Hi MyG37,

Long time reader, first time poster. I've had my 2012 xs Coupe for about a year now, and I've been lurking around here for about as much time. Looking to start doing some mods, and just wondering what labor costs I should be expecting. Looking to have the following installed next month:

Eibach Pro Kit Lowering Springs
New KYB Shocks front and rear
SPC Front and Rear camber kit and Rear Toe bolt
G37 Sedan Rear Sway Bar
H&R 20mm Spacers all around (that should get me flush w/ no rubbing on stock 19" Sport wheels, right?)

I will be supplying all the parts myself, just looking for a ballpark price to expect for labor. I've received one quote of $800 for 2 days of work, and after reading a few posts on here on spring installation being in the $200 range, this doesn't seem right to me. Looking forward to your input. Thanks.

 

Shops usually charge around $500 to do a suspension swap. Probably closer to $700 if you are doing the full camber kit. Obviously location has a lot to do with it but those figures should be in the ball park. Your quote of 800 doesn’t seem egregious.

The cost of buy lowering springs and new struts isn’t all that much less than just doing coilovers. You may as well just do coils. The only ones I would use are BC on the cheap end, KW on the higher end. I have had both and both are good.

I used to have spacers on my stock wheels before I realized the car needs nicer wheels and it’s wasn’t 20mm all around. It was 15/20 I think. I don’t remember if the 15 was front or back but if you search you’ll find it. I do believe that is the consensus choice for what your looking for.

 

That looks like 6 to 8 hours of time on the lift. Add to that a 4WD alignment... It's just math. Your $800 quote was fair.

 

That sounds fair. I'd say budget for $1000 considering alignment and whatever random shop charges you get.

 

The $800 quote does not include alignment. I considered coilovers for a time, did plenty of research here on the forum and well as other sites, and came to the conclusion that someone who doesn't track, doesn't need to adjust height, and uses the vehicle as a dd, springs would be the right choice. Plus AWD just doesn't have great coilovers choices overall.

I would like to hear some more opinions, but the general consensus thus far is that it's a fair quote, which I'm kinda relieved to hear. It's from a good independent mechanic I know. I was just a little surprised, I was expecting something in the 5-600 range, not including alignment.

 

I'm on OEM 19x8.5 +43 square with stock size 225/45, I don't think I would have any excessive poke or rubbing issues with 20mm spacers all around. I've read others going up to +25 in the rear, then again I've read others going with your suggestion as well. User Ryne has been a huge inspiration in regards to the mods I want to do, so I'm following alot of the suggestions he's made in his posts since we have the same model.

The spacers are temporary, new wheels will come in the summer. Already decided on Forgestar F14 Deep Concave 19x9.5+25 squared in Bronze Burst with 255/40 tires. Would love to hear thoughts on this setup as well.

 

F14s look pretty cool. You know they aren’t forged tho right, Lol? My wheels are 19x9.5/10.5+35 and are a perfect fit. I stressed over wheel size for a while but finally figured it out. Not saying +25 is bad, I dunno. But I know my size is great. Hope that helps.



Pic of fitment for reference.

 

Yes, well aware they aren't forged, lol. Your car is looking nice, what are you dropped on? Do you happen to have any shots showing how flush they are? Thinking of going with 25 offset based on the fitment of Ryne's Work wheels that he had on his G. Great stance and I believe they were deep Concave as well, and he had no rubbing. Here's a link when he sold them.

https://www.myg37.com/forums/private...are-setup.html

 

Below is a pretty dumb pic of my car but it shows the angle you want to see a little better. I had KW coils and swapped them for BC b/ I thought my KWs were bad. Turns out they were fine and it was lower control arm that was the problem. Talk about wasting money to downgrade my suspension.

I’m on 235/35 in the front and 275/35 in the rear. I think the tires on the car you linked (255/40) are WAAAAY too big. I’m really not a fan of the way his set up looks with those tires but that’s just my opinion. I may go up in tire size a smidge as I’m currently gearing my car to be a little more comfortable.

 

I think he might be gone with that size to further eliminate wheel gap and for a more comfortable ride. And I feel that beefier tires provide more protection against potholes and such. I agree it looks a bit odd, like it makes the wheels look like 18's instead of 19's, but I like it. Almost went with those wheels too, just not a huge fan of the color options available.

I see your rear wheels have some serious concavity to them, Im assuming that and the fact you went with a 10.5 width is the reason the +35 offset looks nice and flush, but I think you could've safely gotten away with +30 or +25 up front, though it wouldn't have been a huge difference.

 

Yea, with concave wheels it looks best when there is a big difference in concavity between front and rear. At least I think so. You are right tho, the rear is a little more aggressive looking (sticks out a smidge more) than the front. However, you can always add like a 5mm spacer over your stock lugs if wanted to but you can’t go the other way. So better safe than sorry. I was worried about rubbing and I like being low. If someone walked up to me with a fendor roller and 5mm spacer and said they’d do it for me than sure, but I think it looks really good already.

 

I think your G looks really good as well. I really like the super deep Concave look in the back, and I know I can go staggered with the AWD, but I really like the idea of rotating my wheels too. Still have time to decide.

Once I get my work done next month I'll post some pics with the car lowered and the spacers (gonna go over some older posts while I'm working over the weekend to decide whether to go with 15/20 or 20 all around.) I'm super indecisive, so I always defer to lots of research to make up my mind. That's how I ended up with my G in the first place. Sometime in June/July I'll post pics with the new wheels.

 

Finally got the work done over the last couple of weeks. First got the Eibach springs and rear G37 RWD sway bar installed, as well as H&R 20mm spacers all around, and a week later I had the SPC Front and Rear Camber kit and rear Toe bolt installed, with an alignment, and had the spacers retorqued. Car drives beautifully, and looks great with the drop. Before the camber Kit install and alignment the front was sitting at about 27" from ground to fender, and the rears were about 26.5". Afterwards all 4 corners are around 26.75".

Here are some before shots




And the After shots




With the 20mm spacers the wheels sit flush enough, with zero rub on stock 225/45 19's. Happy with how it all came out.

 

Well done! You did your research, set reasonable expectations, and are happy with the results. Can't ask more than that.

 

if you plan on keeping car long buy lifetime alignment from Firestone for 150 bucks. I align mine every 6 months and the tech sets it to my numbers