Almera shocks

[Lord Lucan]

Seen alot of lads using this setup in hotrods so i decided i'd try it today on mine. Bought 2 brand new early almera shocks and first thing i did was get the angle grinder out and cut the bottom cup ring off to clear the micra tunnel, then removed the original support for the axle spring (still a bit of tidying left there!. The rest was plain sailing, it looks very factory finsh when done....kind of what nissan should have done really!! Am probably sure you guys have already tried this so, does it work on the road?? i cant see why it wouldnt with longer/softer springs than what i am using (2 1/4 180 lb) as i still had to make a top spacer of 3/4 inch and move the cup up 1" to get the ride height/ panhard rod angle i wanted. Has anyone got this setup on the road? im buying one myself for work and i just know i wont be able to leave it alone....

 

[karlj]

That's the first time I've ever seen or heard if it

 

[frank]

looks the part eh did you mod the perch at all LL ? (apart from raise it)
i looked at mera ones a while back but noticed they were angled inwards at the top (like this / \), and thought they would be too stiff if mounted vertical

 

[Lord Lucan]

Hi frank, they look different to the ones i got anyway!! mine were for almera up to 1998 1.4. For the top i have the spring sat in the cup and have the original micra bumpstop and metal cap with the rubber donut on top, just the same as the standard setup. When you tighten the top nut its all held together perfectly, nothing falls out of place. For the road you will probably find it easier as you might not need to move the cup up at all as road springs would be longer travel for starters. I'll take one back off tomorrow and take a picture for you

 

[skymera]

Any benefit in doing this?

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Forum Runner

 

[frank]

Any benefit in doing this?

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Forum Runner

its a coilover shock innit and i,m guessing you dont need to grind the the sides of the lower bush down ? unlike the corsa ones, and the mera shocks that i saw were mounted at an acute angle (so in theory should be stiffer)

 

[Lord Lucan]

Its a setup that appears to work very well, gives more control over the back end. i must try and get a couple of video's up when the season starts in 3 weeks, micra's now dominate the 1 litre classes, they really do fly and handle superbly.

 

[skymera]

Its a setup that appears to work very well, gives more control over the back end. i must try and get a couple of video's up when the season starts in 3 weeks, micra's now dominate the 1 litre classes, they really do fly and handle superbly.

Do they rub against the inner body work?

My polo 6n rear coilovers are quite chunky and can sometimes rub

 

[Lord Lucan]

its a coilover shock innit and i,m guessing you dont need to grind the the sides of the lower bush down ? unlike the corsa ones, and the mera shocks that i saw were mounted at an acute angle (so in theory should be stiffer)

The bottom bush has to be trimmed 2mm either side, there is plenty of meat to do this. no other mods to the shock other than removing the bottom base ring. 10 mins work per shock is all it takes plus 30mins removing the OE spring cup mounting

 

[Lord Lucan]

Do they rub against the inner body work?

My polo 6n rear coilovers are quite chunky and can sometimes rub

No, no rub at all

 

[MicrAde]

What are they like lengthwise? ie potential for lowering?

 

[Lord Lucan]

if you look at the pictures closely you will see my arches have been raised 1'' . Potential to lower will be limited by spring length id imagine. Mine is low and stiff....400lb springs in the front...you can feel every little crack on the track like its a canyon...lol

 

[MicrAde]

if you look at the pictures closely you will see my arches have been raised 1''

I did notice that your arches had been 'massaged'

 

[Lord Lucan]

New tyre rules this year mean we have to use these stupidly high wall a021's (cheaper to make things fairer). Im using 6'' rims as these are the maximum width allowed. looks good anyway

 

[MicrAde]

if you look at the pictures closely you will see my arches have been raised 1'' . Potential to lower will be limited by spring length id imagine. Mine is low and stiff....400lb springs in the front...you can feel every little crack on the track like its a canyon...lol

What I was concerned with was spring remaining captive on full droop and shock bottoming out on full compression. Any idea what sort of 'safe' drop could be achieved from std ride height? My car needs lows and this looks like an interesting idea......softer springs though

 

[Lord Lucan]

What I was concerned with was spring remaining captive on full droop and shock bottoming out on full compression. Any idea what sort of 'safe' drop could be achieved from std ride height? My car needs lows and this looks like an interesting idea......softer springs though

I'll measure full droop for you but as it stands for me with the short spring im using i would have approx 1'' free float from the cup, this obviously isnt a problem on the track as we dont have any bumps to contend with. I cant see it being a problem on the road though with longer/softer spring combo. As soon as i find one for the road i will do the same and let you know how it works out

 

[MicrAde]

I'll measure full droop for you but as it stands for me with the short spring im using i would have approx 1'' free float from the cup, this obviously isnt a problem on the track as we dont have any bumps to contend with. I cant see it being a problem on the road though with longer/softer spring combo. As soon as i find one for the road i will do the same and let you know how it works out

I shall be watching with interest