I'm developing a performance suspension package for City's
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- Location: perth western australia
t2 suspension
Hi james,I would be keen to send some money for the second set after turbocab,when you are ready,I bought a set of shocks/springs of 3gvc last year as it would be too hard to exchange from aust, when i bought some fog lights.I am unsure how far away you are from 3gvc for the exchange bits.My t2 engine is going together as we speak [we used isuzu piston rings] so will be keen to sort the suspension over the next 6 months
Colza wrote:Mr James has been in the South Island for 2 weeks. Im not sure they have electric lights down there let alone internet.
Ill tell him to check back here and sort you out
Actually its probably about time i kicked his arse and got him making some bloody suspension.
lol love the deep south joke!
i figured he must be on holiday or something,thanks colza!
- James
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- Location: Putaruru
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turbocab wrote:is it sad that i still check every day to see if there is an update............
Yup
Don't worry, I havn't forgotten you all, I still think about this stuff (with guilt) pretty much every day.
Anyway my life has changed rather a lot, I now live in a different part of the country, I have quit my PhD and am now working full time for a company that reverse engineers ECU's for a living (I know right, what are the chances). The benefit to all of this is that it has renewed my interest in cars, and I have started working on mine again, gotten a few more panels done, and its all moving ahead.
Anyhow I have been thinking about this suspension for a long time now, and it has been refined a lot to make it easier to make. All thats pretty much finalised now, and I have enough material and shocks to make probably 2-3 sets. I still need a few hundred dollars of tooling for threading and things, but now I have a job I should be able to manage that.
OK So I have a really bad habit of taking on way too much stuff at once. So my realistic target is to keep working on the panel work of my car, which should keep me busy for a couple of months. In the mean time I will collect everything I need for the suspension, and then when I get to the point of making the suspension for my car, I will start making these batches.
I hope you all can have enough patience, I am truly sorry for leading you along with the projected completion times, but please understand the last 18 months of my life have been rather busy, and non-routine.
hes back!
they do say a change is as good as a holiday?
my build has stalled out again because of turboing my slow as hell 2.8 diesel hilux 4x4 but that should be finalized this weekend and ile be boostin in big truck yeehaww!
all i need to prime is the doors then i can think about a top coat on the city then ile really be nipping at your heels.but if you arent ready to go by the time i get the car ready to roll i guess i can go down the road of k sport coilovers ive been quoted around $1800 for a full set but i would still like to keep with the "home made"theme of the car and use your ones.
keep up the good work ime sure ime not the only one watching this thread with great anticipation!
matt
they do say a change is as good as a holiday?
my build has stalled out again because of turboing my slow as hell 2.8 diesel hilux 4x4 but that should be finalized this weekend and ile be boostin in big truck yeehaww!
all i need to prime is the doors then i can think about a top coat on the city then ile really be nipping at your heels.but if you arent ready to go by the time i get the car ready to roll i guess i can go down the road of k sport coilovers ive been quoted around $1800 for a full set but i would still like to keep with the "home made"theme of the car and use your ones.
keep up the good work ime sure ime not the only one watching this thread with great anticipation!
matt
- James
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Haha that sounds like a fun project, should still be pretty fuel efficient too I guess.
OK the design for these I have ended up with, is making a sleeve that fits over the old strut and sits on the lip of the old spring seat. This sleeve will either be threaded, or will have circlip grooves on it. The reason I have gone for a sleeve rather than putting the grooves straight into the strut body is that it is really difficult to mount the strut body concentrically in the lathe. The bit at the end where the pinch fitting mounts isn't actually cylindrical or straight, its tapered and thus its really difficult to mount properly without taking ages using a 4-jaw chuck or whatever.
Anway this makes sealing them back up pretty easy, the sleeve will be welded to the old spring perch, and there will be a cap that screws on the top of the sleeve that pushes down on the stock seal gland in the top of the strut that in turn compresses an O-ring that provides the sealing. I will continue this at lunch time
OK the design for these I have ended up with, is making a sleeve that fits over the old strut and sits on the lip of the old spring seat. This sleeve will either be threaded, or will have circlip grooves on it. The reason I have gone for a sleeve rather than putting the grooves straight into the strut body is that it is really difficult to mount the strut body concentrically in the lathe. The bit at the end where the pinch fitting mounts isn't actually cylindrical or straight, its tapered and thus its really difficult to mount properly without taking ages using a 4-jaw chuck or whatever.
Anway this makes sealing them back up pretty easy, the sleeve will be welded to the old spring perch, and there will be a cap that screws on the top of the sleeve that pushes down on the stock seal gland in the top of the strut that in turn compresses an O-ring that provides the sealing. I will continue this at lunch time
Sooo Is your suspension mod. purely to allow spring tension/ride height adjustment only? what about replacing the actual shock cartridge itself? if you want better/smoother ride you will still need new shocks?
I took out a front strut myself last night to see what all the fuss is about :p Why not use a pinch-styled clamp as a way of holding the spring in as well? you could just back it off & slide it up/down to adjust the spring tension etc. rather than clips or threading the body. Feel abit of a noob posting this but just can't understand how there can be nothing else out there in the auto-world with similiar shocks/struts etc. Anyways at leats now I have an actual set i can take with me into susp. stores n say Match that!
