Installed a set of Hotchkis lowering springs on the Z this wkend with a friend of mine; very pleased with the results.

The install was relatively simple, a lot easier than the Camaros/Firebirds I've worked on before. Every bolt was accessable and didn't run into any hangups. Tip: make sure the top strut nut is on tight or you may get some cluttering noise on your test drive

As for the springs, they dropped the car approx 3/4'' all around for an even stance. The car rides better (softer) than stock compliments of the rears and has slightly less pitch & roll - though it squats more in the back on highway sweepers. The alignment is all well within stock specs and visually, the car looks awesome, no excessive camber.

I recommend these springs to anyone looking to lower the car just a little, on a budget. $140 for springs, $75 alignment, $40 to take front struts to a shop and swap the springs. Here are a few pictures - enjoy. Brian.

 

Sweet - so was it within specs after you installed the springs and let it settle, or are you saying it had enough adjustment left in the camber to adjust it back to spec.

I'm getting ready to do the same thing - can't wait. Are you using the same shocks? I get comflicting indications that we'll wear out our shocks using these aftermarket springs, others say we'll be fine . . .

 

i dont have personal experience with hotchkis springs, however, it is my understanding that they have a similiar spring rate to stock

therefore, they shouldn't wear out the stock shocks any moreso than stock springs. it's another question all together as to whether the stock shocks are properly dampening the stock springs, especially with the earlier model z's. you won't meet anyone that would say that swapping the stock shocks for a good aftermarket shock would be a bad thing.

hope that helps

pp

 

The car was realigned within stock specs after the spring install. I am running the stock dampers (struts and shocks) because these springs are only slightly stiffer in front than stock and softer in rear. www.hotchkistuning.com < info here. If you have the $ to upgrade your shocks too, however, I'd recommend that - makes a world of difference especially if you've got some miles on the stock pieces. Consider Bilstein, Koni, Tokico - there are some others...

 

Im another happy owner of the Hotchkis kit, springs and sways. I would like to give you some advice though. There were a few threads months ago about shifting of the sways due to lack of collor rings around the shaft. I didnt pay it no bother and thought to my self, whatever. Well, 2 months later, sure enough my sways have shifted about 3-5 inches front and rear ones, causing my suspension to bottom out on certain bumps where it hits the bushing on the sway bars. Its an easy fix though. There are a set of collars you can order from this company. Cost like 30$ for all 4. Problem fixed.

click on this link for a good review and website with part numbers you will need for the collars.

BEN


https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....t=hotchkis+fix