AE86 front suspension into LC

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Taz
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AE86 front suspension into LC

Post by Taz »

I apologize if this has been covered many times before, but im not much of a search expert and the very few key words that came up werent really of help.
Im looking at throwing in some ae86 front suspension into the LC as the upgrade but im not quite sure how much of a task that might be. Im pretty set on it if it can be feasably done as it means coilovers, rack and pinion and 300mm big brake kits from about 1k out of the states. How much if not all of it can i use? All looks pretty similar.'
There was one gentleman who said front suspension was in his LB but nothing further was mentioned, or how much of it all was in.
Dont suppose anyone can shed some light? (although i figure if it were THAT easy everyone would of done it?)
mstrrab1992
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Re: AE86 front suspension into LC

Post by mstrrab1992 »

Just been looking up on it and it doesn't seem to look that difficult? You'd need matching knuckle for lower ball joint, but a ae86 lower control arm looks nearly identical to a lancer one, so maybe a coilover conversion kit, a adjust strut top from eBay and I dunno it wouldn't be too hard?
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Taz
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Re: AE86 front suspension into LC

Post by Taz »

Im more thinking entire suspension hopefully, putting in the K frame means a steering rack, hubs, coilovers, sway bar, panhard rods etc. Looks very close, id be expecting to maybe do something custom for the K frame and front panhard rod housings possibly but yea curious as to what is involved if anyone has done it or has researched measurements etc before i commit to buying it all and finding out theres no chance it will.
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stealth
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Re: AE86 front suspension into LC

Post by stealth »

If your prepared to make all new mounting points and the ae86 is millimeter perfect for width it might work
Be careful though it may not produce good results
The lancer front end has some bad angles in its design , if you were to stiffen the front end mounting and lower the radius rod pivot there a hole lot better
Theres no real room for decent caster or decent lock angle , so no matter what you do you cant get good rca or akerman , bump steer and roll steer are sort of achievable but not great
Move the strut towers and you could get a lot closer but its a big move
Just my 2 cents
Cheers stealth
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Taz
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Re: AE86 front suspension into LC

Post by Taz »

I understood maybe 40% of that haha.
I mainly want K frame for steering rack. and hubs for coilovers/bolt on big brake kit. Not terribly fussed about all the little fine suspension tuning although it is a bonus.
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stealth
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Re: AE86 front suspension into LC

Post by stealth »

Is the wheel track close ?
I reckon its do able but who are you going to get to fit it ?
How much will that cost ?
Would it not be cheaper to mod your struts for coilovers and just buy a hop stoppers big brake kit and fit it in a day ?
Rather than paying someone to mod your chassis rails , then you would need to paint
And get a blue plate , you have to do that either way
But my opinion is it would cost heaps and there are easier options that will do the job
Cheers stealth
Engineering the unfair advantage !
Red bull , fuelling the fastest race cars on earth !
Taz
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Re: AE86 front suspension into LC

Post by Taz »

I have friends that can do all the fab work no problem so it wont be too costly to do that side of things, and im more wanting the rack and pinion setup, and the aftermarket support of all that comes with the ae86.
In saying that it seems a popular conversion on the ae86 is an s13 front end, including control arms (but not the rack so it must have essentially identical track) - which begs the question again is how close is an s13 crossmember to an ae86? Id be able to pick up one of those for almost nothing (which i intend to do if for nothing else to confirm it will not in fact not work) Support for an S chassis is almost anything you can imagine so if i can best case scenario chuck an s13 front end in then any mod would be cheap and almost off the shelf... Either way ill pick up an S13 crossmember and have a go at the very least, answer the important questions after all
BIG26L
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Re: AE86 front suspension into LC

Post by BIG26L »

Sounds like a lot of work re-inventing the wheel for not a lot of gain.......

Sigma/scorp/staz struts, late model Sigma control arms and steering arm adjusters, adjustable strut tops, some bumpsteer correctors and coilovers and you should be able to get more than -4' of neg camber & +4' pos castor out of that type of set up. I know I can out of mine.

Bracing the top of the steering box solves a lot of problems as well.
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stealth
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Re: AE86 front suspension into LC

Post by stealth »

I reckon I could make it fit , whether its work it is another story
I still reckon it wont be better
In mine I moved the strut mounting panel back I can get +9 castor and I dont see the point in more than minus 3 camber , and my roll centre is 57mm lower than a stocker , but mines a street car not a track car
Cheers stealth
Engineering the unfair advantage !
Red bull , fuelling the fastest race cars on earth !
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