BTF/PTM

This is great input, thanks! I'd heard of the upper "dog legs" that extend down to hold the rear of the differential warping over time (which is another thing I'll check when the the car is apart), but not having to shift the suspension around with a hammer! Any chance you could snap a few pictures of specifically what was loosened and what you hit to move things around?

Jon, you should set up a group buy after both those shafts and the pending flange adapters are available. I'd surely sign up!

It's not rage, he's a Texan. He's a fairly mild-mannered Texan, too, most of 'em would brandish a 1911 or 44mag and would never admit to carrying such a feminine weapon as a 9mm. Hell, that's grounds fer lynchin' in some of Texas' smaller towns

The binding of one halfshaft makes a lot of sense, thanks for that link! The tail scoots right and thus the nose pulls to the left. I plan to use a pair MMS adapters and 300zxt axles for the overhaul, so that problem will be eliminated. Yes, the toe is visibly off, I had attributed it to the worn, sloppy bushings and strut insulators. And I'll definitely check everything for incorrectly installed and (hopefully not) damaged parts when I begin the overhaul.

Thanks! It's still very much a work in progress, it will look even better with the proper black wheels installed, and as mentioned here, a properly overhauled and lowered suspension.

Good to hear that it's probably just my own eyes worrying too much. The whole suspension is 40 years old and wonky as hell. I can feel the whole tail of the car scoot sideways just a tad if I mash the throttle, so saying things are sloppy is a big understatement. I intend to do a full overhaul in due time, when I no longer live on the road and actually have time to wrench on the ol' girl. The previous owner also installed an R200 and put all the original bushings back in place, and if his other handywork I had to correct is any indication, that probably doesn't help my situation.

I should have been more specific. I know that a z's rear wheels sit slightly forward of center in their wells. Mine sit waaaay forward, indicative of worn rubber. I'm uploading a picture...

Double post

My z, and many others I've seen, has both her rear wheels sitting noticably forward in their wells. The suspension is 40 years old, so it's likely due to all those bushings and rubber parts being way past their useful lifespan, but does anyone have specifics?

Thanks yet again, guys. Longer studs are easy, I can put those in when I do wheel bearings. In light of needing high-quality spacers (hopefully I won't need them at all, but it's safer to ask anyway), and without turning the thread into a billboard, are there recommendations for good lugcentric spacers out there?

I hadn't thought about the hub center being eliminated when a spacer is used, in that light it does seem like spacers can be risky. This is exactly why I ask these questions. Thanks!!

So taking up a SMALL amount of slop inside the strut tube is acceptible using a washer or other equivalent spacer provided only a thread or two is visible with the cap nut tightened in place. Thanks!! This is mostly for my own curiosity, but I'm scheming on various methods of rebuilding the ol' girl's suspension so coil-overs and sectioned struts may end up being a part of that project. p.s. - I've got zero experience as a welder, so although I'm sure I could handle disassembly, cutting and prepping of the parts, I'd be handing them over to a competent person for that part of it.

Yo, Another fundamentals question that others may be interested in. Again, mods please move the thread if it's valid enough to be put into the wheels/brakes forum. My questions are in regard to using wheel spacers to adjust where the wheels sit. 1) Is there any difference in added stress when a wider-than-stock wheel with a custom, properly fitted offset is used compared with when the same wider-than-stock wheel with more offset than necessary that is moved outward using a spacer is used? My query is specific to performance driving. 2) Is there a threshold of too much for using spacers where performance driving is involved? Thanks, everyone, hopefully someone other than myself has been wondering and will also find this information useful.

Hi again, I've a new question to add to this topic. Let's propose that a set of struts must be shortened (sectioned) by 1.5 inches to fit new performance strut inserts. Most websites indicate that a pipe cutter is effective for doing the job oneself. My question is in relation to this process as, although simple and effective, probably isn't the best for a precise length measurement. How much slop is there inside the strut tube, either factory length with a factory insert, or an accordingly sectioned tube with its accordingly shorter insert? Does the factory threaded cap have a retaining spring that pushes against the insert to take this up?

I dunno where the idea that there are few options for a 15" tire these days comes from, I've found at least two dozen options, ranging from a performance summer tire up to a track tire with double-digit wear ratings. Maybe people want an all-season tire. Anyway, the Enkei 92 may be a good option, I like the large positive offset. That would definitely tuck under the fenders, and I can use spacers to move it out so it looks proper while not rubbing. I'll have to powdercoat them, though, but that's not a huge deal. It's totally unrelated to the topic, but my z has all its trim powdercoated satin black, so the wheels would have to match =)

A solid argument, if ever there was one. Sounds like the recommendation is to work for getting those 225's under the fenders =) Thanks!!

