Suspension mods for my '74? Looking for input

mmudge

mmudge

True Classic
I want to lower my X and tweak the suspension a bit. I tried IAP reds 5 years ago on my '75 and found them to be a bit on the stiff side.

I have the blue progressive lowering springs on my 124 Spider and like them a lot. Is there an equal our there for an X?

Then struts come into play. Mine are worn out so I need front and rears and I really don't care for KYB's. What's out there? I know Mark Plia does some pretty sensational stuff but like most Fiat owners.....I'm cheap. ;)

TIA,

Mudge
 
If you have the rebuildable struts, the bilstein inserts from a VW fit with minimal mods. as for springs you could try some stockers cut down.
Adding a front sway bar and keeping the stock springs may also give you the ride you want.
 
Other than KYB's??

As Robert points out, you can muck with early model rebuildables. Beyond that you have the KYBs or the fairly expensive coil over setups from Ground Effects or K-sport or if you can locate some of Mark's tubes.

I think Arman had a brief report on the Ksports and some problems he had with them. You can probably find it with the search.

Sadly.... There really are no off the shelf alternatives tot the KYBs. And we are probably lucky that KYB still offers struts for the X. I bought a set and put them on the shelf... just in case. :)
 
I suspect excess stiffness...

...is rooted in the rubber you've used.

175-50 Yokos on your '74 had short sidewalls.
Ergo...inherently stiffer sidewalls than 60 profile.
And the 60 profile is inherently stiffer than 70 profile.
Hence...I prefer 175/70 rubber to coddle creaky joints.

The "red springs" are fractionally stiffer than OE springs.
Cut OE springs are fractionally stiffer than uncut OE springs.
Variance of stiffness between the two is slight.
Better containment of red springs on the strut makes 'em worthwhile.

Ride comfort also suffers from changing
front spring stiffness relative to rear spring stiffness.
Ergo...the common performance mod of cut rears on the front
is not something that meets your criteria.
A front swaybar will sharpen steering response,
but not upset the OE spring/ride balance,
which is weighted towards comfortable ride
rather than responsive spring rates.
OE balance includes the OE nose up attitude.

New KYB gas struts are somewhat stiffer than hydraulic struts,
but used struts are more compliant,
especially since they often have diminished nitrogen pressure.
Interestingly, Koni adjustables do ride nicely on softest setting.

Red springs/KYBs/front bar/70 series tires is my favorite street X setup
for compromise of ride quality, steering response, and reduced body roll.

MM/OR
SeaX Member #2...from Day 1.
 
what do you

what do you use the car for street, autox ?

what kind of ride you looking for soft ,medium, hard?

what size tire and wheels you runnin on?

cutting one coil works grate my first 4 years of ownership was cut coils and i autoxed it that way too worked great and on top of that was running race rubber.

whats wrong with KYB?

my buddy ran em with coilovers 450# front 350# rear with slicks they work really good.
 
Robert Mose said:
If you have the rebuildable struts, the bilstein inserts from a VW fit with minimal mods. as for springs you could try some stockers cut down.
Adding a front sway bar and keeping the stock springs may also give you the ride you want.
Click to expand...

And I have a new set for sale if interested, check the for sale section. The upside is they are a quality insert by Bilstein and can be rebuilt or revalved if need be. The downside is as mentioned some small mods are required. If you do go with the set I have for sale I'll throw in some cut down rear springs for front and back. Stiffens up the front and gives a nice street ride, a good compromise I think.
 
HOw "rebuildable" are the earlier struts? Is it a cartridge replacement or can you disassemble the actual strut? If you can disassemble the strut you can stiffen the bump and rebound with thicker oil or changing a shim stack (if possible).

I need to make a cheap race suspension for the lemons project, and our needs may overlap with this thread, any suggestions?
 
I agree

And I want to note that KYBs apparently cannot be compared between 124 Spider and X1/9.
You should ride in an X with KYBs to see for yourself.

In general, the stock X suspension is amazingly comfortable for how capable it is. Even slight sprnag rate changes change this significantly. My buddy has stock suspension in his 75 X with CD30 and 185/60 and the ride quality is great. Also, on rough roads, there is no rattling of clunking at all.

If ride is important to you, add a front swaybar to your stock suspension and modify the front early struts by rewelding the lower mount. This will get rid of the nose-high look, improve handling greatly and keep your ride quality. New KYBs will go nicely with that.
 
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