Other sources also offered more specific parts at reasonable pricing;
The best part about the amayama.com is the technical drawing with the part numbers listed allowing for other parts to also be isolated (lower/upper seats and rear spring bumper). I have sent them a query to get a pricing on the lot as I feel I have spent all that money on the suspension but completely overlooked the ‘more’ perishable rubber.
Thanks all, that is confirming what I have so far isolated, being;
P/N: 48482-97201 - lower rear spring seat
P/N: 48481-97201 - upper rear spring seat
P/N: 48341-97201 - rear spring bumper
If you look them up on other sites they are often referred to as the Copen L880 parts and must be interchangeable for the vehicles.
The best priced source for them is the Japanese version of Rakuten.com and I might have to get them sent to the Japanese in-laws and then sent here.
So far the best site that I am using as a baseline seems to be amayama.com. Using 2 x 48482-97201 to have delivered to Brisbane, Australia there are stark differences in the delivery costs;
amayama = $21.26AUD including delivery,
impex = $26.83USD with shipping.
I will make an account with Impex later today to see if that changes the pricing.
I am just awaiting further contact from amayama before I order and I want to jump under the car again and have a meaningful assessment of all of the rubber that’s under there.
There was quite a bit of noise going on as I had left the lower seats off initially and especially if I was doing tight cornering it would sound like the spring was rolling on itself (coil over a coil) and slipping off, not a nice sound at all.
Today I raised it again because I wanted to fully investigate the upper seats as well as the rear spring bumper and also place the lower seats back on. The bumpers are fine and after a bit of a scrub show no signs of degradation so I won’t be replacing them;
The lower seats are very worn and one is split so they will be getting replaced and the upper seats look OK but are starting to split around the ends so will also be replaced;
I dialed the suspension back to full hard and then took them down 8 clicks and took it for a quick spin and it felt significantly better without that overly soft and bouncy feel and even swerving back and forth down the road the rear end was feeling like it should and not having any of the boat-sway feeling it had recently when it was on 12. Taking it for a spin now to Brisbane and should get a better feel of it.
Late Edit: the trip to the city was a lot better and the noise has completely disappeared. The rear is firm but not punishing for the ride and is hanging on like I expect, whereas when dialed at 12 felt like it was going to let go due to the sway.
I will find some local streets soon and design myself a standardised circuit so I can begin to fine tune the suspension to my liking but it is feeling good with 14 on front and 8 on rear.
Thanks for all the tips on finding the right part numbers and potential suppliers. In the end I have gone with https://www.amayama.com/en who have an office in Sydney and you only seem to have to pay for delivery from there. As noted above I did not need the rear bumpers and so just ordered:
2 x P/N: 48482-97201 - lower rear spring seat
2 x P/N: 48481-97201 - upper rear spring seat
Which came to $27.77USD = $41.38AUD with an estimated delivery date ~16days (29.03.20).
I find it incredible that I had sent two emails to Nankang QLD representatives making inquiries about the:
Nankang NS-2R Semi slick – 65 13" 155/65R13 73H (180) 4.5" 532 157 J7973
but for some reason the pricks are to arrogant to even respond. It has been more than 2 weeks now but they have said nothing - not even something like ‘sorry buddy but we can’t help you’. So I have sent an email today to Nankang TW (the head office) asking my queries but also spelling out how bloody rude and arrogant their QLD representatives are http://www.nankang-tyre.com/index.php?lang=en-US
Have been there with the same issue a few years ago. They displayed the same size tire back then but could not or would not be bothered comunicate my enquiries back to me
I’ve been meaning to mention, it reminded me when I swapped the bits over from the cars. You will need to cut down the bump stop depending how low you go on the car, otherwise the car will constant just sit on it.
With the rear dialed at 8 (I am thinking it will be 7-6) it feels fine and shows no sign of being contacted or impacted. I have the coils and the struts wound up close to their top at the moment but still lost about 3-4" with the swap over. The old coils were massive in comparison to the new set.
I am getting the same non-response they are going to get a ‘F… you’ email shortly addressed to all attempted contact points spelling out how such mindless arrogance is a sure way sign of failure in a modern digital age.
On a more positive note, I am taking the car for it’s first meaningful test drive today and going camping (some of you might know the place “Glen Rock State Forest”) out near Gatton and I am sure there are going to be lot’s of windy, unsealed roads and are looking forward to it.
Returned from my road trip (~360km) this arvo. down windy pot-holed dirt roads over cattle grates to a state forest to camp (that was a failure and a poor choice of campgrounds) and then up to Toowoomba on top of the Great Dividing Range for a day trip before heading home. I think we spent about $30 on fuel for the whole trip.
Things I noted;
Front is to low for pot holes on dirt roads as I bottomed out the front tow point a couple of times so will be winding the coils back up that 70mm I had lowered them. I don’t want a car I cannot take ‘almost anywhere a typical ‘conventional car’ can go’ but I did want good suspension. At least having the the front adjusters I could dial them harder and reduce the chance of me hitting the tow point on the way back out. Rear suspension was awesome the whole way.
The car inlet needs a good clean out as it really struggled going up the hill and I was ‘that car’ that needed the slow lane.
Coming down from Toowomba (steep descent (low gear) for 4-5km) the brakes really shone and they were very noticeable in really controlling the descent and absolutely no feeling or even ‘smell’ of heating up and potential ‘fade’. It was a meaningful assessment of the new calipers, pads and rotors and it was a significant improvement on the old assembly.
We are going to head of to Bunya Mountains in the coming weeks especially as fuel is so cheap atm.
This is why the 2 door Coure is called ‘Mira Van’ (mini van) in Japan - first time camping in 12-15 years and we thought it would be cold. 3 eskies (L, M and S), 4 sleeping bags, 2 tents (in case one broke) 4 back packs, 3 collapsible chairs, etc., etc. etc this car can fit so much in it is impressive but we had packed enough for 2 weeks for 4 people but it was just me an the missus - still awesome to get away.
Raised the front coilovers by another 30mm making them 100mm from the base of the lower locking collar - feels a lot better and I can throw it around at rough parts of the road without feeling concern for hitting the tow point.
This guide was straight to the point and useful; https://raceland.com/news/how-to-adjust-coilovers.html
The last thing I want is that lowered unit that takes 2 minutes to ‘simply’ navigate a McDonald’s speed hump because they don’t want to bottom it out…give me handling and mobility every day. The whole primary objective was safety and that is what I am getting.
I am so stoked I bought the coilover kit and have this adaptability so I can change the ride height and stiffness relative to conditions but it is also an awesome learning experience. I was finding the front a bit to ‘springy’ at 14 and today dialled it to front 12, rear 8 but I will see how this goes, I suspect I am going to be at front 11/10 and rear 7/6. Tomorrow we are going to Bunya Mountains (~400KM round trip of widely variable road conditions) for a few nights and that will be a good assessment of how it feels.
I want a ‘super reliable’ cheap to run all-rounder car that handles really well for most conditions and can pull up on a dime.
Overall, it is getting better and better as I dial and adjust the height of the suspension to suitable settings the braking has shown marked and significant improvements.
