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First question: Did you buy that kit off of craigslist? I've been trying to contact a guy down in SoCal.... If you bought that, excellent!!
Anyhow, keep us apprised of how it all goes. The S-Tune shock/spring setup is very nice - maybe not at the MSRP but discounted, to under a Koni/Eibach setup, it'd have been on my list of contenders.
Mic
Yes! This guy had some new nismo parts laying around including this s-tune kit, he originally listed it for 1000 but couldn't sell it, lowered to 500 and I jumped on it.
I was reading someone here did this:
Just swapped out the rear Nismo S Tune springs (505lbs) for Eibach Prokits (421 lbs). It lowered the rear another 1/2"..perfect. Rear end not as bouncy and isn't *tail happy* under acceleration in turns. Much smoother on rough pavement too. Glad I did this.
Foot note:
Car still has S Tune shocks and S tune front springs.
This set up is really amazing.
Car likes stiffer front and basically *stock* (revised) rear spring rates. I have Nismo S tune (448lbs) up front with Top Speed (Cusco) SB and 245/40/18 on 9.5s. Rear has Tanabe SB with Nimo S tune shocks and Eibach Pro Kit springs (421lbs) with 275/40/18 on 11's. Took car out today on mountain roads and could, for the first time, hammer it exiting the turns. I can now toss this car at will. High speed sweepers (110mph) are absolutely rock solid. Best of all ride is like butter...unless I hit expansion joints on some strips of fwy.
I finally got the set up I've been looking for. Maybe I should take 'er out to Willow Springs Big track...stay tuned.
As far as going to softer rear springs and going 1/2" lower in the rear:
Shifting is smoother now ..this is very noticable in hard acceleration. Obviously, the change in weight transfer and perhaps, the lower positioning of the rear, accounts for this.
Prokit lowered the rear too much (shy of 1.5") relative to the conservative (3/4") drop on the front S Tune springs. Not only that, car squatted a too much on acceleration. I still wanted a softer rear spring (S tune is 505lb) SOOOO>>>just put SWIFT SPEC-Rs on the rear with S Tune shocks (rated 460lb with 1" drop). No squat and improved handling . I would have put these on the front as well. They are a tad softer than S Tune springs (420lb vs 448) and lower front additional 1/2", but how can you really beat the S tune set up as it sits now?
It certainly changes the geometry! I think the modest 3/4" drop is fine, but you certainly could go another 1/2" with no problems in this set up. That would require alignment due to camber and toe changes. Handling would not suffer in this case and could actually improve some with the lower center of gravity. I felt the rear was simply too stiff at 500Lb rating and it would be a bit tail happy at times. The Swift springs are MUCH better in my opinion and lower car only 1" in the rear.
For now I'm just going to run the s-tune shocks and springs and see how it goes with OEM reviesed bars. Will post updates!
Yes! This guy had some new nismo parts laying around including this s-tune kit, he originally listed it for 1000 but couldn't sell it, lowered to 500 and I jumped on it.
I was reading someone here did this:
For now I'm just going to run the s-tune shocks and springs and see how it goes with OEM reviesed bars. Will post updates!
Dang!!! I saw that posting weeks ago then noticed it was still up a few days ago so just sent him a note. You got there first apparently and yer local!! (I was looking in LA CL because I'm going to be down there for a few days starting tomorrow!)
Awesome buy.... $500 for BRAND NEW S-Tune.... You done good!!
Anyone who does a fair bit of Autox , can you comment on having a set of sways? thinking of grabbing Cusco set and concerned about too much oversteer and lack of grip possibly for autox? I dunno..
I run 245 square setup now, eventually will go to 265 square. Thoughts? I also do about 3-4 HPDE's a year. Thanks!
Just received the sway bars (hotchkis) so on the next oil change, s-tune shocks/springs and sway bars will go in! Which are best settings to start?
Hole 1 = 1525 lbs/in (22% Stiffer than stock)
Hole 2 = 1845 lbs/in (48% Stiffer than stock)
Hole 3 = 2270 lbs/in (82% Stiffer than stock)
Hole 4 = 2855 lbs/in (129% Stiffer than stock)
Rear:
Hole 1 = 520 lbs/in (80% Stiffer than stock)
Hole 2 = 655 lbs/in (125% Stiffer than stock)
Hole 3 = 840 lbs/in (185% Stiffer than stock)
I was thinking 2 front and 1 rear.
I'm on 225/245 18 tires with s-tune suspensions and oem sway links.
Wellllllllllll..... all depends on your type of driving. The Z33 understeers from the factory - by design - and most advanced drivers want to neutralize that. Going 2 front/1 rear will flatten out the car but won't do a lot for the understeer because you're pushing up the roll stiffness, hence slip angle, of the front tires comparatively higher than the rear.
The place to start - and this may seem counterintuitive - is 1/1. The bars themselves already have a higher spring rate than stock and 1/1 will fairly neutralize the handling.
However, depending on your abilities - and I tell everyone they HAVE TO BE HONEST with themselves - you can go to a Hole 1 Front/Hole 2 Rear to completely take out the understeer and bias it towards mild oversteer. This is the set-up I started with, made some adjustments 2F/3R and found that to be too twitchy and returned to what I started with. Very happy with the balance and it's not so tail happy that I have to catch it.... except when it's done intentionally.
Keep in mind that this is a GUIDELINE only and what you ultimately choose to run after experimenting is entirely up to you. What's good for MicGander may not necessarily be good for the.... uhh, well, your cup of tea.
Wellllllllllll..... all depends on your type of driving. The Z33 understeers from the factory - by design - and most advanced drivers want to neutralize that. Going 2 front/1 rear will flatten out the car but won't do a lot for the understeer because you're pushing up the roll stiffness, hence slip angle, of the front tires comparatively higher than the rear.
The place to start - and this may seem counterintuitive - is 1/1. The bars themselves already have a higher spring rate than stock and 1/1 will fairly neutralize the handling.
However, depending on your abilities - and I tell everyone they HAVE TO BE HONEST with themselves - you can go to a Hole 1 Front/Hole 2 Rear to completely take out the understeer and bias it towards mild oversteer. This is the set-up I started with, made some adjustments 2F/3R and found that to be too twitchy and returned to what I started with. Very happy with the balance and it's not so tail happy that I have to catch it.... except when it's done intentionally.
Keep in mind that this is a GUIDELINE only and what you ultimately choose to run after experimenting is entirely up to you. What's good for MicGander may not necessarily be good for the.... uhh, well, your cup of tea.
Mic
You're hysterical! Yes, naturally the Z really wants to understeer bad. I remember reading the s-tune rear springs to be quite stiff, so I'll start off with the sways on 1F/1R and report here. Thanks for the quality info dude.
All right! So I finally got around installing all new sways and suspensions.
To install the sway bars I decided to check out Your Dream Garage in Baldwin Park CA. They let you use a lift and charge by the hour, all tools included. Very neat spot. Ended up having to unbolt the mid pipe and rubber hanger to get the rear bar. The s-tune tune shocks and springs went in without extra headaches.
I took it for a rather quick drive through the canyon and it's immediately noticeable how the ride is now more anchored and rigid. Now opening the throttle doesn't cause the rear to bob like before and cornering at higher speeds is way more comfortable and can push harder with zero bumpiness.
I set the s.bars at 1/1 like we discussed and although the rear feels stiff and intuitive to control I feel the front is still subject to excessive side to side sway. For this test I jerk the wheel from side to side at lower speed 25mph.
Overall I'm very happy with the s-tune suspensions but I was honestly thinking the settings would be more extreme. This set keeps the ride still very very comfortable.
12-17-2015, 10:39 PM
