[Speedysean]

Hey all, I’ve got a question about a suspension swap, and was having a hard time finding anything on here too helpful. So I have a 94 SL and 99 SL, the 94 being a parts donor. I would like to get the ECS functionality in the 99. My question is are the struts able to be swapped without need for modification, and is there anything I have to do to make it function properly other than swap the wiring and controller and struts to the 99? Also would anyone know if the dash in the 99 has the lights for sport/touring strut status? ECS doesn’t work on the donor car as is but I suspect it’s just a faulty capacitor in the controller. Thanks in advance

I’ve got a handful of other questions for you beautiful minds too but I’m going to hunt for past posts first

 

[duke3k]

You should continue to confirm but I'm pretty sure you can do a physical swap of your 94 SL ECS struts into your 99SL. Where your going to get into a challenge is on the electronics , wiring & OEM sensors side of the swap. In addition to the OEM ECS control module - you'll also need to move the sensors and sensor tie in's.

• The's the Z-axis(vertical) acceleration sensor under the drivers seat - that you'll need to move over & wire it up.
• There's Throttle position sensor feed
• There's the Brakes light sensor feed
• There's the Steering wheel angle sensor feed
• etc.

I used to own a '98 VR4 and wanted to do an ECS system retrofit like you are considering and decided that doing a complete port & retrofit of the factory system wasn't practical. So what I did was make Techworks ECS stand alone controller that only needs power & wiring runs direct to the struts. It comes with its own LED light subsystem for display status or you can retrofit and use the empty slots in the Dash where the Sport / Tour light would normally go.

For more information see Retrofitting ECS Struts Hardware into a '95->99 w/ Factory Non ECS

And here's the Retrofit Manual that details the install (for the electrical): Techworks 3000gt ECS Retrofit Insatllation Manual


duke3k

 

[Speedysean]

Thanks for the information, that helps tenfold. I’ll definitely look into the techworks controller, much later down the road I’m also planning to do a haltech standalone ecu swap and that just sounds like headache I can avoid in the future when I get to that.

 

[And_44]

Also, if you like the auto adjustable suspension and want to avoid running wires and other accessories to make the factory ECS work.

You could go with the Tein Flex coilovers and the EDFC Active Pro that is the wireless controller. Has very similar functionality to the ECS and a Renegade TechWorks Controller for all about the same price of new OE ECS/TechWorks Controller.

Finding low mileage working front struts are going to be difficult.

But yes the link above gives the details to swap to ECS.