I was planning on lowering my car this weekend but decided I'm gonna go with ipod integration instead.
I was wondering, is there anyone out there that has rims and a kit(nismo) that hasn't lowered their Z? I'm being a big hypocrite cuz I hate seeing cars that have cheapo rims and the cars not lowered so it almost looks like a rally car. If it makes that big of a difference on the Z I would rather drop the car before I get the stuff instead of the other way around.

 

Drop it like its hot, no doubt about it unless you have bad roads....it handles better looks better helps with fethering(I THINK) or it did on mine. Drop it so many different options with the kit , BTW I have cheap wheels I didnt buy them (were on the car when I bought it) just havent coughed up the money 2-3k easy, I dont care if I curb or rash so i can be crazy nothing worse than rashing a 700 wheel.

 

You can do the Eibach springs for around $250. They're great and you can install them yourself with just some basic tools. Personally, I think the Z needs to be lowered to give it the right 'stance', but that's just me. There are lots of people out there with aftermarket rims on stock suspension though. It doensn't look too bad.

 

I lowered my Z with eibach springs and koni shocks, personally i think thats the best way to lower a car you drive everyday. Still shopping for wheels im riding on painted 18s they look phenomonal.

 

Would stocks shocks blow relatively quickly if lowered on the eibachs (~1 inch) and would you need to buy more stuff to adjust the camber?

 

i wanna lower my car too but im worried about the camber and wearing out my tires...

would i need springs, shocks and a camber kit to lower my car correctly? seems like alot of ppl just have springs and and shocks without a camber kit.

 

Most people are able to align to spec with the Eibachs, but you're usually at the limit of the camber adjustment to get there. If you want more adjustment room, a camber kit will run you around $400 plus install. I personally went with the "watch it and see" approach. When I clean my car, I check my tires for abnormal wear. If I see anything symptomatic, I will take appropriate action.

As for the shocks, I've heard that lowering may cause pre-mature shock wear, but I don't understand how. The damper on the piston is just riding one inch higher in the cylinder. I guess a better understanding of the architecture of the shock would help.

 

how low do the eibachs drop? so u guys think its ok if i just get springs + camber kit and forget about the shocks?

 

If you're going with the eibachs they claim a 1.2" drop in the rear and 0.8" drop in front. I did what kcobean did and just dropped it without getting a camber kit. I'm Also taking the wait and see approach. I had an alignment performed right after install and was able to get just to within specs. I've had mine on for about a year now, and I know kcobean has had his on a little longer, and we have not had problems. I would forgo getting the camber kit. If you have the money I would replace the shocks instead for a little better ride.
As to the question about premature shock wear. Before I lowed my car I spoke with a Nissan tech who was trained in Japan specifically for the Z. He said that Nissan performed tests on aftermarket springs and their effect on the suspension as a whole. From his mouth (if it really means anything) he said that there should be no more wear on the shocks with eibachs than with stock springs.
Hope this helps.

 

so a camber kit is not needed if using eibach springs? I want to lower my car soon. Also how easy would the eibachs be to install? I've installed my injen CAI, How comparative is it (difficulty wise)? If i choose to install Tein Basics instead, would i need a camber kit? And how difficult would it be to install the Tein coilovers? Thanks anyone

 

first Q: CAI install on 1-10 (10 being most difficult) would be about a 1. I'm pretty competent when it comes to cars, but I would say installing springs is closer to a 5-6. KCobean installed his himself so you should pm him.


Q2: The need for a camber kit seems to depend on how low you want to go.
Since the eibach drop about .8 in front and 1.2 in rear and their right on the threshold of being within specs I would assume that any lower and you might run into alignment issues. Not sure of the drop on the tein basics, but I believe it's less than the eibachs so you would probably be ok.

Q3: Unless you're a professional installer I wouldn't recommend installing coilovers by yourself. With coilovers you need to make sure the car is corner balanced after the install or else your suspension is going to be all out of wack. Coilovers aren't really a DIY.

 

If you do lower it, and are somewhere in the 12 to 15mm range of drop, it would be wise to install camber/toe front and rear kit. This will help get the alignment back to optimum and allow you to eliminate the front alignment problems and tire feathering.

Also, if you have an Enthusiast, Performance or Touring model, HD struts are also recommended. The Track model came with HD struts.

Good Luck!

 

My alignment shop was able to bring mine back close to spec (1.5 & 1.75 neg. cam) which is perfect since I Auto-X, with my Tanabe GF120s which lowered 1.1 inches both front and rear. I have managed to scrape the webbing off my Y-pipe flex joints even going extremely slowly over 1 speedbump.

I'm really tired and my sentence structure sux.

 

The suspension of all models of the Z are the same. The suspension changed in '04 in that the car got the Euro-spec suspension, but all cars got that change. Regardless of what model you have, the shocks are the same.

 

Thanks for the info, kcobean. I thought the '03 models were different. You just confirmed that. So I guess my post only applies to '03 vintage carZ, correct?

 

Well, from the hundreds of posts I've read here, my understanding is that all '03 cars had the same U.S. spec suspension. In '04, all models received the Euro spec suspension, so basically, there are only two types of suspension, either '03 or '04. There was no variation between models in either year.

 

I was under the impression the 2004.5 got the Euro suspension and the 2005's were an all new suspension.