hello everyone, I have a 2012 G37x AWD sedan. I wanted to lower it on some Swift springs to remove that ugly wheel gap. Now my question is, will I be able to run this setup without the requirement of front and rear camber arms? I’ve seen a lot of mixed reviews on this topic, some people say they were able to get it back into spec without the arms and some people say get the arms. The AWD Swift springs have a 1.3 inch drop in the front and a 1 inch drop in the back which doesn’t sound that significant. Anyone who’s running this setup if you could let me know what you guys did it would be greatly appreciated!

 

Once fully settled, the Swift drop was slightly greater than advertised on RWD. I spent a year running the “good enough” alignment and wore through a set of PS 4 rear tires in 15k miles (fronts were still 60% intact) and saw MPG suffer because of excessive toe. Installed adjustable rear camber and front upper control arms, then set my angles to factory spec and the car felt much better behaved as the Swift springs are an excellent upgrade to the sport suspension. More on my scenario here: https://www.myg37.com/forums/brakes-...trol-arms.html

 

Thank you for your reply! I mean over here in Canada we have winter tires so I’d be constantly swapping out my tires from summer to winter. To me it seems like 15k miles is pretty good honestly for not running any front or rear camber arms. I might just get the springs for now and get the arms later on, I’m not trying to spend too much right now, unless obviously the alignment is really out of spec. Thanks again!

 

For high performing summer-only tires, like the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S, 15k miles is about all you can expect. Negative camber will cause the inner edge of the tire to wear out a lot quicker than the rest of the tread. You have to keep an eye on it, because it's the inner edge.

About the only benefit to swapping tires twice a year is you get to assess the wear carefully off the car. Of course, there's the rabbit hole agonizing over tread depth on both sets. Is this the year I should buy new winters? And so on. This isn't a problem for people in San Diego.




I had a very similar experience.

Swift springs are close to perfect for AWD G37 Sedans, but take a lot more work to get where you want with the RWD Sedan.

Clean looking car, Socket. Stock, but not stock. It would take someone who knows the car to notice the details.

 

I agree as that's the warranty on the tires because of the staggered setup (30K / 2 = 15K). However, the inside of 2/3rds of the tire was worn down to around 2mm where the outer 1/3 was similar to the front. Odd wear, but I think the pattern is common when the toe is excessive. I actually added the rear arms plus toe bolts first then aligned and that helped alot. I then decided to add the front UCAs later (my mechanic convinced me, guaranteed I'd be happier) as the front was not nearly as bad (pretty even wear, not excessive). One thing I can say is with the added camber in the 2 degree range and excessive toe, the car felt like it "snapped back" (responded almost too quickly) when you cut the wheel. My alignment guy/mechanic told me that he runs alot of +toe and camber on his circle track dirt race car for that reason. Learned something new. Factory alignment specs are much more balanced for everyday driving. The better mpg was also a surprise, but it makes sense as the added toe on the back tires made it such that they were dragging to some degree.

If you want to learn more about the various alignment specs, the support guys are Mevotech (they make the UCAs, actually rebrand SPC arms) are a wealth of knowledge.

 

Agree that tracking the inner edge is tricky as the first 1/3 is really all you see when one washes the car. I also agree that this should be a common wear pattern for negative camber, but that wasn't the case as the rear camber was out on the rear on the "+" side. It was the damn toe that was screwed up by the lowering and the "good enough" alignment that the suspension shop performed when they installed the springs. One of those "we can't provide a printout because the printer is broke, but everything checks out ok" alignments.

Since the AWD doesn't share the same spring rate as the RWD Sport model, the Swift springs will likely feel more firm compared to stock AWD. I think the shocks/struts are the same though, but I could be wrong. While I agree that the AWD shows alot of wheel gap, I grew up back east and fully understand why Infiniti and others design it that way. Personally, I'd run adjustable/coil overs if I lived where there was snow. My ride height is completely impractical in that environment. If it starts snowing where I live, we have alot bigger issues to worry about than spring selection and even the war in Ukraine.

@Rochester Thanks for the kind words. Similar to you, my goal with the car has always been to add elements to the car that enhance the OEM look, not change it completely. I always feel like I've succeeded when someone says "I normally don't like those cars, but for some reason yours looks better than most I see, but I don't know why". The problem with this approach is that the mod bug is short lived and one starts studying 370Z chassis bracing to figure out what's different from the G in order to invest in the next mod :-)

I'm waiting for your girl to get out of college so you will sell me your car as it's always been one of my favorites here on the community, and clean 6MT sedans that aren't molested are in short supply. I can see myself as a 2 G guy. How many more years do I need to wait?

 

That was random. Didn't know this was a thing for you.

The likely answer is 2 years. I honestly feel myself drifting away from that fierce pride of ownership I had for the first 10 years. The malaise I'm feeling is a combination of my age, the lack of mod plans, and the few miles driven. I feel in a very weird place on the topic.

 

I’m in a similar place myself. My current car cost me almost nothing, and I find enjoyment in changing fluids 2x as often as they require; all while driving only 5-7k miles per year. Still kicking and screaming as I’m not ready to take the blue pill and move over to the appliance/EV side.

”You take the red pill... you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes."

 

That's twice what I do across two vehicles, lol.

 

Post pandemic, I wonder if most people are generally driving alot less. I find myself looking for reasons to drive the car just to make sure that the battery doesn't die.

You would never be able to tell looking at traffic patterns in San Diego as the traffic is much worse now because so many people with flexible schedules have relocated here from LA and San Jose.

 

Battery tender. It's not just for winter these days.

 

In the time period 4/2022 to 5/2023 (this latest OCI) my G was driven 1,986 miles and my beater pickup 914 miles. ALL of that was local errands/ grocery getting/ trips to Lowe's/ HD. etc. I can not speak to others, but I know that I just DO NOT have the free time to "joy ride" or travel. This is what makes it so difficult justifying/ finding a 3rd vehicle (a 'Vert of some sort) to add to the stable.
I can not stress this enough... ANY modern car that sits for more than 1-2 weeks at a time undriven, needs to have a tender of some sort. I know some will argue it's "overkill" or "inconvenient" but, IMO, it is a cheap insurance policy against that one time you REALLY need to use the car and all you get is a "click" from a weak battery.

I have three (3) tenders hooked up- two (2) vehicles and one (1) tractor. When I need to use either, I unplug it, go about my business, and when I return I plug it back in. Always ready. Then again, I always carry a jumper pack as well. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