Replacing Stock Suspension In 96' Gts-t

[WhitePrincess]

Greetings gents,

I have recently purchased a Nissan Skyline GTS-T Series 2, and need an advice on replacing stock suspension. The reason for doing this is to make the ride a little firmer as well as a little lower (nothing extreme). Originally I was just after lower springs, probably from Pedders, and set of KYB shock all around, but since reading this forum it looks like I am way off track. What I want as a result is just comfortable ride, I guess you could call it semi-sporty.

All input is highly appreciated!

[sewid]

I would get in on the SydneyKid whiteline group buy. That setup is for street and comes with quality components setup properly. When lowering an R33 you really have to do it properly or you'll end up with worse than stock performance and tyre wear issues.

Thread: http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/in...showtopic=85467

[Beeble]

I've got pretty much everything Whiteline for an R33 SII.

(whiteline works kit with bilsteins + recently purchased front camber kit)

Very happy with the results.

Managed to scrub out tyres very efficiently as the front camber was a bit over -2degrees initially. My advice - do it all properly the first time and save yourself money in the long run.

[NickR33]

I have this kit ^^ on my 33 atm and it makes the car much more rewarding to drive... I would have to be making a mockery of the speed limit and road rules, to push it anywhere near the limit of its handling on the street... (or using stupid amounts of throttle around tight corners) it is also extremely compliant, which is good with the amount of speed bumps around my area! the shocks are Bilstein and I am extremely impressed with their performance... and I should be as they come standard on a number of high performance European marques

cost is the only issue... I started with a set of King springs until the standard shocks cried enough and then upgraded

[Bliksem]

I'm running 35mm lowered King Springs, KYB shocks and a whitline camber kit. Also replaced some front suspension bushes at the time. No complaints here.

[WhitePrincess]

thanks guys, have to have a big think about it all now.

one more question, what is the "camber kit"? what does it do?

[NickR33]

when you lower a car like the skyline with double A arm suspension and independent rear suspension (IRS) the angle at which your wheels touch the ground becomes more exaggerated the lower you go... so that your running on the insides of your tyres... meaning your not using the full face of the tyre, which causes premature tyre wear and wheel spin under strong acceleration from a standing start (even more as the rear end squats and the camber increases)

a camber kit are just bushes (little rubber mounts) that correct this problem and can be had for a couple of hundred bucks installed

[Bliksem]

thanks guys, have to have a big think about it all now.

one more question, what is the "camber kit"? what does it do?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I got all my gear from online performance auto's full set of KYB shocks were $500 fresh from Japan, springs $260 , camber kit was $140 I think.

pm me if you want the email address

[Paradizzle]

I got all my gear from online performance auto's full set of KYB shocks were $500 fresh from Japan, springs $260 , camber kit was $140 I think.

pm me if you want the email address

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Is the above setup for a budget of 900$ (KYB shocks, springs and camber kit) pretty much the best thing to do with that sought of money?

[NickR33]

yeah... I haven't seen shocks, springs and camber kit that cheap before... provided the quality is good that's an unbeatable price... something to definately consider if your not going to track your car

and a much better option than second hand jap coilovers IMO

don't forget swaybars too if performance driving is your goal

[WhitePrincess]

I got all my gear from online performance auto's full set of KYB shocks were $500 fresh from Japan, springs $260 , camber kit was $140 I think.

pm me if you want the email address

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah will pm for email for sure... how come everything is so cheap? Is all the gear brand new? where did you get it put in? or did you do it yourself?

[Bliksem]

Yeah will pm for email for sure... how come everything is so cheap? Is all the gear brand new? where did you get it put in? or did you do it yourself?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hey, just replied to your PM

Yeah actually I put it all in myself as I have access to a workshop so I did it on a saturday morning. Its an easy job fitting the springs and shocks though so I would imagine your mechanic wouldnt charge too much. The worst part was probably doing the camber kit as the old bushes need to be pressed out, luckily I also knew someone who had a press.

Don't forget you'll need to get a 4 wheel alignment after this though. Also allow a couple of weeks for the springs and shocks to settle, mine took around a month until they settled in completely and looked nice and low.

Yes everything is brand new and genuine etc, these are the springs

The website for this guy is Here

email him for all your enquiries though as I havent found much on the site.

Edited November 10, 2005 by MintR33

[Sydneykid]

Springs and shocks are less than 50% of what goes into making an R33GTST ride nicely and handle great. Please don't ignore the alignment and geometry issues as you will end up with rapid tyre wear and poor handling.

Take a good look at the comments and suggestion on the Group Buy thread ; http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/in...showtopic=85467

If you have any specific questions please post them up and I will do my best to answer them.

cheers

PS; be aware that the KYB shocks are replacement for standard shocks, not heavy duty for increased spring rates or sufficiently valved for sports handling.

[Paradizzle]

Would just be looking at doing the minimum to get a nice ride height and replace the worn old shocks, with spending around $1000. Any thoughts?

[WhitePrincess]

Hey, just replied to your PM

Yeah actually I put it all in myself as I have access to a workshop so I did it on a saturday morning. Its an easy job fitting the springs and shocks though so I would imagine your mechanic wouldnt charge too much. The worst part was probably doing the camber kit as the old bushes need to be pressed out, luckily I also knew someone who had a press.

Don't forget you'll need to get a 4 wheel alignment after this though. Also allow a couple of weeks for the springs and shocks to settle, mine took around a month until they settled in completely and looked nice and low.

Yes everything is brand new and genuine etc, these are the springs

The website for this guy is Here

email him for all your enquiries though as I havent found much on the site.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

when you were putting it all in, did HICAS give you any dramas or something to think about it? me and a friend of mine probably going to put everything in, so just want to know if you have any suggestions/something to look out for... thanks again

[Bliksem]

when you were putting it all in, did HICAS give you any dramas or something to think about it? me and a friend of mine probably going to put everything in, so just want to know if you have any suggestions/something to look out for... thanks again

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Nope no problem with the hicas

Btw, I'm not undermining the whiteline/bilsetein set up or anything here but the guy told me the KYB Shocks I got were definately suitable for the springs. Not sure if they're up there with the bilsteins or anything but the next up from these were the ones with adjustable dampers, and for the price, coil overs would have been a better option.

At the end of the day though, I am pretty damn happy with the set up and have been running it this way for about 3 months now, its a big improvement over the stock set up.