Austarion

Hi all,
I was just wondering which car's front shock insert will replace the worn shocks in the front of my GSR-V?

I mistakenly bought VL Commodore fronts after being told that they would fit with a few minor mods. Now I'm told that this is a no-go.

Apparently an MR2 front shock insert will fit, but what I'm really looking for is confirmation. Which will DEFINITELY fit with a minimum of fuss?

Any help is appreciated...
:beer

why would you want an MR2 front shock insert (which is only designed to handle not alot of weight, seeing the engine isn't in the front of MR2s) in the heavy front of a Starion?

When I was shock shopping, I pulled a Commodore insert off the shelf (think part number was KYB 365007) and it seemed to be the right length and right shaft diameter, but a different thread pitch and also different keyway, but any machinist/engineer's shop would have been able to re-tap the thread and sort out the keyway (as well as probably shortening the insert in the process).

Most Toyota inserts run a 14mm thread instead of the 12mm thread Mitsubishis run, not so much of problem for the rears where you can drill out the tophat, but the front tophats have bearings in them which you wouldn't be able to drill out, so you'ld have to retap the thread to 12mm.

Pretty much go to a place which would have alot of inserts on the shelf, find one which is either the same length or shorter than a factory Starion insert (you can use a spacer at the bottom of the strut casing to sort out any length difference), and which has a similar thread and keyway, and is out of a similar or heavier car (ie like a V8 Commodore).

I had koni commodore front shocks in both my starions. It was either VB-VS front shocks into the front of starion and VT-VE front shock into the rear of starion (or the other way around - have part numbers at home to check).

There is a knob on the bottom of the konis that needs to be ground off to fit into narrowbody inserts or they bolt in unmodified to widebody struts.
If you plan on lowering the car you may find the stock strut body length too long to allow sufficient travel. Now I use the MR2 shocks and had to shorten the shock body to use them.
I'll take photos tomorrow for you.
I have some brand new koni yellows to suit if you are keen. I'll even modify them to suit if needed.

MrBishi wrote:I had koni commodore front shocks in both my starions. It was either VB-VS front shocks into the front of starion and VT-VE front shock into the rear of starion (or the other way around - have part numbers at home to check).

There is a knob on the bottom of the konis that needs to be ground off to fit into narrowbody inserts or they bolt in unmodified to widebody struts.
If you plan on lowering the car you may find the stock strut body length too long to allow sufficient travel. Now I use the MR2 shocks and had to shorten the shock body to use them.
I'll take photos tomorrow for you.
I have some brand new koni yellows to suit if you are keen. I'll even modify them to suit if needed.

Sounds good.
Like I said, I've got Commodore ones, and I'd also heard that the bottom needs to be ground off to suit the JA-JD's.
The GSR-V is an unknown quantity however. It has 5 stud hubs, so I'm not sure if they're going to be the same as a JA-JD's shock assembly, or if they're like the Widebody ones. :?
I'm planning on lowering the car when I put the new shocks in.
Hmmm...
:roll:

I've got the struts out of the car and modifying now. If I don't respond to this thread or start a new one within a couple of weeks please remind me to. I've taken a few photos and have part numbers scribbled (somewhere..)

ive got mr2 shocks in my front coilovers but i believe they are rear mr2 shocks not fronts

Mine run Koni 300zx fronts, maybe another option to investigate if you are willing to shorten the strut a tad.

Well bottom line is that I need new front shock inserts in my GSR-V.

The driver's side has had it, and the passenger's is not that far behind.

I'm chasing a workable SIMPLE solution, that will give me compatibility with my existing lowered springs, which will go into the car at the same time the shocks are done.

Advice and solutions can be added in here, and I'll just pick the most straightforward one.

Thanks very much everyone for your input

I would like to know a easy solution as well. To use on my brothers car.

Gsrv front strut inserts are the same as the JA-JD ones so if you can find aus delivered starion ones then they will fit. I believe you can still buy the front inserts from the states for a simple solution.

or you can buy front inserts from me :) the fronts are off the shelf, the rears are the hard part.

narrowbody front struts are the same across all models. wideys have the different kingpin inclination..

redzone wrote:or you can buy front inserts from me :) the fronts are off the shelf, the rears are the hard part.

narrowbody front struts are the same across all models. wideys have the different kingpin inclination..

I want a set of fully adjustable Konis or the like.
Can you get those?

Yes the 90-95 MR2 rear strut inserts do work with a little modification. You need either a spacer in the bottom of around 24mm if i remember correctly, or to shorten the strut housing itself.
As they are rear strut inserts, they are more than capable in the front, and there is a great range of inserts available from entry level standard replacements through to damper adjustable ones etc.

yeah I've got the SW20 rears in the rear of mine at the moment, will probably use them in the front also, and shorten the strut casing and retap the top thread to M12x1.25 instead of M14x1.5.

hey nacho, i had to replace my front shocks on the staz and pedders in cannington were able to help me out (one of the guys there new exactly what a staz was). not sure exactly what your looking for but thought it might help. Sorry as u know not that mechanicaly minded