The Complete SPL Front Suspension

Rusty · 10-30-2013, 11:06 AM

Hi Guys

As some of you know. I have bought ALOT of stuff from SPL lately, through corner3garage. Well, here is the install.

The parts.

The upper control arms.

Rusty · 10-30-2013, 11:09 AM

The Parts.

The lower control arm bearings and sway bar end links.

Rusty · 10-30-2013, 11:25 AM

Install of the upper arms.

1st pic. What it looks like.

2nd pic. Remove the bolt that holds the ball joint in. It will pop up by it's self. Use a zip tie to hold the spindle from falling. I tied it to the spring.

3rd pic. Remove the bolts that hold the control arm in place. This is where I found out, that they WILL NOT come out.

4th pic. Remove the 3 bolts that hold the coilover in place at the top. Pry down on the coilover and move towards you so that you can finish removing the control arm bolts.

Rusty · 10-30-2013, 11:29 AM

This is what the control arms look like. Compared to each other.

Before I installed the SPL arms. I put anti-seize on all threaded parts. You never know whhen parts will seize up.

I adjusted the heim joints to about the same distance as the stock arms.

Rusty · 10-30-2013, 11:34 AM

Now reassemble.

1st pic. I had a bolt sticking out of the fender on the right side that was hitting the control arm. I ground that bolt down so that the control arm could move freely.

2nd pic. You will find out now that you can freely put the ball joint out in place.

3rd pic. This is what it looks like finished. Before you tighten anything up. Make sure that the heim joints ARE positioned correctly

Rusty · 10-30-2013, 11:38 AM

Ok, the upper control arms are taken care of. Now for the bearings in the lower control arms.

Rangerz · 02-01-2014, 09:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rusty

Now reassemble.

1st pic. I had a bolt sticking out of the fender on the right side that was hitting the control arm. I ground that bolt down so that the control arm could move freely.

2nd pic. You will find out now that you can freely put the ball joint out in place.

3rd pic. This is what it looks like finished. Before you tighten anything up. Make sure that the heim joints ARE positioned correctly

Good instructions. Just got mine on this afternoon. Only difference was if you don't lift both front tires off the gound like I did. You will find it much easier to drop the front sway bar in order to get the strut to rlease from the tower. They sure look good

JARblue · 05-14-2019, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rusty

Install of the upper arms.

3rd pic. Remove the bolts that hold the control arm in place. This is where I found out, that they WILL NOT come out.

4th pic. Remove the 3 bolts that hold the coilover in place at the top. Pry down on the coilover and move towards you so that you can finish removing the control arm bolts.

How did you pry down on the coilover? My regular spring seems like it's much more in the way than your Nismo springs. I couldn't even get it halfway compressed enough to remove the bolt and then the top mount plate made a horrible noise ...

**update** The top mount plate is fine. It appears the noise I heard was the stud(s) threads rubbing past the holes in the fender well. Before reinstallation I will check the threads and see if they need any repair (a proper tap and die kit might be in my future lol)

As for the bolt... I'm just an idiot. Even after getting the bolt clear of the spring, I was still having trouble removing it. The bolt head was pushing up against the top of the dust boot where the rubber is thicker (see attached photo). Finally, I realized I could just pull down the dust boot completely out of the way and have a ton more room

Rusty · 05-14-2019, 10:28 PM

Did you unbolt the sway bar like I told you to do?

JARblue · 05-15-2019, 06:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rusty

Did you unbolt the sway bar like I told you to do?

I removed the nut, but I never actually took the sway bar off the bolt. Just sliding the dust boot down was enough.

blkwlf · 02-18-2021, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rusty

The Parts.

The lower control arm bearings and sway bar end links.

Any regrets with going solid bushings everywhere? I'm worried about too much vibration on the street.

Rusty · 02-18-2021, 10:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blkwlf

Any regrets with going solid bushings everywhere? I'm worried about too much vibration on the street.

Going with everything SPL. The only increase I noticed was when I installed the rear sub-frame bushings. To me, it wasn't that much of an increase. My Z is noisy anyway.

blkwlf · 02-19-2021, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rusty

Going with everything SPL. The only increase I noticed was when I installed the rear sub-frame bushings. To me, it wasn't that much of an increase. My Z is noisy anyway.

Thanks for the info! I am currently considering going with all SPL up front and using whiteline bushings in the knuckles with SPL arms in the rear.

Shadezz · 10-30-2013, 11:37 AM

Looking Great Rusty!!! Rep for the pics and Review!!!

OldFart · 10-30-2013, 12:04 PM

Looks nice!!!!! While my intentions were good, spreading this out over a period of time. Next up is wheels and tires, need to order brake lines and pads too, then I can start tearing apart and putting back together. Will be following ya though to see how the car feels after the upgrades. Thanks for the pics!!!!

10-30-2013, 11:38 AM	#6 (permalink)
Rusty Ronin Samurai - Assassin Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Fayettenam,Pennsyltucky Age: 69 Posts: 35,359 Drives: 2011 Nismo GM 6M Rep Power: 2684438	Ok, the upper control arms are taken care of. Now for the bearings in the lower control arms. __________________ 浪人 - 殺し屋 "The Difficult Anytime, The Impossible By Appointment Only" http://www.the370z.com/members-370z-...o-journal.html

05-14-2019, 10:28 PM	#9 (permalink)
Rusty Ronin Samurai - Assassin Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Fayettenam,Pennsyltucky Age: 69 Posts: 35,359 Drives: 2011 Nismo GM 6M Rep Power: 2684438	Did you unbolt the sway bar like I told you to do? __________________ 浪人 - 殺し屋 "The Difficult Anytime, The Impossible By Appointment Only" http://www.the370z.com/members-370z-...o-journal.html

10-30-2013, 11:37 AM	#14 (permalink)
Shadezz Track Member Join Date: May 2012 Location: Colorado Age: 43 Posts: 896 Drives: 2012 Nissan 370Z Rep Power: 14	Looking Great Rusty!!! Rep for the pics and Review!!! Rusty likes this. __________________ 2012 370Z BLACK EDITION/ FLT BLK Rays / 5% 3M Tint / DW's / Z1 SS & 2 Piece Rotors Nismo S-Tune OEM / Beluga CBE & Y-PIPE / DDX370 / GTR Start .4 Fluid / NST Blue Kit

10-30-2013, 12:04 PM	#15 (permalink)
OldFart Track Member Join Date: May 2013 Location: Carlisle, PA Age: 62 Posts: 682 Drives: 2011 Wannabe Nismo Rep Power: 960	Looks nice!!!!! While my intentions were good, spreading this out over a period of time. Next up is wheels and tires, need to order brake lines and pads too, then I can start tearing apart and putting back together. Will be following ya though to see how the car feels after the upgrades. Thanks for the pics!!!! Rusty likes this.

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