Alright Oppo, I need help

"Robert Belvin" (urbankei) 08/02/2017 at 02:25 • Filed to: None

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I need to get coilovers for the front suspension on my Mazda Porter Cab. So, assuming I can’t find ones pre-made for this vehicle, how does one look for coilovers? Is it a matter of max height/weight, and bolt pattern at the top? And I guess bolt pattern at the bottom? Are there shops that will make them for any vehicle? I’ve never lowered a car before, only lifted. Younger Me would have just heated the springs or clamped them, but Current Me is old and world-weary, and is aware of the fact he doesn’t have a backup pair of stock front shocks for when he dicks it up. Are there “universal” coilovers I can get? And again, if so, what parameters do I need to measure on the truck first?

sony1492 > Robert Belvin 08/02/2017 at 02:43

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Where the shock mount to the chassis should be the easy part because theoretically you can just drill holes to fit the shocks stud pattern. I’m assuming it’s a strut design, you’d want to know the spacing of the bolt points on the hub. Not sure if there’s a company that will make coilovers that specific but there are company’s that will make you a spring at almost any size and spring rate. Do they need to be adjustable or just lower?

Robert Belvin > sony1492 08/02/2017 at 07:42

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Thanks! Adjustable would be best, but just lower would work too

Aaron M - MasoFiST > Robert Belvin 08/02/2017 at 08:22

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There’s a company called Ground Control that makes custom adjustable spring assemblies to turn struts into coilovers. That’s probably the best option if you can’t find something that fits your vehicle. I’d start looking into parts compatibility, though, there are a lot of Mazdas with fairly significant aftermarket presence. Looking at your old posts, with something like this you may have to go JDM, but vintage Mazda communities may be able to point you in a good direction for that.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Robert Belvin 08/02/2017 at 08:39

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There absolutely are universal coilovers, but mostly they have an “eye” style fastening on both ends or stud-style. Not sure how you would adapt that for the Porter Cab or what’s out there that doesn’t work that way. The “Ground Control” option sounds interesting if pricey.

In regard to what to match, you have resting height, full extended height, and spring rate. You can guess at the spring rate, attempt to use a spring rate calculator like RideTech has on their website, or you can take the spring off and use a lever to compress, apply “X” amount of force, and calculate from the lever ratio pretty closely.

When you’re putting it back together, there will also be a certain amount of preload to set as well. That will either come from a calculator or an educated guess.

Robert Belvin > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 08/02/2017 at 09:14

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Awesome, I knew I came to the right place for this kind of stuff. I’ll check out RideTech. One thing I do remember about the front shocks from when I had the wheels off was that they’re mounted in kind of an inside-out wishbone setup, if that makes sense. I dunno, I’ll post a picture of it if it’s as weird as I remember it.

Robert Belvin > Aaron M - MasoFiST 08/02/2017 at 09:16

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Thank you, I’ll definitely check out Ground Control. I’m also having a hard time finding JDM suppliers that stock stuff for Kei trucks. It’s made me realize that while the Internet is obviously worldwide, Google still clearly limits searches to the West, since I’ve only been able to find stores that I already know about, like Autobacs by going directly to their sites.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Robert Belvin 08/02/2017 at 09:34

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Some Datsun designs of the late ‘60s-late ‘70s seemed to borrow heavily from Ford, oddly enough, so there’s no telling what your setup is like/ what Mazda was doing around that time. The reason I’ve spent some time fooling with universal coilovers is that I’m modifying the front suspension in my Ranchero, and the original system had a rotating spring saddle on the top A-arm with a shock inside the spring. I had to source a very short coilover with eye ends, the right extended and compressed lengths, and an appropriate spring - which I now have mounted to a replacement cross-pin on the bottom and a custom bracket on top.

Robert Belvin > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 08/02/2017 at 09:39

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Interesting.... that sounds kinda like what I remember the Porter Cab having, actually. BTW Rancheros are awesome!

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Robert Belvin 08/02/2017 at 09:50

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Here it is before I did some panel replacement on the rear quarters:

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Robert Belvin 08/02/2017 at 09:53

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Here’s where I started out - stock Falcon setup. The C/Os are QA1s I ordered from Summit, whole operation wasn’t too murderously expensive.