2011 G37x here and I am trying to get my new Eibachs installed. When I removed nut off of the right side of the A-arm (as you are looking into wheel well) I could only get the bolt pulled out just past the right spindle of the A-arm. The left side of the A-arm was pushing down against the bolt from the top.
I could have used a mallet and screwdriver to back the bolt out however I was afraid of marring the threads or worse, not being able to line up the A-arm and lower control arm for reassembly.
Ultimately, I pried the A-arm up enough to get the left side back in to re-assemble.
I also tried putting a jack under the lower control arm but that did not help at all and simply raised the entire car rather then the control arm.

Do I need to jack stand both sides of the car to relive tension on the strut and lower arm or something?? Any help is certainly appreciated. Thanks!!

Photo of the dreaded bolt...

 

im confused

you dont have the car on jack stands ?

 

Yes, but only on one side. Is this what is binding up the suspension? Thanks!

 

I am going to lift both sides tonight and attempt this again.. Wish me luck

 

All done and very happy with the look so far. I will know more once they have an opportunity to settle a bit.

If anyone else has questions or needs help installing springs on AWD I am happy to try and help.

 

Glad you were able to get it finished, looks great. Post a review when you get some time w/ them at the link in my signature. Nice that you want to help others too

 

Nice. I had to pay $200 to get my Swifts installed on my XS. How's the ride? I find the Swifts combined with the Sports Rear sway bar made a big difference in tightness and body roll, with very little loss in ride quality. Wheel shopping time for me now.

 

$200 for 4 springs? Guy here in WI was charging me $400. Expensive than the spring itself.
So I skipped for now...l

 

Wow that's steep it took them 2 hours to install so that would be $200/hour labor that's insane.

 

Do you need to align the suspension after? I have a 17" wheels with 235/55/17 tires, I am worried that the rear will rub. Is there a lowering spring that will only drop by 1" ?

Here is my car....the rim offset is a bit out, plus a 235 wide tires. Your rear tires top tread after the drop seems to sit very close to the fender, but has enough clearance not to hit the fender, but mine is definitely going to hit on the rear.

 

Wow that drop looks great! Im curious as well on how the ride quality is

 

$200 for full install and alignment would have been a bargain in my mind. I solicited 4 quotes prior to self installing with a range of $450.00 to $700.00 all of these did include alignments as well.

The ride is tight and firm but not rough at all. At speed my wife didn't notice any difference on smooth roads or interstate driving. IMO this is how the car should feel from the factory. In corners it more closely resembles my old Acura TL A-Spec suspension. The stock SUV like body roll has basically gone away so cornering has improved drastically resulting in a much more fun/sporty drive. Road feel has improved greatly and more closely resembles the wife's BMW. I have much more confidence in the car and, for me, feel like the suspension more closely matches the performance of the engine. Large pot holes would be a concern but I always try to miss them or slow down even with stock suspension so should be a non issue. The benefits far outweigh any additional harshness I may experience from a seldom bad spot of road or pot hole.

Another note on the install: Once I had the fronts removed it was apparent that I was stuck. The spring compressor I rented would not begin to fit into the new springs. I ultimately took the struts to a local shop which I luckily found nearby and had the new springs installed for $15 each with no wait. This was a bargain and well worth it in my mind, especially after seeing how much compression the springs required before the upper spring seat and bolt can be threaded onto the strut. Like many others have mentioned, the rears are easily completed in 30 to 40 minutes. If you intend to perform this install as a DIY, coordinate with a shop beforehand on installing new springs on front struts to save some time and set aside a day to get this done.

Going to let them settle for a week or two and get a rotation and alignment.

 

You will need an alignment after the spring install. Most ppl recommend allowing the springs to 'settle' for a week or so beforehand.

As I understand it, the Eibachs and Swifts are both pretty mild drops. The rear does tend to 'sag' on these cars however another user, Rochester, found and ingenious and cheap solution to the issue that I may implement on my ride. Droopy bum fix.
The only other option would be coilovers or air suspension.

 

Vamarris did you need the spring compressor on the rears as well? Or just the fronts? I'm debating swapping my rear springs, but not sure how much work it would be (or how much time it would take!)

 

Rear springs are separate from the shocks so it's much easier doing the back since you don't need to compress and install on the shock tube.