subframe spacers ... what are they good for?

[formeRiceR]

I will running a HKS Hypermax - II on my car, and I was wondering if the addition of subframe spacers will make the car even more stiff, I would like to keep the ride of the car as comfortable as possible... and also I'm in boston and will be driving in snow. I 'm worried that these will make the car unstable in snow....

post your thoughts....
'
thanks

[HaLo]

They reduce wheel hop on starts

[formeRiceR]

so they wouldn't make much of a difference in AutoX or Touge driving...

[ucfz31s13]

Yes they do. Helps eliminate more bushings in the rear suspension. Very well spent $88 in my opinion (SPL PARTS).

z

[old_s13]

Originally posted by formeRiceR
so they wouldn't make much of a difference in AutoX or Touge driving...

DUDE.. whats touge?! is that a new form of drag racing or sumthin??!!?????

sub fraime spacers keep the sub frame planted y0, they reduce the amount of wheel hop and unecessary subframe movement, DUDE! This also makes the car uncomfortable and stiff as the back end is locked, you'll hear more diff whine and stuff like that.

Just make sure to get JDM subframe spacers, because its the freshness.

[sykikchimp]

if you want the car to stay comfortable, I would suggest going with some softer springs...

[formeRiceR]

Originally posted by old_s13
DUDE.. whats touge?! is that a new form of drag racing or sumthin??!!?????

sub fraime spacers keep the sub frame planted y0, they reduce the amount of wheel hop and unecessary subframe movement, DUDE! This also makes the car uncomfortable and stiff as the back end is locked, you'll hear more diff whine and stuff like that.

Just make sure to get JDM subframe spacers, because its the freshness.

thanks for the info...could have done without the comments tho

[Maeda]

I think old_s13's just playing ^_^

If you don't want the ride to get uncomfy, then stay away from most suspension changes, as they usually make things stiffer.

Just out of curiosity though, WHY did you buy a 240 if you didn't want the ride to get "uncomfortable"? o.O

Whevener I hear road noise, or suspension components talking to me it makes me smile(except on potholes, because if i did smile my teeth would crack).

[ridebmx]

i have 12k front and 10k rates, and aluminum subframe bushings, ride isnt too bad. drove 3k miles to toronto and back and around that area, was fine for me. I guess it all depends on the driver, my opinion is if i can handle the aluminum bushings anyone can handle the spacers, thats just me tho

[kanekz]

Originally posted by ridebmx
i have 12k front and 10k rates, and aluminum subframe bushings, ride isnt too bad. drove 3k miles to toronto and back and around that area, was fine for me. I guess it all depends on the driver, my opinion is if i can handle the aluminum bushings anyone can handle the spacers, thats just me tho

F12k??? R10K???? wow..thats some stiff shiet there brotherman! Well for regular/daily driving anways. Do you fell any understeer upfront at times? Well depending on your damper settings.

[AutoRnD]

subframe spacers
allow you to basically bypass the 4 huge bushings that connect the subframe to the actual frame..
this allows

#1 less wheel hop during starting or during drifting
#2 that floaty feeling in high speed driving will be decreased
#3 when you are mid corner and you hit a bump.. the rear end wont feel like its oversteering...

these are a great investment that help your handling and overall confidence in the 240 increase

[ridebmx]

i really dont notice bad understeer, if the road is sandy, or wet/icey, i will just start going straight instead of turning. but ive come to know when to just go slower in town, ive never felt the under steer while driving highway speeds. I wouldnt say that im a drifter/autocrosser, but from reading on what understeer is, thats the only time i feel it.

[Halz]

..why do you insist on having such high spring rates if you don't autocross or drift? is the car tracked at all?

[ridebmx]

one, i needed new suspension, and i got a decent deal on them, second i would love to goto autocross and drift events, if there are ever any in my area i would probably attend them, you have remeber some people live really out of the way of everything like that. I cant miss school to drive 1000 miles to an event, im paying for school and im not going to piss away money, thats just foolish, and if there was any close events i do not know about them. Living in a very rural area you can have fun with stiff suspension, was i that wrong in stating that im not a autocrosser/drifter, would you rather i say that i am?

[ryan hagen]

i, d like to second that, i run 8 and 6 kg, and sometimes i would like to go softer but being close to ed there and that we are in the same group, there isnt shit near us except chicago, other wise there are some events planned near by but its 3 hours form me and 6 hours from him................doubt you ll see me ever in cali at a track, and its expensive and hard as hell to get on elkhart raceway........most other track near us are dirt oval, it ll be a cold day in hell when you catch my 240 on a dirt oval............ some of just like a ultra tight car to mess around with, with what i m doing to mine you d call me crazy to dump that money in and probally never see a real track.............oh yah im not autocrosser or a real drifter either................

i got damper II's and on the softest damper setting, you ll still get your teeth rattled, and also, the diff whine for my car is always there, i m getting aluminum bushings soon. id sugest lowering springs with agx,gr2,or koni shocks if you want a soft ride but lower/better handleing, you ll need adjustable upper arms for the rear if you go with hks damper II's other wise you gotta tighten your springs up alot and it will be really stiff. the roads in my town sucks but on the highways and some bigger cities and on fresh roads, they are awsome....

