Stagea Group Buy Whiteline & Bilstein

[-FUZZY-]

Ok .... what would be the minimum suspension wise you would do??

I've got a front strut bar, and l don't want to lower the car as its a daily driver and already have a "toy" car.

Rear sway bar? and maybe just sub frame alignment???

[AlexCim]

If you didnt want to do much, i would

-swaybars (at least)

-rear subframe

-caster

[-FUZZY-]

Thanks alex.

Would the caster be really necessary? or would the other two be suffice?

Also when it comes to the fixed & adjustable sway bars, which would be the better to go for? l'm guessing for the small price difference i should go the adjustable?

[AlexCim]

SK said caster is really good, i havnt done it yet to compare but id say its pretty damn needed (steering is pretty "soft")

i got the adjustables, bt i dont adjust them. But, i think they may be better because they have the more "extreme" settings re stiffness

[Sydneykid]

A few guys have asked me to give them some more details on each part and what it is used for and why it is needed. Here is what I wrote for them;

Shocks and spring are prety obvious, I have chosen the Bilstein shock rates to match the spring and stabiliser bar rates,, So they have good sporty ride, not uncomforatable and still give great handling.

If you are going to lower your car (and who isn't?) you are going to need some camber correction, otherwise you are going to wear out the inside of the tyres. This is due to the excessive negative camber that happens to Skylines and Stageas when you lower them. This is what is needed for each height increment;

Standard (new) height is 380 mm (centre of wheel to guard)

360 mm needs only the standard rear camber adjusters

350 mm needs 1 front camber kit and 1 rear camber kit

340 mm needs I front camber kit and 2 rear camber kits

Stabiliser bars are THE best bang for buck handling upgrade you can do. And you can fit them easily yourself.

Adjustable or not? Pretty simple really, if you want/need to spend the time adjusting the anti roll to fine tune the balance just how you like it and you know what you like, then the extra cost of adjustable stabiliser bars is worth it. But if you just want to put them on and forget about it, then save some money and go the fixed rate bars. I have chosen the anti roll rates (bar sizes) that complement the rest of the kit. So have no fear that they are inferior in some way, because they aren't.

Skylines and Stageas NEVER have enough caster. That's why they wander at speed and understeer on turn in, not enough caster. The 4wd ones are worse, they have even less caster than 2wd versions. They really benefit big time from more caster.

You could leave out the rear subframe alignment kit, but it is only ~$100 and takes 10 minutes to fit. Age softens them and the strandard rear subframe bushes need all the help they can get even when new.

A few guys have asked, no don't make any money of what they buy, I got paid for doing the engineering of the kits. So I don't really care whether someone buys a whole kit or not, I am just letting you know why each component is there in the kit. If I could have left out some parts I would have, but I couldn't.

Hope that answered your questions.

cheers

Edited October 15, 2005 by Sydneykid

[GoldZilla]

Hmmm, I'm just wondering, SK, how long are we going to be able to source parts from this Group Buy? I will probably get at least a Caster kit soon (once all the initial "new car" financial hurdles have been cleared), because I agree that the steering just off centre is a bit "loose" and it doesn't quite self-centre as well as it could. And the stabiliser bar seems to be popular and effective, so that might be a go as well.

Is it a matter of a number of sets or packages being made available, or will this keep going on for a while, and then Whiteline and Bilstein just catering to the demand as and when required?

But as far as changing the shocks and springs (and camber correction, of course)? I'd really like to lower it (haven't checked the clearences yet, but it is up high), but fact is that they are doing a great job at the moment and I seriously doubt they'd need replacement. Turns out it's not going to be my daily driver, but enjoying the car now and the thought of putting it off the road even for a few days, well...

Cheers,

Nick T.

[Sydneykid]

Hmmm, I'm just wondering, SK, how long are we going to be able to source parts from this Group Buy?  I will probably get at least a Caster kit soon (once all the initial "new car" financial hurdles have been cleared), because I agree that the steering just off centre is a bit "loose" and it doesn't quite self-centre as well as it could.  And the stabiliser bar seems to be popular and effective, so that might be a go as well.

Is it a matter of a number of sets or packages being made available, or will this keep going on for a while, and then Whiteline and Bilstein just catering to the demand as and when required?

But as far as changing the shocks and springs (and camber correction, of course)?  I'd really like to lower it (haven't checked the clearences yet, but it is up high), but fact is that they are doing a great job at the moment and I seriously doubt they'd need replacement.  Turns out it's not going to be my daily driver, but enjoying the car now and the thought of putting it off the road even for a few days, well...

Cheers,

Nick T.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hi Nick, I thought I covered your first quesion in post #70;

Bilstein won't make Skyline shocks just for Australia, we don't order enough to make it worthwhile them doing a production run. So we have to wait until Japan orders. Nobody knows how long that will take, could be months, might be tomorrow. Plus Bilstein production scheduling is currently 3 to 5 months ahead. So that's the minimum anyway.

If the Bilstein distributor gets enough delivery out of the production run. then I might be able to convince them to do it again. But if they only get a handfull, then they won't want to offer a cheap price. It's a kit deal, so I don't think I will be able to get Whiteline on board without Bilstein.

The bottom line, if you want a set, then order them now, I would much rather SAU guys get them than outsiders. Jamex will hold them on deposit ($100 a shock).

I don't know how else to express it. There are 2 sets of Stagea front Bilsteins left, then that's it, no more Group Buy, for I don't know how long.

