Equivelent Suspension To Sydneykid

[Beer Baron]

yeah there is no doubt heasmans are not the cheapest guy out there, BUT you get a lot for your money. they have some of the smartest blokes in nsw in suspension tuning on their payroll and have a huge wealth of knowledge, and they have all the bet equipment and huge back-up stock and aftersales support for all their products. so you can easily get your shocks rebuilt, re-valved or whatever in the future. so you pay a bit more, but you definitely get a bit more too.

[nisskid]

Can anyone recommend a shop to re-valve my Bilsteins? I am considering increasing the spring rate (Not to anything like those listed above) but am a little wary of the local Bilstein outlet as I was not all that convinced by them in a recent phone conversation. I'm in WA.

sydney shocks

[Lippo]

OK for the guys asking where to get cheaper prices, I priced everything (from the SK GB) except the shocks from bursons a few months ago and was $500 cheaper overall. This was trade price too. Bursons are whiteline agents.

Edited March 18, 2009 by Lippo

[SS8_Gohan]

jeebus, when were the SK group buys put together? go have a look... 2005, do you think possibly some shit got cheaper since then? like roy said, things change and it's been 4 YEARS!

when i got my SK stuff waaaay back in 2006, i did price everything via Bursons, via a store manager at Midas, and other people with "connections", NOTHING was cheaper back then - i could not check the bilsteins as i didn't have part numbers, but at that stage i believe you couldn't buy the SK bilsteins off the shelf, but was also under the impression this did change over time.

have a look at the date now, March 2009... 4 years on!! lets keep some perspective people and don't drag a guys name down for no logical reason who gave an absolute shiteload to this forum..... for FREE

anyone got anything against the geometry settings he gave on the GB's? i don't, and neither did one of the best suspension places in melb either... Traction Tyres... - they were great STREET kits that could handle some track work, that's how they were always meant to be. I think people forget that sometimes (although i think he did have some more track orientated kits)

Trent @ Status tuning was driving my car the other day, and he straight away commented on how nicely the car rode and handled.

p.s. Centreline is a rip off and sick of the SK sniping

EDIT: just noticed SK's post count is 11,111 - highly doubt that was a coincidence... not really relevant, just thought it was interesting...

[LotusGTR]

p.s. Centreline is a rip off and sick of the SK sniping

You mean they are expensive? Or something worse?

[Habler]

SS8 Gohan people asked for an alternative place to buy suspension and people were given options while being noted that it is possible to get it cheaper than SK's group buy as I think this was a lot of people's worries. Nobody had a go at SK for his prices it was just pointed out to fellow skyline owners there are alternatives that are cheaper.

As for SK names being dragged down for no reason? Your a complete fool. Re-read the thread or the other numerous threads where SK has done his old "disappearance" act with peoples money. The lies, no communication and utter bullshit a lot of people had to put up with is a few of the reasons his name was dragged down.

You point out how good the suspension is but no one argued that.... You missed the entire point and then you go and drag another companies name down without offering any sort of explanation but just your personnel view. f**king hypocritical much?

[SS8_Gohan]

ok, i apologise, i got a littler carried away because of this growing trend against SK without even giving one ounce of thought to what he gave to the forum.

people are taking little snipes here and there and it gets annoying.

You say that it's possible to get SK prices cheaper, and my point is well of course it is! It is 4 years later we're talking about! From the outset, SK did all the testing himself, got the Bilsteins sorted to suit the off the shelf whiteline springs. Found what worked with the adj swaybars, found what you'd need in terms of geometry. You got ALL of that, and AT THE TIME, at no extra cost to what anyone else could get, trade or otherwise, which if you think about is a lot cheaper because most places would not have charged for just 'parts alone' they would have added an 'R+D' component ontop. So you got a custom package to suit a range of Nissan's without a massive price tag whacked on top.

And in pointing out the performance of the SK GB was not missing the point, it was staying on point because in addition to what's been said the inference is that the SK kits weren't that special. That's why i mentioned they are great STREET kits which could handle some light track work, they were not meant to be the other way around and i think people forget this.

