Toyota Celica Supra Forum banner

yota fanatic's s13 rear subframe swap

18K views 22 replies 9 participants last post by  Antoine 
#1 ·
I decided to ditch the old trailling arm setup and go with a more modern suspension setup.
After some research I chose the s13 240sx.
Tons of aftermarket support, plenty of diff options, and easily converted to 5 lug.

using my parts car for mock up


front mounts extended



















I still have to finish boxing and welding the rear mount pads and figure out what coilovers to use.
 
See less See more
10
#2 ·
Nice, a couple other people have done this as well. I have a full rear s13 subframe sitting on a shelf waiting to get this done too.

So you extended the fronts of the s13 subframe to fit to the supras stock studs? Are the rear studs you added in cut from an s13 or did you make those?
 
  • Like
Reactions: igorot
#4 ·
Yeah I know but non of them shown any good pictures on how they have done it. So I decided to make a thread on how I am doing it.
Yes extend the front. Make new mounting locations for the rear. The rear studs are the rear mkii studs.
 
#3 ·
Looking great, William!
 
#9 ·
Ha ha, I've been telling people to do this for decades here too lol. So much simpler then modifing the stock subframe to fit an 8 inch diff (though perhaps not simpler then the rare 85/86 Soarer one).

I almost went for this IRS, but the mk3 Supra one looked a little simpler to fit. I do like the option of keeping the 4 bolt setup though, and perhaps the track width is a touch less.

Whats your plan for mounting shocks? is it going to line up close enough for the stock mounting point or are you going to have to graft in different towers?
 
#10 ·
I was going to weld the s13 strut towers in but I think I can get away with just using a custom coilover. I will have to use the half moon upper control arms for coilover to clear. The mkii upper shock mount is a little farther back than the s13.
 
#12 ·
So I wound up getting coilovers from Group D. They sell a s13 rear subframe conversion for the ae86. I bough there conversion coilovers. They are a bit short though.

 
#13 ·
So I wound up getting coilovers from Group D. They sell a s13 rear subframe conversion for the ae86. I bough there conversion coilovers. They are a bit short though.

So will you still need the half moon for the camber ? The round part on the ground ? Maybe more pictures , seems from pictures I pulled from Group D you could use stock but coil over rear shocks they do sell them a couple places in the more correct lengths
 
#15 ·
Hey guys I have been slowly aquiring the rest of the parts that I need and I got side tracked working on our Lemons car. I decided while it was out to reinforce the subframe, replace all the bushings, clean and paint it. I went with the gk tech subframe reinforment kit, spl solid subframe bushings and energy suspension poly bushings. I installed 300zx z32 5 lug and brakes along with a j30 diff (3.90 vlsd) and axles.

I also got the front s13/14 suspension mocked up. s13 control arms, s14 ball joints, s14 5 lug hub/knuckle, z32 brakes, s13 z conversion brake lines, s13 coilovers, mx83 inner tie rods, s14 outer, 4runner brake master.
I have depowerd an extra rack and pinion that I had and will be installing it along with a colorado ar5 transmission.



I should be installing it in the next few weeks.
Currently waiting on driveshaft to be made

Pictures
 
  • Like
Reactions: SupraFiend
#16 ·
So far the car is doing great! The subframe really stiffened the rear of the car. It is weird not having the car squat anymore. It handles better than I could imagine. I plan on taking it out to some road courses this summer and see how well it competes against more modern cars.

Depowering the rack and pinion did not make a noticeable difference. I would say that its not worth doing.
Also the ar5 trans is doing great. I can do a write up on it if enough people are interested.
 
  • Like
Reactions: dannoxyz
#19 ·
Does rack still have vacuum-operated variable assist? Can adjust spring to lower assist.
 
#22 ·
Here is a video I to show the rear suspension while driving. It is odd not seeing the car squat anymore.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
Top