Yep, the caster kit is very worthwhile, makes a big difference to turn in, steering feel and straight line stability. They are hard to fit without the right equipment. I did a Skyline caster kit a couple of days ago. Jacked it up, took the wheels off and removed the radius rods. Popped down to Heasmans and they used their 20 tonne press to push out the old rubber bushes and push in the new polyurethane adjustable ones. Took about 20 minutes, would have cost about $30 to $40. Then went back home, rotated the adjusters for maximum caster and then fitted them. Drove it to the workshop and did a quick wheel alignment, the toe needs adjusting when you pull on the caster.

I had the standard springs and shocks in for about 20,000ks, the spring rates weren't too bad but the shocks were terrible, Floated around like a boat. So I slipped the Bilsteins in it, dropped it down a few circlip grooves, still with the standard springs, for about 5,000ks. I was working on the kit at that stage and so I needed to check out the whole thing. I was pleasantly surprised at how much difference the springs made. The comfort is only mildy affected and it has a much more sporty feel.

A few of the guys to save installation costs, have fitted their kits over the weekend and then dropped the car off for the wheel alignment (and any stuff they can't do) on the way to work on Monday. Pick it up Monday night, all done. The Stagea Suspension thread has most of the info you need to DIY.

cheers

[AMS]

Hey Guys,

Sorry to post this in here, but anyone who has standard suspension that they would be willing to sell me. Please PM me.

Cheers,

Chris

[emanuelt]

I have 2 small rings from the sub frame kit as I only used 4 out of the six. Does anyone want to buy the other 2 rings off me to have half a sub frame kit installed?

[Tangles]

Got a quick query; are the Whiteline springs with this kit (both front and rear) a better buy than say Tein S. Tech Lowering Springs to suit the WGC34? Can anyone comment on this please?

Also, how would the Whiteline front camber set compare to the Tein front Fixed camber kit? Cheers for your thoughts...

Im going to grab some suspn goodies from the original list, just going through all the various options etc....

Brendan

Edited October 29, 2005 by bwilkeson

[thedriver]

I don't know how else to express it.  There are 2 sets of Stagea front Bilsteins left, then that's it, no more Group Buy, for I don't know how long.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Does that mean there are no more rears available either?

I think you mentioned some problems with the rear of your car when you only had the fronts installed.

[rodd]

Hi guys , just picked up my Stag1997 yesterday and came across this terrific site and the group buy- With 120k's on the clock, I would love to get the "lot" but am I too late? I expect to join a number of discussions anyway, as I have RB26 manual conversion in mind and there is a heap of helpful info here. I live in Manly and I see very few Stageas around here! Regards, Rodd.

[StageZilla]

Hi guys , just picked up my Stag1997 yesterday and came across this terrific site and the group buy- With 120k's on the clock, I would love to get the "lot" but am I too late? I expect to join a number of discussions anyway, as I have RB26 manual conversion in mind and there is a heap of helpful info here. I live in Manly and I see very few Stageas around here! Regards, Rodd.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

hey rodd, sounds interesting, ive done the rb26/manual conversion and honestly i would buy a 260rs straight up, the stagea diff is useless, brakes too, engine and box useless obviously, clutch booster is a pain in the bum as u gotta chop a 4" hole in the firewall, and lastly it cost me as much as a 260rs to do mine (though i had plenty more mods like highflow turbos/autronics, twin plate clutch)

just some advice, but if that still makes u wanna do it then feel free to ask any q's and ill try and help

260rs is 40K with 80 000km on the clock in perth, wish i bought that to save the hassles, but i had the 26 etc from my previous car.

cheers

Brad

[rodd]

Hey Brad, thanks for the reply; I had thought of the 260 but hadn't seen many at the time I was looking, so let the idea go. Looking at the hassles ahead, if they aren't too time consuming, I'm up for it. I figured that for the money,[a budget of $20000 to 23000 on top of the car] and careful selection of components that Icould get a reasonably reliable daily driver with around 275rWkW's. does that sound possible? I have to say though that it seems alot more complicated than my tuner has told me. How did your conversion go power/performance-wise and would you do it again? Regards, Rod

[emanuelt]

Ill probably get the castor and subframe kits in the new few days.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Did you order the subframe kit? I'll sell you 2 small rings for $30? or anyone else.

[muck]

any updates as to an ETA on these kits SK?

[Sydneykid]

any updates as to an ETA on these kits SK?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yep, Skyline and Stagea springs are due today, just waiting on the comfirmation of exactly what part numbers. I will PM all of the guys with outstanding orders as soon as I know.

Cheers

[Tangles]

How long does Whiteline take to make up a set of springs, and swaybars?

Going to do some suspension work over xmas/January.....

Cheers, Brendan

[Sydneykid]

How long does Whiteline take to make up a set of springs, and swaybars?

Going to do some suspension work over xmas/January.....

Cheers, Brendan

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hi Brendan, stabiliser bars are made to order, which takes about 4-5 working days. Usually they have springs in stock, but I found it hard to guess the Group Buy volumes and mix and they ran out of a few part numbers. Had to wait for the production cycle to go around, usually 3-4 weeks, but this time ended up 6 weeks.

cheers

[Tangles]

Thanks mate, will suss it out in December.

Will definately order the swaybars, might just add a circlip gruve to the KYB shocks I bought, like you have to the Bilsteins, and either use standard springs or (probably) go Whiteline springs.......

Will place and order asap. Thanks.

Brendan