Got Some Tanabe For The M35!

[bbenny]

Picked up my new coilovers for the Stagea today!

As long as im not too busy tomorrow I will install these puppies myself!

They are the Tanabe Sustec Pro NF models - so no rebound or preload damping, but height adjustment. They are meant to have a similar spring rate to the standard shocks, but damping is a little heavier so it doesnt sway and bounce so much.

Quality looks great - So I hope they perform.

Once these are set, Ill pick up some rims to really set the car off

Has anyone installed shocks on the M35 before? Fronts shouldnt be too hard, but im worried that my cheap Auto 1 spring compressors wont be good enough for those rear springs.

Pics of before and after up tomorrow hopefully!

Ben.

[[[d a n n y]]]

does it fit Hicas models?

[bbenny]

does it fit Hicas models?

Im not 100% sure, but I did read somewhere that there may be a problem. I cant see much difference in terms of size and shape between these and my non Hicas standard shocks.

[Jetwreck]

As long as you have the tools:....you will need rattle gun from memory.

Front is easy....make sure you compress you springs first.

: Three bolts on the top of the shock in the engine bay

: One bolt on the bottom on the suspension.

: One bolt on the strutt and one clip from the brake lines

: Pull the lot out then undo the clamp on the bottom holding the shock on.

Rear

Little lost with your rear shock or my memory is gone.

It's a pretty easy job....I did it by myself in about 2 hrs.....you WILL need a wheel alignment after though.

[bbenny]

As long as you have the tools:....you will need rattle gun from memory.

hhmmmm I dont have a rattle gun, just my trusty socket set! haha Fingers crossed that will be enough.

Did you have to pull any interior out to access the rear strut bolts. I only peered under the car, and it seemed like I may be able to remove the shock from underneath.

Thanks for all your info though. I appreciate as much as I can get before pulling bits out.

[andy65b]

hhmmmm I dont have a rattle gun, just my trusty socket set! haha Fingers crossed that will be enough.

Did you have to pull any interior out to access the rear strut bolts. I only peered under the car, and it seemed like I may be able to remove the shock from underneath.

Thanks for all your info though. I appreciate as much as I can get before pulling bits out.

The rear is all external, no trim to remove at all.

The shock is the easy part as the top of the shock bolts on to a "top hat" that sits in a recess and is bolted in place. Really easy part.

The harder part is compressing the rear spring getting it to sit in the separate seat for the spring. When Sydneykid helped me with my rear we undid the bolts in the inside of the spring cradles so that it dropped down towards the wheel before we positioned the spring and then pushed it all back up into place. If you remove this bolt pay attention to it's orientation as it is ekcentric and adjusts the toe in.

Cheers

Andy

[bbenny]

The rear is all external, no trim to remove at all.

The shock is the easy part as the top of the shock bolts on to a "top hat" that sits in a recess and is bolted in place. Really easy part.

The harder part is compressing the rear spring getting it to sit in the separate seat for the spring. When Sydneykid helped me with my rear we undid the bolts in the inside of the spring cradles so that it dropped down towards the wheel before we positioned the spring and then pushed it all back up into place. If you remove this bolt pay attention to it's orientation as it is ekcentric and adjusts the toe in.

Cheers

Andy

Thanks for the heads up andy! I was planning on doing it that way, but wasnt aware that the bold was eccentric! thanks for that

[Bis-e Bee]

When Sydneykid helped me with my rear

.... ahem...

I bet you were waiting for one of us to spot this pearler!!!

[andy65b]

.... ahem...

I bet you were waiting for one of us to spot this pearler!!!

You have your mind in the gutter. LOL

[GoldZilla]

Benny, word of warning: once you have your springs compressed, DO NOT have them pointing towards you at ANY time. It's the equivalent of having a gun or rifle pointing at you, if the spring compressors fail, then the spring can pop out with enough force to kill you, NO JOKE.

As far as not having a rattle gun, if you have a strong piece of pipe you can put over the end of your socket spanner or breaker bar, you *should* be able to get enough leverage to crack loose those stubborn nuts and bolts.

[zei20l]

yup, go to supercheap or autobarn and get a cheap breaker bar. i have a 40cm one that i slip the trolley jack handle over when i REALLY need leverage

[andy65b]

YES, be careful of the compressed springs as it takes a lot of pressure to get them compressed enough. And the springs clamps get on a pretty weird angle when clamping down.

Cheers

Andy

[DAZA]

"Benny, word of warning: once you have your springs compressed, DO NOT have them pointing towards you at ANY time. It's the equivalent of having a gun or rifle pointing at you, if the spring compressors fail, then the spring can pop out with enough force to kill you, NO JOKE."

agreed! I had a close call with a mate, scared the daylights out of both of us!

[zei20l]

so if you remove the shock and lower the LCA all the way down, the spring still wont slip in?? i thought with a shorter coil it would be easier to get in. then just use a jack under the LCA to push it back up to a point where you can bolt the new shock in

[bbenny]

Well I successfully fited the coilovers today!!

Although its a little too low at the front - looks awesome, but when I got home I hit the front lip and undercarriage pretty bad getting into my unit blocks crappy driveway entrance.

Fitting took me a solid 3-4 hours - mainly due to the cheap spring compressors being a nightmare to work with and bending enough to scare the hell out of me! haha

The Tanabe's are great quality and everything lined up and slotted into place perfectly.

The ride is very simillar to the standard shocks, but you notice the stiffer damping when cornering - you also notice its not quite as supple on really bumpy rough roads.

So I'm really happy with it, and the car looks so much more aggressive low to the ground Hope to have some rims fitted in the next couple of weeks - the standard wheels look exceptionally skinny and small all of a sudden!

Pics up later tonight.

Ben.

[andy65b]

Good stuff!

[scotty nm35]

Ben, ive been looking for some shocks for a while and I couldn't find much without importing. Were these bought locally? If you dont mind telling us all, how much was the set and where did you purchace?

[bbenny]

I got them through JDM concept here in Australia.

Ordered them online, they came from Japan and I had them within a week!

I would recomend them for sure. I paid $1585 off the top of

my head.

Ben.

[Bis-e Bee]

Although its a little too low at the front - looks awesome, but when I got home I hit the front lip and undercarriage pretty bad getting into my unit blocks crappy driveway entrance.

Welcome to the lowered suspension / factory aero kit combo

Be prepared to scrap often ... why not.... i do

[bbenny]

So Here are some pics of the car before and after:

Before Front: After Front:

Before Rear: After Rear:

As you can see the front lip is a little too low now. I think Ill be lifting the front a few cm and dropping the rear a cm on the weekend.

Here are the shocks in place. Alot easier to fit these than remove the originals!