I've done more research, and have a couple more ideas to toss out for review. It's looking more and more like a 225 50r15 on a 15x8 wheel requires either custom wheels and coil-overs or altering the body to avoid rubbing fenders or chewing up the front valence in a tight turn. That said, a sticky 205 is already more traction than these cars had in their day, and as a fledgling z driver I'm sure there are numerous track and autocross tires for a 15" wheel that will offer more than enough grip as I learn to drive the car. Any insight on any part of my ramblings is welcome. Thanks, everyone!

Rebello Racing is a great source of information for this sort of build. They were infinitely patient with me as I hit them with all these same questions. A five-minute conversation with them will teach you a lot.

Not sure if this counts as belonging in our suspension forum, mods please move if you deem it so. I've been reading up on sectioning struts, and just want to know if I understand specifically why it's a good idea to section struts when prepping a z car for a lowered and/or adjustable suspension. As I understand it, struts are sectioned to match the shorter length of performance strut inserts with a correspondingly shorter strut tube. This allows the strut insert to retain full travel when the car is lowered (or raised, I suppose). Also, as I understand it, the reason sectioning the struts is not necessary is because a spacer placed inside the factory strut tube can be used to take up the empty space that the shorter performance strut insert left. This is convenient, but sacrifices strut travel. Am I understanding the functionality of this process correctly? Please correct me if this is incorrect or incomplete!

Yea, that video is pretty sweet =) 25 pounds per wheel is a lot of weight at each corner, maybe the Rota RB with +4 offset is the best option. Thanks for the continued feedback!

Here's another question. One of the steel wheel manufacturers can build a set of 15x8's that weigh about 17 pounds each. Not great, but becomes great when the price of 80 per wheel is factored in. Now, here's the question - does "not DOT street wheels, off highway use only" mean that these wheels are not mechanically strong enough to put up with potholes and bumps and all the other things associated with street driving? The "street" wheels they build jump up to 25 pounds each.

Beautiful, thanks. I do have a new question that's come up while doing some research. How is it that a wheel with 8" width and zero offset manages to have 4.5 inches of backspace? Shouldn't that wheel have 4 inches of backspace plus whatever the flange thickness is? That one eludes me. I want to make sure I'm ordering the correct size of wheel. If I order a set of 15x8 wheels with 4.5 inch backspacing, is that the right wheel set?

All the suspension talk is cool, so keep it going, but let me ask a related question. Any recommendations on where one could get a set of steel wheels made that are 15x8 and the proper lug pattern and offset? As previously mentioned, I keep finding only truck and musclecar options. Also, it turns out that the Konig rewind isn't available in 15x8, so would the Rota RB 15x8 with its +4 offset still clear the fender wells?

Thanks, guys!! Jmortensen, I was hoping you'd chime in, you and JohnCoffee have been favorites for the threads I dig thru for info specific to improved performance. I've actually poked around for steel wheels becuz I'm one of the wierdos who likes the look of plain black steel, but the mainstream manufacturers I find all seem to only make 5-lug wheels. 225's on 15x8's may be the perfect option if they'll fit without rubbing. As mentioned, it seems like a zero-offset or some other minimum-offset is preferred for our cars, so the Rewind could still be a good bet. Thanks again, everyone, keep it coming! =)

Hi everyone, So I've done the usual runs of searching and tuned my question to what I haven't managed to find yet. I've pretty much narrowed it down to the Konig rewinds since the offset and weight (and aesthetics) fit the car well, and for a street car the cost of Panasports or Minilites just doesn't seem feasible. So... The car will be a street/autocross car with the occasional trackday thrown in, and will use only bolt-on suspension improvements. For the performance gurus, is there a notable difference in handling between a 225 and a 205 tire? Based on what I've read, it looks like a 225 tire on a 16" wheel is pushing the limits of fender clearance without fender lips or special coilovers, so my two choices are pretty well narrowed down to using a 205 on a 16x7 or a 225 on a 15x7. It seems like most folks here use one of those options. Any feedback is greatly appreciated, hopefully this information isn't actually sitting in plain sight already on this forum.