SPC Linkages review as well as my coilover install! 56k Run away! Run away!

[krazydriver]

A while ago i'd come across a deal for SPC suspension components. Fully adjustable tension rods, RUCAS, rear links, and rear toe arms. They use a higher grade rubber then OEM components, and were on an S13 that did really well in the STS class last year, so they've been race proven. Coilovers being installed are stance GR+ Pro.

I'm going to start tracking my car, as well as wanting a lowered look, and also being able to adjust EVERYTHING to my hearts desire. (Part of it being my past in RC car racing. Check out this blank setup sheet. http://www.losi.com/ProdInfo/Files/mf2-blank.pdf That's what i used to copy down and tweak with for different tracks.) So i REALLY like my adjustment option.

Anyways on to the install.Having never done a suspension install before on a 1:1 scale car I wanted to take this slow and make sure i did things right. Plus it's an s13, i had to wait and let some freeze off soak into some of the bolts.First off my tool piles.Figured if i got too low i'd cut the board down to size so that i could lower the car onto it and pull out the jack.And of course i need the actual suspension goodies.This is only the stuff for the fronts.

Now here's what i started with. Stock S13 4x4 setup.Front:Rear:

Not the prettiest, plus i'm rocking 2 completely blown struts (as in they bottom instantly on the smallest thing and bounce FOREVER)So i started on the driver front, obviously jacked the car and blocked the rear wheels. Looking at everything i go ooh snapp..... So i bust out my trusty can of freeze off.I used to like PB blaster, but this freeze off stuff is amazing. Because it chills while spraying the penetrating oil it gets in there much faster, and also seems to break off alot of the rust from the freezing action. A+ product.So here's my crappy wheel well, filled with some nasty looking welds that patched some rust holes. i sealed it with bedliner so it's all good, it's just ugly.Also decided while i'm sitting there waiting for the freezeoff to soak in, i might as well beat down that stupid little lip that comes off the rail. With the tein tie rods(and the spacers) if i go full lock i rub on that.

So then i pull out the coilovers.Much better looking then the factory pieces, after soaking for about 5 min, the bolts came off really easy so this part was easy.

Next up the SPC tension rod. Hasn't been adjusted out to match the length but you can see the beefiness to this piece. The adjustable turnbuckles work well, only time will tell for how corrosion resistant they are. but they seem to be painted/coated in some pretty strong stuff.So here's that piece installed.Just remember if you put these on DO NOT TIGHTEN THE BOLT UNTIL YOU LOAD THE SUSPENSION!!!! If you tighten the tension rod bracket bolt with no load, you'll split the bushing. not a good idea. I put a second jack under the knuckle and forced the suspension to load. Then i torqued everything down.leaving us with this corner finished.So now we have this, could go lower. I have to go back and balance out the heights anyways, so for now it's not bad.I didn't lower it enough to need the boards. The jack just BARELY makes it out under the oil pan. We'll see how everything ends up when it's all balanced.

Onto the rear.Here's the SPC rear components compared to their OEM counterparts.The OEM rear pieces are pretty flimsy. The upper links i can flex with my hand. Not that they should have alot of load on them but The SPC stuff... yeah it ain't going nowhere. I actually dropped one of the links and "dented" my driveway.

So here's the rear driver side mostly disassembled. And here's the finished product.Something of interest i remembered to add this morningFor the outer bolt for the rear toe arm, you need to run the bolt from the INSIDE or else it will rub against the coil. So you pretty much need to bolt up the top of the coil, slide the RUCAS around the coil but don't bolt anything, then install the outer toe link. Then slide the coil onto the shaft, then put the RUCAs on. If you don't do this, expect some fun reloosening everything and playing with it.

At this point i went in and had dinner. Came back out and once again loaded the suspension with another jack, then torqued everything down. Didn't remember to take any pictures till it was dark out so here's the finished product.Back Front

I need to finish up installing everything on the passenger rear, balance the heights out, then just double check everything.It might not be until next week before i have everything set and get a decent alignment, at which point i'll update with driving impressions.

But from the install the SPC stuff is far superior to stock.(Duh!) The rubber they use for bushings is solid, not oil filled like the Nissan stuff and is MUCH harder. It also has thicker metal inserts through the bushing then the stock pieces do. The rear linkages now have some beef to them instead of being stamped metal that i can bend in one hand.Turnbuckle adjusements move freely, as I'd mentioned we'll have to see how they hold up 6 months or a year down the line, but the paint looks good on them, i'm expecting good things.Something elseAlso wanted to add if you take a look back at the RUCAS, they use 2 allen headed bolts to secure the threaded body around the rod. I'm not really sure why it's setup like this, i personally would have preferred a solid connection around the adjustable rod, but there must be some reason. I just tightened the allens to 35 ft-lbs like the instructions say and it seems to be fine. I'm going to be sure to check them after driving for awhile though.

