Stagea Suspension

[RB26VL]

hey sk nice detailed info cheers

also how much did all the parts set u back?

[mcnamg]

sydney kid love the pics and its good to see detailed instructions like size of sockets needed and even part numbers

do you mind if i use this info and put it into an article in the stagea specs section? all credit to you of course.

[Sydneykid]

also how much did all the parts set u back?

Somewhere between $400 and $500 I can't remember, but I got some bushes (for rear camber & front caster) at the same time.

sydney kid love the pics and its good to see detailed instructions like size of sockets needed and even part numbers

do you mind if i use this info and put it into an article in the stagea specs section? all credit to you of course.

Thanks and no problems do with it whatever you want, I put it up for the fellow Stagea owners to use. Stageas really need a stabiliser bar upgrade and it is such a worthwhile couple of hours. I hated the thought of guys simply whacking some Jap coil overs in and thinking that they have done the best they can. That's why I did the bars first. No ride degredation, but a big handling improvement, it's a win win.

Hoping to put the bushes in next weekend, means a trip to the workshop as I need to use the 20 tonne press. Probably not a job you could easily do at home like the stabiliser bars. But I will stick up how to and some pictures. If I get time, I will show how to do a quick wheel alignment as well.

[burkey22]

SK. Did you see my query about lowered springs (#33)? You would be able to tell me wouldn't you?

[Sydneykid]

SK. Did you see my query about lowered springs (#33)? You would be able to tell me wouldn't you?

Sorry burkey I missed it, what was it you wanted to know?

[burkey22]

Is it O.K. to just fit lowered springs to the standard shocks? I think I remember reading somewhere that you shouldn't do it. I'm quite happy with how it handles I'd just like it to ride a little lower. How long do the stock shocks normally last? My car has only done 35000ks.

[Sydneykid]

Is it O.K. to just fit lowered springs to the standard shocks? I think I remember reading somewhere that you shouldn't do it. I'm quite happy with how it handles I'd just like it to ride a little lower. How long do the stock shocks normally last? My car has only done 35000ks.

This is not an easy question to answer. When I engineer lowered springs I generally have to increase the spring rate. This is because there is simply less travel available to soak up the bumps, so a stronger spring rate is needed to prevent the car hitting the bump stops all the time. For a lowering of around 40 mm this usually means a 20 to 30% increase in spring rate. Some standard shocks handle this rate increase easily, some don't handle it at all.

I don't know what the spring designer has decided to increase the spring rate by. Some stick to the 20% area (Whiteline for example), others prefer the 30% area (Kings for example). Now that is just the rate increase to maintain the travel/spring rate relationship. When springs makers decide to improve the handling by further increasing the spring rates, you can end up with some really silly stuf like 300% increases.

Add to this the usual degredation in performance of shock absorbers over time and you end up with very much a guess as to whether they can handle the unknown spring rate or not.

If you are fitting them yourself, then I would suggest go ahead and try it, it's your time. If you are paying someone to do it, then I would always get the shocks done at the same time. The cost of removing them twice (once for springs and then again later for shocks) makes this an easy decision.

Hope that helps:cheers:

[Terminal]

I went and priced some whiteline stabiliser bars today at Inline at queanbeyan, about $240 for each bar. i'm thinking this will be my first upgrade. Thanks heaps for the installation guide Sydneykid, it'll really help me a lot. i'll be looking at some new shocks/springs next, but this seems like a cheap quick fix for my handling problems.

[Enterthestagea]

What about $550 for a set of bilsteins, and I think the rears were $350.

[tigerleo62]

I am fitting a 24 mm Whiteline adjustable bar (Part #BNF27XZ)

The rear bar is 19 mm and solid, like an R33 GTS

I am fitting a 22 mm Whiteline adjustable bar (Part #BNR11XZ)

Thanks for the article/DIY - I am arranging to get this done myself as it sounds like a very worthwhile mod to do.

A question though, you said you fitted a 24mm front swaybar (Part #BNF27Z), however Whiteline's catalogue says that part number is 22mm... was this a typo, or had you intended to fit a 22mm front bar rather than 24mm in the first place?

Thanks again for the info!

[Sydneykid]

As you can see from the pictures of the box it was BNF27Z, and I measured it and it was 24 mm. When I ordered it, I ordered "BNF27Z, 24 mm front adjustable stabiliser bar for 1997 Nssan Stagea". So I got what I ordered.

I will check with Whiteline next time I am talking to them about the catalogue, maybe it should be 24 mm or maybe they should have labelles mine "BNF27XZ".

Either way be specific in what you order (part number and description) and you won't have any problems:cheers:

[tigerleo62]

Thanks for the reply - so basically you did intend to have the 24mm bar at the front rather than 22mm. Whiteline has part #BNF24Z as a 24mm bar - I wonder whether they sent you that in the BNF27Z box?

I have been talking to a Perth supplier of Whiteline and they said Whiteline would have to make up the bars as they don't have any in stock, so I wanted to make sure I was going to be ordering the correct (front) size bar. I know sfa about this stuff, but it seemed odd to increase the rear bar a fair deal while not increasing the front bar that much (if it was a 22mm bar).

How is the car handling now that you have had a week or so to drive it around?

Cheers and thanks for the info!

