How Can You Tell If You Have Adjustable .....

[SL33K]

hey guyz i just bought a series 2 r33 and need to lower it.

i am not sure what mods the car has. its stock but maybe it has a few things changed.

i wanted to know how to check if it has Coilovers and if it has how to know if they are the adjustable ones?

i have no idea bout these things so could some one give tips.

Cheers guys,

Love u all

[Hank Scorpio]

Take it to WA Suspensions where Brad aka RDirty3 (sp?) works. They know suspension and they know skylines! They can hoist it up, see what you have and suggest something that would be good for your needs and driving style.

If it had coilovers you would notice as your ride would be quite a bit different to that of a regular everyday car aka Camry/Magna. It would be quite a bit stiffer.

[SL33K]

might go see him

and yeah the ride is stiffer like bumpier but feels really nice. or if i take a pic and post it up can someone tell?

[scathing]

i wanted to know how to check if it has Coilovers and if it has how to know if they are the adjustable ones?

Coilovers are generally easy to pick, as most aftermarket manufacturers will paint them in a cool colour or stick their branding on it. Nissan may have outsourced manufacture so a non-Nissan brand isn't a guarantee that its aftermarket (the 350Z / V35 uses Tokico for example, who also do aftermarket gear) but its a good indication.

If you want to know if its height adjustable, jack the car up so you can see the strut.

This is a Tein coilover:

See below the spring you've got those 3 notched disks, and between them its threaded like a screw? If you've got that threading then your dampers are height adjustable.

As for rate adjustment, at the top of the strut there will normally be a knob.

The shape may vary, but in a lot of cases this is what companies use.

Some companies will provide you with an extra tool (usually in an Allen Key shape).

Tein and G4 do this that I know of, and I'm pretty sure they're not the only ones.

[SL33K]

Thanx Scathing for the informative Post

i checked out the top of the strut and it doesn't have a knob

about the adjusting i will have to check it props. haven't done it yet.

cheers mate.

[scathing]

Some manufacturers do the adjustment differently so it may not be totally applicable.

I had Koni shocks in my car for a while that used circlips to change the location of the spring perch, and had a small flat nub on the top that you had to put a dial on to adjust.

[nisskid]

get under the car, if they are black, look old and have wide springs they are probably stock. if they have thinner springs like shown on the teins they are aftermarket coilovers. if they have a threaded sleeve under the spring they are base height adjustable.

[Birds]

To get in before the suspension experts do, all R33 Skylines have coilover springs...standard. Whether they are aftermarket and adjustable is another thing...and can be identified by sticking your head under the car. Standard ones are black, aftermarket are usually different colours.

[bozodos]

My Tein Type NA's have circlip height adjustment with 3 settings, it's hard to pick out but otherwise they look very much like an OEM replacement 'coilover'.

[scathing]

To get in before the suspension experts do, all R33 Skylines have coilover springs...standard.

I used to be anal about that, but in the end its just a pretty known abbreviation of "aftermarket". If people say that they're planning on putting an exhaust on the car you don't get people jumping out of the woodwork saying all internal combustion engines already have them. It's the same thing.

Its when people start saying they want to "convert to a coilover setup" that I point out the stock car already has a coilover design.

[nisskid]

it's a good habbit to get into to talk about stock as being coilovers.

i had the most dumb argument with a regency inspector when they were going over my car, after me trying to explain what was in there, he asked "so do they have coilover in it?", i said yes, he said "well coilovers are illegal", i went on to tell him that coilovers weren't illegal and that they came stock with coilovers, it's the adjustment that is illegal.

for the record i had bilsteins in with 2.5" ID Eibachs, and fixed unadjustable seats.

because the line of what defines a coilovers becomes hazey. if i put bilstein shocks and king springs in does that mean i have coilovers? what if i add an adjustable lower seat that gives height adjustment?

at what point do they stop being a shock and spring combo and become a coilover?

[disco_potatoe]

i love adjustables!!! best money spent on car!!!!

[scathing]

i had the most dumb argument with a regency inspector when they were going over my car

What a tard.

I wonder if that'd work with the exhaust example? If they say, "Do you have an exhaust?" and you're like "Well, yeah" and they're all "its illegal" then I'd just try and respond with "well how about I just take it off and run without one?"

because the line of what defines a coilovers becomes hazey. at what point do they stop being a shock and spring combo and become a coilover?

The definition of a coilover type suspension is clear cut. If the strut resides inside the coil spring, its a coilover. It doesn't matter if its stock, the spring and damper bought separately, or together in a kit. Its about the layout, not the source.

You're right, the abbrevation of the phrase "aftermarket coilover kit" does mislead people. If that mentality gets entrenched it can, like in your instance, come back to bite you in the arse.

It's why, in general, I try to stamp down on it. Same with the other big "car knowledge" bugbear I have where people say NA cars needing "backpressure" for efficiency. No petrol engine ever needs backpressure (I don't know how diesels, LPG etc works so I won't go out and say all IC engines don't).

[nisskid]

I wonder if that'd work with the exhaust example? If they say, "Do you have an exhaust?" and you're like "Well, yeah" and they're all "its illegal" then I'd just try and respond with "well how about I just take it off and run without one?"

it's pretty much the same mentality yeh.

The definition of a coilover type suspension is clear cut. If the strut resides inside the coil spring, its a coilover. It doesn't matter if its stock, the spring and damper bought separately, or together in a kit. Its about the layout, not the source.

You're right, the abbrevation of the phrase "aftermarket coilover kit" does mislead people. If that mentality gets entrenched it can, like in your instance, come back to bite you in the arse.

It's why, in general, I try to stamp down on it. Same with the other big "car knowledge" bugbear I have where people say NA cars needing "backpressure" for efficiency. No petrol engine ever needs backpressure (I don't know how diesels, LPG etc works so I won't go out and say all IC engines don't).

yeh im saying if you use the term coilover to describe ur typical aftermarket coilover package, the definition then becomes hazy. if you use it how it's intended (coil over damper config) then it's simple, if you want to describe aftermarket stuff, just call it aftermarket.