Guide: Strut and brake conversion for TA from RA

[Born-Enthusiast]

Oh and rosco, if you had waatched me do my conversion you would have seen me do it out of the car with a humble breaker bar and alot of fuckin around.

[79GT]

hahah definately was not having a go mate. its a great right up. and hey backyard smarts is what separates the tools (get the job done) from the tool bags (holder of the tools).

attempting it this weekend. will take photos if ya like. Jamie

[Born-Enthusiast]

Damn straight mate I wasn't commenting on your reply mate It's the mentality of "if you don't have a rattle gun you can't do it " I was discouraging. Rattle guns just make the job easier so woman can become mechanics ha ha (jokes).
Oh photo's would be excellent I didn't take any when I did mine and you could post them on here for some visable evidence.

[Roscos]

You forgot to say undo the stablizer bar from the lower control arm as it is easier to pull struts out and you can then check on the rubbers.


Roscos

[Born-Enthusiast]

ok well don't forget to do that guys however it isn't a neccessary procedure but aways smart to check your rubber before any frictional contact s engaged ha ha

[79GT]

gday guys, just reporting back about my strut change over.....unfortunately not as straight forward as it was supposed to be.

saying that, the instructions are correct, just unfortunately they expect to understand certain things. my recommendations, to those who are not as mechanically minded as others. the following are those things to be aware of.

** below the strut topis the top of the spring seat. make sure this is in its correct position before releasing spring compressors and tightening strut top. (two rectangular edges in which the top spring seat aligns in.
***this conversion DOES NOT allow for thirteen inch rims, even with a substantial amount of grinding....no chance - currently borrowing a set of 14" ma61 rims...looks pretty cool.

other than that, will see how much of an improvement is seen. the disks and pads are substantially bigger.

good luck to anyone looking to do this conversion. will post up my opinion of the quality of the setup when i take it for a good drive.

[Born-Enthusiast]

After having completed this conversion I was happt and content and deemed my work to be good. However upon further observations I have noticed just a few more adaptions to this conversion that I may have overlooked that would just top off the job.

So for best results so far you will need in addition to other materials and tools:
- Modified rubber stops or higher tensile springs
- Bored brake booster
- A wee bit more of your partners pay check

Due to the nature of how brakes work 101 bigger brakes need more pressure behind them to work them. Using your standard TA brake booster as mighty as it is just isn't quite enough. To produce the needed pressure you need to push more fluid through the lines and to do that you will need the help of a talented machinist.

As I have yet to complete these sections of the upgrade anyones previous experience would be gratefully accepted. I have heard a boring to a 1" diameter is the go and you will need to research this in greater detail.

Something else I have experienced is that with the lowered springs and new shocks I am now hitting the rubber stoppers when I go over bumps. Now this can be ignored but is not healhty for your suspension system. Again I have not come to a definate solution but we've been throwing idea's around the office and come up with two solutions. 1, Modify the stock rubbers to allow more up and down movement A replacement rubber should be available somewhere if not from another car. 2, Order better springs so they are a higher tensile and have less give in them. This option may or may not work. Please feel free to discuss any options you have developed.

[dougTA22]

Something else I have experienced is that with the lowered springs and new shocks I am now hitting the rubber stoppers when I go over bumps. Now this can be ignored but is not healhty for your suspension system. Again I have not come to a definate solution but we've been throwing idea's around the office and come up with two solutions. 1, Modify the stock rubbers to allow more up and down movement A replacement rubber should be available somewhere if not from another car. 2, Order better springs so they are a higher tensile and have less give in them. This option may or may not work. Please feel free to discuss any options you have developed.

I know it's a bit of an old thread, so try not to flame me too hard... What have people been doing to fix this problem? anyone tried either of the above mentioned options? I'm looking into doing this for my ta22

Thanks,
Doug

[Born-Enthusiast]

you can also order more expensive suspension ones that have more play. also i've heard talk that MR2 shocks fit into the RA struts and possibly could fix this problem.

[Born-Enthusiast]

I have been talking with a mate of mine and we think theoretically using a shock absorber from an mr2 may fix the issue. of course this is theoretical and probably not advised. but the Mr2 shock is thicker and would give more resistance then the TA's shock. of course the RA shock may also be acceptable as I am running TA shocks as I bought them new before the conversion.

[Axel]

has anyone succesfully put RA60 struts and brakes into a TA22?

I started this job today and it's turned out to be bit of a nightmare.
First I tried everything in the right position on the passenger side - RA60 steering arm and strut but the caliper doesn't clear the tie rod end.

After much trial and error I think it might work if I do the following:

1. Swap the RA60 stuts from side to side so the D/S is on the P/S etc

2. run the calipers obviously in the front position rather than at the rear of the disk (this just clears the sway bay and stabaliser bar due to swapping the steering arms side to side.

3. turn the tie rod end up side down so it sits on top of the steering arm...I tried under the steering arm in the normal position but because the steering arm is on the wrong side the angle looked a bit ugly.

Any thoughts?

[andrewzuku]

Can anyone who's done this conversion tell me how much difference it's made?

I'm thinking of doing it in reverse: downgrading my RA28 to TA22 struts/hubs/discs so I can fit 13in wheels.

[caam]

I did this conversion awhile ago and it made a huge difference.
mind you that was going from stocko 40 year old everything to new pads rotors and rebuilt calipers.

I wouldn't recommend 22 brakes for stopping the mighty 18RG

[andrewzuku]

The reason I'm thinking about it is the JDM brochures I've got show photos of RA21, RA23, RA25, and RA28s with 13inch wheels. I guess it's cheap enough to try, and is easy to revert if it's horrible...

I'm probably steering this thread a little off topic, so I should probably shut up about it for now

[masterofsinanju]

Would you run into legality issues?

Andrewzuku: Hello Mr Plod, why yes I have extensively modified my car to include shithouse brakes. But don't my JDM spec 13" rims look teh shiznit?
Mr Plod: Why yes they do, on your way and you have a nice day now.

Seriously, no chance of fitting thirteens of the stock 23/28 setup?