New Member G50 build

NICO's V.I.P. styling forum.
TODD0341
Posts: 35
Joined: Fri Jan 05, 2007 6:31 pm
Car: 87 300ZX TURBO
94 Q45A
Location: Cleveland Ohio

Post

Hey guys,
I have finally found a new project, a 1994 Q45 with awesome active suspension that hasnt been active for about 2 years! I picked this car up cheap, I have been looking for one for a while. I have always wanted to build a VIP style car, hopefully my previous projects have given me enough experience to tackle this mess I bought. Is there a build forum on here? I might just start a free blog to post up pics on. Anyways, here's my new hoopty.
I am researching bagging it, it would be cool to be able to control the active suspension, but I dont think anyone has tackled something like that - have they???
I have 18x9.5 wheels for it and a few other things. I am going to pull it apart first and fix the rust, change out all of the fluids and make sure everything is clean and safe before I get moving on it. Thanks for looking and any ideas!


I MIGHT LEAVE THAT STRAP THERE, JUST FOR EFFECT
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MAYBE I SHOULD JUST CLEAN IT REALLY REALLY WELL AND THROW WHEELS ON IT?
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TBrack
Posts: 1217
Joined: Sat Oct 22, 2005 9:08 am
Car: none
Location: Knoxville, TN

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GOOD LUCK

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jltibbs
Moderator
Posts: 4970
Joined: Fri Sep 09, 2005 5:42 pm
Car: 2015 Nissan Versa SL
1994 Infiniti Q45
2000 Infiniti I30
Location: Murfreesboro, TN
Contact:

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Pretty funny that you mention being able to control that suspension. I believe a company (Tein, Tokico, someone) makes electronic controlled suspension. How sweet would it be to get that and be able to use the factory controls?

TODD0341
Posts: 35
Joined: Fri Jan 05, 2007 6:31 pm
Car: 87 300ZX TURBO
94 Q45A
Location: Cleveland Ohio

Post

Thanks jltibbs,
I have read some of what you have done with your car, it is very very clean! Im hoping to have mine cleaned up and ready to drive in the spring.

I have read a lot about the data system controller. That would definitely be pretty awesome!
Right now I am trying to troubleshoot the entire system. I know it needs new accumulators, but I cant even seem to get any pressure buildup in the lines. Hydraulics are not my strong point.
I have a Z32 suspension at my disposal, I am thinking of putting that in and pulling the accumulators just so I can drive the car. I would really like to have the active suspension working, but we will see what happens.
This is not my DD, just a car I have always wanted and when I got an opportunity to get one I did. I knew ahead of time the A was a pain to deal with if it was poorly maintained, but I have plenty of time to play with it. Worse comes to worse, I might call Red's and bypass then entire system - Then the "A" will stand for "Awesome" (LOL, sorry if my little joke offends G50 elitists - I have a bad bad sense of automotive humor)

Anyways, I am glad to be on the forums and hope I can contribute! There is a real wealth of information here.

User avatar
jltibbs
Moderator
Posts: 4970
Joined: Fri Sep 09, 2005 5:42 pm
Car: 2015 Nissan Versa SL
1994 Infiniti Q45
2000 Infiniti I30
Location: Murfreesboro, TN
Contact:

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I had a whole response type out last night, then something went wrong, and now I really cant remember what I said. So, if I think of it, I'll redo it. Sorry.

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lino
Posts: 3533
Joined: Mon Aug 15, 2005 7:48 am
Car: 1991 Q45a Fed-Spec, IQP/White, Texasoil 9 Accumulator Recharge, '93 TCU 1st Gear Start, JWFSB, B&M 70268 Transmission Cooler, BBS Forged Wheels, DRLs, Silverstars, Tint, Very Well Serviced.
Contact:

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Welcome to Nico :bigthumb:.

Keith (nico member name texasoil) is the most knowledgeable Active suspension person you'll find anywhere. He's a great guy and can educate you on your options.

Here are the links to his websites that have some great info along with his contact info:

http://www.activesuspensionsystems.com/info.html
http://www.q45asuspension.com/

TODD0341
Posts: 35
Joined: Fri Jan 05, 2007 6:31 pm
Car: 87 300ZX TURBO
94 Q45A
Location: Cleveland Ohio

Post

lino wrote:Welcome to Nico :bigthumb:.

Keith (nico member name texasoil) is the most knowledgeable Active suspension person you'll find anywhere. He's a great guy and can educate you on your options.

