Tuesday, August 9, 2011

R33 GT-R Upgrade: Cusco Adjustable Rear Upper Arms

Suspension upgrades are like a bowl of delicious french fries. Once you start, you can't stop consuming / installing them. Seriously addictive. 

This isn't an act of superflous spending on my part, for as I have said in my previous entry, the rubber bushing on most of the GT-R's factory mounts are in a poor state and therefore need to be replaced. They have after all been on the car for the past 15 years! Hence, this is more of an exercise in necessity instead of greed.

Once I had swapped in the Sun Line Racing Front Pillow Camber Arms and felt an instant improvement in the GT-R's handling, I decided to plunk down some more moola on a used set of Cusco Adjustable Rear Upper Arms. Thanks to Eu Jin from JDM Auto Link for supplying the said item which looked near brand new.

So whats so great about the Cusco unit? Well, the overall benefits are very similar to the Sun Line Racing arms but I'll let RHD Japan explain further:

"The CUSCO Adjustable Rear Upper Arm Links Nissan will provide proper camber angle and improve you cars movement in hard turns on the track. Prevents irregular tire wear and holds tire to the asphalt, improving traction. The good alignment will enable better traction as well". 

 The Cusco rear upper arm and the factory Nissan unit - the bushing too was pretty worn out
    The Cusco unit installed on the driver side rear wheel well

    Remember what I said about suspension upgrades and how its hard to stop oneself from installing more? Well, I've ordered the following items and they'll be arriving some time soon from Japan :).

    NISMO Strengthened Rear Lower A-Arm Set

    "The NISMO Rear Lower A-Arm Set - Strengthened R33 is part of the NISMO Suspension Link Series and were created by NISMO to provide true suspension performance for Nissan drivers. Included are the strengthened bushings to provide better feedback through cornering to make the vehicle more predictable. These are for true suspension performance, and are recommended to anyone using sport suspension and tires. The Nismo Strengthened Rear Lower A-Arms are a great way to refresh your vehicle`s suspension components by removing the aged arms that came stock from the factory. All units come in the Nismo silver color. These are stronger than the standard Nismo units because of an added plate on the underside to provide more strength against pressure and stress". - RHD Japan

    CUSCO Adjustable Pillow Ball Tension Rods

    "The CUSCO Adjustable Pillow Ball Tension Rods Nissan stop the movement and flex that change the geometry on the front suspension under hard braking and cornering and drifting. These Cusco Adjustable Pillow Ball Tension Rods help with stability and predictability when drifting or racing the car hard. They also improving initial turn-in response. They are designed to work with stock suspension or nearly every aftermarket system available". - RHD Japan

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