1993 z32 suspension work

[Cyproz]

Hi there. I recently purchased my first car in my name and everything. Its a 93 coupe n/a with 147k miles. Its already got cold air intake, exhaust, and a clean interior. What the person who owned it forgot was some suspension work. The car sags alot, im not sure how much because i dont have OEM specs on ride hieght. So we took out a strut and spring assembly and tryed to move the strut with human force. We could not do it, however you can grab two coils of the spring and squeeze them with yours hands, they move when you do that.
So we figure my struts are good but i have bad springs. So i wanna order springs but i cant seem to find alot of stock ride hieght springs. Lots of lowering ones like tein and eibach.
Right now my best idea is to buy some Tein H techs for around 180$ and a master bushing set from energy suspension for around 150$. Thats about 350$ which is pushing my budget currently.
Keep in mind i dont need some beast of a car right now. We are more focused on getting the car into a good daily condition before we start working on making it a track vehicle.

Also to note, when i got the car we tested the tie rods and they moved to much so i replaced the front ones. This helped when hitting sewers and bumps but i still get a very loud pop from the front left or right depending on how im turning. If i turn into a parking spot you hear it or when i reverse out my driveway, right in the turning part it pops twice, once on the right then the left or vice versa depending on your direction. My friend thinks it may be the ball joints. my other friend says until we get the new springs on we dont know its not the sagging springs causing things to pop.

I know its a shot in the dark to try to diagnose stuff on a forum but any info and what not is appriciated.

Loving the Z world so far, and what a great car!

[t.mcginley.jr]

If you get a chance, you should really read through this whole thing (its somewhat lengthy) but a great head start on owning a Z:

Everything you need to know about the z32

At the very bottom of that thread, there's a suspension spreadsheet that rates all different suspension setups for your Z:



Anyway, the only place to get stock height springs is from a dealership or from Courtesy Parts online. The Tein H-techs don't lower the car very much, its only 0.8 inches in the front and 0.2" in the rear. However, whenever you lower the car any you will need to install spacers behind the upper control arms so that you camber doesn't go out of spec (which will wear your tires faster and also blow your struts sooner). 300 degree camber kit. You don't need that kit specifically, just for reference. I used 1/4" aluminum bar from Home Depot and made my own.

As for the popping noise when you turn, its most likely your ball joints, specifically your tie rod ends. Since you're on a limited budget, I would work on whatever area of the suspension is the worst and go from there.