s14 springs on y33, real info

[q45omg]

just got done doing this, had my old s14 SE springs lying around and wanted to see how it worked etc. ever since that one guy posted about it.

doing this gives a SEVERE drop. i would only do this on stock shocks because i dont think there are any aftermarket shocks that can handle it and they will all just blow out. i cant imagine doing this with drop springs, the travel is already minimal.

the front - the s14 springs were much shorter, but stiffer. the diameter was slightly smaller on the upper and lower perch but it fits snugly. i went on a short drive and there was no popping. the front shocks on my car are totally blown so i fully removed the bumpstops.

the rear - the springs again are shorter but in the rear they fit like factory. dimension is the same. something is up with the rear that i am not sure about. when i was putting them on the struts i hardly had to compress the spring at all to get the top hat bolted down so the rear springs are slightly loose when the shocks are fully expanded. so when i was driving around the rear springs were popping and stuff. there was a rubber spacer thing in the rear that i assumed was a bumpstop but i guess not. so tomorrow im going to put that on to push on the spring a bit more which i think will fix this. ill post again tomorrow about this. **fixed, my own fault, rear shocks reassembled incorrectly**

to sum it up, the springs do fit, they are stupid low, the car rides pretty good going down the highway, bumps are a little more pronounced but nothing serious, i will probably buy teins or something but will probably roll around like this for fun for a little while

crappy pictures, ill take a few more tomorrow^weird humidity/camera flash thing
Modified by q45omg at 11:13 PM 3/16/2007

[TXCumtrensh]

that looks exactly like a tien drop... lol

[Falkdesigns]

Yeah, pretty much it does. Still, I'm happy to see people trying stuff out! Experimentation is key to development and progress, even if you find out it's not what you thought, you at least gave it a try.

[Q_SHIP]

Looks lower than tein to me.

[oeklm]

This guy is running Tanabe DF210s for a S14.... Is it me or does the stock springs look like they lower the car more... Wouldnt the aftermarket springs be lower considering they are supposed to lower the car (in this case s14)

[Qproject]

ok we found the springs, now it's a matter of getting a custom super stiff spring rate to match the y33 weight.

but the big problem is this: THE STRUT TRAVEL.

slamming the y33 with oem struts leaves you with about 1-2 inches of travel. Kinda scarry.

to go low, IMO coilovers may be the only option.

[q45omg]

my post from vipstyle

yeah fixed the rear popping, i assembled the rear struts wrong, there was a rubber spacer thing that i left off cause i thought it was a bumpstop thing, but it was a thing that centers the shock shaft and it was kindof clinking around.

they are stock s14 SE springs.

the downpipe had 3 fingers worth of gap between the street and the ground on level ground, which is ~2 inches it seems

ball joints i didnt take a close look at, the way i changed the springs i just leaned the shocks out front under the fenders so i didnt disconnect the lower ball joints.

the fronts had to be compressed on, the rears i was able to just hand compress and get it threaded.

and also it is on oem sized tires

it rides good enough going down the highway but its kindof chunky going over bumps, probably bottoming out the shocks. but theres enough travel to where nothing bottoms out when i mash the gas etc. i mean obviously the ride quality is going to suffer with something like this but i thought id try to give some good details.

one thing that kindof sucks is the front is marginally lower than the back. i like where the rear sits more or less but the front is too low imo.

more pictures

also my driveway is kindof slanted so it looks lower on one side

[Q_SHIP]

See. It's for sure lower than teins.

[cullenj76]

like i said on VSC...it is DEF lower than the Teins...I am picking up a set of s14 springs here in a couple days for free to do some testing myself nextweek, but I expect teh results to be dreadful. Sure it looks good and all, but the geometry is ****ed (travel, safety, etc lol)

[Brokenbc]

I know I'm bringing back a 4 month old thread but... I'm interested in what it would take to make this work.

If you were to buy a set of really stiff S14 springs of which there are S14 springs out there that are MUCH stiffer than the Teins that everybody loves. then the only problem would be travel of the strut right? would the KYB's hold up to this?

The reason I ask is that I'd like to go lower than the teins but don't want to spend 2K on coilovers.

Again, sorry for bringing back a dead thread.

[owinbush]

I'm rolling on them now. Don't do it. save your money and buy coilovers or go air. I know that it seems like a lot of money, but in the end you will end up spending it to replace your oem struts. just my 2 cents....but its worth at least 2500.00 bucks.

[elwesso]

I wonder if you could make S14 coils work on a Y33?

[Brokenbc]

I wonder if you could make S14 coils work on a Y33?

I'm sure you could get them to work.... just not sure how much custom fabrication would be required. They probably wont just bolt on.

so for me though, my choices are Tein+KYB's or S14+KYB's.... do you think the KYB's would be able to handle the drop of the S14 springs or will they blow in a very short while?

[Brokenbc]

I'm rolling on them now. Don't do it. save your money and buy coilovers or go air. I know that it seems like a lot of money, but in the end you will end up spending it to replace your oem struts. just my 2 cents....but its worth at least 2500.00 bucks.

how do you feel about the height? besides the ride... is being this low more of a pain than its worth. I'm sure that you have to be careful going over speed bumps and I'm sure there are driveways you wont dare enter. is it worth it to you though?

[Brokenbc]

I wonder if you could make S14 coils work on a Y33?

OK, OTG can't get the KYB's in for 4-6 weeks so now I'm seriously considering the S14 coilovers idea. My dad is a metal fabricator so I'm sure it'd be possible.

what parts would have to be fabricated? just the mounts?

Also what coils should I look at... something stiff right what spring rate should I aim for? the budget is something like $1300ish.