Here are the links to his websites that have some great info along with his contact info:

http://www.activesuspensionsystems.com/info.html
http://www.q45asuspension.com/

Thanks for the "Welcome", Lino!
I have been studying and studying to justify keeping the active suspension. Other that just general trouble shooting, I havent had a chance to go through the car. That will probably happen next weekend, I dont have anything planned, and I just finished organizing some stuff in the garage. I ordered this consult cable http://www.ecutalk.com/ecutalk.aspx and downloaded the Beta software that will test the suspension. I am sure the accumulators need to be recharged, but I cant tell if the pump is putting out any kind of pressure anyways right now. I have A LOT of work ahead of me - between this thing and autox season, school, work......it'll become a progressive project for sure.
Im going to go through it see what condition the lines are in, etc and go from there.

JLTIBBS,
Whenever you remember, let me know!

BLACKonBLACK98
Posts: 696
Joined: Wed Sep 12, 2007 6:03 am
Car: Q45, LS400, STS-V
Location: Houston, TX

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any particular reason why you want to keep the active suspension? for the money you're most likely going to spend refurbishing (not modifying) it you could get a headstart on something better; be it coilovers, air, or other. some of the old heads in the q section swear the active suspension is the best thing ever but as far as vip goes, i'd rather have anything else.

for the z32 suspension you need to have height adjustable coilovers, not just stock suspension (unless you want to do the method with the front strut in the rear or whatever).

TODD0341
Posts: 35
Joined: Fri Jan 05, 2007 6:31 pm
Car: 87 300ZX TURBO
94 Q45A
Location: Cleveland Ohio

Post

BLACKonBLACK98 wrote:any particular reason why you want to keep the active suspension?

for the z32 suspension you need to have height adjustable coilovers, not just stock suspension (unless you want to do the method with the front strut in the rear or whatever).

I am researching all options, my man. For the costs involved in parts, if the hydraulic system isnt a total mess and I can get a data system controller inexpensively, I would think I would be right there with the cost of good street coilovers. Im not trying to stick KWs on a rusty G50, I will have to look around. Luckily, all labor is my own, I have plenty of builds and suspension work under my belt and feel comfortable tackling this car, but the hydraulic suspension on the Q45 is every bit as technically confusing as everyone says it is. That being said, I am not opposed to doing away with the hydraulic suspension, especially when I am out in the garage looking like this ----> :facepalm: ???

I have no less than 4-5 pages stored in my favorites on the topic of conversion ( I have an entire folder of Q45 suspension, lexus and toyota active suspension, conversions...Ive looking and reading for about a month now). I am giving serious consideration to converting it, I have from the day I started researching this suspension. To be completely honest, I havent even looked into coilovers. My first thought was - 1. bag it or 2. get actual solenoid controlled hydraulics, the stock Z32 suspension thing is really attractive, but Im just not sure. This isnt a car that Im planning to drive all the time - so daily commutability is somewhat out the window here. The wheels I want to use are my old 18x9.5s +20 from my Z31, Im not sure how those are going to sit, I might end up with new wheels if the offset is screwy. I love VIP, but I dont think Im going to go full baller with the roads here in Ohio without really jacking up the suspension on this car..... and I know too many downfalls of ball joints and tie rods living on the edge, but real low would be awesome!

I am going to do some cleaning on Sunday, I will post up more pictures, I will probably start pulling stuff apart and see what surprises are lying deep in the wheel wells. First and foremost, I have a miss, and the exhaust fell off the car - sounds pretty awesome, but I'm sure its not going to help it pass emissions.

Again, any ideas/helpful hints (other than "SCRAP IT" lol) are always appreciated :bigthumb:

BLACKonBLACK98
Posts: 696
Joined: Wed Sep 12, 2007 6:03 am
Car: Q45, LS400, STS-V
Location: Houston, TX

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personally, i prefer to do things right even if it's technically wrong (i.e. extreme lowering). one of the beatiful things about the g50 is the interchangability with z32 and other nissan suspensions. i bring this up in regards to multilink and geometry correction options rather than springs/shocks.

my suspension is still in the beginning stages (as it has been since the car went down about a year ago) but i am running g50 specific short damper coilovers (jic); along with some z32 spl multi-link (will be going full adjustable minus lca) and tie rod ends (high misalignment). it's not the cushy stock ride but it is relativley refined for what it is and handles very well. other interesting parts on the to do list include z32 polyurethane bushings (for everything that isn't pillowball), solid subframe bushings (raise the subframe for geometry correction), roll center adjusters, and an air cup kit to assist in obstacle avoidance when needed. i've got my eye on a lot of parts that haven't been done afaik, but suspension is one of my main interests. my personal goal is to (1) go as low as i can and (2) try to retain as much suspension functionality as possible (in that order of course).

