Turning up a 260Z - What is sensible?

[kthomas]

It's the classic Kontrolle style delrin/aluminum eccentric front control arm bushing available at Motorsport Auto, Victoria British and others (not Z Therapy). What I don't like about them is they bind the suspension since they work on a single axis of rotation and the Z's front control arm needs 2 axes of rotation. Usually these don't have enough offset in them either, we always ended up bending the struts. Also, the manufacturing tolerances between the lower control arm mounting holes in the front crossmember is big- I've seen up to 1/2 inch difference in the spacing, so naturally you want to pick the one with the biggest distance between mounting holes if you have a collection to choose from.

On a Hoosier radial you need upwards of 3-1/2 degrees of negative camber in the front. And dial in a smidgeon of toe out for the slow corners.

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katman

[Ron Earp]

Toyos any different? Ron

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Ron Earp
NC Region
Ford Lightning Tow Beast
RF GT40 Replica
Jensen-Healey ITS
1/2 a 260Z ITS - Zero

[Joe Harlan]

I agree with Katman on the camber setup and the binding in the bushing. I like to remove the strut tube from the spindle and offset bore them for a new tube.(struts are free)

[kthomas]

Originally posted by rlearp:
Toyos any different? Ron

I wouldn't know- always raced to win.


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katman

[wburstein]

When I bought our race car, it came with the eccentric bushings in the front control arms. There were no problems with binding, because the plastic bushing was destroyed ;-)

If you want to bend your struts, another option is to heat them up and then bend them. Watch what you are heating and make sure you bend them at the very bottom of the strut tube, or you might not be able to get a cartridge to fit! Just to be sure, we weld a piece of 1" square tubing between the strut tube and the flange to maintain the angle correctly.

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Wayne Burstein
WDC Region, ITS #10, Datsun 240Z
www.mountainmotorsports.net