Cheap drift suspension for s13?

I

iKst

Member
Hey,

right now im on std. shocks and apex -35mm springs. As you might think they are not very good for drifting (i saw today what proper suspension can do). So i need a new suspension, and im on very tight budget due to recent paintjob and engine rebuild. So what do you think will be the best setup for as little money as possible ?

Are used coilovers a good choice ? Will rebuilt and 50% stiffer shocks and some stiffer springs work as well as coilovers ? Should i wait to get more money and buy something fully adjustable then ?
 
Hi mate,
I'm getting mine from Bren on Sxoc:
Go here :)
James on this board has these on his car which he uses for drifting :) I'm getting mine in 7kg/mm/Front and 7.5kg/mm/Rear. Which I hope will provoke more oversteer, and will at the same time be a bit more controlable on the limit.

NOTE: The ones that Brens getting at the moment aren't Exactly the same as the D2 items that James has got. But he has reasured everyone that they are insane quality for the money. I think they are only £575 for the entire SET! Anywyas, check out the post for more info :)
-Milosz
 
I have a set of JIC coilovers, fixed damping with PBU's and adjustable front camber. the fronts need to be rebuilt, parts can be sourced through JIC USA. how does £200 sound?
they are f8k r6k spring rates btw, I totally wouldn't recommend having higher spring rate at the back than the front. it'll feel nasty :no:
 
are the ones Bren's selling at the moment 'K-sport' ones? If so, I believe they're almost identical to the D2's :)

I got D2's on mine and they're totally fine, certainly a huuuuuge improvement over the standard shocks and lowering springs I was running before :nod:
 
matt said:
btw, I totally wouldn't recommend having higher spring rate at the back than the front. it'll feel nasty :no:
Click to expand...
Y would it feel nasty?? Need to get enlightened now, don't want to rebuild the shocks upon arrival you know. But harder back would be better for drifting surely :nod:
 
Oddly enough the standard S13 springs are harder at the back than they are at the front.

1.6KG/mm on the front, 2.0KG/mm on the back. But then again they understeer too much so thats hardly a recommendation.:wack:
 
having a harder rear wouldn't be better for drifting, at least not at typical coilover spring rate levels anyway. you'd probably just end up with the ultimate spin machine!
 
What makes you say that Matt?
That was going to be my next move, swapping the back springs to be as hard, if not harder than the 9kg fronts..... I have 7kg rear at the moment.
I seem to remember the article about Ken Nomura at wheels had the specs of his Skyline on. Assuming they were accurate, I'm sure that was slightly harder at the back than the front......
 
the way I see it is that a stripped out car is gonna have very little weight at the back, so a massive spring rate will make it bounce of the ground alot, meaning no grip and no chance of holding a drift for long?

I know a couple of D1 cars have very strange spring rate combos though. but I wouldn't copy their setup for my own car, as it probably only feels right on full lock coming down the hill at Ebisu! haha
 
On a big car like and S14 or something i wouldnt have harder rears. Even on an AE86 i dont have harder rears. I think it would make the car snap into oversteer more easily yes, but it'd be harder to catch and would result in more spinning. More damping on the back however, is better to play with untill you get used to making the car oversteer and then you can adjust to your liking.

After driving your S14 James (thank you :) ), id be veeery loath to put stiffer springs on the back, as i found it oversteered very easily and i felt like the car needed a bigger contact patch at the rear? 225's or something? For me personally anyway...

a 2kg/mm stagger seems to be average, for example (Front to Rear) 7/5 - 8/6 - 10/8 - 12/10.. Buut, ive not had the driving experiance on this score, this is what i read and discuss with others who do have the experiance.

But its differant for everyone so there is no hard, fast rules :)

Paz
 
perhaps he standard setup has a softer weight at the front to calm the handling down,

manufacturers seem to thinkin understeer is safer than oversteer :mad:
 
cheers for the input guys, might just have a play with the damping for now, although like you say Paz, it is pretty sorted at the moment.

At Silverstone last round I found that the big high speed (top end of 3rd) corner at the end of the big straight that the back was kinda hopping a bit when I had it sideways, I thought it may have been down to springs being too soft, but I now think it sounds like damping...
 
ahhhhh, could well be :) I suspect all the bushes on the back and the original 9 year old ones :wack:
 
hmm.. From having read all your posts, I might have come to a conclusion/a compromise. 7F 6R.. Hope that it won't be to uncomfortable for everyday driving/occasional drifting. Any thoughts on combining stiff rears with adjustable Anti roll bars? The whitelines ARB's are only 2 way adjustable (and hollow) in the rears. Wonder what kind of difference it would make on the limit driving/drifting when combined with the D2 coilovers in 7F 6R? Any of you chaps have ARB's and these coils (or any coilovers for that matter)? I guess that I'll never know until I put my coilovers on and test them. Hope that Bren gets these soon :)
Cheers for the tips guys.. Some of em might even be lifesavers if the stiffer settings would have made the car unpredictable :o
 
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