honestly, i've never been a fan of the z32/r32 strut retrofrits. imo, it seems like a shortcut that doesn't really save you much in the long run but requires (marginally) more effort. i'm sure it comes up a little short in performance as well, but i have no facts to support this (everyone always thinks their suspension is the best, hard to get objective reviews).

i've only seen a couple bagged g50s in the u.s., all of which used the easystreet builder struts. after getting my hands on a set and checking them out i can tell they're definitely not for me but your needs may differ. another common option in the vip scene, as far as air suspension goes, is air runner; who seem to have released a g50 specific kit in japan recently. i would group this in the "doesn't fit my personal needs" category as well, but it may be worth checking out if you can stomach the price ($4-5k). the "go to" universal air solution (uas) has clearance issues on the g50 iirc.

hydraulics have become an interesting prospect to me lately, mostly due to the guys at hydroholics (google 'em). they're leading the movement in regards to hydraulics in vip stateside (and other non-traditional applications). i've also been looking at the skipper setups overseas. a lot of myths are being busted and from a function standpoint juice boasts a lot of pros over air in my eyes. i am currently trying to sell the coilovers off my ls to fund some first hand experience.

as far as retaining the oem system, if i bought a q45a or ul ls with a functioning oem adjustable suspension i would definitely try a controller. a few hundred (mostly recoupable) dollars is worth the risk imo. however, when you factor in the cost of refurbishment in addition to the few hundred spent on a controller it loses it's appeal to me. also, the oem components are not meant to be run out of spec and my observsation is oem suspension parts (in general) seem to fail pretty quick when "abused". almost all available information concering the active suspension is also taken from a completely different point of view than that of your average vip enthusiast, so keep that in mind. afaik, ron was the only person to in the u.s. to use a controller on an active suspension q and he wasn't too impressed based on conversations we had in the past (iirc).

hope this gives you some direction for more research. i'd much rather see someone make an informed decision to do other than what i would do than to see that person follow blindly. good luck and keep us posted.

User avatar
lino
Posts: 3533
Joined: Mon Aug 15, 2005 7:48 am
Car: 1991 Q45a Fed-Spec, IQP/White, Texasoil 9 Accumulator Recharge, '93 TCU 1st Gear Start, JWFSB, B&M 70268 Transmission Cooler, BBS Forged Wheels, DRLs, Silverstars, Tint, Very Well Serviced.
Contact:

Post

Update?

Have you spoken with Van from onetongarage?

Here's his car:

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What he made:
g50-q45-air-suspension-full-set-up-made ... 68073.html

TODD0341
Posts: 35
Joined: Fri Jan 05, 2007 6:31 pm
Car: 87 300ZX TURBO
94 Q45A
Location: Cleveland Ohio

Post

lino wrote:Update?

Have you spoken with Van from onetongarage?

What he made:
g50-q45-air-suspension-full-set-up-made ... 68073.html
Lino,
I havent and did not subscribe to the thread, sorry for the delay in follow up my man! I am planning on redoing the entire hydraulic system, I am lucky enough to work for a hydraulic and brake line manufacturer and have just about everything I need available to me, just need to address the accumulators and then I will tackle the adjustability.........which leads me to my next question which I will pose in my next post - but damn that looks good and I will call him sometime this week, I will have to take into consideration that my Q is somewhat of a rusty heap. His system might be better reserved for a mint car.
Last edited by TODD0341 on Mon Apr 25, 2011 10:00 am, edited 1 time in total.

TODD0341
Posts: 35
Joined: Fri Jan 05, 2007 6:31 pm
Car: 87 300ZX TURBO
94 Q45A
Location: Cleveland Ohio

Post

I dont post here much since most of my answers are found by searching, but am here a lot reading up on active suspension topics. That being said, I have searched and searched for an answer to this questions - maybe I am doing something wrong :slap:

Are the Q45A springs and standard Q45 springs on the G50s interchangeable? Considering of course different spring rates, are the seats/height the same?

I have a 95 Q45A that I am starting to work on and the active suspension is of course shot. I know that the mounts will need to be updated and I wanted to use tokico blues for now while I service the hydraulic system so I can at least drive the car around - its not my only car but I would still like to drive it and would like to return it to active suspension, but its an ongoing project, there are some other issues at hand that I am more concerned with. I would love to replace the struts and get by with just new mounts and use the stock springs if the rates arent that different, I will give it a shot if nobody knows, if it doesnt work then I guess I will be making a trip to the J-yard sometime soon to pick up some static springs. Thanks in advance for any help you guys can provide!!!!!

Regards,
Todd


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