mchapman

iTrader: (1)

Ok I took the T-Shirt that came with the suspension for a test drive last night. My initial impressions are that its a quality T-Shirt which fits well... Ok Ok I'll get on with the real write up. I must say its been hard to actually get to the computer and not just jump in the car and go for a drive. But now its raining I dont have a choice

If there is anything I havn't covered feel free to ask.

My impressions of the Cusco Zero-2 Suspension, Volk Wheels & S03s are as follows.

Stopping
Stopping distance is decreased, I can slam on the brakes and pull up very quickly. I had a mentally retarded woman pull out in front of me yesterday and I had to do a controlled hard stop(i.e. jam on the brakes), and if I was in any other car there is no way I would have been able to stop in time.

Launching
I can launch harder and be more liberal with the throttle and not have to worry too much about wheel spin.

Handling
This suspension is better than stock in all possible areas. I didn't know what people were talking about when they mention 'bounce' as my Celica was lowered a great deal and must have had similar tendencies but now I have this suspension I can tell the stock suspension did bounce a lot. The new suspension's ride is smooth and bumps are dampened well without any residual bouncing.

In corners the car is very controlled, neurtal feeling and almost zero body roll. I cant imagine what its going to be like when I get the sway bars!? The huge amounts of grip combined with the new levels of control enable you to go around corners at ridiclous speeds. These changes combined with the other qualities of the Zed, make this a fantastic car to drive.

I have yet to try all the different settings as adjusting them isn't as simple as pushing a button, though frequent adjustability wasnt a requirment of mine. In my opinion the main benefits for adjustable suspension over non-adjustable suspension is not the ability to adjust it frequently depending on your current circumstances but more to have the ability to choose how you want it to be all the time, meaning if you would like it to be softer, stiffer, higher or lower then you can change it and your not bound by what the manufacter decides is the best setup for you. Being able to adjust it for a specific circumstance(track etc) is a benefit as well, but more of an added bonus.

Adjusting the front is simple enough, you just pop the hood and turn a dial with a screw driver, but the rear involves a jack as the Zed doesnt have easy way to access the top of the shocks in the rear. I have tried 3 in the front and 4 rear, this results in less direct steering but a good daily driver which doesn't feel much harder than stock. By popping the hood, adjusting the front to 4 and leaving the rear on 4, you get direct steering, more control and a firmer ride which results in a great time on the road. I've only tried these settings but I think 3 for the front and back would be a great setup for daily driving. I have left it on 4 front and rear as the control is amazing. 1 would be very soft and 5 would be very hard and there is enough choice there to satisfy just about anyone. If your worried about the ride being too hard compared to stock, I would erase that worry from you mind as you have the control to adjust it to exactly how you would like it, while any setting you choose is going to be a great deal better than stock.

Steering
The small issue which I mentioned earlier in another post regarding the directness of steering is all but gone now by having the front and back set to the same values. Or at least not having it set harder in the rear.

Sound
The new suspension makes Zero noise, I had originally ordered the pillow mount version but Cusco in Japan recommended the non pillow version because they are noisy, threfore I adjusted my order accordingly. The S03s are very quiet as well, much quieter than the RE040. I found the RE040 to be quite noisy, this might just be because they are a bit small for the Zed's cornering abilities/torque levels but either way the S03s are quieter. I saw somewhere on the net mentioned that the S03s were noisey, but I am yet to experience this and they werent talking about Zeds specifically.

Looks
You really need to see the car in the flesh to get the full effect but Im very happy with it, it looks exactly how I wanted it to

mchapman

iTrader: (1)

Pic 2

mchapman

iTrader: (1)

Pic 3

apsilon

That sounds great. Where can I get one of those T shirts

The suspension sounds good, I'm 95% certain this is the setup I'll go with. Like the wheels as well. I keep forgetting you've got a black Zed due to your avatar.

I agree with you on the adjusting. I've always had adjustable shocks but the only time I ever adjusted them was at the beginning to find a setting that suited me and then basically didn't touch them.

mchapman

iTrader: (1)

If you have a drive you'll be in a better position to make up your mind. Mine doesnt have an exhaust but that shouldnt affect the drive much. I wont be getting an exhasut for another month or two because of the comp. insurance, third party, rego etc coming up but thats the price we pay for a 'supercar'

I like the photo in my avatar but yeah, Black all the way, well now I have some shots I'll add one to my sig.

apsilon

I won't be doing anything for a while. Rego, CTP, insurance and a couple of big birthdays are all in the next 6 weeks.

