MR2 struts in ae86

[Wheezy]

Hi,

I have heard of people in Australia putting sw20 front struts into ae86's, i have had a look around and cant seem to find anything on this mod.

Does anyone have any info on this mod? I have sourced some mr2 struts and am keen to do this. Any ideas on strut length etc?

Cheers,
Robbie

[roadsailing]

dare say they just mean the strut inserts, not the struts.

if you have sourced teh struts, have a look at the two besie each other, might be possible.

[slide86]

im pretty sure that the struts wont be anything alike.......MR2 is rear wheel drive, that would mean that where the stub axle is on an AE86 strut would be the position that the driveshaft goes for the MR2. Not interchangeable.

Shinyblue is right about the strut INSERT (shock absorber) tho. they are interchangeable into AE86 struts. But you would need to get big spacers made to put inside the tube to lift the insert up, OR get the strut cut to size with a spacer added. If you were to do this then you might as well invest in a coil over conversion......

PLenty of info on this forum for you to check out. Just use the search and all shall be clear

http://www.toymods.net/forums/showthread.php?t=299
This will get you started

[roadsailing]

sprinter is RWD too, thats not the reason. unless you interpreted his statement as fitting SW20 front struts into the rear of a sprinter.

according to my calculations, SW20 (rear, front too maybeye) insert is a perfect candidate for the AE86 without a spacer (just need to shorten the strut)

[slide86]

hang on. i miss read the first bit. my bad. i know whats going on now.....too many beers!

[Wheezy]

Yea, i know about the insert thing, around heaps here in NZ, many use ae92 inserts as well.

I am talking about the actual struts. Just seeing if anyone knows about it on here

[WDE_BDY]

Actual strut is FWD style where the stub is not part of the strut.



AE86 has strut body and hub as one piece.



So without lots of enigineering trickery they can't be swapped.

Callum

[WDE_BDY]

You could of course go nuts and do this though -
http://www.rallyrace.net/jvab/spgm/i...p?spgmGal=AE86

[Mr Revhead]

mr2 inserts wont suit an ae86 very well. think of the weight distribution.

if you want good ae86 suspension, TRD do good stuff and good prices.

[roadsailing]

The S13 front suspension looks very similar to the MR2 stuff, if the angles etc are right you could just use the entire MR2 strut, spindle and hub. offset would probably be way off, but it is if you use S13 stuff too.

Mr revhead, apaprently they aren't too bad when you use the rear inserts in the front, but i plan on using ST204 inserts, as they came from a front engined car, and i don't want to take the chance that the MR2 rears somehow have different valving.

speaking of TRD, do they make short stroke shocks? do they make 4kg/mm (or lower) rear springs?

[c2888]

Mr2's have a front mounted rack, so you have to swap them left to right, and if that's still a good idea to you, then you get 5 stud which doesn't match the rears.

I'd imagine that a mr2 strut is very short to begin with as well, so even at full height, your sprinter may be too low to drive.

but you can give it a shot, post pics and show that it fits, or doesn't fit

dan

[Matt-AE86]

I am using MR2 Sw20 rear Shock absorbers in the front of my AE86, they are KYB Potenza Gymkhana 4ways i had to remove roughly 35mm from the strut.

[takai]

I am using MR2 Sw20 rear Shock absorbers in the front of my AE86, they are KYB Potenza Gymkhana 4ways i had to remove roughly 35mm from the strut.

Can someone confirm that the SW20 rears are the same OD as the Sprinter/Corona struts.

[Mr Revhead]

according to the TRD charts they are the same or within 1mm of each other

[takai]

according to the TRD charts they are the same or within 1mm of each other

Thanks, much appreciated. Does it also say how long the cartridge is?