What If I Just Dont Get Anything?

[R TUNE]

www.r31skylineclub.com mate have a look in for sale section.

[blk94r33]

My advice: read.

It's as simple as that. You don't even have to try to learn, just read topics that are of interest to you and you'll pick it all up over time. The best topics for learning are those where people are asking about problems with their cars, because problems and diagnosis of these usually includes an explanation of how that particular part functions within the vehicle. Second to them are modification topics, because modifying a part usually gives a reason why the standard item may be inadequate for that particular application, along with the function of the original part. I've learnt 90% of what I know about cars off browsing forums in my spare time. After 2 years of browsing I built my first engine

Attend car meets and talk to people who share a similar interest in cars. The topics of conversation at car meets usually touch on technical and modification, which makes it very easy to ask questions if you don't understand something. People LOVE to share their knowledge of cars with other people.

One good place to start with, that you may not find on a forum, but is very important to know, is to read up about how internal combustion engines work. This doesn't take long, but forms the basic framework of all technical questions related to our favourite part of the car: the engine.

Other than that, if you see a term you don't understand, just Google/Wikipedia it or search for it on SAU. If you don't understand terms used within those articles, search for them until you do

And yes, we're all still learning no matter how much we know!

Definite +1

If you can get someone who knows a bit, and takes pride in their work/project/car, and they're not busy (or a dick), you'll get stuck talking for quite some time.

And once you understand the basics of how an engine works, you'll start to get the reasons people change various parts and for what reason/improvement.

[Jonno34]

Hey brenton, cheers for the link mate! Will check it out, hopefully I can pick up something nice on my crappy uni student budget ...

Josh, I just joined SAUWA so ill definitely be rocking up to some car meets and have a chat with people, and maybe ill meet someone who wont mind me (trying to) lend a hand to them while they work on their cars so I can pick some stuff up!

I'll search around on some sites people recommended me and books for how the internal combustion works, didnt manage to find any at the library .. may have to buy a book, but i picked up a whole bunch of gregorys/haynes car manuals ... will have a read of them and hopefully learn something!

Cheers everyone, really appreciate the support, i hope i can be helping others out someday too

[Birds]

Wikipedia is your friend...it's not as unreliable as people say. Howstuffworks.com has some great animations to demonstrate how automotive parts function.

[TTT]

www.howstuffworks.com

[mazzone_child]

Yeh definatly how stuff works to get the basics on internal combustion engines rods, pistons crank and valves ect ect then magazines forums the libary anything like that but once u have the knowlege of how the motor works then learning mods is very simple because its all common sence! Aside from motors. diffs gbox suspension it is all a similar path just know what they do first before trying to learn to modify!

[Jonno34]

alright cheers guys ill read the how stuff works page on internal combustion engines, ive been reading the Haynes manual for a falcon just as a general starting point, its actually really helping alot and im definitely gonna give some basic maintenance jobs a go on my own cars now

[adamskill]

if you come across anything you dont know..... GOOGLE IT!! the internet is full of every piece of info you could ever hope for!! also as alot have said...READ. if you are unsure on how, say, an intercooler works, search the forced induction section and read!! trust me, if you make an effort to learn something in particular, you will remember it. good luck. safe driving!

[Jonno34]

yeah adam i think thats the main issue, like when i wanted to learn about detailing and i focused only on that i learnt it very well, but with performance/engines/etc theres just so many different aspects im not quite sure where to start/focus etc!

ill probably just focus on whatever aspect the skyline needs .. atm its in need of new coilovers so i think ill be focusing on suspensions!

[warps]

atm its in need of new coilovers so i think ill be focusing on suspensions!

That's the problem with the internet. You're already buying the misinformation

Your car doesn't NEED new cilovers. I have seen and built plenty of effective competition vehicles just by using good quality springs, dampers and bushes (and making sure that the geometry is well sorted). This will give you a better handling package than buying coilovers and slapping them on your car.

Yes, coilovers have great street cred these days, but don't fall for the zomg dori internet hype of needing them. If you need height adjustment, and better clearance for suspension / wheels, and the ability to easily change spring rates, (in other words you plan on fine tuning the handling of a dedicated race car) then by all means. If you want something suitable for road, with the ability to take to the track, then some decent springs (Kings, Eibach) and dampers (Bilstein, Koni) will give you a great package and be reasonably priced. There are some truly awful coilover kits out there.

As has probably been said, the internet and forums are great sources of general info, but make sure you challenge what you read, and try to sort the fact from the internet keyboard warrior bullshit.

[Jonno34]

oh no its not that, i just meant that on my last service the mechanic told me my shocks were leaking and should probably be replaced sometime soon,

so i thought of just replacing them with a good aftermarket set of coilovers

it also looks kind of silly not lowered when its got 18s and I've heard that people advise against just putting lowered springs on factory shocks if im not wrong

[warps]

I thought you meant that, just dispensing dome fatherly advice

Correct - springs and shocks must always be matched for best performance. That means that lowered springs not only need to be set up with the right stroke shocks, but also the right damping rates. Don't go for lowering just for looks either. Resist the temptation to slam it coz it looks cool (this will cause all sorts of problems with handling and legality). A modest 30-40mm drop will improve handling, look fine and be legal.

there's nothing wrong with coilovers - just don't buy the cheap stuff as it will cause more headache than it's worth. I don't think you'll get much decent for under $2.5 - 3k for front and back.