Now to the nitty gritty details. Here's the weights. (Note: All these were done with the weigh myself, pick up the box, step back on the scale method. Therefore results may not be entirely accurate but will give a decent representation)SPC S13 tension rods ~5lbs each. +- 1.5 degrees of casterSPC S13 Rear toe links ~3lbs each +- 2 degrees of toeSPC RUCAS + Upper Links ~6lbs per side +- 3 degrees of camber no specs on rear caster adjustability.Stance GR+ Pro Fronts 16lbs each - Includes front camber plates.Stance GR+ Pro Rears 15lbs eachI will weigh the OEM parts at some point. I forsee the linkages weighing much less because of their flimsy nature, the shocks may be more though..For now that's it.Hope you enjoy reading this.

Modified by krazydriver at 7:25 AM 6/26/2008
Modified by krazydriver at 7:29 AM 6/26/2008

[Kckouki]

Looks good.

You'll love the stance coils. My buddy has them on his and their awesome.

[adrianfromthecastle]

very very nice write up. Very detailed... I like

[krazydriver]

I'd updated some of the original post. but here's some updated pics.

Even 3 finger/5cm gap all around. I just want to check 2 things up front, and eyeball the back end alignment a little bit better. Then i'm gonna go and actually get it realigned.Took it for a quick drive down the road... MUCH better then what i had. I'd had this annoying little wiggle in the front end, which i'm guessing was probably caused by the tension rod bushings being bad, because it's all gone and feels awesome.Didn't drive far ~1/2 mile, or hit any bad bumps, but the feel is amazing. We'll see how my opinion changes after an alignment, some hard driving, and some bumpy stuff.

I'd had it so low yesterday... i could barely fit a finger between the tire and fender in the back

[Kckouki]

Sits a hell of alot better then before, and im sure it drives amazing.

Still, needs dropped more, tehehe.

[gumby74]

Looks pretty good.They should of come at that ride height from the factory.thumbs up

[homeslicej2]

Nice. where did you get the SPC stuff?

[krazydriver]

Sits a hell of alot better then before, and im sure it drives amazing.Still, needs dropped more, tehehe.

It ain't going lower. i'd scrape pulling into my driveway.I finished my DIY alignment in the driveway today. took her out and went for a spin. VERY nice feel. Ridiculously tight cornering ability. The alignment is still off a little, car pulls to the left a bit, but from what i was driving around like before..... It blows my mind.

Nice. where did you get the SPC stuff?

Advertiser thread on Zilv..... THmotorsports is the company.Just search over there and you'll find it. I'm quite impressed with the parts!

[Slappy]

Time to press some bushings in your spinlde and RLCA's.

[DroptopDrifting]

about how much did this cost ya for parts?

[krazydriver]

Time to press some bushings in your spinlde and RLCA's.

that thought had come into my mind.

about how much did this cost ya for parts?

Search around for the best price. But the coils are usually $1150 - $1250 + shipping, and the linkages were in the $400 range.

[adrianfromthecastle]

1) looks great man... I'd like to know your driving impression.2) go lower! lol.. your coils and multi links were almost meant to be slammed. Hell, the toe has that bend to allow super slammness so it wont hit the subframe.3) let me know if you want a custom title.

[krazydriver]

^ for adrian.1. Driving impressions - definitely MUCH tighter, less body roll etc. I don't find the stance's to be overly stiff or bouncy in the least. At the moment they are set to the "beginner" #6 dampening setting. I've driven on them enough that the springs have settled out, so i need to adjust the height a little bit more.Also i'm not really sure how much of the difference in the handling is the coils, and how much is the linkages/new bushings. Obviously having done it all at the same time i don't really have a piece by piece comparison. either way i REALLY like how it feels. Also, it makes me realize how much i need better rubber in the backend of my car. Current rear tires are some old 195/65/15 Goodrich or something. I want to put a 225/50/15 something back there.

2. Lower....... Kinda touched on this, i've got a 3" frost heave at the end of my driveway. i live in NY, frost heave/pot holes/ washouts is bad. it might go a little lower, but ~4.5" of ground clearance from the frame rails is as far as i'd be willing to push it

3. how about - "The Unexplained Bacon!" obviously without the quotes.

[krazydriver]

POST ALIGNMENT UPDATE!!!!

