Many of you have been keeping along with Project STurdteen’s progress and have been watching this ugly duckling transform into the beautiful, regal swan that she was always intended to become. In the last article, we overviewed some of the sweet Parts Shop Max suspension that we were planning on putting onto the S13.
Before diving into that installation of those parts, let’s take some time to look at what other suspension upgrades will be addressed. With the renowned suspension engineer, Sensei Kojima around, there’s no doubt that the best of the best will be going into this build. STurdteen’s primary focus is to become a demo car and to be a grassroots-level competitive and reliable drift car. The car will see the streets on occasion, but it will mostly be track dedicated. Choosing the appropriate suspension is imperative. This is the exact reason why we decided to go with KW Suspension Clubsport coilovers.
The stainless bodies prevent the stainless steel reinforced thermoplastic spring seat from getting corroded and stuck. This is a problem nearly all coilovers eventually have. The pillowball mount eliminates the stock squishy rubber mounts. This makes every bit of wheel movement controlled by the damper giving more ride control and less tire shock. Consequently, his equates to more grip.
By having the compression and rebound damping adjustable independently, the KW Clubsport allows the driver to finely adjust the shocks to the track and changing track conditions. This is critical in drifting.
In this case, we will be running an 8kg spring in the front and a 6kg spring in the rear. These spring rates have been proven to work well in most conditions and have been run in Formula D with a lot of success on the current FD tracks on the circuit.
The front Clubsports have a camber plate with an oversized stainless spherical bearing that is sealed with a rubber dustboot. This should prove to be much more durable than the typical camber plate with an open bearing.
