Ke55 - Lowering Front

[snotyellowke55]

Hey guys,

 

Currently in the process of building my KE55 'bosozoku' project. Low'n'slow + 70's Kaido racer styling is the name of the game here, with fender mirrors, whitewalls on jellybeans, massive upswept 'victory' tailpipe, grille-mounted oil cooler, etc. Not to everybody's taste I'm sure, but it's different, and it's looking cool so far :happy:

 

Car is intended as a daily, so I won't be going fast - performance is not an issue. Have some 3" blocks to go in the rear, and want to lower the front to match. Prefer not to chop the stock coils, but I have so far only found King lows to go in the front, which won't give me enough drop.

 

To the best of my knowledge, KE55 and KE70 units are interchangeable, bar the top hats, so I need to know what people have done to their 55's/70's to get them low.

 

I have a very tight budget, as I have a weekender Soarer where most of my money goes, so I'd rather have opinions re. springs, not whole conversions (i.e. AE86 fronts)

 

Cheers in advance :blush:

[Jono.C]

There's 2 options i can think of, getting your springs compressed (heated up and dropped) but they can be brittle.

 

or, otomoto weld on coilover kit

 

http://www.otomoto.com.au/HDSystems/sleevekits.htm

[Chillin]

See if you can pick up some ae86 coilovers, then swap over the camber/top hats to ke55 paturn.

 

I'm currently running the bc ae86 kit up front, i modded the strut top so that the 86's camber tops could fit. Also have the 80mm bump steer spacers to drop the steering components to some what of a regular position for the ride height. I'm running 90mm off the cross-member. I still have 41mm of adjustment on the coil overs to low out. But If i go any lower it is way to impractical for daily duties. May be what your just after....

 

Alternatively you could just get new short stroke inserts for your current struts and wack a heavier spring in it. I Have also done this but your travel is very limited and lacks that extra bit of something. Peders sell a shock that fits into a brumby that slips into a ke55 strut with a spacer for around $120ea

 

You will have people refer to the fact that coilovers are a waste of money. IMO if your going that low you will need them if your going to pulled up by the 5.0 (for raising when pits is required ) :fuzz:

 

Hope this helps

[snotyellowke55]

Thanks for the input fellas. Found a set of old kings which I am told will suit, $50, so seems like its the go right now, even as a temporary measure.

 

Those coilovers seem a viable option, and a good price too. I am unsure from the pictures as to how these would weld on - has anybody had experience with these?

 

Also are you heading to the drifts tomorrow Jono?

[Jono.C]

Hey mate, yeah i should be at the drifts, havent missed one for a long time ;) and a few mates are driving so i reakon i'll head up

 

My mate has otomoto sleeve kit on his ae71, he got a boilermaker to weld them on

[snotyellowke55]

Hey mate, yeah i should be at the drifts, havent missed one for a long time ;) and a few mates are driving so i reakon i'll head up

 

My mate has otomoto sleeve kit on his ae71, he got a boilermaker to weld them on

 

Any idea how much he charged to do it? A mere $300 investment for coilovers seems bonkers! :dance:

 

Loved the action at the drifts today - plenty of KE love out there putting the nissan boys to shame