AE86/5 steering and suspension differences (if any)

[3T-Rona]

Any one in the know about this topic, is there anymajor Difference between ae85 and ae86 front suspension (not worried about brake differences, if there is any) and did the ae85 come with rack and pinion, powersteering etc?

cheers for any info.....

[d1 mule]

all the same, bar the stub axel size, thus different/bigger/vented brakes etc

[rollaholic]

thats not true,

strut casings are identical, hence stub axles are the same.

brakes are different, with 86s getting (slightly) bigger pads, calipers, and rotors. rotors are also vented on 86 and solid on 85.

spring rates vary between models, but i dont think you'll be using original springs in pretty much any application

steering racks are interchangable between models, but swapping PS to non PS and vice versa can be problematic depending on steering column, and the cross members are different for the different types of rack also.

PS steering arms are longer than non-PS arms also (popular mod for drifters is to put PS knuckles on non-PS rack for more lock)

im pretty sure the PS pump and line setup is different between 3A and 4A too.

[AE25]

ps cross member has a fatter rack mount on the l/h side, but a collar made up to go round a manual rack will work with it

PS steering arms are shorter than manual arms. 115mm compared to 135mm eye to eye

there are diameter differences in the bottom spring perch on the strut due to different spring sizes fitted

[rollaholic]

i think you'll find the differences in spring perches are from strut casings belonging to different cars with similar suspension setups (KE70, TE71, etc etc)

im sure its come up before and revhead has confirmed one part number for 85/86 strut casings.

got me steering knuckles mixed up!

[Rick]

Front and rear sway bars are larger on a AE86

[rollaholic]

do 85s even have rear bars standard?

[frost]

my ae85's do. but a friends one didnt. not even the mounting brackets on the chassi rails.

[AE25]

could be right about spring diameter.
is it certain the front sway bar is a different diameter?
...if they anything like ke70/te71 the front sway bar is same diameter but the te71 have fatter rear bar than ke70 sr coupe.

[scott900]

my ae85's do. but a friends one didnt. not even the mounting brackets on the chassi rails.

sounds about right.
my notch ae85 doesnt have a rear sway bar, could it have anything to do with trim spec/optioning or maybe notch vs hatch optioning?

[Zak]

I think I can safely say the front strut casings are the same considering I swaped some ae85 ones into my 86 a few weeks ago with no differences what so ever.

I transfered new trd springs, my rx7 brakes and rotors on to the new struts with out any hickups.

[jondee86]

AE86 top hats have got more rubber in them (stiffer) than AE85 ones.

Cheers... jondee86

[3T-Rona]

sweet cheers for the info from all the 86/85 owners only really wanted to knw about steering racks and struts differences for conversion purposes, cheers guys