so its time for a susp upgrade and I've heard good things about both the s-tech springs and the tvs kit (springs and sways). they both lower the car less than an inch and get rid of the bounce which is what I want. my questions are:

1. Is the tvs kit is worth the xtra money? (I've seen the s-tech around $100 and the tvs around $390) why?

2. Where is the best/cheapest place to buy either?

3. Does one appear to help with the tire feathering/wear issue more than another?

4. Is this a relatively easy install job that I can do myself given I have a spring compressor? What about the sways?

 

anyone???

 

>> Where is the best/cheapest place to buy either?

People around here might give you the name of the place they own Just check all the leads you can, the sponsors here, google, froogle, and yahoo products. Make sure to check on shipping because it can be high at some places!


>> Does one appear to help with the tire feathering/wear issue more than another?

If it's just springs and sways, I really doubt it. But I'm no expert.


>> What about the sways?

You can do the sways yourself. It was pretty hard for me, especially getting the rear OEM sway out, but I'm a total noob at this stuff. I got in a jam because I couldn't fit a big enough bar to get the bolts off the front. But my brother who has been re-building entire cars since he was a kid showed me all the tricks, like hooking together two wrenches. Apparently Nissan used lock-tite type stuff.

 

The TVS kit is more expensive because it come WITH swaybars, where the Tein S-Tech springs ... are well, springs only.

The S-Tech is a progressive spring, and the Hotchkis is linear, which will affect handling. Read up and that and decide which type of ride you would like.

The cheapest place to buy these is at GSCMotorsports or Titanmotorsports.com ... they are both great sellers and can help you.

You can install these yourself if you have some mechanical knowledge.

No, you do not need a spring compressor.

I have the TVS+1 setup springs and sways (full/med. settings) and think it is by far the best $400 I have ever spent on a car.

Happy shopping,
Jim

ps - here's a pic of the drop for you.

 

Also, the tire feathering is a problem with the camber/toe settings. This WILL be affected by the drop. With both of these springs, you will be able to get back to spec in order to eliminate feathering, but that is not a gaurantee ... as all Z's seem to be different about that somehow.

 

JimRHIT thanks for that little bit of info. Are you using your stock shocks with the aftermarket springs? Is it recommended to change the shocks when changing the springs or will the stock ones be just fine?

 

yes, I am still on the stock shocks. It is recommended, but I was not about to spend $800 on Konis. I will run these for a while and then get coilovers when I can. The ride on stock shocks is fine

 

I've gone w/ just the Hotckis springs for now but plan on ordering the sways next. I've heard the Tein give a "raked" look. The spring rates on the Hotchkis rear springs are less then the stock eliminating the bounce when going over bumps. In terms of handeling the hotchkis perform great for daily driving even w/o the sways. The ride is no worse than stock. I got mine from GSCmotorsports, talk to Stephen. Here are before and after pics

Before



After



Good luck

 

You can also get the Teins from www.creativeautoworks.com, we plan to be a site sponsor starting june 1st.

James

 

MethodRN, were you able to get the camber back in spec with the Hotchkis springs on?

Thanks.

 

thanx for all the info guys...will definately be posting pics as soon as I get the new shoes and susp on

 

No alignment yet. Do to have it next week.

 

raked look....
any pix of tein springs.????anyone not like them....
i have 285s in the rear...will they fit?

 

does hotchkis spring include polyurethane bump stops?

 

The Hotchkis springs do NOT include any type of bump stops. Also the front springs were packed in the box that said "rears". Which led to a moment of confusion!

 

Do the S-techs include bump stops? I am also debating over these 2 springs.

 

Excellent info all. It's been very helpful for us newbies. Can anyone explain what a "raked" look is?

 

A raked look is a high rear, low front...like an old muscle car. Somehow everyone wants to believe that hotchkis does this, but it does not, at all ... considering the drops are equal F=R (pretty much). I believe the H-Techs do not drop the rear enough and give that raked look

 

Raked look is when the front is lower than the rear. Here is a pic courtesy of someone on this forum that has the Tein Stechs. With the hotchkis you actually get a little lower in the rear and gives it a perfectly strait looking drop. BEN

edit- we are talking a differnce in milimeters here, but for me, I swear I can see the rear higher than the front. BEN

 

If you decide on Hotchkis and you want springs and sways, go with a TVS kit versus buying separate items. It's cheaper. I got mine from Greg at www.gscmotorsports.com