[formeRiceR]

Originally posted by Maeda
I think old_s13's just playing ^_^

If you don't want the ride to get uncomfy, then stay away from most suspension changes, as they usually make things stiffer.

Just out of curiosity though, WHY did you buy a 240 if you didn't want the ride to get "uncomfortable"? o.O

Whevener I hear road noise, or suspension components talking to me it makes me smile(except on potholes, because if i did smile my teeth would crack).

I guess I have to clarify my defination of uncomfortble, I like the stiff feel...riding in a stock car doesn't feel right to me because it's too mushy...I mean uncomfortable (stiff) to the point that your kidneys start hurting....

you from Aiea you don't know the meaning of POTHOLES...Boston is a whole another story

I'm originally from Oahu, Hawaii Kai side...so I know what I'm talking about...

thanks for the info...

[ryan hagen]

many back streets around here are really bad, if you could get 7kg springs for the front of the hks set up. I have mine on the lowest damper setting to make them softer but it still can be harsh at times. i think that would help but i havent gotten through to hks as to differnt springs, other than that i am happy with my hks damper II's but they have a chrome body, and i am really carefully with mine as they started to rust in several places, i sanded and clear coated them to help. i wold recomend the tein flex with the teflon coating, i am garageing my car due to the coil overs and hopefully they will outlast my car.

[Halz]

a significantly stiffer suspension will not get the car to perform better at any place other than a track, autocross, or some perfect streets. Something like sub-frame bushings, however, could lend to the car becoming more predictable, and therefore more malleable closer to its limit of adhesion

I'm not surprised 'damper IIs' are stiff on a low dampening setting; the dampening speed is not all of what makes up the ride frequency .. the set probably has short springs measured at high rates.

Would the tires that are being used at least suggest a comparable level of performance you're hoping to extract from the car by increasing the car's stiffness?

[ryan hagen]

they took out alot of body roll, i d say they made a huge performance difference on any road. i use nito 555's they seem to grip well, i dont notice too much sub frame shift, ed(ridebmx) noticed alot of shift, so he went with the bushings right away. i got t/c rods first, another huge diffence i thought. the aluminum bushings i think will be my next item suspension wise, then maybe a t/c rod brace or nismo power brace.

[ridebmx]

in town there are areas where our roads are pot hole ridden. but on most back rounds they have been repaved, and see very little traffic, and if you do live in a city with alot of pot holes, either avoid driving where they exist, or get a softer setup if your concerned about ride quality. Also if your car isnt your daily driver then you might be able to live with a 8k 6k. Its all in what u want and like. Try to find someone close to you with a coilover setup, and go for a ride with them, take it from there.

[Replicant_S14]

If you want to try it for cheap, you can make some pretty easily.

Click me--->DIY spacers (http://www.mindspring.com/~gulag13/Washers/)

I never did a write-up to go with these pics but most people get the idea easily enough.

It's quick, cheap and easy so, if you don't dig it, take them out. That way you'll only blow a few bucks to figure out you don't like it. If you do like it, leave 'em..... or.... if they aren't "cool" enough for you, you can always get some JDM-super-dorifto parts to replace them with.

[ryan hagen]

thats alot like what i did to put my 3z diff into my s13, for the front diff mounts, i stacked washers.....washers are life savers that sink...........thats good, that could beocme a faq or something

[Ghettokracker71]

Subframe spacers are the same thing as called "drift Pineapples" on eBay right? I could easily be wrong on that one...

So far I have only heard POSITIVE things about subframe spacers,any DOWNSIDES to them ?

[Replicant_S14]

any DOWNSIDES to them ?

The solid ones, or the washers like I made, make a metal-2-metal connection between the subframe and the body. It's noisier. Vibration and noise transfer to the driver more easily, but then again, so does the feedback. It's a trade off I was willing to make. It isn't THAT much noisier and our cars aren't exactly caddilacs to begin with.

Urethane spacers ("pineapples")?? I dunno. I'm sure they're less noisy but I never liked the idea of them anyway.

[Ghettokracker71]

Alright well, not an Infiniti I understand but I still want some driveability,I have a very picky girlfreind...hah hah,I wish somebody knew about the "pineapples" and could tell me...oh well,thanks bro

[Dousan_PG]

pineapples are the SAME THING as the subframe spacers
its just referred to as 'pineapple' by URAS because they are yellow and look like pineapple slices

but its the SAME THING and does teh SAME THING as subframe spacers

pineapples=subframe spacers

[AKADriver]

They perform the same function, but being made of urethane instead of aluminum they are slightly less intrusive.

In my fastback adding the urethane spacers (whiteline brand, in this case, but basically identical to URAS) introduced a LOT of diff noise. In huntz0r's coupe they're almost unnoticeable except for the drastic reduction in slop in the rear end. So really, your results may vary. If comfort is a concern I'd avoid using them in a fastback and definitely go with urethane.

12/10 spring rates... criminy. That's almost more spring than I'd want to run in a race car. Japan must have smoooooth race tracks.

[Ghettokracker71]

alright thanks !