You make a fair point re SK's reputation and i don't know what happened at the end there, i like many others, never had any problems and i like many others received a lot good free advice. So yes, it's a shame somethings have gone awry at the end of his time here.

As for Centreline? they are mentioned in SK's list on installation places and for a company that supports SAU Vic, for a company i had 20% discount vouchers for, how i could end up with an install price almost TWICE another sus place on SK's list, is a little strange... I get annoyed when a company goes out of the way to support a club and thinks they can charge whatever they want because they have a captive audience. I thought it was relevant because there are melbourne ppl interested in here (ie OP) and it's on the list of SK's sus install places. Granted this was a few years ago now, and as we're already seen a lot has indeed changed. Who would have touched anything Pedders back in '05 '06? Now i noticed quite a few more people run their stuff, i guess a lot has changed.

i know i've gone off topic, but i just wanted to respond to some things in the thread. Sorry for taking it off the OP's question.

[Habler]

I think you might be just making mountains out of mole hills on this one. People pointing out that you can get cheaper prices than SK is not sniping... It's just being helpful. No one questioned their track-ability, no one questioned SK's R& D and no one questioned the prices 4 years ago.

I know the interwebz is hard to interpret tone but I think you'll find people are merely just helping forum members get quality, cheap suspension. Don't take it so personally.

[djr81]

yeh still running the bilsteins, but on the lookout for S13 rears, according to a mate who works at a place who supplies sells bilsteins, the S13's are damped much harder than the R32 gear, in fact the R32 gear is apparently really soft, so for the 6/5 combo its really underdamped.

these are the figures he gave me:

					Ex-length	Comp L	 Bump	Rebound
S13 rear b46-1744	   538	   393	   800	  2070
R32 rear b46-1474	   542	   382	   350	  1335

my old R32 dampers will be going into an R31, but ill still need to get my front R32 dampers revalved to suit the 6kg coils

You didn't happen to get the equivalent numbers for the front by any chance?

[Roy]

Centreline or Tru Track...or Racepace or Nizpro etc etc. All the good places who get it right the first time make your wallet bleed.

Centreline are not cheap, but they are happy to work with you and your budget. I was recently charged $1500 for shock install, wheel alignmnt inc install of a few simple susp components. When you charge around $100 an hour plus parts you see how the cost goes through the roof, this was not by Centreline. But i suspect Centreline would have been similar money

[SS8_Gohan]

I think you might be just making mountains out of mole hills on this one. People pointing out that you can get cheaper prices than SK is not sniping... It's just being helpful. No one questioned their track-ability, no one questioned SK's R& D and no one questioned the prices 4 years ago.

I know the interwebz is hard to interpret tone but I think you'll find people are merely just helping forum members get quality, cheap suspension. Don't take it so personally.

fair point, i shall move on.

For the record, i got my stuff installed at Traction Tyres.

On topic, back in the day the Fulcrum spec'd Tein super streets were the equivalent to the SK stuff as i think both parties realised that jap stuff was a bit over the top for aussie conditions (in general)

but if all the SK is available off the shelf now, is there a need to look for an equivalent if you can build it all yourself for a cheaper price? Any reason why you just can't copy everything? Happy for anyone to take a look at my swaybars if they want to see where they've been drilled out, etc...

And what's the story with the Pedder's stuff? no one would have touched any of that stuff a few years ago... and they're doing coilovers now?

[260tech]

ok, i apologise, i got a littler carried away because of this growing trend against SK without even giving one ounce of thought to what he gave to the forum.

people are taking little snipes here and there and it gets annoying.

