Superstrut Suspension, ST202 - ST205 suspention Options

[nsxtypeR]

Superstrut setups are the same. Springrates are different.

[mi645]

Incorrect, the st205 ss uses different brake lines and uses a 4 piston caliper and different dust shield and different abs snesors, also the mounting point for the caliper is completelt different. So unless the carina has all that, id rather find an st202 ss set up and swap that over, since im sure the carina has a sliding claiper, and smaller dust shield for the disc brake.

[nsxtypeR]

All arms are the same and so is the shockabsorber. I never said anything about the hub or brakes/brakelines. Question was if BC coilovers could be fitted......

[mi645]

well in that case, st205 bc coilovers r completely different in the rear compared to the st202 super strut models or regular mcpherson models, so it still wont work.... Since the strut mounting point in the rear is different anyway.

[nsxtypeR]

Rears are different yes due the the awd of the gtfour. Rears arent superstruts but regular McPherson struts. Front struts of a gtfour st205 CAN be used for the Carina ss. Just buy a couple of nackered ones and cut of the bottom legs. Or cut the Carina legs if you dont need them anymore

[mi645]

Just buy the ss2 celica super strut bc coilover, rather than the st205 so the rears will come off a s202, rather than buy 2 sets of coilovers to match -_-

[linkerx]

see my video on the work superstrut suspension:
https://youtu.be/aFT0VgHvhR8

[Wild202]

Perhaps I'll write something useful.
http://www.6gc.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=97436

This post has been edited by Wild202: Jan 18, 2017 - 9:16 AM

[BattlingBiatch]

In Europe we also have celica's with Superstrut Suspension.
Thats wy i'm sharing this information!


The ST205 GT-Four uses a system of front suspension design unique to Toyota. It moves away from the MacPherson strut used on all other Celicas and is much more complex. This system is used on the GT-Four, some Japanese spec Corollas and the higher spec Japanese fwd Celicas (SSII and SSIII). It was available in Europe on the Carina GTi and was an option on the ST202 (thanks Dirk for the info).

My understanding of the system is that the geometry does not give the same camber and castor changes during cornering that occur with MacPherson strut. Is it better? Well, it is different. There are reliability problems if maintenance isn't kept up, TTE had continual problems and I believe they swapped the rally cars back to MacPherson strut.

A brief description of MacPherson strut is in order. The Toyota system uses a lower A arm with rubber bushings front and rear. This has only one degree of motion (ie. it rotates on the bushings). At the outer point of the A arm is a balljoint which connects to the steering knuckle and allows for rotation (steering) and pivot (shock compression). The steering knuckle is rigidly bolted to the bottom of the strut. The whole strut turns when steering, twisting in the roller bearing in the top mount. Fairly simple and cheap, used by most manufacturers.

So what is Superstrut suspension? It is a hybrid between normal MacPherson strut and a multilink setup. One of the requirements of the design brief was that the system would fit existing suspension mount locations. Therefore the system can be fitted into export Celicas as well as the Japanese lower spec SSI! The late production cars even share the same subframe.

The photo below shows the lower part of the system. This consists of a front and rear lower arm, connected (by rodends) to a connector plate. The rear arm has a rubber bushing at the inner end (the only rubber bushing at the front except swaybar D-bushings), the front arm has a balljoint. This system allows the arms to pivot as the suspension turns.



The steering knuckle is quite different to that of the MacPherson strut cars. It bolts securely to the connector plate joining the lower arms (see photo below). The top end connects to the strut part way up using a balljoint (see red arrow in left picture and upper arrow in right picture below. The strut mounts to the body in the normal way, but the lower end is secured to the front lower arm using another pivoting arm visible at the right in the photo above. This arm is near vertical in the photos, it is actually about 150mm long and pivots at each end.



The photo of the assembled suspension below shows that the strut rotates minimally when steering ( the same amount as the front lower arm as it is rigidly connected). The steering knuckle moves instead. While the outboard strut moves rearwards slightly when the car turns in (turning left in the photo), it can be seen that the hub moves forward. But because of the strut movement the actual movement at the wheel is minimised.

The second photo shows the mounting points for the lower arms on the subframe.



All the info from: gtfour.supras.org.nz

Hi, I realise this is a very late reply but heck, here goes nothing.

I have a t200 Celica from 94 which was swapped with a gen 3 3SGE and a superstrut suspension. I bought the car like this so i dont have any information on where the parts came from. All i know is the engine is a JDM import.
Now, the shocks and ball joints along with the figure 8s are on their way out, not even mentioning the car handles like a boat with shut shocks. I would like to purchase new shocks and lowering springs, and these are the components that i have found:
- https://gt4-play.co.uk/shop/genuine-toyota-...-absorbers-5730
- https://gt4-play.co.uk/shop/kyb-excel-g-rea...absorbers-st205
- https://gt4-play.co.uk/shop/genuine-toyota-...-absorbers-5730
- https://gt4-play.co.uk/shop/tein-s-tech-lowering-springs

Now they state there is a difference between ST202 JDM spec and the euro spec. How do i know which spec i have?
And to continue with the questions - which of those rear- shocks fits a regular t200? (Since the rear suspension is untouched compared to the t200)
And do the Tein springs fit the rear shock selected then?

My apologies in advance, i know its a Frankenstein car but i intend on keeping her alive and running for a while.

Any help is greatly appreciated, thanks in advance!

[BonzaiCelica]

Computer Animated video of how superstrut geometry functions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzEYySvB89w...eature=youtu.be

details start at 9:20

This post has been edited by BonzaiCelica: Sep 6, 2023 - 10:53 AM

[BonzaiCelica]

-Larger wheel bearing are stiffer and help with more confident braking because it prevents pad knock back which in turn delays brake pedal feedback under high g turning. Integra Type R and Celica SS3 have about same bearing mass.