Stagea Suspension

[RBW49N]

2 minutes ago, Duncan said:

weird, I have standard r34 GTR wheels (18x9 +30) on my factory auto and they fit perfect inside and out

Too low that’s the same size I have as well and if you go to low you get rubing 

[Yeevez]

12 minutes ago, RBW49N said:

It will alter the track of the car and enable you to run less camber without hitting the outer guard and give the coil over clearance 

Interesting so wouldn’t need to change rims or anything. Have you done this swap/seen it done before with a stagea? 

[RBW49N]

I havnt done it myself but I do need to do it. Plenty of people have done it and factory manual cars have that same width so they have less issues with wheels hitting at low heights

[Yeevez]

11 minutes ago, RBW49N said:

Too low that’s the same size I have as well and if you go to low you get rubing 

It’s not stupidly low, 120mm to underside of skirts 

[Yeevez]

5 minutes ago, RBW49N said:

I havnt done it myself but I do need to do it. Plenty of people have done it and factory manual cars have that same width so they have less issues with wheels hitting at low heights

Sounds like a good option for me to look into, thanks for the info appreciate it 👌🏻👍🏻

[GTSBoy]

11 minutes ago, Yeevez said:

It’s not stupidly low, 120mm to underside of skirts 

Yeah, but what about the measurements that matter, like the eyebrow height?

[Yeevez]

53 minutes ago, GTSBoy said:

Yeah, but what about the measurements that matter, like the eyebrow height?

315 ish 

[GTSBoy]

Which is about 30mm lower than minimum recommended for R and C chassis cars. You can go that low, but there are consequences for suspension geometry (and thus to handling, which will have....quirks) and also to clearance to lip/struts.

[Wazmond]

So currently im running a set of TEIN Lowdown spec, freestyle master, Superflex Wagons (long name i know aha)
Numbers on it are GRN78-11931, WGNC34-F, 1F017. Probably wont really matter the numbers. 
Anyhows, had my car driven by me pops earlier today on Old Pacific Hwy, to get an idea of what to do regarding suspension. Final verdict was shocks needs a rebuild/replacing, control arm bushings are worn out, and better tyres (currently running winrun r330 215/50/17 for now).

Just wondering whether I should get the teins rebuilt etc or go for the bilstein setup (will mainly be street driven and may may may-be get tracked). 

As for bushings, just deciding on whether to replace the stock control arms etc with adjustables , or to just replace the bushings with most likely polyurethane on the ole stock arms etc.

[RBW49N]

20 hours ago, Wazmond said:

So currently im running a set of TEIN Lowdown spec, freestyle master, Superflex Wagons (long name i know aha)
Numbers on it are GRN78-11931, WGNC34-F, 1F017. Probably wont really matter the numbers. 
Anyhows, had my car driven by me pops earlier today on Old Pacific Hwy, to get an idea of what to do regarding suspension. Final verdict was shocks needs a rebuild/replacing, control arm bushings are worn out, and better tyres (currently running winrun r330 215/50/17 for now).

Just wondering whether I should get the teins rebuilt etc or go for the bilstein setup (will mainly be street driven and may may may-be get tracked). 

As for bushings, just deciding on whether to replace the stock control arms etc with adjustables , or to just replace the bushings with most likely polyurethane on the ole stock arms etc.

It’s a lot of time and effort to get the Teins rebuilt when you could get some nice Bilsteins in there for similar money  and have a better overall ride. 
some bushes like the radius rods are better in Heim/rose joints and others (all of the others) are better in polyurethane for a road car

[GTSBoy]

Hmm. My approach to the question of rebuild Teins or buy Bilstein is...neither.

I got about the last set of revalved Bilsteins that Gary did. They were substantially better than the exact same model, not worn out, but not revalved Bilsteins I already had in the car. If I couldn't get something with same/similar valving, I don't think I could buy B6s.

I do not like Teins.

Therefore, if I had to buy suspension for my car again any time soon, I'd probably be buying the hardest edge** street/track coilovers from MCA or Shockworks as I could.

** I say hardest edge, meaning the sportiest stuff they do that they reckon can be driven on the street without just being totally inappropriate for that task.

[Sydneykid]

Hi guys, I do have set of rear Stagea Gen1/2 Bilsteins revalved, only used as a test fit for a couple of days.  They are height adj coil overs, used strut tops with new sphericals and Whiteline stacked springs, a helper/tender plus a 265lb main spring. 

If you need fronts I can still source them, but delivery is from Germany so not overnight.

Cheers

Gary

[Kinkstaah]

It's also worth mentioning you can get custom valved suspension revalved. My OG ones from SK above did eventually start leaking after many years, and I contacted Bilstein Australia on FB who directed me to Sydney Shocks who repaired and revalved mine to my what I asked for, after they had a chat/consult about the handling behaviour I wanted in the shocks.