You say that it's possible to get SK prices cheaper, and my point is well of course it is! It is 4 years later we're talking about! From the outset, SK did all the testing himself, got the Bilsteins sorted to suit the off the shelf whiteline springs. Found what worked with the adj swaybars, found what you'd need in terms of geometry. You got ALL of that, and AT THE TIME, at no extra cost to what anyone else could get, trade or otherwise, which if you think about is a lot cheaper because most places would not have charged for just 'parts alone' they would have added an 'R+D' component ontop. So you got a custom package to suit a range of Nissan's without a massive price tag whacked on top.

And in pointing out the performance of the SK GB was not missing the point, it was staying on point because in addition to what's been said the inference is that the SK kits weren't that special. That's why i mentioned they are great STREET kits which could handle some light track work, they were not meant to be the other way around and i think people forget this.

You make a fair point re SK's reputation and i don't know what happened at the end there, i like many others, never had any problems and i like many others received a lot good free advice. So yes, it's a shame somethings have gone awry at the end of his time here.

As for Centreline? they are mentioned in SK's list on installation places and for a company that supports SAU Vic, for a company i had 20% discount vouchers for, how i could end up with an install price almost TWICE another sus place on SK's list, is a little strange... I get annoyed when a company goes out of the way to support a club and thinks they can charge whatever they want because they have a captive audience. I thought it was relevant because there are melbourne ppl interested in here (ie OP) and it's on the list of SK's sus install places. Granted this was a few years ago now, and as we're already seen a lot has indeed changed. Who would have touched anything Pedders back in '05 '06? Now i noticed quite a few more people run their stuff, i guess a lot has changed.

i know i've gone off topic, but i just wanted to respond to some things in the thread. Sorry for taking it off the OP's question.

Hi there, I'm with you all the way dude & probably also off topic but the discussion is here & as we are not bagging SK........ so.

I purchased Gary's complete kit back in 2007 for the Stagea because;

1. My lovely rear Toyo Proxes were chewing out something shocking. Shagged on the inners in about 4000kms.

2. The car sat nose up on level paving.

3. There was buggerall adjustment available to correct this state of affairs in the original suspension hardware.

4. The full package was available as a "group buy"

5. It was engineered for a specific vehicle (Gary runs a Stag for towing racecars) that few suspension shops understood or cared about at that time.

6. It was a complete suspension package not "half a job"

7. It was freight free with ample fitting advice day or night.

8. There was 5% discount for orders over a grand & an additional 5% discount for the "complete package"

With the sound instructions provided by Gary from time to time I was able to install most (90%) of the kit myself in my backyard & only left camber bushes to the suspension shop to take care of. Had to go to suspension place for alignment in any case.

With the initial settings Gary provided for the kit I have never felt the need to change them. I have normal tyre wear & car is as solid as a rock on the road.

There was only one issue at the time of fitting all this gear & that was the choice of existing Whiteline springs, mainly because I could not get my head around installing rear springs upside down, that's just me nevermind. This issue was solved with the Eibachs I subsequently fitted, again spec'ed & supplied by Gary.

It has been said that the Bilstien shocks provided in the group buy have been tested against off the shelf items & display no difference in performance.

Fine by me.

It has also been said that Bilstein embraced the Australian condition settings provided by Gary & shipped to suit?

Gary has moved on & I dunno why but I reckon it is our loss.

Cheers GW

[nisskid]

You didn't happen to get the equivalent numbers for the front by any chance?

nah didnt, but i reckon i will when i call sydney shocks tommorow hopefully. i grabbed some broken GTR shocks off a guy on here, and ill be getting them fixed and rebuilt, which should be much better for the springs i intend on using. front will still be an issue though, as they are currently well underdamped for teh 6kg springs currently in.

[DarKcyde]

I'm with the OP, I want to duplicate the SK kit. I'm in a worse spot though, being in Canada when most of the parts are made in Aus. I've been researching things for several days, looking at parts and alternatives. I already have adjustable FUCAs RUCAs and tension rods (easier to get here because they're the same as S13 and Z32 items), so I'm only looking for shocks, springs, and sways. Heres some of the data i've collected.

