essejd

THMotorsports tells me that the eibach pro street s coilovers are discontinued. noooooooo

terrasmak

iTrader: (8)

Spring mount mod, it will take you down an extra 1/2 to 3/4 inch

CptWiggles

IMO if you're looking for ride quality/ performance at a good price, you go with Bilstein shocks and Hyperco or Eibach springs. If you're looking for some quality coilovers for street/ mild track use, you go with Ohlins Road & Track coilovers. If you're looking for a more track oriented setup, then Truchoice phase 4+. And if you're just looking to slam your car then go with whatever junk is the cheapest, they're all the same.

dreamspeed

iTrader: (1)

Nope, it's been awhile but I still have the Z

I actually just ended going with Eibach pro kit springs with OEM shocks and called it a day. Shortly after I got a new car so the Z has just been sitting in the garage except for the occasional HPDE. Over time I slowly began modding the car more and more for the track since I don't drive it on the street anymore. Funds are limited and it's pretty low priority but when I do get around to upgrading the suspension i'm probably going to go with either KW V2s or Bilstein PSS10s

ZROCM

iTrader: (6)

I installed a set of Stance coilovers. Just lowered my '04 350Z an inch from stock height. I haven't finalized the height yet, but I understand one shouldn't go lower than 1.25 inches, otherwise the handling is not as good as OEM. I have the following tire sizes: 245-40x18 +25 offset on the front and 275-40X18 +22 offset in the rear. I realize that damping settings are a personal preference, but wondering what people have found to be close to OEM or better. Also wondering if people have set damping different on the front vs. the rear.

My objective is not to be running on the track, but spirited driving the curvy country roads and everyday usage.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

stogey420time

iTrader: (1)

dreamspeed

iTrader: (1)

Updated my original post with the same info below for the lazy people who don't want to read through to the end



UPDATE 9.4.16

I can't believe it's been 5 years already. I do still have the 350z although it mostly just sits in the garage. I take it out once a month or so for a 30 mile loop so stuff doesn't gunk up, dry up, seize up etc. I try to do 4-5 HDPEs a year and will do more with time/money permitting.

Since the original post i've installed a set of Eibach pro kit springs on the OEM shocks and taken it to about 10 track days. They performed decently enough on the track I guess and on the street they were great.

After ~10 track days and ~100k miles the OEM shocks finally gave up and started leaking so it was finally time for an upgrade.

My top priorities were price and reliability + brand reputation/safety. I can't really justify spending much more than 1k since the Z is just a toy at this point and because the car is basically slowly being modded to just be a track car (Open track days not serious competition) I value reliability and safety over more features/bells and whistles. To be honest I was pretty open on whether or not the kit needs to have adjustable dampening or height.

Building on my previous research (from 5 years ago) I poured through 100s of posts and compared dozens of spring/shocks specs and narrowed it down to the few options below.

Tein Basis - height adjustable coilovers, no dampening adjust, linear spring rates ~500-600 dollars - These were a top contender due to the low price, reputable brand name and the fact that the spring rates are linear which I much preferred over progressive spring rates.

BC coilovers BR type - height and dampening adjustable coilovers, linear spring rates ~1000-1200 dollars - On paper these coilovers ticked every box and should be perfect but maybe it's the "brand snob" in me or maybe it's just because I don't have any experience with the brand to make a more informed decision but eventually I wrote these off as well as all of what i call the "2nd tier brands" like Ksport, Stance, Megan etc.

Tokico DSPEC spring + shock kit - non height adjustable, dampening adjustable, linear spring rates. These were actually perfect for me, a matched spring and shock set with adjustable dampening for around 600 dollars! But unfortunately these were discontinued years ago and i couldn't find any for sale @ 600 dollars. I did find a set on ebay for around 1200 which I almost bought.

Koni yellows - No introduction needed for these benchmark shocks. These would have been a no brainer if I already had a set of linear spring rate springs. But because I was adamant on having linear spring rates it would mean I would have to buy a new set of springs as well as the Konis which were already ~800-900 bucks.

KW1 - Height adjustable, non dampening adjustable, progressive spring rates, ~1800 dollars. I've read nothing but good things about KWs and was willing to blow my budget to get them but they come with progressive springs. In fact the vast majority of kits come with progressive springs which made my search all that much more difficult. I know you can buy linear spring replacements but then that would really be blowing my budget out of the water.

To be honest, there are probably plenty of kits that are of good quality and would work for my requirements.... but like many of you, I have limited first hand experience with different brands. The average person probably have only purchased and installed a handful of brands over the years on various cars they've owned.... anything beyond that they are relying on what their friends tell them or *gasp* internet hearsay.


So, what did I finally end up going with?

Bilstein PSS B14s - height adjustable, non dampening adjustable, linear spring rates front and progressive spring rates rear, ~1200 dollars. I would have preferred linear spring rates BOTH front and rear but i guess i was willing to accept progressive spring rates in the rear.

So what made me decide on the Bilsteins? Well, my "specs requirements" were pretty open so it all came down to price + reputation/reliability/safety. Once i narrowed down the list the main deciding factor was basically brand reputation. I know that brand name isn't everything BUT in the absence of additional first hand experience or much "verified" second hand data it's what people tend to rely on to give them the "warm and fuzzys."

There were other reputable brands on my short list but Bilstein is one of the very few brands where you basically never read any negative reviews about. Some might prefer other brands but my experience is that Bilstein is pretty much universally accepted as a company that makes a "good product."

Initial impressions from some street driving and canyon runs are that the coilovers feel great but I haven't had a chance to try them out on the track yet and I know that what may seem awesome on the street are in fact "not up to task" on the track. Maybe in a year or so after i get in a couple of track days i'll update this post again

Side note: the Bilstein housing is aluminum unlike the steel OEMs so DO NOT use the OEM torque specs.... it was pretty painful to have to re thread one of my brand new coilovers because i made that mistake

I know this is a super long post but hopefully it will be helpful to other Z enthusiasts