66 replies to this topic

[MRLXSS]

Good way to get 'superlow' effect is to *cough* chop a coil out *cough* or get them compressed hahaha

[Torryhead]

i was hoping i didnt need to go super low as i want full range of suspension and steering and dont want to change geometry etc. she is going to be a daily driver for a while so i want as close to a normal ride as possible. i havent rolled the car forward or back but i have really bounced on either side of the big girl. the springs seem to be sitting in the right spot. they are about 10-15mm up side the collar at the top and seated well in the lower control arm. my mates LH with the 17's has the front tyre just dissapearing under the flare and it looks great. he is running 7 inch at the front also. i'm not sure what springs he has but they have been in there for a while. he has an injected 5 litre with full VN calais dash A/C etc so he may have a tonne more weight up front than i will.... what sort of springs are you boys using??? your cars look to be sitting allright maybe the 330mm rotors needing 18's was a bit of over kill......

i spent thousands and thousands buying everything new thinking it would all bolt up nicely....... how wrong i was. prob is i move to Philly in the states in May and just want to drive this bloody thing..... you know, justify my 2 year build..... i would drop it to a shop to give me a hand but i live in the middle of bum f#%k

Dan

[Heath]

i was hoping i didnt need to go super low as i want full range of suspension and steering and dont want to change geometry etc. she is going to be a daily driver for a while so i want as close to a normal ride as possible.

Yeah well the moment you put massive diameter rolling stock on a car like this, unless you change the way the suspension system is mounted to the car (like doing the opposite of a body lift), you need to sacrifice suspension travel or the height of the COG.

So you end up using stiffer springs with tyres that have no sidewall flex and the car just skates everywhere. And when you put big wheels on the back of the Torana and drop it so the body sits the way it used to, you have to lower it so much that the rollcentre becomes ridiculous and your pinion angle goes up the shit as well. You can solve the latter problem with adjustable arms or moving the arm mounts on the diff, but not the former.

And in my opinion, losing tyre profile on a car with a high (relative) unsprung mass, like a Torana, is an awful thing - now everything that was still is gonna be actuated by any imperfection in the road surface and rock the body about, unsettling the car.

But if you just wanna cruise around slowly and have people check out your great looking car, none of that will be an issue.

To answer another question of yours, my car has Series 1 Commodore IRS springs in the back and choppies in the front, but it's a completely different ballgame when you only have little 13" wheels

Don't get me wrong, your car is awesome and I am very jealous. I feel really bad bagging aspects of it, I would have done some things differently - so if you want me to stop my input just say so.

Edited by Heath, 26 February 2010 - 08:00 PM.

[Torryhead]

Hmmmm well that just sounds like shit!!!! ok lets revisit this then. i have 330mm rotors on the car and VE Calipers. at the moment thats a given!!! i think i can fit 17's, my centre of hub to outter caliper is 200mm. what that equates to in the realm of mags wheels i dont know, maybe 17's will fit. i payed an ass load of coin for the brakes thinking i was doing the right thing. running a 383 chev with around 420HP turbo 700 bla bla bla.

in your honest opinion all you Torry Guru's, given any option you like, what would wheel brake package would you use??????????????????????

if you say run smaller brakes, yes i will cry myself to sleep tonight but i'm a big boy and will take all your advice and make some changes. i need this thing on the road and i want the best all round setup i can. i havent said this as yet but i will be back in Aus for June July with my Yanky Fiance' and we are planning on driving the Torry around Aus as a Nostalgic send off to Aus because after that i'll be the only 30 year old Australian in College in the united states

So help a fellow Torry brother out, call all your fellow Torry owners and give me a collective "what i would do" and i'll make it happen......

then as i drive around this great country (with aircon:) ) i will drop in for a beer and toast my success with you all............

Dan

[Heath]

So we will lose you to the states for good after about July? Hate hearing that!

17"s will be a fair bit better than 18"s in a few respects, assuming you choose a 'moderate' tyre profile (more than you would have with the 18"s, but not enough to compensate 100%)

Anyway I would have opted for smaller brakes. If you were going to race it I dare say you wouldn't have a slushbox in it lol, and you probably wouldn't have put those brakes on it either. The obvious main attraction to those brakes will be the LOOK of them rather than their performance! And that's a very important point. Seriously dude what are you doing with the car? I wouldn't get hung up about it, and I wouldn't suggest that you downsize the brakes unless your priorities just changed drastically.