Alright here's the deal. Took it to the local shop for an alignment, although it's no super low they actually had difficulties getting everything straightened out on the alignment rack because of the height.

So i had done a decent job for eyeballing it. What i went in with.Left RightFront Camber -.8* -2.7* Caster7.1* 7.4*Toe In.25* .85*

RearCamber-.6* -1.7*Caster..... they couldn't measure it. but it's gotta be somewhere around spec. I matched the factory link length.Toe-In-.15 -.45

Not bad for eyeballing it in the driveway!! I knew the front camber was WAY off on the one side, but i didn't really care.

Anyways now i've gotLeft RightFrontCamber-1.4* -1.4*Caster7.2* 7.2*Toe-In.05* .05*

RearCamber-2* -2*Toe-In0 0

So everything is where it should be. The alignment guy was pretty impressed with the parts. Took him for a ride after wards and he was REALLY impressed with the overall performance of my car. Apparently a friend of his used to have a 240, and made it fast but did absolutely nothing for handling. So he was like "we'd book it in a straight line, but when we hit a corner i thought i was going to die". i lol'd at that.

It took a while to do the alignment, i was the last person of the day and we had some fun with me explaining the linkages to them, and them having to play with all the custom numbers in the computer.

Anyways, after an alignment handling is VASTLY improved. Obviously things now match side to side, the car doesn't pull and the steering wheel is straight. The added camber has a very nice effect mid corner. Instead of feeling the sidewall roll under and a loss in traction as i get off the tread, it hooks up nice. Of course i can still kick it out if i stomp the gas. Front is more responsive, once again because i don't have huge differences in the alignment from side to side.i'm going to score all the parts so i can see where they should be for the numbers i listed above. this way if i feel like it i can play around and just do even adjustments for guesstimated alignments, but still go back to the marks for a known good setup.

So the SPC stuff is good in my book. It's not going to fit into the same category as a metal jointed piece, but the stuff is beefy, the rubber is MUCH harder then stock and it doesn't roughen the ride too much.Also a huge to the stance coils. the feel is great, they weren't hard to install at all, height adjustment is fun, and the adjustable dampening is a great feature... all for a decent price.

[BMAR240SX]

Time for an update on the suspension =)

I am looking into purchasing it

[krazydriver]

Holy crap!!! Someone bumped my thread!

I'll give you the full thing.I will admit this is a biased/non-comparison review because i don't have previous experience with suspension on my car other then the factory stuff.

Not sure how much of a review you want but I'll give you my impressions and if you want further info let me know. also it's probably been 2500 miles or so...

Stance GR+ pro's,I like it. Living in NY the roads aren't the smoothest, between my solid engine mounts and the coilovers you do feel the bumps in the road, pretty bad sometimes, but it's definitely DD'able.(although i don't... usually)The 8/6 spring rates are too stiff for drag racing though... it doesn't transfer enough weight to the back. For curvy stuff though it feels amazing, still on the factory swaybars but the difference in handling is immense. I gained probably 15-20mph on most turns.

SPC suspension parts.Like i said originally the quality looked good and it has been. The threads haven't rusted, whatever the paint/coating is it hasn't chipped or flaked off. The bushings are fine. honestly i'm not sure what else to say it's held up incredibly well.

Everyone i take for a ride is impressed by the handling of the car, guy i know who works on older v8's said he'd have to spend 30k+ to get the performance out of one of his cars that i've gotten out of mine for 6k(total - turbo and all!!).

All in all,there might be better coilover options, especially if you ask around with someone who's tried different setups and has more background in it. But for my first set of coilovers these work great, noticeable difference in handling and no substantial loss of drivability from noise/vibration etc.

But for the SPC stuff it's gets the alignment range is great, the price was good, and the stuff is really good quality. I actually met some of the SPC guys awhile ago at a car show, cool people.

That's my .02 cents.

[BMAR240SX]

Wow you really think there might be better coilover options, as in what to be stiffer or softer?

[krazydriver]

I'm just saying all i have for reference is factory vs the stance... i don't really have much room for comparison. i don't have the ability to say, yeah the stance is better then KTS, tein whatever. I haven't driven/rode in another 240 with a different setup.

I really like the way they feel, and if i went through it again.. yes i would buy what i bought.

[ddgsxr504]

Nice write up but I hate being at work cuz I can never see the pics.

[240z4u]

Bump again... I have had the SPC links for over two years. I bought them when they first came out. Rubber isn't quite as hard as rod ends but rubber also won't rust, bind and break off!

They have held up very well considering I drive my car year round in salt etc...

Evan