I'd certainly like to have a look at some point though but there's no hurry.

Flasher

I gather your passengers will now require a nappy

Congrats on your new setup and thanks for sharing info !
Its amazing how much a suspension upgrade improves the car isn't it?
Sways (if you choose to get some) will make your steering even better. Do the Cusco's get rid of the factory understeer?

BTW your car looks gorgeous!

Z350Lover

iTrader: (2)

Congrats man.... and really happy for ya as you love all your mods, what other things can you ask for besides more better mods?! I am sure you are enjoying even more while you are driving now! and your car is looking good! need some body kits now mate!

cheers,

richie

ZZZ-35

mchapman

Congrates on the car it looks great, now you know how proxy the standard suspension was in regards to the ride quality and yes better sway bars will improve the overall direct feel and balance to the steering.

Wider rims and new tyres are next on my list.

David

mchapman

iTrader: (1)

Flasher said:
I gather your passengers will now require a nappy

LOL!, my girlfriend did scream around the first few corners but I couldn’t smell anything

Yeah it is a big difference, and definitely worth the money.

There is no understeer that I can detect, its very neutral. I'll have to make the right choice in sway bars as to not affect these neutral characteristics. I believe the Cusco sway bars are adjustable but I'll have to research the topic a bit more first.

Thanks champ!

apsilon

The front Cusco sway is adjustable. I firmly believe there sways would work very well with the spring rates they've chosen for the coil overs.

I'm actually considering doing the sways before the rest.

Flasher

My sways arrived first and I initially wanted them fitted before anything else to see the characteristics, but didnt have the time, then the Teins' arrived so I did the lot at once.

Sways alone would be interesting.

mchapman

iTrader: (1)

Thanks Richie and David,

Richie, I wouldnt rule out carbon fiber doors or boot, should they be priced for the everyday buyer, but I dont like my chances. And that would be more for weight saving than styling.

Matt, I wonder what the range of control is and how much it affects the handling. More research is needed. ImportTuner used the Cusco sways on their project zed with the Tein coilovers because of the cockpit EDFC. I'll see if I can find that article because they compared the stock sways to the Cusco units in some detail.

Z1 Performance

iTrader: (564)

Excellent choice!

Being the largest Cusco retailer in the US, this is the setup I went with on my Z as well, though I chose the pillowball version. Mated tot he Cusco sways and similarly grippy tires to yours (I have 18 inch T1S), it's an awesome setup indeed







Cusco extensively tests their setups prior to going to market, and works very closely with all the OEM suppliers to optimize their setups. I have found, among all the suspension offerings we have , that HKS and Cusco seem to have the widest range of use, from street to track. We are obviously big Tein fans as well, though their range for the 350Z is really more geared towards steet than competition - very quaility pieces though, and Tein is a terrific company to have backing you.

Adam

ottonove

very very nice car!!
seems like the Cusco isnt too bad a choice, made me rethink if I should wait for the Bilstein PSS9....

mchapman

iTrader: (1)

Comparing the stock sways to the Cusco units, from Import Tuner:

The front sway is 1mm thicker (stock 34mm, Cusco 35mm) than stock and is also significantly heavier. Another key feature of the Cusco front sway bar is there are two different mounting points for the links, allowing adjustability of the sway bars. In the rear the factory bar measures in 21mm and the Cusco unit is 22mm. We should also mention that the stock rear sway bar is hollow and the Cusco is a solid unit. Both the front and the rear sway bars installed with ease and still utilized the factory bushing and brackets.

They didn’t say anything more on the topic, I would have liked to hear some objective or subjective opinions on how the car handled as opposed to how thick they are, but any info helps.

apsilon

There's several people here that have installed them and some of those have done so with otherwise stock suspension. They've all liked the improvement in handling.

If the search function ever returns we'll be able to find those threads.

KY350

Nice work Murry.

With everyone modding, perhaps we should organise a Sydney meet after Easter, so that we can see the changes in the flesh as well as acquaint / reacquaint ourselves.

I must admit that I would like to ride in your car Murry, to compare the bounce with my stock Z suspension.

Z1 Performance

iTrader: (564)

I've got the sways on mine and the car turns in quciker and feels much more stable in the turns (as well as having less initial "pitch" in when you turn)

ypwpat

is putting a aftermarket sway will Cause the stock suspension to ride even Stiffer? Or it just control the balance in turn in?