Coilover conversion on a budget
 

Hi guys,
I thought you may be interested to learn how to convert a standard S12 suspension leg into a coilover setup. Well I was lucky enough to have bought a pair of standard legs from '30psi' (thanks Martin) on this fantastic community for £50.:)
They were in fine condition and was greatful for it (as these are like hen's teeth now!). I had the task of stripping the old springs off first which requires spring clamps and a bit of know how to avoid injury.:p

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g3...k/DSC02726.jpg

leaving just the leg and shocker assembly to strip down which is a pig of a messy job (I strongly recommend you do this over a large tray because this oil goes everywhere...I was covered in the blooming stuff):rolleyes:

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g3...k/DSC02729.jpg

This is what the inserts look like (they look innocent don't they!)

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g3...k/DSC02727.jpg

Now for the nice bit......I just love stuff coming in the post!!:D
I bought some 2 1/4" coilover converters from Rally Design for £57 delivered which consist of a threaded tube in mild steel with a bottom spring seat and locking ring and a top spring seating cap all in aluminium. Please note that a standard leg is 2" diameter (50.8mm) so the sets available from Demon Tweeks don't fit due to being 50mm!
Also I bought a set of 1000 Lb pressure 5" long 2 1/4" internal diameter springs and these did come from Demon tweeks at a cost of £67 delivered, this was because Rally design only go up to 600Lb springs. We don't want any body roll for drifting so that's what we went for. ( the guy said why don't you just put in solid bars!!!:trout )

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g3...k/DSC02728.jpg

Next was to cut the standard bottom caps off with a disc cutter, be careful not to go to deep with your cutting as you want to keep the integrety of the leg sound/leak proof.

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g3...k/DSC02730.jpg

Next grind the weld off using a fine sanding disc and take your time to minimise damage to the leg, then I used a scotch brite disc(a wire wheel would do the trick too) to buff the paint off in the area the tube will cover as it is a tight fit.

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g3...k/DSC02733.jpg

I hammered the sleave on with a rubber hammer to ensure no damage to the threads letting it sit very slightly lower than the top of the leg tube.

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g3...k/DSC02731.jpg

Next soak the thread in anti spatter spray, and carefully weld on the bottom edge only. Making sure that you don't burn through the tube into the oil resevoir. There is no need to weld the top as there are threads both inside and out now, which you need to be un-harmed to allow the shock assembly to be replaced and for the coilover adjuster rings to start ok.

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g3...k/DSC02734.jpg

Now you are ready to assemble the shock replacing with fresh extra heavy duty fork oil(for motorbikes normally!) and re-build the leg. Lob it on the car Adjust the ride height equal number of revolutions and thats it, job well done all for a fraction of the cost of someone like GAZ shocks to convert them (I was quoted £650!!):eek:
Now we have got the car ready for it's first outing which will be soon and the car has been completed under budget of £1000. So I'm very happy.
Hans and Paul.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...r/30112006.jpg
mine were rally design too.

Ooohhh.... adjustable top mounts...nice!!;)
Future project maybe..me thinks DIY:rolleyes: .
Hans.

i know, they are not worth £160 imho, if they was'nt fitted then i'd lend them to be copied, i don't think they would be that hard realy, i bet you could sell a few sets at the right price.;)

Well done for doing the how to. It will be useful to quite a few people i should imagine.:cool:

i likey! Good job

Bit of a neater effort than my old ones that went to Datdrift.

The only reason I wanted the conversion was really was to make use of the camber tops, its really worth putting them in and inducing some camber. They're normally about £50 second hand.

1000lb springs will be a bit tough I should think :eek:

thats if anyone is selling when you want a pair, i searched and waited for months mart, but no luck.:rolleyes:

Set here was for sale £65

http://www.sxoc.co.uk/vbb/showthread...&highlight=hks

it won't let me look at it . bum hole site lol.;)

The best part of doing this conversion is so that the corner weights of the car can be adjusted.

Hi guys, Latest up-date is a few pictures of the coilover adjustable top mounts I bought on Ebay, they require some minor tweeks to fit an S12 as they were intended for an S13.
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g3...k/DSC02772.jpg
The special top nut( 24mm AF hexagon bar showing 10mm above a 20mm long 18mm dia shaft with a M12 x 1.25 thread tapped with a 3mm 12.5 dia counterbore at the bottom) and lower bearing support ring(25mm dia outside x 20mm inside x 11mm high).
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g3...k/DSC02773.jpg
The coilovers assembled.
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g3...k/DSC02771.jpg
And finally the coilovers on the car.
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g3...k/DSC02767.jpg
Hans and Paul.

Hans you are a God, will you be offering these coilover kits to members?:D

Looks very very tempting

feck me, do it yourself, its easy enough, i ain't got any welding gear, but i did the fabrication myself, then got it all welded up.you lazy bugger lol.

The KYB shocks have a different stem, so it was really easy to fit the top mount to them when I did it.

lol well said

Yes I will offer a built up kit for about £400 to customer spec once I have tested mine out!
I have a set of S12 legs spare now so I will prepare them soon.

Just fitted them to the car this morning and adjusted the camber to the max.
The car looks the tits now I think!!!!:D

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g3...k/DSC02780.jpg
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g3...k/DSC02787.jpg

I also did a few other jobs like welded the steering boss on and bolted the new OMP steering wheel on. I also took a bit of the fan blades as they would touch the under side of the intercooler pipes under driving conditions.

I cannot wait to drive it.
Hans.

you won't be short on cold air on the i/c ;)

Can you tell I'm the "Plug and Play" type:D

Mumble, Mumble, Mumble.

If you don't ask you don't get.

Cheek will get you everywhere:D :D :D

LOL

i have done a coilover conversion on my s12, bought a full set of TEIN coilovers for a s14, (cheaps!!) and the pillow ball top mount was a straight fit on my mk1, i used the lower arms, hubs and tension rods of the s13, mainly as i wanted bigger brakes and calipers and the s14a 4 pots bolt straight to the s13 hubs, gives wider track as well, re drilled the mounting holes on the s12 cross member to move the lower arms in, and used r33 skyline track rods and s12 track rod ends. had to modify the mounts for the rose jointed s13 tension rods i had lying around but less agro then you think, and offers more control.

your coilovers look mint for a home made, kudos to you, not trying to hi jack the thread just offering another solution. More then one way to skin a cat and all that. I will do a project thread at some point when i get more then 5 minutes as my 12 has had a fair bit done to her, pics will be on there!

good work though mate. How did those 1000lb springs work out for you?

My plan too. Mainly for the adjustment introduced and brake options.

hello I would like to know if anyone knows where I can find this nut and washer for the coilovers, I can not find a thank you in advance ^ ^
http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/3140/dsc02773ur.jpg

nice suspension strut job thanks for the info :cool:

are you building these kits for members yet??:nod:nod

Do you do the same with the rear suspension or is it totally different?

Oil amount
 

Hey guys I've just finished welding on the selves and realised I didn't check how much oil had come out of the buggers, so does anyone know how much I need to add also if motorbike fork oil or ATF is better? Cheers Dan

Edit* ok so they seem to take 450ml of oil I went for fork oil as that's all I could get, but I have ran into a problem where the rally desighn top plate doesn't fit over the strut..... So I can drill them out but do I go to the thread width of 12mil or to the next step up of 20 mil ? Cheers Dan

So basically use 450 ml of fork oil in each strut and you will need to get the top hats from rally design and drill them out to 20 mm or buy them from techno toy tuning as they are 20 mm allready . Cheers dan