Suspension questions.

[DSC]

Well I'm relatively new to car stuff and I hear people talking about coilovers, shocks, struts, springs, and I saw some dampening system thing for like $1500! Anyway, if you all could explane to me what these different parts do and how they work with one another that would be great. (I pretty much know what shocks and springs do, just not exactly) Thanks in advance.

Edit: grammer and spelling

(Edited by DSC at 10:32 pm on Oct. 22, 2001)

[drifterx]

you either have shocks or struts (they basicly do the same thing)
240sx has struts in the front and shocks in the rear. there are adjustable stiffness of shocks and there are also non-adjustables.
springs, well everyone has these, they r the coils you see when u look under your wheel, lowering springs lower your car with stiffer springs and the height is non-adjustable, there is many for the 240sx
coil-overs replace springs and they are basicly adjustable. they have a shorten spring coil and a thing in the middle that allows u to increase or decrease the compression of the spring (ground control makes these for the 240sx) most people in the racing world do not like these because they are very rough riding and not as much performance as the lowering springs and dampering systems
dampering systems replace the shocks/struts and springs with 1 complete system, this is your best option for great ride and height adjustability. they cost the most. some allows u to even adjust the stiffness of the shocks also.
any more questions?
this is like a basic overview of what i know, i am not a professional....

[wav399]

Thanks man.  That was very helpful.  So, which dampening or dampering systems can I use on my S13 and who sells them?  Thanks for your ongoing help.

[BlankFlip]

what about air bags, nebody try this out yet? i've heard they cost around the same as the expensive dampering systems that u can buy n give u a really nice ride.

[HippoSleek]

ahhh... I'm just going to step in here to put things on the right track...  This is the short version:

Shock/strut - while fundamentally different in design, the purpose of these items is to control the damping and rebound of your suspension.  It consists of a shaft that sinks into a chamber of gas.  The amount/pressure of the chamber control the valving.  The valving is what dictates the ride characteristics of the shock.  Some shocks are also either single or dual adjustable, which allows some control over the valving to adjust for a stiffer or softer ride.  There are also a few shock/struts that are "short stroke" meaning that they are designed for applications where the car has been lowered more than two inches.

Spring - coiled steel rod that runs at least the length of the shock/strut rod (shiny part) and serves to slow the shock/strut to prevent bottoming.  The spring also supports the weight of the car and, as such, dictates height.  Springs can come in factory length of shorter lengths, which will adjust the ride height of the car.  They can also come in different "rates."  A spring rate is, basically, a measure of the amount of force it takes to compress the spring.  Simply, a higher rate spring is "stiffer" b/c it takes more force to compress it.  Finally, performance springs may be either linear or progressive.  A linear spring will have a single rate and a progressive one will have more than one, so as to offer a softer zone for daily driving and a stiffer zone for sporty driving.

Coilover sleeves - This is a unit sold by a few companies (e.g., GroundControl, Skunk2).  This is a threaded sleeve that slides over the body of the shock.  It comes with a "collar" that can be moved up or down the threaded sleeve.  The collar is actually a spring perch (i.e., sping rests on it) and allows you to move it up or down to adjust the height of your car.

Coilovers - a coilover is a item that uses a threaded shock body (not a separate sleeve) in conjunction with an adjustable spring perch.  The perch can be adjusted to raise or lower the vehicle.  Similarly, most coilover set ups come with adjustable shocks as well.  Generally, these are the best performing units because they match a spring a shock with complementary rates/valving (although a similar effect can be achieved with carefully selected parts).  

I have no more time, but this is the basics.

[matic 240sx]

i think im right when i say the s14b has struts all the way around.... tho you have an s13, drifterx didn't say what years had shocks in rear... but i know that i replaced my struts on the rear of my car so my 97 has struts all the way

[HippoSleek]

s14 = front struts, rear shocks

[yenpit]

lots of people AND shops will refer to both as either struts OR shocks just to make it easier, that way they dont have to explain to every customer what the diff is. they both do same thing....dampen.....just diff design. Hipposleek is right....struts front, shocks rear, all the way to 98....although the rear shock is INSIDE the spring so it looks like a strut!

[wav399]

what about the S13?

[drifterx]

S13 have shocks and struts

[yenpit]

yup, same.