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Z31 -> S13 Front Coilover Conversion
This mod converts the stock shocks/springs of the Z31 into the S13 Coilovers. For those that cannot afford the cost of importing proper Z31 coilovers from Japan or the US.
Difficulty: 2/5
What you need:
2x S13 Coilovers (Cusco Zero-1’s used)
2x S13 Lower Control Arms
2x SR20 Brakes / Hubs
2x SR20 Discs
How you do it:
Firstly: pull the front wheel off, then disconnect the steering arm and LCAs and remove the bolts from the engine bay holding the shock in and it all comes out.
What the wheel well looks like without a wheel or anything in it.
This is what you remove. Note the LCA isn’t connected, but remove that too.
Then you fit all the new parts together to form something that looks like the old stuff:
The new coilovers, with brakes, discs and LCA attached.
To fit the new coilovers into the old holes you need to file/drill the third hole. What we did was fit the new coilover into it, and 2 of the 3 bolts came through the existing holes. Then just took a rough direction and measurement to file to to get the last bolt to fit through.
The filing job i did on the hole.
All fitted and tightened up!
New bits in the wheel well.
And that’s it. Rinse + Repeat on the other side. Bleed the brakes, put the wheel back on and your done.
The full assembly that was removed, with the LCA this time.
The car initially had 27mm bolt-on spacers to get it to fill the guard out, now without the spacers:
Final look, without the bolt cover on the wheel.
Ghetto Garage 
No, you buy the z31 coilovers so you don’t put your car into a wall because you fucked up your suspension so bad it doesn’t work anymore
What rear coilovers do i use in the rear end of z31? S13 aswell?
I’ve got an 87 300zx turbo with stock 5lug would S13 coilovers bolt right in with my stock 5lug?
No. Buy the z31 coilovers from stance or powertrix.
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Thanks
Having read this I thought it was extremely informative.
I appreciate you taking the time and effort to put this article together.
I once again find myself personally spending a significant amount of time both reading and commenting.
But so what, it was still worth it!
Gonna say it again. Don’t do this dumb shit, get REAL Z31 coilovers and do it right the first time.
Just buy Z31 coil overs so you don’t wreck your car.
I tried doing this to my 86 300zx turbo and things did not bolt up correctly as seen in this thread. The tie rods do not match up you’d have to adjust them to line up, also the sway bar does bolt in but the bolt does not sit right inside the mount it is crooked. Idk how this guy bolted everything up . Also the tie rod nut won’t screw down far enough for a locking pin to fit through the bolt. It would be great if all that was explained for me cause I’m stumped
I didn’t have a drama with the tie rods, though I had to get them rebuilt as they were worn out. If the nut can’t get low enough for the pin, I’d assume yours is shorter then mine. I am fairly sure I used the Z31 tie rods, but maybe I used S13 ones? I can’t remember, however if you have them or can borrow them you could see if they fit better.
Swaybar I didn’t have any dramas either, the rubbers were worn as well, so maybe that gave me enough play for them to fit nice?
TLDR; try using S13 tierods. No idea about the swaybar.
As an aside, I’ve had S14 and S15 suspension also mounted to my Z31 200ZR, though I used mostly aftermarket parts. Still using the original tie rod ends from this build though!
Yeah i recently found out what you need to do for a usdm 86 300zx turbo. You need to grind down the s13 knuckle to make the pin fit into the bolt, only about 1/8 inch. And then i found out that you cannot run a sway bar when maxing out the drop on my kts coilovers because it bends the sway bar way too much to function properly. Then adjust the oem tie rods just enough to make it to an alighnment shop because i could hardly drive straight. Thanks for tue advice though.
Outstanding job i must say. Made it very simple and easy to understand the whole conversion. Is it possible to convert from the 4 lug S13 to 5 lug on a Z31? I want to do this conversion but i feel like it’s a down grade from going to a 5 lug on a Z31 and converting into a 4 lug S13.
I did some look around and saw some conversion/mods on going to a S14 or other type of hubs and even seen conversion hubs on ebay. Are those any good? And way around this? It seems like almost all Nissan parts are exchangeable so I’m really hoping for just some part switching.
I have seen it done with 5 stud, as long as you can source 5 stud hubs (I don’t think Z31 will fit on the S13)
Since I wrote this, I’ve also fitted S14/15 gear to the front and it’s the same process, though in 5 stud. This time though I had Z31 cambertops, so I didn’t need to modify the strut tower at all. The difference is in the LCA length, the S14/15 is longer, so you get more track. Big tip is to make sure your tierods will make the extra length. I ended up using 20mm rack spacers, but I stuck with Z31 tierods instead of sourcing S14/15.
Nissan is just like lego, so you shouldn’t have too much drama.
You cannot swap S13 front suspension unless you do not care about suspension geometry. It’s best to get Z31 specific coilovers and do it right. Unless you wanna end up in a ditch.
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You have to go through touge factory to get them it seems.
Now if only there was a way to just buy the parts here in the states and do it right. oh wait!
http://stance-usa.com/sus/component/content/article/9-frontpage/230-nissan-300zx-z31-coilover
http://stance-usa.com/sus/products/chassis/diy-weld-on-damper-adaptor
I emailed stance-usa regarding the kit and received no reply. hope the product is better than their customer support 😦
Hi Matey,
Thanks for the right up, helped alot of Z31 owners out big time im sure, im just wondering will the 5 stud S13 bits fit? Hmmm.
As far as I know it will. S15 stuff fits, and that’s 5 stud.
Hey great write up! i was wondering if i went to the junk yard and pulled off LCA, hubs,brakes, and struts(cant afford coilovers yet) from a s13 they would bolt right up to my z31 correct? oh and I’m in the US so it would be from a s13 with the KA24 not the SR20….would that matter?
The LCAs will bolt up no problems, the struts should bolt in with modification to the mounting holes. Either file them larger (as I did) or mark the new positions reference one mount point and drill new holes, though this will require a decent drill bit.
As far as I’m aware the only difference between the two are the different engines!
Best of luck with it.
sweet thanks for the info man!!
so are the r31 rods better?
The only reason I went for those was because a fully adjustable R31 set came up cheap. The only reason they’d be better would be if the manufacturer was better imo.
So will a adjustable s13 tension rod bolt right up with the z31 LCA?
Yes, they will. Though I used R31 Skyline rods instead in this build.
once again thank you so much im doing my Z this weekend. are u using z31 tension rods or s13??
I think initially I was using Z31 tension rods, but soon after switched to R31 Skyline adjustable tension rods. Z31/R31/S13 should all fit the same, though the R31 did need an adapter bracket (came supplied with the pair I bought)
Yea it bolts straight up. I’ve circled it from a photo I had lying around. Disregard the fact it’s upside down:
And that’s correct, I didn’t need to cut and weld. The only thing that needs modifying is the strut tower.
the sway link bolts right up to the S13 lca?? im doing this in like 5 days and i need to know for sure what i need thanks.
you didnt have to weld or cut anything correct? if so what did you cut and weld?
Hey sorry mate I don’t have one. It should mate up with the mount for it on the inside of the castor rod on the LCA.
hey can i get a pic of the sway bar connected to the lca? thanks great looking car thou.