Calling all True Coilover rear suspension users
 

Hey guys, I spent a while searching, and short of finding some very interesting arguments that tend to contradict each other with no real long term evidence of either side being right, Im looking for actual users of True Coilover rear suspension users to chime in.

So right now I have one of the only sets of MCA True Coilover custom Red sets for the 370Z in the USA and Ive been a bit leery of using them since they are a true coilover setup for the rear.

I am concerned about the rear shock tower and mushrooming. The car is a 2010 Nismo and is a weekend ride that spends most of its miles in the canyons and mountains.

So for the long term users, have you guys noticed any issues? Are there any rear shock tower reinforcement mods available like on the BMW? Im aware of the G-Spec rear shock tower bar, but Im talking about plates that get installed between the upper shock mount and the body to help prevent mushrooming.

MCA set these up to be linear but they claim the valving is much better than other true coilover designs with a much better bumpstop design to help reduce the chance of any sort of chassis fatigue.

So am I being paranoid or could true coilover rears cause issues over time?

I've gone true type with reinforced rear shock tower for the exact reason you stated. Did it as a precaution. Mine is a full weight street car and has not seen track times.

But, I don't think there has been any issue with guys running true type rear without reinforcement to the towers.

There are ones that are heavily tracked cars and have roll cage welded to the shock tower so that naturally reinforces them. Then there are members that are dual purpose cars with no reinforcement.

I have installed quite a few sets of "true" coilovers on the 370z. The tower seems to hold up fine, the bushing in the knuckle goes to hell way faster however.


Zack

What did you want to do with your car? What's it's purpose.

Mostly mountain and canyon runs he said.

I think best example that I can think of for his peace of mind is member wstar's setup. "True type" rear, car got a lot of track times. He didn't have any roll cage or tower reinforcement at the time of the true type being installed. I think OP can send him a message. Also I think Masterbeatty is running true type rears and he does track/autocross (forgot which one, or both...), and I don't think he reinforced the shock towers.

Thanks for the references. I will hit them up. From what you can recall they had no complaints?

It seems to be too much work and expenditure on something that can be accomplished by alternative coilover set ups and even with Koni/switft set ups. But that's just me. Hope you land the kind of set up you are looking for.

I agree with you however I already have the coilovers. I'm just seeking experienced true coil users so I can decide if it's worth it. I've considers Koni yellows and Swift springs but I'm not sure I want to go as low as Swift Spec-R are.

Are the NISMO springs the same ride height as sport springs?

Nope no complaints. I have not seen any case of shock tower failure after using true type coilovers. I don't recall any in the G37 (which is heavier) either.

I mean, it's not like the shock tower does not bear any weight/force in the OEM setup. I did mine just because I'm very risk adverse.

Stock for stock I don't think there was much of a difference. I looked at my old brochure and there was not much difference. The roadster was higher.

Thanks for the input guys. I think I'll give it a try. Just need to upgrade the shock bushing in the knuckle since I assume the rubber one will wear out exponentially faster carrying the weight of the car compared to just the damper.

I just looked through your journal and see that you went with full reinforcement of your shock towers in the rear, for a moment I thought you were running an untouched rear shock tower, so now Im second guessing this again.

Ill probably just ditch the MCA suspension.

your ride. do what you want. but i doubt you would have any problems with a true type setup. i suppose if you are planning on keeping it for another 25years, and driving the %^# out of it. then i would go as far as saying reinforce it (i.e. I wouldn't switch back to OEM type to save a couple of hundred worth of reinforcements).

i have helped my brother install a set of OEM type and i have a true type. i would say that i much prefer the simplicity of the true type when it comes to making adjustments, as well as the ability to set preload.

just my 2cents.

I am just overly risk adverse, and biased toward suspension mods. For what it's worth, the shop charged me six hours for the reinforcement. I am sure it's due to the fact that I had them do other installations at the same time, so amount of shop hours assigned to the reinforcement work was a bit reduced. I deemed it a small price to pay for just extra peace of mind.

On the contrary, the two members I listed put their cars through more torture without any reinforcement.

All depends on how risk adverse you are.

Best of luck in finding the right decision for yourself.

I have had Zeal true coilovers on my G for over 8 years with pretty stiff springs. I track and auto-cross the car along with street driving and have had no issues with the shock tower mounts.