Try and get some other opinions anyway, I'm just one dickhead on the internet

[Torryhead]

good point man, i should have started with what i was doing with the car.

i bought it online (ebay) unseen apart from heaps and heaps of pics. i bought the nicest Torana you have ever laid your eyes on, show finish staright in Met Blue back in 2004 but gave it to my Bro as i owed him some cash. damn nice car (its still in my shed unfinished :( so i thought i would strike it lucky again with the green girl. hmmmm, moving on. it had a rooted 308 in it with a 4 speed. all standard front end and back end. i did a warranty claim for a smashed front spoiler from transport from singleton so decided to get the engine bay painted and redo a door and front spoiler etc. after that it looked shit hot so i looked for an engine and box. had a great bloke in Syd build me a motor and also got box and 9 inch bits from him. i decided i wanted a car with enough grunt to do a few wicked skids 420 HP, turn heads where ever i went and to be reliable and economical. i wanted to be able to jump in it and drive the hour or so to the town up the coast or the town 8 hours up the coast. i didnt want a car you had to sit in a feather the throttle till it got warm and all that crap. so my engine guy built it with reliability in mind. some good go fast parts inside, performer mainifold, new holley 750 with sec vac and elec choke. nice new electronic MSD with blaster coil. cam was to suit the T700 slushbox as you put it as yes i didnt want to race it but cruise. i wanted a 4th gear cos its a 10 hour drive to get to hungry jacks from sunny Karratha hence the 120 litre drop tank (also cos it looks shit hot) i have a brand new 3.5 LSD for my shortened 9 inch. i gave my SLR dash to the boys at Aisat to do a refurb. all original except for a new digital speedo that can be calibrated for wheel diameter changes. the whole thing looks stock but i had the decals changed to look a little newer with green numbers. sorry if this is you but i hate it when people jam Autometer gauges in their Torry and be done with it!!! i have an aircon to drop in like Mat from cardomain (i think that was matts Red Torry) all new Astra seats in the front with the remainder of the interior all brand new to original. for as long as i could remember i wanted a set of Simmons B45's for the torry i would end up buying. then with the brakes i started looking around for other mags and ended up with the ones i showed you.

thats me, i wanne be the bloke that never sells his Torry and can tell stories to his kids of travelling around Aus in an Aussie Icon.

Yeah mate i will be lost to the states for the next few years at least, my girls in Med school so cant go far for a bit. i'm looking to take the car with me once i work out transport laws etc. it will impress the piss out of the yanks over there.....

[fuzzypumper]

King springs product information section states the Standard lowered springs to be 30mm lower than standard.
& supers lows to 40-50mm lower than standard or 10-20mm lower again than the standard lowered.
I know they state it all depends on weight but somehow they still seem sure about 30mm but vary with super figures 10-20mm.

Maybe they will just take a while to settle with more weight you put in.

Also something they dont state, but has been spoken about for many years in the trade that new springs are usually
made and rated at 20% more than the factory ones ever where. True or not ? dont know.

[76lxhatch]

If you're set on the wheels and brakes, there's always the option of using drop stubs to tuck them up a bit without losing as much suspension travel. HQ-WB stubs with A9X repro steering arms or UC steering arms if the budget is tight will give you another 30mm straight away. The biggest issue is what this does to your brake setup because the caliper mounting point is different.

[Torryhead]

G'day guys, another day of what to do with Dans Torry. cheers to all for the input, i have spent all morning thinking about which way to go. think i may have missed the boat on these wheels being made in time for my departure from the states next month :( if i buy the same ones from Show wheels, i'm up for $1050 a rim plus $100 each to freight. anyway.

So this morning when i got up for work at a spritely 5am i read over the info you had sent through a decided to take your advice gunmetal LH, i need to roll this car around a bit and see what happenes. so in my boxers armed with a cup of tea i ventured out back to the workshop and rolled her back and forwards. i had to laugh because i didnt realise i had a bottle jack just under the cross member and when she she rolled off it dropped and inch. hahahaha it didnt change any of the pics i have sent through to you and nothings different but it made it look a little too high the last couple of days.

so i checked and the wheels were pulled in. i rolled it back and forward and a great deal of tyre squeeling went on, on the concrete. i havent checked to see if the wheels have levelled out but she is sitting the same..... Also mate what size wheels are on the torry's in the pics, they look nice.

your right i will leave the springs in that i have see how she looks after all the engine bits are in and she has been driven around.

do you guys think 18's are to big if the rolling radius is much the same????? should i buy these wheels??????? and keep the brakes i have????????

Dan

[ls2lxhatch]

Personally I think 17" look too big on an LX although they are growing on me. I am used to seeing Toranas with 13", 14" and 15" rims for the last 30+ years. Some rims will look good in 18" and some will look like stage coach wheels. I would have bought 15" rims for my hatch if tyre choice was not so limited. It is worth keeping in mind that a larger profile tyre will give you more straight line traction and a better ride.

I am sure you will find people that love big rims on a Torana and people that hate them. At the end of the day the only opinion that counts regarding rim size is yours.

In my opinion 330 mm rotors are overkill for a street/strip LX. You could fit 300 mm rotors and then you will have the choice of 15" rims up.

Edited by ls2lxhatch, 27 February 2010 - 03:09 PM.

[Torryhead]

Black Dice

See now that is a sweeeet looking car. i will admit it takes a certain look to get big wheels to look right but you have done it mate. what track width do you have front and back, if you dont mind me asking and what width and off sets are your wheels??? hell and while i'm at it, what springs did you use??? having the tire sit just under the flare is the look i was going for.

i posted a question about my suspension in another thread and i was told (maybe by 76lxhatch) that your right, you need to set up at ride height. i have made sure my upper and lower control arm bolts are loose but i might revisit. i have to make a decision soon to get this car done. i might proceed with the original plan and change later if i dont like the setup. that way at least it will be on the road and i wont be stressing to much about it.

hey Yella when you refer to backspace are you talking from the back of the mag where it mounts up to the hub to the very back of the mag where the tire sits as in offset??? if anyone knows the correct wording that would help.

