s14 springs on y33, the info inside

just got done doing this, had my old s14 SE springs lying around and wanted to see how it worked etc. ever since that one guy posted about it.

doing this gives a SEVERE drop. i would only do this on stock shocks because i dont think there are any aftermarket shocks that can handle it and they will all just blow out. i cant imagine doing this with drop springs, the travel is already minimal.

the front - the s14 springs were much shorter, but stiffer. the diameter was slightly smaller on the upper and lower perch but it fits snugly. i went on a short drive and there was no popping. the front shocks on my car are totally blown so i fully removed the bumpstops.

the rear - the springs again are shorter but in the rear they fit like factory. dimension is the same. something is up with the rear that i am not sure about. when i was putting them on the struts i hardly had to compress the spring at all to get the top hat bolted down so the rear springs are slightly loose when the shocks are fully expanded. so when i was driving around the rear springs were popping and stuff. there was a rubber spacer thing in the rear that i assumed was a bumpstop but i guess not. so tomorrow im going to put that on to push on the spring a bit more which i think will fix this. ill post again tomorrow about this.

to sum it up, the springs do fit, they are stupid low, the car rides pretty good going down the highway, bumps are a little more pronounced but nothing serious, i will probably buy teins or something but will probably roll around like this for fun for a little while

crappy pictures, ill take a few more tomorrow
[img]http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/5733/IMG_0817.jpg[/img]
[IMG]http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/6158/IMG_0813.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/483/IMG_0811.jpg[/IMG]
^weird humidity/camera flash thing
[IMG]http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/5505/IMG_0812.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/8711/IMG_0821.jpg[/IMG]

Looks similar to my drop with the Tein Y33 springs. How much clearance do you have from the bottom of your headers to the ground? I have around 3" of clearance. What condition are your ball joints in? When installing the Y33 Tein springs on the front and rear struts/shocks, the springs had to be compressed to go on. Also, Y33 Tein springs aligns perfectly with the stock struts/shocks.

interesting. id like to see better pictures.

So these are OEM s14 springs?

Also, that looks considerably lower than the drop with Teins, but I'd like to see more pics please :)

what confuses me is that there is another guy who put Tanabe DF210s for an S14 on his y33 and it looks like it was dropped just as low if not less...How is this possible if you are running stock springs...

chmercer is running on stock 16" wheels.

the other dude was running 19" wheels.

they are both equally low.



[QUOTE=oeklm;47966]what confuses me is that there is another guy who put Tanabe DF210s for an S14 on his y33 and it looks like it was dropped just as low if not less...How is this possible if you are running stock springs...[/QUOTE]

so shouldnt the guy running the tanabes be lower since hes running aftermarket?

[QUOTE=Qproject;47968]chmercer is running on stock 16" wheels.

the other dude was running 19" wheels.

they are both equally low.[/QUOTE]

more pics in the daylight please.  also did you get the "popping" in the back fixed?

yeah fixed the rear popping, i assembled the rear struts wrong, there was a rubber spacer thing that i left off cause i thought it was a bumpstop thing, but it  was a thing that centers the shock shaft and it was kindof clinking around.

they are stock s14 SE springs. 

the downpipe had 3 fingers worth of gap between the street and the ground on level ground, which is ~2 inches it seems

ball joints i didnt take a close look at, the way i changed the springs i just leaned the shocks out front under the fenders so i didnt disconnect the lower ball joints.

the fronts had to be compressed on, the rears i was able to just hand compress and get it threaded.

and also it is on oem sized tires

it rides good enough going down the highway but its kindof chunky going over   bumps, probably bottoming out the shocks. but theres enough travel to where nothing bottoms out when i mash the gas etc. i mean obviously the ride quality is going to suffer with something like this but i thought id try to give some good details.

one thing that kindof sucks is the front is marginally lower than the back. i like where the rear sits more or less but the front is too low imo.

more pictures

also my driveway is kindof slanted so it looks lower on one side
[IMG]http://img453.imageshack.us/img453/483/IMG_0811.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://img453.imageshack.us/img453/6158/IMG_0813.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://img453.imageshack.us/img453/5505/IMG_0812.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://img453.imageshack.us/img453/8755/IMG_0815.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://img453.imageshack.us/img453/7686/IMG_0814.jpg[/IMG]

stepping the game up huh?

i have s14 springs sitting in my garage right now, but i'm scared...scared i'll blow my stock shocks and have gangster hard core drop but no ride quality.  This really sucks such a cheap way to get almost a perfect stance but potentially really expensive in the long run.