I took out a front strut myself last night to see what all the fuss is about :p Why not use a pinch-styled clamp as a way of holding the spring in as well? you could just back it off & slide it up/down to adjust the spring tension etc. rather than clips or threading the body. Feel abit of a noob posting this but just can't understand how there can be nothing else out there in the auto-world with similiar shocks/struts etc. Anyways at leats now I have an actual set i can take with me into susp. stores n say Match that!
All of this sort of thing must be an option, but still need new shock cartridges to actually fit them onto...and must be either welded or like Jame's system have a groove put it..
http://www.otomoto.com.au/HDSystems/sleevekits.htm
http://www.elephantracing.com/suspensio ... sleeve.htm
http://www.otomoto.com.au/HDSystems/sleevekits.htm
http://www.elephantracing.com/suspensio ... sleeve.htm
Sooo spent my week researching struts :p Intend to do the rounds with some sample units I have from a standard city...see if I can get some cut-a-strut inserts. Also will be looking into getting some new strut housings made, as I'm guessing there won't be any off-the-shelf ones that will fit in a city turbo strut tube...
http://autospeed.com/cms/title_Strut-St ... ticle.html
Course will need to know what rating city turbo struts need to be & spring rates etc..fun fun.
http://autospeed.com/cms/title_Strut-St ... ticle.html
Course will need to know what rating city turbo struts need to be & spring rates etc..fun fun.
- James
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I have a Koni part number for a cut-a-strut that should fit city struts. Waiting on a price from Koni nz for them. For Matt and craybait I am going to strongly suggest you go for this option, then you get some brand new gear for suspension, that is adjustable from the top, and completely rebuildable. I will still do all the install and make the spring seats and things. The only downside is it will be a bit more expensive, probably around 800-1k for the 4 inserts, but will be a significantly more longlived and flexible solution./
I just bought some new old stock Koni wet kits for my civic today (originally for a 1975 cvcc civic). These come as a set of guts that you screw into an openable shock, then fill up with oil. I got these over the cut-a-strut konis because these can be easily made very short, something I really need for my car but isn't that important for Cities, as they run a significantly longer shock.
I just bought some new old stock Koni wet kits for my civic today (originally for a 1975 cvcc civic). These come as a set of guts that you screw into an openable shock, then fill up with oil. I got these over the cut-a-strut konis because these can be easily made very short, something I really need for my car but isn't that important for Cities, as they run a significantly longer shock.
I wouldn't think K sport make anything for the city, they arent all the same and theres probably nothing that will fit particuarlly in the rear,
The other option is to make adapters to fit another models suspension, i have seen people use FULL TAP only adjustable coilovers from S13 and they use OD DOM seamless tube and thread the inside to suit the full tap coilover body, the bottom they machine out to suit the stock strut OD as a tight fit (what is the stock ID of the city hub? the most common coilover thread size is M54-P2) There is a possibility that the dimensions would allow the adapters to be machined so they bolted straight into the hub.
Then removing the guts of the strut first the strut tube is cut off leaving 15mm or so to weld the adapter on, I think this could work on the front of the city and the adapter likely wouldnt cost a lot, S13 full tap front suspension coilovers are cheap and theres plenty of brands to choose from they also use standard size springs so getting differnt rates is easy.
The rear on the other hand is a different story. but if you made an adapter for the full tap rear S13 coilover you could possibly (depends on length) use the rear shock, adjustability will be to take up length and keep shorter springs captive while still giving you a quality aftermarket shock with dampening control.
I dont see any reason why an adapter couldnt be made to fit an adjustable sleeve type setup in the rear either welded to the arm or mounted some other way.
Cheap set of coilovers like this
http://page6.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/f91453082
Custom adapter tubes and some weld, bit of setup in the rear or shorter springs. would easily transform a city suspension wise.
Im keen to use my city as a test for this idea, and plan on getting ahold of some full tap suspension to make some measurements from and see if this is possible.
James are you still going to be making the hard bushings? im keen for a set for the city and also some for my 2g prelude willing to provide arms and measurements if required.
The other option is to make adapters to fit another models suspension, i have seen people use FULL TAP only adjustable coilovers from S13 and they use OD DOM seamless tube and thread the inside to suit the full tap coilover body, the bottom they machine out to suit the stock strut OD as a tight fit (what is the stock ID of the city hub? the most common coilover thread size is M54-P2) There is a possibility that the dimensions would allow the adapters to be machined so they bolted straight into the hub.
Then removing the guts of the strut first the strut tube is cut off leaving 15mm or so to weld the adapter on, I think this could work on the front of the city and the adapter likely wouldnt cost a lot, S13 full tap front suspension coilovers are cheap and theres plenty of brands to choose from they also use standard size springs so getting differnt rates is easy.
The rear on the other hand is a different story. but if you made an adapter for the full tap rear S13 coilover you could possibly (depends on length) use the rear shock, adjustability will be to take up length and keep shorter springs captive while still giving you a quality aftermarket shock with dampening control.
I dont see any reason why an adapter couldnt be made to fit an adjustable sleeve type setup in the rear either welded to the arm or mounted some other way.
Cheap set of coilovers like this
http://page6.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/f91453082
Custom adapter tubes and some weld, bit of setup in the rear or shorter springs. would easily transform a city suspension wise.
Im keen to use my city as a test for this idea, and plan on getting ahold of some full tap suspension to make some measurements from and see if this is possible.
James are you still going to be making the hard bushings? im keen for a set for the city and also some for my 2g prelude willing to provide arms and measurements if required.
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