Lets just say they ended up pretty different, and they did exactly what I asked of them. So the expertise is definitely there!

[Duncan]

1 hour ago, Sydneykid said:

Hi guys, I do have set of rear Stagea Gen1/2 Bilsteins revalved, only used as a test fit for a couple of days.  They are height adj coil overs, used strut tops with new sphericals and Whiteline stacked springs, a helper/tender plus a 265lb main spring. 

If you need fronts I can still source them, but delivery is from Germany so not overnight.

Cheers

Gary

Great to hear from you Gary

[GTSBoy]

17 minutes ago, Duncan said:

Great to hear from you Gary

I was going to say, "Mein Gott! He's Alive!"

Or in this instance perhaps it's closer to "speak of the devil". He was invoked.

[Sydneykid]

23 hours ago, Duncan said:

Great to hear from you Gary

Thanks Dunc, haven't seen you at a race track recently.

 

Cheers

 Gary

[Wazmond]

On 15/04/2024 at 10:11 AM, Sydneykid said:

Hi guys, I do have set of rear Stagea Gen1/2 Bilsteins revalved, only used as a test fit for a couple of days.  They are height adj coil overs, used strut tops with new sphericals and Whiteline stacked springs, a helper/tender plus a 265lb main spring. 

If you need fronts I can still source them, but delivery is from Germany so not overnight.

Cheers

Gary

Would they fit the series 2 awd auto? Assuming theyre still in decent shape, how much are you asking for (including fronts)? Not in a rush to get them as im using the TEINS they came with, just a rough ride.
 

On 14/04/2024 at 11:21 PM, GTSBoy said:

Therefore, if I had to buy suspension for my car again any time soon, I'd probably be buying the hardest edge** street/track coilovers from MCA or Shockworks as I could.

Yeah, considering I cant afford a very nice set of coilovers, im thinkin Voston Comforts (Sent MCA an email, and theyre saying Voston Sports though but 13/8KG I reckon would be too stiff). In that price range, was considering the BC-BR RS( rubber mount, not pillowball). not sure of spring rates yet, but my thoughts so far.

[GTSBoy]

29 minutes ago, Wazmond said:

(Sent MCA an email, and theyre saying Voston Sports though but 13/8KG I reckon would be too stiff)

I think you'd be surprised. The quality of the damping is very important (which MCA obviously take some care over). This is the reason I do not like Teins, because even with 8/6 kg springs, I think their damping is rubbish.

MCA are in the camp of "very high spring rate, low ARB rate". Hence the really heavy springs on their gear. I think Gary's approach was from the opposite camp, which is to keep the spring rates lower and control roll with bars - although granted my only association with him is wrt to his B6 based setup for street Skylines and for that he was constrained to use off the shelf stock format springs and stock format mass market dampers (albeit revalved for improved performance). It's very much a horses for courses thing though, as both approaches are ultimately compromises that will favour one usage model over another, and they do not end up being totally equivalent to each other.

[Watermouse]

I had teins on my Forester turbo, loved them to a degree because of the EDFC.  Well 2yrs ago my son realigned my suspension geometry for me resulting in two non serviceable coil overs. Was not going to replace with more teins as I hated the ‘crunches’ and through your spine stiff as a mofo impacts. So, I spoke to MCA and they set me up with some soft street duty coil overs for about $2,400. Night and day but still on the stiffer side

[Stick180]

31 minutes ago, GTSBoy said:

I think you'd be surprised. The quality of the damping is very important (which MCA obviously take some care over). This is the reason I do not like Teins, because even with 8/6 kg springs, I think their damping is rubbish.

MCA are in the camp of "very high spring rate, low ARB rate". Hence the really heavy springs on their gear. I think Gary's approach was from the opposite camp, which is to keep the spring rates lower and control roll with bars - although granted my only association with him is wrt to his B6 based setup for street Skylines and for that he was constrained to use off the shelf stock format springs and stock format mass market dampers (albeit revalved for improved performance). It's very much a horses for courses thing though, as both approaches are ultimately compromises that will favour one usage model over another, and they do not end up being totally equivalent to each other.

This is completely different to their OG approach. I have the R&D/guinea pig  set of MCA Blue coilovers in my stagea from about 9 years ago. Josh started with a rough R33 spec valving figure and spring rates (which was 10/8kg). We went for a whiteknuckled test drive through the Landsborough hinterland before he decided needed more valving and less spring. Eventually settled for 7/5kg springs and a bunch more valving (unsure of figures). I was running on some Tein Superwagon coilovers at the time and the difference was night and day. And after going for a ride with a fellow stagea chum who runs BC golds, i still believe the MCA Blues i have are still by far a better ride.

As for Voston, as far as i am aware, that is their budget brand and nothing like the Pro series they offer now, or anything like the Blue/Red or Gold series back in the day