[Sydneykid]

Thanks for the reply - so basically you did intend to have the 24mm bar at the front rather than 22mm. Whiteline has part #BNF24Z as a 24mm bar - I wonder whether they sent you that in the BNF27Z box?

I have been talking to a Perth supplier of Whiteline and they said Whiteline would have to make up the bars as they don't have any in stock, so I wanted to make sure I was going to be ordering the correct (front) size bar. I know sfa about this stuff, but it seemed odd to increase the rear bar a fair deal while not increasing the front bar that much (if it was a 22mm bar).

How is the car handling now that you have had a week or so to drive it around?

Cheers and thanks for the info!

The Stagea basically understeered quite a bit, much like a GTR, but with more roll. As you would expect, considering the higher centre of gravity. So I decided on a smaller upgrade in the front anti roll rate and a large increase in the rear anti roll rate. It has worked pretty much as I expected, a great improvement in the tyre contact patch and a much better balance in the handling. Depsite the big rear bar upgrade it is not neverous in the rear at all. Despite the under rated shocks that are also well past their use by date.

Highly recommended upgrade:cheers:

PS; Whiteline made my bars (they weren't in stock) in 3 days.

[tigerleo62]

Great stuff, thanks SK!

Yeah, went for a drive this arvo and the understeer and roll was quite unsettling compared to my last car and took a lot of the enjoyment out of the drive - but a wagon isn't going to handle like a 2 dr coupe...

I had read a few articles that said fitting sway bars was probably the cheapest/biggest bang for buck suspension upgrade, but some one like me with no background in cars/mechanics wouldn't know where to start...

Thanks to your article I now have a point of reference - I look forward to other articles by you - even though you "don't know everything"

Cheers

[Gary1]

After fitting the coil overs to my stagea I developed a 'shaking' in the front end under hard acceleration due to a clapped out castor arm bush, so I have ordered solid adjustable castor arms and then the sway bars and bushes for front and rear. A friend has done this to his stagea and the thing is like a rock, it handles better than most GTR's I've ever driven. And this is what I'm hoping for with my car. Will let you know how it turns out.

Cheers

Gary

[ICE12]

I have already recieved my new castor arms and about to order the sway bars, so by the sound of it this should do the job handling.

Let us know how it all good as mine wont be fitted for a while.

Cheers ICE

[michaeljquinn]

After fitting the coil overs to my stagea I developed a 'shaking' in the front end under hard acceleration due to a clapped out castor arm bush, so I have ordered solid adjustable castor arms and then the sway bars and bushes for front and rear.  A friend has done this to his stagea and the thing is like a rock, it handles better than most GTR's I've ever driven.  And this is what I'm hoping for with my car.  Will let you know how it turns out.

Cheers

Gary

Cool

Would appreciate details on your supplier and part #s. Looking at doing the same.. I am assembling a small doc on the suspension upgrades for the staj and need the following

1 - Swaybars - got the whiteline part # and ployurethane bushes to suit

2 - Springs - looks like the stockies will do with machining of strut

3 - Shocks (need part #)

Fronts bilsteins - GTR fronts - need to get groove machined in struts ?? ,

any more details SK (about 40mm lower is plenty)

Rears Bilsteins - GTST rears - another groove machined ?? (help SK), about

40mmn lower

4 - Front camber kit (need part #)

5 - Front adjustable castor arms (need part #)

6 - Rear camber kit (need part #)

Once collated, happy to put the doc in the right place

Many thanks

:Bang:

[Sydneykid]

Cool

  Would appreciate details on your supplier and part #s.  Looking at doing the same.. I am assembling a small doc on the suspension upgrades for the staj and need the following

1 - Swaybars - got the whiteline part # and ployurethane bushes to suit

2 - Springs - looks like the stockies will do with machining of strut

3 - Shocks (need part #)  

         Fronts bilsteins - GTR fronts - need to get groove machined in struts ?? ,  

         any more  details SK (about 40mm lower is plenty)

       Rears Bilsteins - GTST rears - another groove machined ?? (help SK), about  

      40mmn lower

4 - Front camber kit (need part #)

5 - Front adjustable castor arms (need part #)

6 - Rear camber kit (need part #)

Once collated, happy to put the doc in the right place

Many thanks

:Bang:

Hi guys, I will post up the Bilstein part numbers once I have fitted them and I am confident that they fit perfectly and do the job. I am not going to recommend something I haven't personally tried. When I have I will post up pictures, fitting tips and tools used.

The stabilser bars I have already passed on the details of earlier in this thread. Following are the other items I have tried;

Front Caster adj - Radius rod bush KCA332

Front Camber adj kit - upper control arm KCA348

Rear Camber adj kit - upper control arm KCA347

(1 kit = +/- 0.75 deg. 2 kits = +/- 1.5 deg)

[Gary1]

I have some bilstiens, front and rear. They are about 6 weeks old and travelled less than 2000 km for the pair they cost me nearly $800 if you want them you can have them for $500. The only reason I am not using them is because I got a really good deal on some coil overs and have put them in my car.

Cheers

Gary

[C-Red]

Sydneykid,

Did you have any dramas getting the rear bar to fit? I cant seem to get mine to go even close - the mountings are about 35mm out?

Jash