Aftermarket suspension components

Whilst updating the 'wish list' I noticed the very nice upper and lower arms front and rear etc advertised from such as JIC or Ikeya(thought they only did furniture?) and while very nice to look at are they really better than OE and if so why? and is the cost versus benefits for a pure road car justified? Is there any real need to replace the arms at all on a 10 to 14 year old car anyway?

Also PHR do solid diff mounts - are these of benefit on a road car and will there be more vibration or harshness from mounting solidly?

Would a better option be to replace all the bushes with TRD items or Powerflex for example? Looking at the websites is like being a kid in a candy store but what are real beneficial suspension purchases (after shocks and springs)for a non competitive Supra?

Whilst updating the 'wish list' I noticed the very nice upper and lower arms front and rear etc advertised from such as JIC or Ikeya(thought they only did furniture?) and while very nice to look at are they really better than OE and if so why? and is the cost versus benefits for a pure road car justified?

I've supplied a couple of sets of the Ikeya Formula suspension components (see pics HERE). The advantage of these is that they are fully adjustable and some of the components are lighter than the OEM parts they replace. They are more expensive compared to the OEM parts, but give you the option of fine tuning the suspension geometry and they reduce unsprung weight.

Whether they are justifiable on a purely road car is debatable, money no object then I would love this set up on my own car.

Is there any real need to replace the arms at all on a 10 to 14 year old car anyway?

The best money in my opinion you can spend on your car, I replaced all the suspension components on my own car a few years ago and it made a huge difference in handling and traction. Everything felt so tight and precise again, I was actually very shocked just how big a difference it made. There must be many Supras out there now running around on tired worn out suspension components. Have a read of Ian C's thread here:

http://www.mkivsupra.net/vbb/showthread.php?t=119349

Also PHR do solid diff mounts - are these of benefit on a road car and will there be more vibration or harshness from mounting solidly?

No benefit, just added vibration.

Would a better option be to replace all the bushes with TRD items or Powerflex for example?

TRD only sell the front bush kits now, all but one of the rear bushes has been discontinued.

There are a few reasons why I'd recommend fitting OEM parts rather than aftermarket bushes;

1. The OEM parts use spherical bearings, not just simple turned pieces or urethane (TRD is the exception they use spherical bearings). Most bush kits (with the exception of the TRD ones) would be a downgrade compared to OEM components.

2. By replacing with OEM arms you will also get new ball joints, these are an integral part of the arm and cannot be replaced separately. Aftermarket bush kits only replace the bushes, but not the ball joints, so you will be left with old, worn out ball joints on the other end of the arms.

3. Removing the bushes from the arms to fit new ones is notoriously difficult. Often the only way to get the old ones off, is to burn them out. All this is very time consuming and if you are paying someone to do the work, can be very costly in terms of labour hours.

Yes the OEM parts are more expensive, but they are a lot easier and less time consuming to fit, so some of the price difference should be offset by less labour time charged for fitting.

Nice right up Nic.

Great reply Nic, concise and very detailed without any BS so thanks a lot and more knowledge to my elbow:thanks:

Nic has my full support, great write up. Nismo are the equivalent of TRD in the Nissan world, and I have always preferred their Nissan supported uprated suspension parts to 90% of the other stuff available. I tend to make my own road car suspension components, mainly because I like doing it, and I have the gear, but to do it as a paying job for someone else would be cost prohibitive. Get the TRD bushes whilst you can, or just get new stock components from Nic is my advice. Diff bushes are a TOTAL PITA to change, and I have yet to see a car that needs them. Do the subframe mounts, but leave the diff bushes. Solid mounts will make it sound like you have serious mechanical problems from within the car, strictly race stuff only.

Just thought about this again after seeing that stunning TRD that Jurgen has just bought. As it is ten years old but only done 6100 miles would the suspension be in need of changing due to age or would the extremely low mileage negate that? CW what do you think?

Is this one of those wide bodied things? If so, they may look nice, but the suspension is a total mess with huge wheel offsets to fill the arches, rather than a proper wider track suspension, so the kinematics of the suspension will never work properly. More of a show car than a go car, but that floats a lot of people's boats.

Is this one of those wide bodied things? If so, they may look nice, but the suspension is a total mess with huge wheel offsets to fill the arches, rather than a proper wider track suspension, so the kinematics of the suspension will never work properly. More of a show car than a go car, but that floats a lot of people's boats.

That car has TRD reworked Bilstein suspension on it Chris, it may even be better than yours

Gaz.

You can put whatever springs and dampers you like on it, the basics are still totally wrong with huge offset rims putting the KPI to wheel centreline out by miles at the front, introducing a massive amount of gyroscopic precession, and loading up the hubs and bearings in a way they were never designed to accept. All just to have a wide bodied look with none of the advantages a wider track and the option of wider rims should have added. At least Nissan did it right with the GTR and GTS-t track variations.

You can put whatever springs and dampers you like on it, the basics are still totally wrong with huge offset rims putting the KPI to wheel centreline out by miles at the front, introducing a massive amount of gyroscopic precession, and loading up the hubs and bearings in a way they were never designed to accept. All just to have a wide bodied look with none of the advantages a wider track and the option of wider rims should have added. At least Nissan did it right with the GTR and GTS-t track variations.

chris this is a standard TRD factory car not a modded supra am sure TRD and toyota would not of built it if it was bad lol..it was like this from factory original widebody.

I don't care if McLaren built it, it's bad

Ford built the MKIV Zephyr, Ferrari built the Mondial and the 400, Maserati built the Merak, Lancia built the Gamma, Lamborghini built the Islero. They were al lemons, and from companies that knew how to build stunning cars, both road and race. Toyota is entitled to their off days too.

I don't care if McLaren built it, it's bad

 

Ford built the MKIV Zephyr, Ferrari built the Mondial and the 400, Maserati built the Merak, Lancia built the Gamma, Lamborghini built the Islero. They were al lemons, and from companies that knew how to build stunning cars, both road and race. Toyota is entitled to their off days too.

There's no way I'd argue about suspension with a guy that uses words like "gyroscopic precession". Whatever that is.

There's no way I'd argue about suspension with a guy that uses words like "gyroscopic precession". Whatever that is.

http://www.rangs.co.uk/gyroscopic.htm

http://www.rangs.co.uk/gyroscopic.htm

Ah, it's obvious when you think about it.

It seems that this thread has gone off on a tangent as the question I poised in an earlier post was = with a 10 year old car with only 6100 miles on it would the suspension need to be checked/changed due to the age or as the mileage is so low that it would be like new or not?

They should be fine if that's all the car's done, mileage wise. Tyres will be a different matter.