coilover tube thread Q

[45aken]

does anyone know if the threaded tubes you buy from noltec etc have the same thread as coilovers you buy (apexi/tein etc)?
i have just disassembled my blown apexi coilovers from the wrx and am putting them into the ae86, i managed to get the lock nut, spring seat, spring (7kg/mm), and top hat with a spacer, and im hoping i can use these on the threaded sleeves. anyone?

[.T.]

i doubt it - as there are a number of different threads & diameters used by different manufacturers. some kits use a plumbing thread (imperial) yet others use a metric couirse or a metric fine thread.

any decent machine shop could rethread or remake the spring collars for you though


T

[takai]

I think also that most of the places which sell the coilover kits only sell them with the spring collars as well. If you bought a threaded section with a spring collar then sure, you can use your upper hat and springs with that.

[45aken]

yeah im finding out off my mate right now, im pretty sure fulcrum sell seperate parts, but i think it's an alloy tube, which just makes thing a bit more difficult as usual. i was hoping that the apexi stuff fitted, but if not the seat+lock cant cost too much.

my old coilovers and my mates old ones (S13) has the strut fully threaded, so maybe i might get the angle grinder out on those if the inner dia is right. a fully threaded tube has to be better than a 120mm one! and i might as well use all my old stuff as it's just sitting in the workshop anyways, and it's not like apexi is poor quality.

[takai]

Yes, Fulcrum sell just the collar and threaded section, and it is alloy tubing. But all you have to do there is get a small collar machined up with the ID the same as the strut OD. I believe even some exhaust pipe would do. The collar i got cost $80 for them.

[roadsailing]

AFAIK S13 and AE86 struts are the same diameter, so you wont be ale to slip the S13 struts over the AE86 struts.

i'll buy your S13 coilovers off you if you want some funds to go towards the collar kit though

[45aken]

yeah all the machining is simple stuff. (i work as an engineer and know plent of fab shops) even a 2" ID pipe welded on to make a ring would be sufficient, with a few small spot welds to hold the tube in place.

another Q for takai, have you ever heard or seen anyone modify the rear spring seats to run a 63 or 65mm ID coilover spring instead of the stock dia ones?

[45aken]

the struts are my mates, HKS adjustables, but there blown, and im stealing the camber plates!

[gearb0x]

Here is a site detailing someone using 63mm springs on the rear of an 86

http://www.pdm-racing.com/features/AE86_buildup.html (down the bottom)

Seems plenty of people do it, how effective it is i dont know, should find more if you look hard enough, there was some talk on the old forums about it

[45aken]

seems pretty straight forward, although it is pointless doing it with the stock diff because im upgrading it in the future. i think i'll go for the k-mac's now, then when i look into getting the diff i can do all the customising while it's out of the car.
looking at the page you'd think with a BIG hit the metal pole that guides the spring to the top perch might hit the threaded tube, might look into that when the times comes around.

[takai]

Yeah, thats quite common for people to run 65mm ID springs on the rear. A lot of the IPRA guys end up doing it so that corner weighting can be done better. I may end up doing it later in the season, or next season.

[roadsailing]

if you move the springs further outboard then you will get more roll resistance for a given spring rate too, which is a good thing. how noticable this would be i have no idea.

[45aken]

yes the roll resistance would be improved. i'd say there would be a fair amount of improvement depending on the distance the spring is moved out. f=massxdistance(from the pivot point) is a simple way of looking at it, but if you were to go to that extent you would use coilovers for the rear, because a) you'd be able to corner wieght the car properly b)with the spring where the shock is it would sit at the most outward point, resulting in the biggest differnce in roll resistance.
i dont know anything about the IPRA rules regarding suspension though.

[takai]

IPRA basically states that it must be in the same location as the stock setup. And the 1" or so you could move it outwards while staying within the confines of the stock spring seat isnt really worth it.

[45aken]

true true. what about having the spring angled with the top pointing towards the centre? i dont intend in competing in IP so im going to look into the rear coilover setup a bit further down the line.
with the rear coilovers, is the threaded tube 'pressed' onto the shock using a clamp at the bottom? (T3 coilover style) im pretty sure it is, but there has to be some form of support to hold it up better.