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Date: Tue, 9 May 2000 19:44:25 -0700 (PDT)From: Ted Hedman <thedman@amelia.sp.trw.com> Subject: Re: Control Arm Ideas
>s this 200SX the S12 model with the pop-up headlights? If so I tried the >struts off of one on my 510 and it was nearly OK apart from the upper spring >perch just rubbed the inside of the tower.But when it was all together and on> >the floor it did apear to have very slight >positive camber(not muchthough).Maybe using the bottom arms is the answer? >Struts are nearly 2" shortern than 510 ones and the vented disks are big so I'd >like to,use them .Anybody done this? > >Eddie >England >70 510 4door (L18SSS next weekend!) >eddie@ratdat.com Well, here's what I know about 200SX/S12 struts: Not too long ago I measured an S12 200SX front strut ('85 Turbo). I picked up a clean set from the JY for a potential front brake upgrade. They will bolt up to 510 steering knuckles just like the 280ZX struts. They have vented, 18mm (0.709") thick rotors which are only 0.10" smaller than 280ZX rotors, use slightly smaller brake pads than 280Zx, but the unmodified calipers fit inside 13x7 Libre's and 13x7 Panasports. I have a lot of 13" wheels so this was important to me! The caliper also cleared a 4" backspacing 13x6 Shelby Europa Minilite clone that I found at the JY on the same day, but unfortunately for me they won't clear my 13x6 Superlite Panasport clones(4" B/S), nor my Hayashi 13x6.5's (also 4" B/S). :-( Grinding the caliper won't help since it's actually the bolt heads that hold the calipers together that cause the interference with the wheels. Anyway, as Eddie says, they are short, same length as a 280ZX strut. A 280ZX cartridge fits perfectly. We tried it. I think a 240Z cartridge would fit also as I understand they are the same length. The S12 strut has +3 degrees camber relative to the 510 strut (I was comparing against a straight, unmodified 10.5" '69 510 strut). We compared it with 280ZX strut on a granite table using a height gauge and they both have exactly the same spindle angle. So some sort of camber adjusters are mandatory to compensate for the added positive camber. A benefit of the extra spindle angle is increased inner tire clearance with the strut tube. Even though the ZX strut also has this additional positive spindle angle, you don't get the full benefit of additional tire clearance since the ZX spindles (and hence the wheel hub mounting flange) are even closer to the strut tube than a 510 strut. Many ZX strut converts have reported this in the past. The S12 strut, on the other hand, has spindles that are within 1/16" of where the stock 510 strut spindles are with respect to the strut tube. Likewise the hub mounting flange. Due to this we measured an additional 11mm (0.433") of inner tire clearance on the S12 vs 280ZX strut using 13" wheels. There would be much more with 15"+ wheels. In fact, if you're into the touring car look a 17x7" wheel/tire combo with +38mm offset (5.5" B/S!) actually cleared the strut tube by about 1/8" with NO SPACERS! The spring perch is larger diameter than the 510 perch, so swapping perches or converting to coil overs is the way to go. There didn't appear to be an easy way to mount ZX calipers and hubs (hubs fit, calipers don't). One other thing- the ball joint relief in the bottom of the strut has a much larger inner diameter, so if you want to run bumpsteer spacers made for the 510 strut, you'll need to have a ring machined to take up the clearance. Hope this helps! Ted Hedman '72 510 License# IN2510S Redondo Beach, CA thedman@amelia.sp.trw.com This message comes to you from the Datsun 510 mailing list. List rules and instructions are available at: http://bluebirds.datsun510.com/bluebirds/listcharter Authors retain implicit copyright to their material. Obtain permission from the author before redistributing messages.