R32 GTST Suspension

Whiteline

BNF28Z FR 24MM blade adjustable

BNF28 FR 24MM swaybar

BNR26X RR 24MM swaybar

BNR26XZ RR 24MM blade adjustable

Bilstein

B46 1473 FR Bilstein Sport B6 GTSt

B46 1474 RR Bilstein Sport B6 GTSt

Bilstein model numbers appear to have changed, using the new format,

F4-B46-1473-H0

F4-B46-1474-H0

Whiteline Springs

73175 Front

70191 Rear

I've also been researching stuff like spring rates in an attempt to find other parts that might be easier to get in canada.

(comments from SK)

The standard spring rates are around 3 kg/mm. Knowing the local conditions, aftermarket Australian spring makers upgrade that by 20-25% to allow for some lowering. Hence it is rare to see a Whiteline, Lovells, Kings etc spring rates over 4 kg/mm.

The valving in the Group Buy R32GTR Bilsteins will handle up to 310 lbs/inch (5.5 kg/mm) on the front, which is around 40% more than what you currently have. The rear Bilsteins will handle up to 260 lbs/inch (4.5 kg/mm) which is around 25% more than what you currently have. The most common upgrade for the track day guys is 275/225 which works very well with the usual R type tyres (RE55, A048R, R888, D01 etc)

R33GTR Bilsteins will handle slightly more spring rate, R32/R33GTST and R34GTT slightly less.

front Whiteline spring is 165lb/in (2.92kg/mm) and the King spring is ~175lb/in (3.1kg/mm).

TIEN

S.Tech

Ride height drop front: -32mm rear: -30mm.

Spring rate front: 2.9kgf/mm rear: 3.5kgf/mm.

Spring rate front: 162 lbs/in rear: 196 lbs/in

S.tech

SKN18-M1B00 HCR32 2WD Front 2.0-4.2K / Rear1.3-3.2K drop front -45mm rear -30mm

(different numbers from different websites)

SS jap spec

Ride height drop (mm) front: -45 , rear: -35

Spring rate (kgf/mm) front: 5,0 , rear: 4,0

Spring rate (lbs/in) front: 280 , rear: 224

(NISMO)

GTS-T S-tune 5.3kg (295lb) front , 3.9 kg (220lb) rear.

5300S-RSR20

-4-Way adjustable

-Short Stroke Type

Suspension Spec:

Damping Force 0.3m/sec, N(kgf) Front (step 4) 1528/521 (156/53) Rear (step 3) 1343/518 (137/53)

Spring constant N/mm (kgf/mm) Front 52.0(5.3) Rear 38.2(3.9)

Vehicle height change Front~ -20mm Rear~ -15mm

HKS Hipermax II

http://www.importscene.com.au/prod538.htm

Springs F=59N(6kg/mm)/R=49N(5kg/mm)

Damping Force Piston Speed 0.1m/sec:

Front Bump 363N (37kgf) Rebound 1294N (132kgf)

Rear Bump 167N (17kgf) Rebound 764N (78kgf)

Drop Front -32mm Rear -43mm

Free length 250mm

[nisskid]

I'm with the OP, I want to duplicate the SK kit. I'm in a worse spot though, being in Canada when most of the parts are made in Aus. I've been researching things for several days, looking at parts and alternatives. I already have adjustable FUCAs RUCAs and tension rods (easier to get here because they're the same as S13 and Z32 items), so I'm only looking for shocks, springs, and sways. Heres some of the data i've collected.

R32 GTST Suspension

Whiteline

BNF28Z FR 24MM blade adjustable

BNF28 FR 24MM swaybar

BNR26X RR 24MM swaybar

BNR26XZ RR 24MM blade adjustable

Bilstein

B46 1473 FR Bilstein Sport B6 GTSt

B46 1474 RR Bilstein Sport B6 GTSt

Bilstein model numbers appear to have changed, using the new format,

F4-B46-1473-H0

F4-B46-1474-H0

Whiteline Springs

73175 Front

70191 Rear

I've also been researching stuff like spring rates in an attempt to find other parts that might be easier to get in canada.

