in the sleeve itself. Mine are still way above that cutout. However, these pics are a couple years old and appear to be using difference sleeves so...

 

The height adjustment in these struts are in the threaded adapter tubes - NOT by moving the spring perches!  (as I've stated elsewhere:) Generally, the spring perches should never be adjusted.  On this strut cartridge you would only change the position of the lower spring perch (at the bottom of the spring) to add pre-load to the spring.  Most installs do not want or need any pre-load on the springs.  IF the spring is loose between the upper and lower perch, the lower perch should be adjusted so that the spring is just snug.  The upper perch is not adjustable.

A quote from the Stance USA FAQ site:

"When adjusting the height, do not adjust the height by the spring perch. All height adjustments should be done through the lower mounting bracket.
Adjusting the spring perch will change the spring preload and should only be done when corner weighting and balancing the car."

You do not, will not gain any "height" (additional length of the strut cartridge) by adjusting the spring perches.  If you installed a longer spring, you would have to move the lower spring perch down on the strut cartridge to complete the installation.  You would not gain additional length in the strut cartridge.  That "rod" you see coming out the top of the cartridge is at the maximum range of it's travel - it simply cannot extend any further upward.

The "no loss of travel" comment on the website refers to being able to move the strut cartridge up and down in the threaded adapter without affecting the damper travel in any way.  The damper is fully contained in the cartridge and can't be affected by moving the cartridge up or down in the threaded adapter.  

(Certain other coilover setups use a stock-ish damper cartridge whose range of motion is affected when the ride height is changed.)

Albatross knows what he needs to do to get his install where he wants it.  My response is mainly to clear up any misconceptions or misinformation.

[AlbatrossCafe]

Here are some pics just to add some clarity to this post.

I unscrewed the adapter sleeve from the coilover, and you can see how small of an area was holding it on. It was 5 threads which was about 3/8 of an inch:

 

You can see the adapter sleeve has about 2 1/4" of threads inside the tube. You can still adjust the coilover below these threads depending on how much tube you leave inside the bottom of the sleeve. I left about 1" in my case. According to SakuraGarage, you don't really have to leave any, however, as long as you can center the adapter on the strut tube.

 

This is clearly not enough lol. Anyway, the diameter of the tube is about 2". I lowered the coilover into the adapter sleeve so that about 1.5" of thread were in there. This should be enough.

 

With 1.5" of coilover into the adapter sleeve, I was lowered about 2" in the front, and a little more in the rear. I will need to add about 2" of strut tube back to bring me near OEM height.

I may be in the minority on this site, but I can't stand having the car so low haha. It will just scrape on everything and it is impossible to fit the jack underneath!

 

 

[cgsheen1]

I can't believe how straight your 280 is Derek.  Someone has taken very good care of it!  Looks great.  Best of luck and if we can help in any other way, let us know.

[siteunseen]

On 3/6/2018 at 9:03 AM, gnosez said:

And I keep throwing you softballs in the hopes you will hit at least one out of the park.....

I you throw a softball badly it's tough to hit...

[Patcon]

At 2" low the stance still looks pretty good!

[AlbatrossCafe]

Here's a quick follow up on this - I FINALLY got my coilovers done and installed. Originally, I had the shop weld the adapters to the hub in front and 3" above the hub in the rear. I told them to add 2.5" in the rear (5.5" up from hub total) and 2.25" in the front. My goal was to be around stock height.

Well my new measurements seemed to work near perfectly. After the install, I am at about -0.5" of lift in the rear and +0.25" lift in the front. It's a little high in the front, but I have plenty of adjustment to go. Me & my wallet are super happy that this is all gonna be behind me. This is all with PLENTY of threads engaged, not just like 1/4" like I had before lol

Side note - my alignment is so bad that in a quick 100 foot test drive down the driveway it was leaving skid marks the whole time haha. Putting on the larger 225/50/R16 tires and alignment are my next steps.

Too high!!

Awful alignment:

 

 

 

Edited May 21, 2018 by AlbatrossCafe