[GML-31]

what bushes did you use? rubber or urethane? did you have the car settled before tightening up the control arms?

[Torryhead]

i used rubber all round. was detered from urethane because of all the nastiness i read on here about them esp in the upper control arms...

ok so does backspace = offset???



also i havent tightened the bolts yet for upper or lower control arms

[76lxhatch]

Offset is the measurement between the centre of the rim and the mounting face, so no its not the same as backspace. Offset is a useful measurement if you want to work out track width but I prefer backspace figures when looking at clearance.

[ls2lxhatch]

Rear spacing and backspace two different names for the same measurement. The inner and outer flanges are typically 0.5 inches. An 8" rim with a 4.5" backspace would have a zero offset and measure 9" from lip to lip.

Edited by ls2lxhatch, 27 February 2010 - 11:36 PM.

[Torryhead]

Righto i have been at it again. i pulled the mag of my mates red LH and threw it on my car. the first couple of pics are at my current ride height. the last lot are with 110kg of weight in the engine bay with the donk. yeah ok so i used bags of mortar, just pretend its a blower hahahaha i took one pic with the car wheel level at the bottom of the pic to make sure the car was level..... ahhh still looks high

it has brought the car down a bit and looks pretty good.....ish the mag is a 17x7 running 225/45 and i like them, they seem to fit well.

Thanks ls2LXhatch that diagram is exactly what i'm after. i'm about to do an email up for the lady so i can order the rims. good thing you sent it through, i was about to tell her the offset was something completely wrong lol

Hey Black Dice, dont suppose you have those measurements i was after ???? might help with the order

cheers fellas, it's getting there.

What do you think of the 17's on the green machine???

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Edited by Torryhead, 28 February 2010 - 12:50 AM.

[ls2lxhatch]

It may be worth posting up your rim specs to check for obvious errors before you send them off.

I think you car needs to be around 1" lower at the front.

235/40/17 Rear, 215/40/17 Front.

[Torryhead]

mate great idea. here is the email i sent through for the wheels. i attached the showwheels tech sheet for them to reference so use that with regard to my numbers etc. i also used your rim guide too and sent it through with the order.

right so the email


right so onto the wheel sizes. i have attached an order guide from show wheels so you can use to support my measurements. Also i have attached a rim guide so you can see where i made the measurements.

so i'm after the ID 323 rims in the polished finished (the same as you see when you explode the view of them on your website)

FRONT WHEELS 18X7

REAR WHEELS 18X9

USING THE TECH SHEET, INFO AS FOLLOWS

MAKE: HOLDEN (GM)
MODEL: TORANA LH
YEAR: 1974

PREFERED NEW WHEELS (based on the diagram. rim width example 7 inches wide, with inboard and outboard flange will be around 8 inches over all)
FRONT
TYPE: ID 323
SIZE: 18X7
BACKSPACE/ REAR SPACING: 128MM
OFFSET: 26MM POSITIVE (wheel mounting base is toward the outside of the rim)

PREFERED NEW WHEELS (based on the diagram. rim width example 7 inches wide, with inboard and outboard flange will be around 8 inches over all)
REAR
TYPE: ID 323
SIZE: 18X9
BACKSPACE/ REAR SPACING: 142MM
OFFSET: 15MM POSITIVE

BRAKES FRONT: 330MM ROTORS WITH HOLDEN VE CALIPER. CLEARANCE FROM CENTRE HUB TO OUTTER EDGE OF CALIPER 200MM
SUSPENSION: STANDARD

BRAKES REAR: 300MM ROTORS WITH CAMARO REAR CALIPER. CLEARANCE FROM CENTRE HUB TO OUTTER EDGE OF CALIPER 185MM
SUSPENSION: STANDARD

PITCH CIRCLE DIAMETER/ WHEEL STUD TYPE: 5 X 120MM HOLDEN COMMODORE


OK NUMBERS AS PER THE DIAGRAM.

FRONT
1. 250MM
2. 80MM
3. 200MM
4. -19MM (PLENTY OF ROOM, THEY ARE SET BACK FURTHER THAN HUB FACE)
5. 39.18
6. 69.60

BACK
1. 195MM
2. 122MM
3. 185MM
4. +17MM (IS PAST HUB FACE)
5. 12.7MM
6. 60.70

I HAVE 1/2 INCH UNF STUDS ALSO

the only thing is i may have been a little conservative on the rear rims. they are 9 inch wide rims but taking into acoDaisy Chain the thickness of the spoke i'm guessing i wil have about 3 and a half inches to 4 inches of dish. enough you think??

and yes i deff need to go an inch lower. will sort that out later

Dan



oh and mate, nice ass hatch, looks straight. good wheels too, i never would have gone for them but they look great on the torry

Attached Files

•  Showwheels Tech Sheet.pdf   116.49K   4 downloads