(comments from SK)

The standard spring rates are around 3 kg/mm. Knowing the local conditions, aftermarket Australian spring makers upgrade that by 20-25% to allow for some lowering. Hence it is rare to see a Whiteline, Lovells, Kings etc spring rates over 4 kg/mm.

The valving in the Group Buy R32GTR Bilsteins will handle up to 310 lbs/inch (5.5 kg/mm) on the front, which is around 40% more than what you currently have. The rear Bilsteins will handle up to 260 lbs/inch (4.5 kg/mm) which is around 25% more than what you currently have. The most common upgrade for the track day guys is 275/225 which works very well with the usual R type tyres (RE55, A048R, R888, D01 etc)

R33GTR Bilsteins will handle slightly more spring rate, R32/R33GTST and R34GTT slightly less.

front Whiteline spring is 165lb/in (2.92kg/mm) and the King spring is ~175lb/in (3.1kg/mm).

TIEN

S.Tech

Ride height drop front: -32mm rear: -30mm.

Spring rate front: 2.9kgf/mm rear: 3.5kgf/mm.

Spring rate front: 162 lbs/in rear: 196 lbs/in

S.tech

SKN18-M1B00 HCR32 2WD Front 2.0-4.2K / Rear1.3-3.2K drop front -45mm rear -30mm

(different numbers from different websites)

SS jap spec

Ride height drop (mm) front: -45 , rear: -35

Spring rate (kgf/mm) front: 5,0 , rear: 4,0

Spring rate (lbs/in) front: 280 , rear: 224

(NISMO)

GTS-T S-tune 5.3kg (295lb) front , 3.9 kg (220lb) rear.

5300S-RSR20

-4-Way adjustable

-Short Stroke Type

Suspension Spec:

Damping Force 0.3m/sec, N(kgf) Front (step 4) 1528/521 (156/53) Rear (step 3) 1343/518 (137/53)

Spring constant N/mm (kgf/mm) Front 52.0(5.3) Rear 38.2(3.9)

Vehicle height change Front~ -20mm Rear~ -15mm

HKS Hipermax II

http://www.importscene.com.au/prod538.htm

Springs F=59N(6kg/mm)/R=49N(5kg/mm)

Damping Force Piston Speed 0.1m/sec:

Front Bump 363N (37kgf) Rebound 1294N (132kgf)

Rear Bump 167N (17kgf) Rebound 764N (78kgf)

Drop Front -32mm Rear -43mm

Free length 250mm

if ur from canada, these might be the guys to suss:

http://www.summitracing.com/

[rapidroy]

I read the earlier posts on the Eibach springs on the Bilsteins.

I have an R32 GTR. I would like to use Eibachs on my car so I can change the springs.

How so you mod the mounts at each end to use a race type spring that is ground smooth on each end.

(I think the stock coils are just cut off.)

Thanks!

if ur from canada, these might be the guys to suss:

http://www.summitracing.com/

[nisskid]

u buy aftermarket seats to suit, usually with a threaded sleeve to give u height adjustment.

[nfi]

SK made a lot of claims during his time here...many of which were proven by myself and others on here to be total fiction. This is why he no longer shows his face here in SAU but has moved on to easier 'fodder' on other forums. Speak to Heasmans about what you require or ask some of the experienced suspension modifiers on here of what you require.

Keen to see your proof of disproving his theories/claims.

Edited April 18, 2009 by nfi

[nfi]

Regarding SK not changing the valving... yes and no...

Yes most of the shocks in a simple spring and shock combo were off the shelf but there was quite a few models he had to revalve... eg. R33 gtst rear shocks were far to stiff off the shelf for sufficient squat.

As people have said- if you want bilsteins just go to heasemans. They built all SK's setups to his specs so obviously know them so you can just ask (where they were different to off the shelf).

Edited April 18, 2009 by nfi

[nisskid]

so he revalved the R33 ones? if so how were they still at off the shelf prices?