Rear Suspension

dot

 
In This Site
 

Home
History
Teardown
Frame
Body Work
Drivetrain
Suspension
Wiring
Interior
Exterior
What's Next?
Final Analysis
Credits
2007 Walter Mitty

Rear Suspension

The rear suspension got complicated.  A great amount of time was spent building and designing new components, let me explain why.

The main differential mount was in very poor shape.  Not only does this mount help hold the diff in place, it also anchors the top of the rear springs.  To put the icing on the cake, the four studs that hold the diff were in bad shape as well as the mount itself.  It was cracked.  Not good.

The new mount was designed around the Nissan R200 differential.  This is the one used on Nissan 280ZX's and is favoured by the Z-car community because it is quite simply bulletproof.  To make things even nicer, this particular one has a 3.90:1 ratio, making it very nice for 'getting out of the hole'.

From the new carrier, hang two Aldan Eagle coilover shocks.  These are multi adjustable for rebound and hang on special adjustable perches.  These bolt to the new differential carrier assembly.  Coilovers are desirable because:

  • Ride height can be dialed in by loosening or tightening the retaining nut.

  • Rebound can be adjusted by the turn of a knob.

  • Compression can be adjusted by replacing the spring.  Many spring rates are available.

  • The shocks can be easily repaired.  In other words they don't wear out.

  • Last but not least, they are by far superior to the stock lever arm shocks.

To make things nice, a rear sway bar was installed.  This one is of a unique design, used primarily in Hot Rods.  The bar mounts through the frame on special bushings.  The bar is designed with splines on each end of the bar and special arms in turn clamp on the splines.  These arms are attached to the former lever shock mounts on the control arms.  Nice setup and it is fully adjustable.

It took some time to dial in the rear suspension.  At first, the car would squat severely.  The advantage of the coilovers became evident when new springs of a different rate were installed.  Several different combinations were tried and finally, the valves in the shocks were replaced.  The end result is a very nice ride, with minimal squatting with very little roll. 

Last but not least, the rear control arms are attached to the frame with a set of Richard Good control arm brackets.  They are a worthwhile addition and enable a very accurate adjustment of rear camber.  The TR6 runs about a 1.5 degree negative camber setting, giving it a nice 'bite' off the line.

 

 
 
 

Up
Gallery 1

dot

dot