Well, time has come for some suspention work, so I have a couple of questions. I did some searching but coudn't really find the answer. I have recently purchased the S5:F wheels with tires;

Wheels: 19x9.5 +22 front, 19x10.5 +22 rear.
Tires: 255/35/19 front and 295/30/19 PS2's back

The car is an 06 base, and as far as suspnetion goes, everything is stock. I will probably have to get my fenders rolled and that is fine. Don't think it makes any difference but the car is turboed and will be making about 370whp.

So, I will be looking to lower the car a bit just to close the gap between wheel well and tire, nothing crazy. I would like to keep the cost down, and would avoid coilovers do to the high spring rates. The roads here are not exactly smooth so I WOULD LIKE TO RETAIN A STOCK LIKE RIDE QULITY. However, if there are coilovers out there that are capable of providing a stock like ride I would be interested in them.
I know the stock spring rates are about F314/R427 on the 05+ models, so I guess I am looking to stay in that range. (at least this is what I have found while searching) I also know that if I go lower than .8", I would have to get a camber kit for the rear, and that too is fine.

So what are my options out there? This will be a street car only with occastional and rare trip to the track. I am really not sure how much I would have to lower the car, but I am guessing about 1" would do the trick.

How do the stock shocks/struts respond to lowering springs? With other cars that I have delt in the past it is not a good idea, not sure about the Z's

Thanks for constructive input.

 

Based on what you want.

Bilstein HD shocks with RSR springs.

IMO, you do have a coilover product that will also do what you want, Bilstein Pss10 set to full soft and no higher then 4 or 5.

 

First off, I would double back through your post, title included, and fix the word suspension, it could get pretty hot in here.

If I understand what your asking, you bought wheels and you want to lower your car on some sort of suspension, be it springs, springs/struts or a full coilover setup. Springs that would be close to stock would be hotchkis, but I think the rear rates are closer to the 03-04 models. Cobb makes another nice setup.

It is my personal preference to upgrade the springs and the shocks. The struts are specifically valved for the springs on the Z to create a "balance" that Nissan saw fit. Changing just the springs could disturb the stock ride that you wish to keep and eventually cause the demise of your dampers.

Some owners only see coilovers as the logical choice. They offer a lot as they can be adjusted to the height you like and they come with dampers, some even adjustable. Stance seems to produce a very good product, based on what I've read.

Personally no one can tell you which is right, it's a personal decision, it is after all, your car. Do the leg work, read some reviews, see what people think of different setups. You probably know the biggest problem with springs is that they leave the rear higher than the front. Look into the DIY forums for the rear spring mount mod if you're interested.

Good Luck!

 

I would say Cobb springs are what your looking for. Get the springs and sways for now, later get a nice set of struts (D-spec or Koni) and you will have a great suspension for street, and it will work great on the track.

Or drop some decent cash on a set of KW V2's

 

Thanks for the input guys. I have done some research on the Cobb spring/sways, and it seems that the springs are softer than the 05+ stockers. I have also read something about the springs not seating properly, non of the posts I have read confirm or deny this.

I noticed some used, decently priced Tein coilovers. The spring rates are very close to stock, so that may be the way to go. It would be a bit over my budget, but maybe worth in the long run. I have also read that the Bilstein coilovers are great for street use, but are a bit much for me at this point.

 

Stiffer rates, and the seating part is no big deal. If it was a deal , Cobb would have pulled them from the market.

 

or even better, PSS...lower cost, extremely comfortable, and no need to worry about the damper settings

 

Care to link?

 

Lowering the car on the stock shocks/stock shock body length reduces your compression travel -resulting in bottoming out the shock depending on your ride height. Many coilover have shorter shock body lengths to offset the lowering, but at the cost of reduced droop travel which really hurts ride quality over big bumps as well as compliancy on a racetrack when using curbs.


FYI HKS Hypermax has 9/9Kg (500/500lb) springs and KW V1-V3 has Progressive springs. Both give great ride quality and have the droop travel to handle the rough, broken roads of big cities.

If the price point of either of these makes sense to you, I would look into it.


0.02

 

KW does not have linear springs out back

not all HKS Hypermax have those rates either, only the Hipermax III do. The Hipermax III Sport are higher 11 kg/mm front, 12 kg/mm rear)

 

Yup, I just made another post under the Brakes&Suspension section including the Hypermax III Sports wth 11/12 (616/672lb) linear rates. Because he was interested in a ride quality close to stock, I omitted the Hypermax III sports.

I was thinking "Hypermax" when I wrote "linear" after typing "V1-V3". But yes, the KW V1-V3 are Progressive springs (edited).

 

Well, after a few hours of searching it seems that the BC coilovers offer what I'm looking for. It seems that there are many people out there who are very happy with these, and it's hard to find any bad feedback. I really don't want to spend more than $1000 on my suspention at this point and the BC coilovers just qualify.

 

In my opinion suspension is not something i would cheap out on. But then again I got coilovers/sway bars/camber kits/ wider wheels and not a single power mod hah while your all power/turbo on stock suspension. Hotchkis would be the cheapest setup n decent, or koni yellows with softer springs. Bilstein PSS10's I hear have great ride quality but ud be paying a bit more, HKS hipermax RS or LS if you can find some used. Those are some of the softer setups i can think of.