AlbatrossCafe

Thanks. That's what I wanted to hear since I have not been here long. Over certain bumps it almost feels like my frame just moves up and down instead of the wheels lol. I did a lot of research and I think my shocks (Stance) are a decent item, which leads me to believe it has to be the spring rate if what you said (300lb/in is a theoretical "limit") is true. I have owned a Mazda RX-8 in the past, and that thing was half as stiff as my car now but still handled very well. That's what I was going for. Really, I just don't want the car to feel like it is gonna fly over a small bump in the road or crumble when I go into a pothole. Weird that this is Sakura Garage's lowest spring rate option on their site ?

I installed Stance coilover suspension along with TTT control arms and tension rods on my car this winter. I have 4k springs front and 5k springs rear. My car is lowered about 1/2" compared to stock. It handles well, but is very stiff. I hit bumps and occasionally bounce into the ceiling and the car sounds like it has just been smashed lol. I have the 15-way adjustable coilovers adjusted as soft as possible. 3 questions: Is the only bumpstop in these cars in the coilover or strut itself? I didn't see any other. Is my spring rate too stiff? I don't track my car. Will the springs break in? I have about 300 miles on the current setup and they feel the same as new. Sakura Garage recommended 4k/5k springs for "Street" applications. I'm wondering if that is typical around here or if that is a bit much for everyday driving.

My '78 280z stock tires are 195/70/R14. The speedo is off about as much as yours even with stock tires. It's most imprecise of any vehicle I've owned lol. Even worse than my truck which has tires 3" larger than stock.

I have a '78 280z. Haha either you are 75% legs or your seat is sagged to the floor. I have a longer torso and neck. I have to tuck my tailbone forward and duck my head to ride in it. It gives me back pain but it is worth it every once in a while...

Do it! I'm about to add in fully adjustable electric leather seats with custom seat rails because my arse is about 4" too tall to fit in this car. I can't wait to have nice leather in there.

Wow, what a great deal! I feel like here in Seattle that would have been sold in less than 24 hours!

Wow, I LOVE the Khaki interior on that car.

Finally added an MSA air dam to the front. It's amazing how much of a difference this makes in the car's appearance. The fit is "OK", but I expected it to be a little wonky since this car is so old. It works well enough. I don't think I will paint it. Gonna get the car painted by the end of winter, so I'll probably just leave it for now out of laziness haha

I have a Fiberglass (recently just sold the urethane one before installing it) Type 1 airdam for my 280z. Of course, it did not come with any hardware. Just looking at it, it seems like I'll need 6 bolts, 6 nuts, and 12 washers. What size bolts did you guys use for hardware? Anyone remember? And I'm assuming I should use stainless?

No thanks, I cleaned up mine a bit, reglued it, and called it good enough.

Awesome, thanks guys. I kind of like the chrome-ish look over the black, so I think I will try to find something similar. I assume the process to replace them is pretty simple/obvious? Do I have to take off the entire inner door panel?

yeah, these right? https://zcarsource.com/door-lock-pull-240z-260z-280z-70-78-black-new That's all I can find online. That's why I am unsure if mine are OEM...

For a 1978 280z Like title says.. are these OEM? I had one snap off and need to replace. I can't seem to find these anywhere. The ones that MSA or others sell are black and have a Z logo on them.

Hot damn that car is sweet! But not $47k sweet!

I'm totally fine with not having to mod the fenders. Just yesterday I cut the fenders on my truck to fit larger tires... it was a terrible experience. Can't imagine doing it on the Z lol. And yeah, I don't want to have to worry about scraping every single time I go into a parking lot or driveway or over a speedbump. Plus, this car is small/low enough already compared to the modern behemoths that are out there!

Fit the new wheels on this weekend. Maybe it's because I am only lowered about half an inch, but I didn't have to trim/roll anything for these 225/50/R16's. When near-fully compressed, the tire is still an inch away from the fender. Got it insured through Hagerty (about $330/year) and finally got to take it out driving. This thing is still SO STIFF, so I hope it breaks in a bit more. It's very fun to drive, but it desperately needs a front valence put back onto it, and I need to replace or bolster the seats. My back hurts after like 10 min in that car. They are planks of wood at this point. Pics... Testing clearance:

Ended up getting an amsoil filter. It is installed in front of my radiator. Had to remove my oil cooler to actually fit it cus I got the next size up haha. ALSO, after 5 LONG arse MONTHS my new suspension is now 100% INSTALLED! I seriously thought it would never get done. Even on the 10-year old probably-under-inflated stock tires, it is a HUGE improvement compared to what was there before. The short list of stuff I have to complete: Fit my new 225/50 R16 0 offset wheels/tires that are just sitting Alignment Find a good way to mount my boost gauge (adhesive doesn't work on A pillar very well) Figure out what I'm gonna do for the front air dam Insure the thing so I can actually drive it

Update on this: The front in the first post was about +0.25" over stock height. I lowered it to about -0.75" under stock height. After I lowered it this 1 inch, I had no problem at all fitting the end links. Didn't even have to loosen the bottom nut. So it was purely because I was riding a bit too high. No binding in the suspension either. Glad it was an easy fix! Blurry pic, but here is proof:

Thanks for the advice all. I will give everything a shot. Never even knew that "corner balance" was a thing haha. Interestingly enough I found a picture of the stock end-link at what I assume is with the car jacked up (full droop). This is why I got replacements lol. But even here you can see the (worn out) bushings are almost completely compressed.

I got these urethane bushings: http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/classic20h03/23-4132 With these end links: http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/classic20h03/23-4336 The bushings are pretty stiff. I'd hate to have an end link snap on me or something. Unfortunately I can't work on my car for about 10 days or so (lol) so I won't be able to get a result for you guys for a while. My plan in 10 days is to connect them and test droop levels to make sure the swaybar isn't limiting anything. I bet if I lower my coilovers in front another 3/4" or so like I was planning it will help as well.

Yeah, the bottom of the end link was tightened. I'll try loosening it and jacking up the LCA a bit on both sides to see if I can get it to seat. Good call. TTT has an inner & outer setting for the swaybar end link. Mine is already on the inner setting. I can't imagine who would use the outer one since my arm is already at the minimum track width allowed. Haha interesting... you mean you use a hex bolt instead of the end link? Got a pic?

Hey guys, I'm wondering if there is something weird going on with my swaybar end links. I recently completed a total overhaul of suspension. I'm using TTT arms front rear, TTT tension rods, and Stance coilovers with camber plates all around. I got new sway bar end links & bushings from MSA as well. In the front, I'm having a difficult time fitting the end links into the swaybar. If I REALLY force it I can get it in there, but that seems wrong. I don't know if they should be under that much stress. It also seems like my suspension travel might be affected based on how freakin stiff these end links seem to be. Am I gonna break something by forcing the end links into the swaybar? These are the arms I have in front: https://technotoytuning.com/nissan/280z/front-lower-control-arms-240z-260z-280z The end link is already on the "inside" setting of control arm and the control arm is already set to as narrow track-width as possible. Check these pics. These are the Z at just a hair above stock ride height. The end links are still solid 1" away from the hole:

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:

It's funny... you guys see this car and think of all the ways you can fix it. I see this car and can't help wanting to send it straight to the car crusher. It looks like a nightmare! BTW - what is the lift that you have the car on in that last pic? Never seen something like that. Seems pretty convenient.