[mad082]

it depends on how low you go. if you go really low then the shocks wear out quickly. just going 1 step lower will be fine.

[Jonno34]

I was thinking of the BC Racing series since their apparently good value for money, but ive seen alot of group buys on the forum for the Bilstein Shock/Whiteline springs setup and they seem to have gotten alot of good reviews but ill keep reading the suspension forum and ill figure it out!

[Shazza24]

Depends on what your goal is but...

IMO Bilstein FTW, with slightly lowered springs. (King, whiteline, etc) Unless you like the idea of fully adjustable suspension....

[Jonno34]

lots more research to go before I can even make a vague decision!

not even too sure about the whole "adjustable suspension" or even the major differences between coilovers/shock-strut setups really LOL sadly enough ..

slowly getting there though, i at least now know that monotube shock-strut set ups are the best cos their more sensitive and accurate .. need to read up more on coilovers though!

also bilstein + whiteline set up seems expensive ...

[10 4]

Imho, don't need 2.5-3k suspension on a NA 34.

Pop into JPC ( http://www.japaneseperformancecentre.com.au/ ) and see what Danny has 2nd hand (but still in good nic)

Btw, SAUWA hasn't organised an event for years... lol. Myself and some friends off SAUWA have joined this place ( http://www.westcoastcruisers.com.au/ ) and we host and run cruises / fun events fairly often... You just missed out on my big bday cruise to Toodyay

Oh ya, after all this time, I still don't do my own oil changes

[warps]

Imho, don't need 2.5-3k suspension on a NA 34.

I was saying that decent coilovers will cost at least that. whether you need to spend that sort of coin on a car depends on what you need the car for. Most street cars won't.

Second hand is playing russian roulette. Get them thoroughly checked out by an independent 3rd party before you buy. All the 2nd hand shocks (Konis, Prodra G's) I've bought have been stuffed and not worth repairing, despite looking fantastic and being "rebuildable". You might pick up a good Bilstein / Kings setup from another muppet who just had to have the latest brand coilovers for his street terror so by all means shop around.

If Gary (Sydneykid I think his name was here) is still around these forums, contact him. He sets up many race cars, and will give you good, no bullshit advice on suspension. Im sorry but good suspension will transform any car, and you will get far better lap times from a well sorted suspension setup than most other mods.

The basic adjustability coilovers will give is:

Height adjustment - although this still affects the shock travel you have available

Damping (bump) - how much resistance to movement the damper offers. This is to stop the suspension bouncing as you drive along - it damps out the oscillation. The damper (shock) will allow slow movement, but will resist against hard movement. When you hit a big bump, or land from a jump, the bump damping is what stops the car from rubbing its belly on the ground, or the tyre bouncing out of contact with the road.

Damping (rebound) - this is how much resistance there is to rebound, ie the wheel being pushed away from the car. After you've landed from your bump, the car will be pushed back to its normal ride height by the spring. Without reboung damping, the car will lift too far, and have to come back down again against the bump damping. The rebound damping will control the extension of the spring.

Spring rates - by being able to replace springs with a large range of off the shelf springs. YOu can get virtually any length and rate you want. With your factory setup, there will only be a few springs available that will actually fit in the car, because of the physical dimensions of the springs.

Damping is basically achieved by forcing fluid (oil) through a tiny hole as the shock extends or compresses. This is carefully designed and calibrated (called the valving) to control how much bump and rebound there is, and these have to be matched to the car's weight and spring rates. Over time the valves wear out, seals wear out, oil degrades etc. Good quality gear will last longer before wearing out, and can be rebuilt by replacing these items. The cheap chinese ebay crap will wear out fast and is a throw away once worn out. But it looks nice and shiny and has clever names, so a lot of people buy them, then sell them second hand when they wear out.

[10 4]

^^Thats why I said Danny @ JPC, cause all his shit is good and IIRC, comes with warranty.

FWIW: SydneyKid's suspension setup is awesome (had coils + sways, pineapples n shit) on my old 32, really couldn't fault it!

[Jonno34]

James thats a shame about SAUWA

Yeah i've found a few other cruise clubs and stuff .. headcase has one as well

And I'll head down to JPC sometime during the week and shop around a bit, cheers for the contact!

Well the car's N/A for now, but I hope to be able to do the turbo conversion one day in the future when i don't get charged millions to insure a turbo car, so I figured while its n/a I'd do the mods that would be good to have even when its turbo ... and just good to have anyway like suspension/brakes etc

but 2.5k to 3k does seem alot, especially when compared to the 1.3k BC coilovers!

Sydneykid was the one who wrote the threads on mono/twin tube shocks, and gave me something to think about rather than just the BC's.

Warps - cheers for the info on suspension mate! Really helpful