mathnerd88

iTrader: (1)

Did you have any alignment problems? I want to do this, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to pay for camber kits for front and rear, which will cost more than the springs themselves.

Plus, my Firestone lifetime alignment will be useless since of the modified suspension

soundmike

iTrader: (6)

It looks great! Nice subtle drop, which i'm a fan of.

I just swapped to Swifts (RWD) + KYB GR-2s from coilovers. I got coils because it was the only decent solution a few years ago. I adjusted a few times and left it alone -- it's not fun going for an alignment everytime height changed. I'm a fan of decent drops that retain a good amount of suspension travel either for DD or track-duty. Good handling doesn't always mean you have to drop as low as possible and make the ride uber-stiff. Balance and compliance is key. Suspension modifying is a slipper slope, make the ride low and stiff enough then you'll have to start changing other things to help put all that to the ground properly... such as much stickier rubber for smooth roads.

I say smooth because dumped + stiff ride + bad roads = poor traction and handling. For those who have tried a sweeper at 80mph then hitting a bump on the road causing the rear-end to jump like you have a rear beam suspension will know what i'm talking about.

If the Swifts were out a few years ago, i'd have gone that route right off the bat. Currently have about 1k miles on them and i echo everyone's reviews of them. It seems Swift definitely designed these for the OEM dampers. The GR-2's are about 10-15% stiffer and i do feel the firmness. It's akin to my old coilovers set in the 15-20 click range to stiff. Full review coming soon.

FWIW, it doesn't drop the car as low as Eibach's. That said, my coilovers were set to Eibach height and Firestone was able to align it just fine without the kits. A little high on camber but toe was in spec and with rotations i never experienced uneven tire wear. You should be able to get away without kits with the Swifts, unless you have extremely worn dampers.

Also, i had lifetime alignment with Firestone, they still align my car to this day, even post camber kits.

There's only one for the RWD, Koni Yellows.

Rochester

iTrader: (8)

Soundmike... you had CO's, then went back to strut & spring?

The KYB GR-2 doesn't have adjustable damping. Aren't they akin to OEM replacements for the RWD-Sport Sedan? (Not the non-Sport or AWD.)

And here's a related "spring" question for anyone who can answer: are the OEM springs used in the RWD-Sport the same as those used in the RWD-Journey and/or the AWD-X?

soundmike

iTrader: (6)

Yep. My goals for swapping suspensions is different from most folks. I DD under some pretty bad roads, but also track the car once in a while. I spend arbitrarily 95% of the time with DD. Having a suspension that works great for the remaining 5% of the time, on a daily basis, was not the way to go. Yes, i'm getting old.

As far as handling goes, other than the point in my earlier post, coils at higher than typical heights most folks would set theirs at will undoubtedly work better at the track, but even "Street" coils aren't designed for DD. My goal was always to lower CG a bit without affecting the roll center too much (here's a good read -- It). A few years ago, coils were the only options for our car. We had springs options, but no dampers, or vice versa. I'm also not a big fan of progressive springs, which narrowed it down further.

In any case, i needed a minimal drop, which really defeats a good part of the purpose of getting coils. A good spring/damper combo will work equally well in my case. It will also likely ride more comfortably than coils, without sacrificing compliance too much. Remember, coils will almost always have stiffer rate springs out of the box. The dampers are also valved higher which means even at softest settings it's going to ride rather firm. Typically when you also do that, the springs will end up overpowering the dampers and you end up with a bouncy ride. It's the nature of the beast because coils are designed so you can sit low without bottoming out. Yada, yada. I'm sure you know this already.

As for the GR-2's, they're valved 10-15% stiffer than OEM to compensate for suspension wear.

mathnerd88

iTrader: (1)

Interesting...I've heard of stories of where Firestone turned away people with modified suspensions. I have a feeling this is YMMV.

soundmike

iTrader: (6)

I've heard they may have changed policies for new accounts, but will still honor all old accounts since the contracts say lifetime of the vehicle. At least from what i can recall, mine had no stipulations about modifications. I've worked with two Firestone's locally and both have honored the lifetime alignments. Both have even suggested the kits so i could go back to OEM spec across the board and make their life easier in the process. I don't know if bringing donuts, kolache's and boxes of pizza everytime i visit has anything to do with it.

WARAT here on the board did try going in for a new lifetime alignment account at the same shop i go to and was denied as he already had mods in place.

Rochester

iTrader: (8)

Which one, Sport-RWD, or non-Sport (and X)?

When Nissan says "Sport Tuned Suspension", they typically mean thicker sways and stiffer struts. Is that not the case on the G?

soundmike

iTrader: (6)

Sorry, RWD Sport. I have a 35S.

I'm not really sure what Nissan means by STS, some say it's the dampers, others the springs. The sways, for sure.

There is evidence, at least on the Z, that the dampers are what's different between models. It's likely the same with the G of same body trims.

Rochester

iTrader: (8)

Over on the Maxima forum, the SE model came from the factory with upgraded sways & struts, while the springs were the same across the board. SE owners who replaced their OEM Struts with Tokico Blues or KYB-GR2 saw a very mild improvement... which is why people referred to them as basically OEM replacements. (Hello, TireRack.com)

However, non-SE owners who went to Blues or GR2's would rave about the "upgrade".

I'm assuming the same over here with the G. ("assuming", LOL) But I've been fishing for a definitive answer to this for some time now. Figure someday I'll get it straight.

sneakers

iTrader: (1)

Sorry, not getting it...If you are a new firestone customer looking for life time alignment, and going in with mods already, they will turn you away too? Or is it any change after day one they will turn you away?...understandable but sucks.

Looking forward to your review on swift and kyb. We have similar criteria/needs. Had kyb on old old Supra which was my fist car and love them. Tks

soundmike

iTrader: (6)

I can relate, you're preaching to a long-time .Org'er. There's no denying the truth, Blues/GR-2s are OEM replacements. They're built better than OEM's, but they're certainly not high-performance adjustable dampers. 10-15% is all i'll give it, and is all KYB will claim. Tokico "ok's" pairing Blues with drops up to 1.5". KYB, up to 1.2".

If i had a press i could test the OEM S spring rate for you, but i don't have access to, or know anyone local with a shock dyno.

The Swift's for RWD were designed to work with OEM dampers, so going 10% stiffer with GR-2s are more than adequate, IMHO. Swift varies the spring rates according to type of vehicle, so there is a good chance they're doing that because (a) the dampers are different, (b) the oem spring rates are different or (b) because of weight differences between x or rwd, coupe or sedan. Even the design of the spring is different. The OP, with X, has compressible coils at the top. For us RWD'ers, the design is more typical equal-spaced coils.

Pretty much. If you go in with all OEM components, then change suspensions, they'll honor it for the life of the car. If you go in already with modifications, they won't let you sign-up for lifetime alignments.

I had GR-2s on my Maxima, too, with lowering springs. I was pretty happy with it, and that car also saw track time... heavy as it was.

Boywdr

I have the Firestone lifetime deal its worth it but only went once so far.

Rochester

iTrader: (8)

Little known but hardly a secret, is that the OEM struts on the Maxima SE were actually manufactured by Tokico. The non-SE struts were stamped "nissan", whoever actually made them.

Long-time Org'er here, too, Mike. Just for kicks, go back to the Org and look at the little signature in the banner image at the top of the site.

qpham45

iTrader: (8)

I just installed my KYB shocks the same day we chatted. I love the ride so much better now. I should have gotten these other then the Tanabe Pro SC coils.

Bota36

iTrader: (1)

I didn't need to get a camber kit. The camber was close enough to spec.