Hey guys,

Got a small problem with my Bluebird brake conversion. I recently got a set of 280mm rotors and caliper brackets from Datsport, and while they bolt up fine to my S12 Gazelle hubs, when I try to install the hub/disc onto either R31/Bluebird/Gazelle axles the disc fouls on the end of the lower control arm.

Is there a different steering arm that I need to use for this conversion? If so what arm would it be?

Also, if I used a different steering arm I take it I would also need to run some kind of camber adjustment on the strut tops to compensate for the increase of negative camber caused my moving the hubs further away from the control arm...

Please let me know if you have had experience with any of this.

Thanks,
Simon

On blueys/r31s etc the disc will foul the lower control arm.
280ZX steering arms will fix this prob. the neg camber obtained may be excessive for good tyre wear on the street. If the camber is too much for you then you will need adjustable mounts. Its due to the offset lower control arms on BBs R31s.

_________________
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
www.datsport.com

"R.I.P. Baz. 29 April 2022. Thank you for all your contributions to the Datsun community over the years. You will be missed." - OZDAT

Thanks Baz, I will pop into the wreckers and pickup some 280ZX steering arms.

Yeah while I was at the self serve wrecker I took one of your discs down as I had to get some S12 hubs, and I tried this combination on 910/s12/r31 and brought no love, looking at the arms I thought its probably just the offset but hopefully an easy fix

Would you know if the ball joints and tie-rods are the same size on the 280zx as they are on the bluebirds etc? Or would I need to use 280ZX ball joint in my Bluebird lower control arm. Its just that its kinda tricky to remove these parts for testing at the wrecker as they are often diffuicult to remove as you know.

Cheers,

Simon

Ok I got some 280ZX steering arms and while they bolt up fine to the bluebird struts, the arms dont acually 'seat into' the bottom of the strut.

The locating lip on the 280ZX arms is WAY smaller than the fat bluey struts.

What did you do about this Baz? Just turn/laser cut an 8-10mm disc with a hole in it to fit into the strut. Or did you just bolt the arm up without it.

yes we use spacer rings at the bottom of the strut to remove the shear load from the bolts. Would you like a pair?

_________________
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
www.datsport.com

"R.I.P. Baz. 29 April 2022. Thank you for all your contributions to the Datsun community over the years. You will be missed." - OZDAT

Thanks for helping out with the spacer rings, they should arrive soon

BTW, I didnt mean offence by suggesting you may have done the dodgy and left it as is.. I was indeed hoping you had something in your big bag of tricks

NP. I was just stirring
you should get them this morning.

_________________
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
www.datsport.com

"R.I.P. Baz. 29 April 2022. Thank you for all your contributions to the Datsun community over the years. You will be missed." - OZDAT

Hey Simboo,
Is there any chance you could get some pics of your finished product? with the wheel on, and off?

i'd like to do the same conversion in the long run on my S12, and im just curious to see exactly how negative the camber is on the front?

Plus to document the upgrade on the S12 site..

cheers

Martin

About 2.5 depending on ride height.
Turn in great at that setting, but could be hard on the rubber tho.

_________________
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
www.datsport.com

"R.I.P. Baz. 29 April 2022. Thank you for all your contributions to the Datsun community over the years. You will be missed." - OZDAT

Thought I'd update!

The brakes are now on with 280ZX steering arms. Yes there's quite a bit of neg camber Baz... and yes its hard on the rubber!


In my Bluebird I ended up with:
MR30 brake booster. Z31 15/16th master cylinder. S15 200SX calipers. Datsport caliper adaptors + Datsport 280mm rotors. S12 Gazelle hubs. H165 rear discs on H190 axles/housing. Lucas pads.

It stops damn nice from cold.. but in my opinion after a few good pumps of the brakes to get some heat into them... they stop awesome!

Very happy

we can now reduce the camber with out adjustable strut tops.
about a degree or so .
Havent had time to measure it exactly.
only applies if using R31 inserts
what toe in are you using & is it just wear or scrub.
Did you notice any great improvement in the handling.

_________________
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
www.datsport.com

"R.I.P. Baz. 29 April 2022. Thank you for all your contributions to the Datsun community over the years. You will be missed." - OZDAT

Got any photos of the S12?

_________________
1972 Datsun 1600, S14 SR20DET Engineered (204rwkW @ 17psi.)
viewtopic.php?t=6579
#SR20Datsun @SR20Datsun

Baz:

I drove the car up in the mountains last weekend and it's unreal now. The camber really has transformed the turn-in and braking performance/stability mid corner. It's a pleasure to drive through the twisties.. and its still 'just a wagon'!. The braking power is just fantastic with the S15 calipers and, now rear discs. The toe-in degrees is unknown at this stage as I did it by eye. Feels good though, but I'll be getting it aligned soon.

The rubber is just wear from previous setup. Probably too much toe-in. I do have a rubbing noise that I've noticed though

I have a feeling its the inside of the disc rubbing on the LCA @ full lock. I noticed that the 280ZX arms had bolts on the arms for lock adjustment, probably need to put them back on for now?

There is also a very fine vibration when lowspeed turning (say, into a driveway) sometimes. It feels as though it's a disc pad dragging on the slotted rotors or something like that.. would that make sense.. have you encountered this yet?

SR20Datsun:

Did you want pics of the S12 hubs?

Have noticed the prob you have described with loose wheel bearings.
A slight bearing preload is best when set cold .
You may also notice a whirring sound at low speed when braking slightly.
this is the pads rubbing over the slots, usually goes away as the rotors fully bed in.
Yes refit the lock stops and adjust them.
Thanks for the feedback

_________________
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
www.datsport.com

"R.I.P. Baz. 29 April 2022. Thank you for all your contributions to the Datsun community over the years. You will be missed." - OZDAT

Just a photo of the Car!!!

_________________
1972 Datsun 1600, S14 SR20DET Engineered (204rwkW @ 17psi.)
viewtopic.php?t=6579
#SR20Datsun @SR20Datsun