Thinking......

[QUOTE=nextgear1;48047]i have s14 springs sitting in my garage right now, but i'm scared...scared i'll blow my stock shocks and have gangster hard core drop but no ride quality.  This really sucks such a cheap way to get almost a perfect stance but potentially really expensive in the long run.

Thinking......[/QUOTE]

Man you need to seriously man up!

IMO

So, i'm about to install all my suspension stuff finally.  Tein Stech, KYB SR, adj RUCAs, adj toe arms, etc.   I'm now thinking of just saying "f-it" and giving a set of stock s14SE springs a shot to see how they work out instead of the Teins.  If I do, I'll post the results and such.  Thanks for the experimenting work.

that looks sick! yea i didnt consider using the stock S14 springs cus they have a softer spring rate. even my tanabes have a soft spring rate, but the ride is bouncy, but i think if i replaced my stock dampeners it would ride pretty good

[QUOTE=Jicdrifter;48136]that looks sick! yea i didnt consider using the stock S14 springs cus they have a softer spring rate. even my tanabes have a soft spring rate, but the ride is bouncy, but i think if i replaced my stock dampeners it would ride pretty good[/QUOTE]

yeah looks like im going to be trying the tanabes... however Im looking to get some KYB SR Specials ...just gotta find em

[QUOTE=frankthetank_86;48080]Man you need to seriously man up!

IMO[/QUOTE]

Man up to blow my shocks by lowering my car with parts not intended for use on my car....IMO this isn't an issue of manning up.  it's an issue of whether i want to lower my car cheaply only to spend more money in the long run....or whether i save my money to lower it using some of the tried and true methods out there....coilovers or air sus for the y33.

this is almost the same thing i did to my g50 except i used stock r32 springs and struts i had lying around and z32 rear complete springs and sturts bolted up fine. lowered it alot.

Ohh man! This is perfect! I'm gonna try this out also! WHat forum can I get S14 springs at?

somebody can buy mine if they want, its too low for me

[QUOTE=chmercer;48648]somebody can buy mine if they want, its too low for me[/QUOTE]

pussy. lol

how much?

PM me an offer?

Do you know if all S14 springs are the same?

s14 SE springs are a little stiffer

[QUOTE=jzz30tt;48695]pussy. lol[/QUOTE]

e-thuggery at its best...

when your going that low with shorter springs made for s13-s14, the sping rates need to be much much stiffer-higher-stronger than just "a little". 

it needs to compensate for the distance of the springs from top to bottom, otherwise you will bottom out fast and it will be weak.

[QUOTE=chmercer;49223]s14 SE springs are a little stiffer[/QUOTE]

i meant a little stiffer than base model s14 springs

i have no idea what stock q45 springs are but the se springs ive read to be 2.2k, i believe the tein ones are 2.5. whatever they arent on the car anymore.

wow merc, now that you did this, EVERYBODY in the drift scene is going to sell their 240's, buy stock q45's and slap their old stock 240 springs on them, and call themselves vip. thanks alot. haha

[QUOTE=Caoboy;50034]wow merc, now that you did this, EVERYBODY in the drift scene is going to sell their 240's, buy stock q45's and slap their old stock 240 springs on them, and call themselves vip. thanks alot. haha[/QUOTE]

LOL CHMercer the Progenitor of Cheap VIP (CIP)

but the fact is:

there are no short cuts with suspension. by taking the cheap, short cut route, You end up spending more money in the long run

[QUOTE=VIPFlame;49880]e-thuggery at its best...[/QUOTE]

You can do that when you're sittin as low as he is on 19s in a Y33... ;)