To all fabricators

[junkyardgsx]

First off this post sounds kind of rude, and I do not intend it to be this way. I want to know some basic why and why nots . Who here is a fabricator? I want to know what you guys build, for your cars or others. You see my 1G suffers from one area that hardly has R&D applied, Suspension Components. Has anybody ever gone further than the control arms? 2G cars get all the goodies, Tubular control arms, billet spindles, even tubular sub-frames that are adjustable! I want some of this for my old 1G because the Evolutions and STI's walk all over us at the track. Maybe I need to buy a 2G car and start over, but I like my 1G body style more and would like a competitive car. Gixxerdrew amazes me with the R&D he has done to his eclipse, and he shares tips with us in his blogs, so can we please put some of it to use?

 

[->PrOjEcTGS<-]

Well... I'm not a total fabricator of any means just a novice hobbiest weldor.

The 1g and 2g suspensions are two totally different animals.

On a 2g you've got a lower and an upper control arm then a spring and shock combination. This means there are more parts to a 2g suspension that could be modified.

Whereas on the 1g you've got a McPherson strut type suspension where there is only a lower control arm and a strut. There's only so many parts on the 1g's suspension that you can modify. Now, probably the most improvement we could make would be on the rear suspension and how it functions. I would love to have castor adjustment on the front end. But the plates i have on the front only allow for camber adjustment. My castor is off by 1* on the front end which makes it pull to the right. Camber and toe are within my specs.

So, short of swapping out the entire suspension for something else... I don't see many parts being developed for the 1g...

 

[Bender]

You can use 3000gt rear adjustable camber upper control arms on the 1g. 3SX sells a nice kit. I believe I got mine off ebay because they were black.

 

[junkyardgsx]

I contacted Robi Spec, and they can alter the roll center, as well as offer EVO coilovers modified for our cars, which i have seen before. The rear suspension is a poor designed unit I agree. I found a fabricator here in Phoenix AZ that builds off-road trucks and also rally cars. He has built a back-halved Imprezza, meaning the sub-frame was custom built out of tubular chromoly steel. I don't know if I want the back-half, but i would like a tubular sub-frame for one, weight savings, 2 every arm could be made adjustable as well as geometry improved. he quoted me from $1500 to $2500, depending how much adjustment I want. I showed him a sub-frame picture and he can easily duplicate it, looking at a Trophy Truck outside his shop makes me not doubt him.

 

[ramsack]

I'd see no reason why you couldn't custom make double wishbone on all 4 corners. It would be a lot of work and fab, but the results would be worth it, and it's good research for others to follow.

 

[junkyardgsx]

After reading about the Revolution RX7, it makes me want to do a double wishbone on all for corners! This car has converted a MacPherson Strut car into a double wishbone car, as well as Full Race here in Phoenix on their R14 AWD 240SX! As much as I would love to do this, I believe our true problems lie in the rear suspension, and I am going to be focusing on that area first. However, do you guys think it is more feasible since it will all be custom to use EVO 8 knuckles, and hubs or 2G AWD knuckles and hubs for the rear? Another question, are all 2G front knuckles/hubs the same between GST-GSX and RS? I know where I can get a set of hubs for cheap, but I don't know if its a GST or GSX. I can make a cardboard blue-print as in the fabrication thread stated, just to see how much geometry changes are needed. I wouldn't mind tubbing the front end of the car, in exchange for a Double Wish bone set-up

I'd see no reason why you couldn't custom make double wishbone on all 4 corners. It would be a lot of work and fab, but the results would be worth it, and it's good research for others to follow.