Hi all I'm looking to significantly improve the handling of my '90 300zx 2+0. Its a TT/manual converted non turbo auto (might be important if factoring in dynamics). It currently has non adjustable KYB shocks, with unknown springs, standard brakes, and Modena 17" rims with poo chinese tyres (nankang I think, and no, I didnt put them on there). I want to keep the Modenas as I like the look (they are dished). I'm looking for suggestions regarding Tyre/suspension componant/brake upgrade suggestions, particularly from people who are using the upgrades they are recommending. I dont really want to go as extreme as a Tien set up, just something effective. Cheers
because your car was originally na it has a smaller front sway bar than a tt(not sure on rear though) , so a upgrade to either a stock tt or preferably aftermarket swaybars(whiteline or other) is always a good one, front and rear. fresh shocks or coilovers as well, just make sure you get something reasonably easy on the butt, lol adjustable camber arms to sort out potential camber issues and your on your way.... heaps more you can do of course
Thanks mate I'm hoping to avoid the camber issue, I dont want to go the whole "race" set up if I can avoid it. I'v heard KYB AGX shocks with some suitable springs are a good choice. I have also been looking at the whiteline sway bars as an option. Do you reckon these combined with some decent tyres, and a pad/rotor upgrade would suffice? For tyres im looking at 235 front, 275 rear widths, but I am hoping for some recommendations as to brand. Oh, and do strut braces make a huge difference to the road holding? Cheers
I'm looking at the KYB AGX shocks atm too. I just got the whiteline sway bars installed and the difference is night and day Best mod for the money you can do for handling I reckon
Sweet. I think I'll get tyres first, then look at the sway bars. The shocks wont be far behind, as I'v noticed the nose sits much closer to the ground after the TT conversion (makes sense with more weight up front). While it looks tough, I have noticed it is a lot more tail happy. I'm pretty much setting this thing up for track day fun, so its all part of a plan for a 300-350 rwkw car, that will handle as well as it goes.
kyb adjustables are a good choice, they have adjustable dampening so you can set it to how firm/soft you like it, pair it up with a nice set of slightly lowered springs and uoull notice a big difference....you will almost certainly need the adjustable camber arms though, or you can kiss your inside tyre edge goodbye every 5000k's strut bars do make a difference, but wether or not youll pust the car hard enough to notice it is all up to you......... 235 is about as wide as you want in the front, dont need "that much" front grip really, again how hard you going to push it? 275 on the rear is PLENTY, much wider and youll have fitment issues, not entierly sure youll get those sizes in the to be honest....though i know some members do run wider tyres, i does depend on wheel offset and the amount of camber you intend to run....
Best bang for buck handling mod ... front strut brace Best bang for buck handling mod ... front strut brace :biggrin: You could look at a rear-strut brace but it does not have as great an effect as the front -strut brace. So do a front-strut brace first... followed by new front and rear shocks ... keep the 17 rims, going bigger will degrade handling.
Don't agree on the strut brace, but meh. KYB AGX's, Eibach or King Springs, whiteline swaybars and you'll be sweet. You will probably want a camber correction kit for the front otherwise tyres won't last long. 300Deg make a simple shim kit for the front to correct for lowering the car 20mm or so. Agree don't go bigger than 17" (it looks silly too ), any quality tyre will do fine. A lot of people here like the Nexen 3000 due to the price and performance, I've never used them but I have good things to say about Potenze Adrenalins.
The Z32 handles very well without modification & the ride is reasonably comfortable. To improve the handling to a noticeable degree, ride comfort will be sacrificed. Basically the better the handling the worse the comfort. If you want to upgrade swaybars & stay OEM, look for a pair from a 2+2 TT. At the end of the day it's the tyres that will determin handling & braking limitations. They are not cheap but Toyo Proxes T1R tyres are excellent in the wet & dry.
done the front strutbrace mod to a couple of cars And the common conclusion is "wow, makes it feel like a new car, a lot sharper"... I have to admit these where on zeds with aging shocks so tightening up the front will make a lot more impact then on a car with new shocks, springs, and rubbers.
I put a rear strut bar on mine recently and the difference was amazing. I've put this down to the fact that the whole car is very sloppy and loose so any amount of bracing is going to help me. I paid about $50 for the rear brace - now that's a bargain and it made a huge difference for me.
I just took the strut bars off both cars as they were rubbing on the fuel lines. On the TT, I notice no or very small difference. On the convertible, there is a big difference. The bar helps stiffen up the front, but it still rattles and shakes much more than the TT
Raced with And without a strut brace and no real difference for mine. rest of the car is nice and tight so helps a lot. A good quality set of coilovers is going to give you the most noticable difference in the handling stakes, but i stress quality.
Thanks for the responses guys, definately some food for though. I think I will aim for good tyres, swaybars (front and back) and some KY shocks\good springs. I'm happy to sacrifice some ride comfort for better grip. Anyone have any thoughts about brake upgrades?
Depends on how far you want to go. Decent pads and slotted rotors are normally suffeciant for most ~$600 front and back. After that it's R33 GTR rotors with a caliper adapter ~$600 fronts only. If you still want more go the R33 GTR/Z33 Brembo's (which I have and love) ~$1500 fronts only. Really depends on how much you can get the calipers for. I got mine for a steal at $550, but I have seen them as high as $2k for low K fronts off a R34 GTR. If you still want more then it's Porsche brakes, AP or Stoptech calipers and rotors etc. You can be looking at $10k+ for a full kit front and back. Have a look at UAS's site, they have a real nice range of brakes there.
Heard alot of people say the sway bars dont do anything then again heard people say they do, alot of people have said the stock ones are plenty big enough and even have removed the whitelines in pref of them, the strut bars to the front and back made a nice difference for me.
