Ztouring04

iTrader: (11)

iight guy heres the question, i have used the search button and have found many things on the tein springs but not much on the hotckis i only want about a .7 or .8 inch drop in the front and possible the same in the back....the tein caught my eye,.. but the front is .7 and the back is .6 ...i wanted more in the rear..so thats where the hotchkis kit comes in...what do you guys reccomend for my problem. Any problems, issues with either of the kits. and does anyone have any pictures. Please help i wanna order springs today.
P.s i have 18X8.5 front 18X9.5 rear rims

Thanks
Joe

Gsedan35

iTrader: (10)

If you car has the unrevised suspension, I'd go Hotckis.

If your car has the revised suspenison, I'd go S-tech.

Why?

Because of how the oem shocks differ between the two suspension's. Problem is, 2004 car's can have both oem setups.

To find out what you have take a look at your rear shocks and see if they have the same smooth non ribbed dust shields and shock part number stickers (see the yellow on the labels) as seen in the pic below. If they do, you have the revised suspension,. If not, they you have the unrevised suspension.

Ztouring04

iTrader: (11)

thanx when i go out to my car tomw i will have to look...i appreciate the help

Ztouring04

iTrader: (11)

does it help if i have an 2004.5 lol ????

Ztouring04

iTrader: (11)

verdict......i have smooth not ribbed dust shields but the stickers must of fell off...cuz i cant find them...so does that mean there are revised???

Gsedan35

iTrader: (10)

Well the revised suspension was introduced partway into 2004 production, we do tend to call the setup 2004.5. What date does the builders plate show on the driver's door jam?

See if your front shocks have these stickers on them.

Left front shock

Right front shock

Sensi09

I know the hotchkis springs were designed with the older suspension in mind, but it seems that people with the revised shocks have been pleased with the Hotchkis springs.

Oh and were the S-techs designed around the revised suspension.

Ztouring04

iTrader: (11)

now im confused because the drivers side date says 02/04 but the stickers on the front stocks look excatly like the ones in ur pictures..idk if this has anything to do with it but i have the knee pads on either side of the radio consel ..i thought only 04.5 had those.........

Ztouring04

iTrader: (11)

any idea?

Gsedan35

iTrader: (10)

You have the revised suspension. The unrevised shocks do not have any stickers applied to them, the shock part numbers are stamped into the steel case the fact that you say the stickers on the front shocks pretty much seals the deal. And since your rear dust shields are smooth vs having ribbing on the outside likely mean's rear stickers simply fell off.

Chef-J

iTrader: (58)

^ Gseden35 is crazy suspension tech.

OP go read Gseden35's post from other thread. That will help you alot


but From out of those two. i will go with hotchkis.

Ztouring04

iTrader: (11)

I must say you diffently know your stuff....Thank you for all your help i will be ordering the tein s-tech springs with the intensepower rear chamber kit....Thanx again

Gsedan35

iTrader: (10)

As with most all springs in the market for the Z, both were R&D'd with the unreivsed suspension in mind (Cobb being one exception, but even that is clouded by who really makes thier suspension stuff).

The Hotchkis setup has specific tuning where the rear rates are lower to try and extract better behavior as a reslut of less then ideal shock control on the unrevised suspension's shocks. That doesn't mean they won't work well on the revised suspension too. IMO however, when someone is considering both springs and they do have the revised suspension, IMO the S-tech's higher spring rates represents a better choice.


Unrevised spring rates 2003-2004
314/342

Revised spring rates 2004.5-2007
314/427 (rear shock dustshields/bump stops differ, with a soft foam insert added to the bumpstop makeup) Front sway's are 17% stiffer as well.

Hotchkis 350Z Linear springs .6”/.8”
Spring rates in lbs 340/330

Tein S-tech 350Z springs .7“.6“ (fronts are slightly progressive, rears are linear)
Spring rates in LBS 386/402 (estimated front intial rate is 327lbs)


In their own word's here is why the Hotchkis setup has the rear rates set lower then oem. Remember, they are talking about issues dealing with the unrevised 03/04 oem shocks. The reply was a email sent to a member here that I thought should be saved.

09-01-2004 06:34 AM
VandyZ

Here is an email I got from John Whatley of Hotchkis:
quote:


There is no error on the spring ratings. The rear spring is in fact softer than the stock. The reasoning behind this is that: during testing we found that the rear end likes to bounce under hard cornering. By reducing the spring rate in the rear we were able to get more MPH in slalom testing and stopped the bouncing that occurred. These springs in conjunction with our swaybars will be matched with each other to provide a neutral feel under hard cornering.

Ztouring04

iTrader: (11)

Gsedan35: I was wondering ..since you helped me pick out my spring setup( by the way i just ordered them lol).....if i was wanted to run a 25mm rear spacer and 20mm front spacer..which do u recommend HR?........I think those size spacers would look nice...i may have to roll the reara fender but thats not a problem.....Any insight...Thanks

Joe

fast kiwi

iTrader: (1)

I have an 05 and the hotchikis springs and sways.. love em..

Ztouring04

iTrader: (11)

glad to hear it but i bought the Tein lolol

Gsedan35

iTrader: (10)

I have used H&R and Eibach, both are great.

Ztouring04

iTrader: (11)

Thanks i personlly like the eibach...im gonna measure and either run 25mm or 20mm rear and 15mm or 20mm fronts

trodis

I have hotchkis (PPW) and my buddy has Eibach (Blk). I have had no problems with the Springs, its the friggen sway bars that I wanna chuck against the wall (i.e. Clunking, endlinks )

mw9

iTrader: (51)

I have an 03, what are some suggestions for a good spring for my car. Right now I am running 350evo sways. Looking for a mild drop, I just started autocrossing. Thanks