Lowered Spring Perch Pictures

[jfilipenko]

Hi all, I have searched and found some information on lowered spring perches however I have not come up with much for pictures.

At any rate I decided to go ahead and lower mine. I talked over options on how to get the job done with my machinist buddy, we were shooting for the least amount of work that would produce a safe, clean looking lowered perch.

I had some left over 4.5" OD, 3/16" wall tubing left over from another project that would be perfect for dropping the lower spring pocket. I randomly settled on a 1" drop.

We chucked the tubing into the lathe and trued the edge, we then parted off two 1" sections. Once we had the 1" tubing rings we wrote a simple program for his CNC machine to use a 3/16" cutter tool to cut out the stock lower perch at a 4.5" diameter.

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The idea was to reuse both pieces of the lower spring perch simply by inserting the 1" ring between them. We essentially ended up with a nice friction fit that just needed to be welded out.

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The end result is below.

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I expect to have to sort out some steering gear clearances issues in the future, those that have experience running dropped perches please chime in if you have some advice.

Some additional info, I have datsunparts.com 54010 Super Comp springs, and 16x7 Riken Mesh wheels with 0 offset, tires are 205 50R16. Front end weight is stock (stock engine etc).

Below is a test fit of the wheels before I tore all the stock suspension apart. I am pretty sure I am going to run into tire to fender rubbing issues as well due to the lack off proper offset.

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At the rear the tires will tuck into the wheelwell as I have rolled the fender lips as well as I will be running a modified RX7 rearend that is 1/2" narrower than stock.

I may also run 185 or even 175 tires on the 7" rims which will pull the tire sidewall in from the edge of the rim allowing more clearance.

The stance or the look I am after is this: (favorite car on here BTW!)

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[RCMike]

That offset is going to be difficult to clear the fender.. You are looking for probably 3* of camber, maybe more, or a better offset. Or both.

LOVE the spring perch mod. Very clean.

Your front end with the super comps and that drop however will be considerably lower than Alvin's car though.

[dbrick]

Nicely done. The 1" of drop at the spring will be multiplied by the geometry of the suspension, so you may even need need taller springs. If you need them for trial fit, I think I still have a set of Nissan late comp "E" springs.
For reference, unknown springs, probably early comps, but 185-60/14. Damn low for the east coast and the roads it was driven on. With the larger wheels, your car will probably look lower, as the edge of the wheel is closer to the lip

[fj20spl311]

I would have checked the angle of the spring perch before you welded it.

I believe there is a change in angle as the A-ARM is raised that you could have compensated for by welding the perch at an angle.

It should work either way, but there may be a binding of the spring if you drop it straight down.

[TeemuM]

This is old topic, but I am planning to lower spring perch on my car. I am planning to use Super Comp springs.
When car is lowered that much what have you done to tie rods as won´t those hit to frame?

[SLOroadster]

This is old topic, but I am planning to lower spring perch on my car. I am planning to use Super Comp springs.
When car is lowered that much what have you done to tie rods as won´t those hit to frame?

The super comp springs are already WAY too low to give you any sort of good suspension geometry. The roll center on regular comp springs is borderline too low, so running anything lower requires a lot more thought to make it work right. (You will be inviting more body roll, and creating a falling rate suspension accompanied by a loss of static camber. None of that is good.) A good rule of thumb, if your lower control arms slope downward toward your oil pan, your roll center is already below ground level, going lower just makes everything worse.

Will

[Gregs672000]

I too love the look of lowered cars, but the reality on the street is just not there if you're gonna drive it. Show, fine. Carving canyons, no so much. The comp springs drop the car reasonably, provide improved handling, and typically won't lead to rubbing. I run a 205 50/15 on comp springs and never rub up front. Spend your money on Bilstein shocks and love your car soooo much more. MHO!