Touring Suspension Setup

[CrimsonLey]

Initially I decided to buy a R32 GTR for racing purposes but after spending a few weeks on this site and reading a plethora of 'track builds,' I decided not to track my future 32-R. Basically too many problems with reliability and I plan on having the car for a very long time. So now my intention for my future GTR is more for comfort, touring and perhaps a little showing off during meets.

I want the GTR to be lowered but not crazy lowered. I'm just trying to eliminate space with the tire. I'll probably be running 18" LMGT4s with a 235/35 255/35 tire setup. I would like to increase comfort as opposed to a stiff racing setup. I'm using monoflexs on a Z33 and I love them but a good track car is a terrible street car. My overall goal is to have the ride as comfortable as possible with aftermarket coilovers. I'm not a fan of lowering springs so I'll probably not go that route.

Also, I have my eye on the Nismo suspension kit as I noticed that all the parts use rubber instead of solid steal bushings. Any suggestion on components to accomplish my goal?

[blind_elk]

Bilstein shock absorbers are the best for the GT-R. They were developed for the Nissan Racing Team GroupA race cars. Firm, but not teeth chattering. Coupled with a Kings lowered spring, you will have a low, but not too low, ride height. Then upgrade the sway bars for handling. It's a sports car, not a luxury saloon - suspension should be firm, not yank-tank sponge rubber wallowing.

DO NOT run different sized tyres front and rear. If you do, do not come whinging about ATTESSA misbehaving.

[Adriano]

Yeah, should be 235/40 on the front

[mystery_kid]

you realise that you don't have to convert your car to a full track built car to have some fun every now and then on the track?

[CrimsonLey]

Bilstein shock absorbers are the best for the GT-R. They were developed for the Nissan Racing Team GroupA race cars. Firm, but not teeth chattering. Coupled with a Kings lowered spring, you will have a low, but not too low, ride height. Then upgrade the sway bars for handling. It's a sports car, not a luxury saloon - suspension should be firm, not yank-tank sponge rubber wallowing.

DO NOT run different sized tyres front and rear. If you do, do not come whinging about ATTESSA misbehaving.

Thanks. LOL, I know I can't expect BMW-type comfort but the main reason why I say 'comfort' is because of my Z33. All the bushings in that car have been replaced with solid bushing and the coilovers are Tein monoflex which are stiff. That car is great on the track but poop on the street. I want aftermarket parts that will feel 'stock' as much as possible.

What do you think about a coilover setup? Shocks and lowering springs are fine but I want the flexibility of changing ride height, etc in the future. I'm looking at the basic tein coilovers. Basically, I'm looking for racing parts that will afford me the opporunity to mess wtih my ride height as well as keeping the ride quality as stock as possible.

you realise that you don't have to convert your car to a full track built car to have some fun every now and then on the track?

Of course, bud. I'll more than likely track it a few times just to check it's handling dynamics but, In all honestly, I've been turned off about racing the GTR. I'll treat more as a daily and/or touring instead.

[CrimsonLey]

Yeah, should be 235/40 on the front

BTW, thanks, I didn't know that. Do you think a 255/40 all around is better?

[Piggaz]

Yeah, should be 235/40 on the front

And the rear?

[simpletool]

As fat as you can go - keeping the same size front and rear.

Start with springs 6kg front, 4.5kg rear. Many people will tell you to stay away from Jap dampers if you want good grip. Personally I wouldn't have a clue.

Get some adjustable sway bars to balance the front/rear.

[fastjetjockey]

For street, and a lot of hillclimb and targa, a balanced spring-shock setup, with stiff antiroll bars is the way to go. Much better for handling bump-steer, and you get the comfort through the travel of a spring-shock setup. blind_elk is on the money.

[CrimsonLey]

As fat as you can go - keeping the same size front and rear.

Start with springs 6kg front, 4.5kg rear. Many people will tell you to stay away from Jap dampers if you want good grip. Personally I wouldn't have a clue.

Get some adjustable sway bars to balance the front/rear.

People say to stay away from jap dampers? That because those people race their GTR?

I'll probably just grip the 32-R on the track initially to get a feel for the handling but I doubt I'll do much driving and/or racing in 2-3 years.

I'm looking at this package from Nismo:

http://www.rhdjapan.com/nismo-s-tune-suspension-system-stabilizer-set-bnr32-bcnr33-bnr34-56105

I think it fits my cateria of subtley changes from stock yet good handling.

For street, and a lot of hillclimb and targa, a balanced spring-shock setup, with stiff antiroll bars is the way to go. Much better for handling bump-steer, and you get the comfort through the travel of a spring-shock setup. blind_elk is on the money.

I'll look into blind_elk's advice a little more but, like I said, I don't like using lowering springs... but I've never owned a GTR so who am I to dispute ya'll advice?

BTW, this is going to be an R32.4 that I'll take back to the states with me. Hence, comfort instead of stiffness.

http://cali34.blogspot.com/

It'll planning on buying a silvia or GTS-T that I can mess around with and keep the GTR relatively clean.

[Roy]

If you want comfortable shocks that with a good alignment and sway bars will give good ride height then look at Koni yellows. The Bilsteins will ultimately end up with a sharper handling car, but anyone that runs Bilsteins will tell you they are valved pretty high compared to std or Koni yellows, meaning they give a rougher ride, even with soft springs

[CrimsonLey]

If you want comfortable shocks that with a good alignment and sway bars will give good ride height then look at Koni yellows. The Bilsteins will ultimately end up with a sharper handling car, but anyone that runs Bilsteins will tell you they are valved pretty high compared to std or Koni yellows, meaning they give a rougher ride, even with soft springs

Thanks. My buddy bought some Konis for his Civic and they were defective from the factory. I hope that was just an isolated incidence.

[MrStabby]

People say to stay away from jap dampers? That because those people race their GTR?

Its an oversimplification. Many jap coilovers come with very stiff springs.

I'll probably just grip the 32-R on the track initially to get a feel for the handling but I doubt I'll do much driving and/or racing in 2-3 years. I'm looking at this package from Nismo:

http://www.rhdjapan.com/nismo-s-tune-suspension-system-stabilizer-set-bnr32-bcnr33-bnr34-56105

That set looks good. Tein super streets are another option, with similar spring rates.

[djr81]

People say to stay away from jap dampers? That because those people race their GTR?

I'll probably just grip the 32-R on the track initially to get a feel for the handling but I doubt I'll do much driving and/or racing in 2-3 years.

I'm looking at this package from Nismo:

http://www.rhdjapan.com/nismo-s-tune-suspension-system-stabilizer-set-bnr32-bcnr33-bnr34-56105

I think it fits my cateria of subtley changes from stock yet good handling.

What you want to stay away from are suspension packages (Chinese, Japanese or any other) that use high spring rates and have adjustable dampers. A good adjustable damper is worth the huge money if:

A: You know what you are adjusting.

B: The adjustability is linear, repeatable and there is little cross talk, ie a that a low speed rebound adjustment doesnt affect anything else for example.

Unfortunately ANY adjustable damper that doesnt cost drug money fails to meet these tests.

So a fixed damper is what you want. In anycase a damper without adjustment can handle a wide range of spring rates. So it is fine. Bilstein do nice dampers by the way. For the money they are excellent.

The spring rates for the Nismo gear are fine for the track and for R compounds and will also do ok on the road. You will need to adjust the camber settings for track work, however.

[CrimsonLey]

What you want to stay away from are suspension packages (Chinese, Japanese or any other) that use high spring rates and have adjustable dampers. A good adjustable damper is worth the huge money if:

A: You know what you are adjusting.

B: The adjustability is linear, repeatable and there is little cross talk, ie a that a low speed rebound adjustment doesnt affect anything else for example.

Unfortunately ANY adjustable damper that doesnt cost drug money fails to meet these tests.

So a fixed damper is what you want. In anycase a damper without adjustment can handle a wide range of spring rates. So it is fine. Bilstein do nice dampers by the way. For the money they are excellent.

The spring rates for the Nismo gear are fine for the track and for R compounds and will also do ok on the road. You will need to adjust the camber settings for track work, however.

I see, thanks. I think I have to look at this situation in terms of spring rates first and catelog parts second.