Narkotic, has the 04 Z. His Z didnt come with the "bounce" the 03 came with. I just realized he dirves a G, not sure if they even have it? Also his is a G35 as appose to the 350Z. So results btween models and years could vary.

Also the S-tune is covered under factory warranty. So if we have any problems down the line with the suspension we are covered no questions asked. If you car has any tire issues I would take care of it now b4 you get another suspension kit, b/c the dealer will not fix it.

 

i notice that is says in your sig. the S-tune was installed by a board member, would the dealer still cover that under warranty if you have any problems?

 

Yes they will, b/c I paid them to align my Z. The S-tune parts themselves are not covered, but covered under where i bought them from. I havent had any problems and the build quality of the parts shows that I prolly will not have any problems. The S-tune parts are alot more beefed up than the stock parts. If you could see the diference the stock parts look like they wouldnt even last near as long as the Nismo parts.

I believe this is dealer call. But yes after speaking with them if I have any issues as far as pulling to the right (which I dont), etc they will fix the problem.

 

so anyone else with a Z that has Tein Basic installed? need more reviews....

 

Tested an '04 G35 6MT Sport Coupe, right away you notice stock the bounciness of my Z isn't there.

One thing to keep in mind is the G has about 8" longer wheelbase, that alone will take away some of the bounce over highway joints, etc.

Climbing back into my stock '03 Z, have to say the '04 G drove better in general. Other difference was smoother tranny - maybe mine has gotten more rough than new, but with only 11k miles I doubt it.

Teins BTW have a great rep, well-deserved and at $850 the kit to me looks like a bargain. As for warranty, past 12 months the standard warranty is pretty weak from Nissan, and ends at 3/36 - how long will it take you to hit 36k miles?

 

No the longer wheelbase really doesn't take away some of the bounce. I have had the 350Z oem springs and struts on my sedan for awhile now. I have the same exact ride quality as far as bounce and porposing that 350z's have. Run a search here under bounce and the vast amount of stories you'll read could have been penned by me. Yes it's common logic to say a longer wheelbase in theory should take away some of those issues, but I'm telling you it's not enough to make any difference. Only thing I don't have is tire feathering. Love the the peformance increase I got with them over the OEM sedan suspension, their better in some really meaningfull ways, but the bounce is really annoying at times.

 

I did find another guy that has the tein basics on his Z, and here are the thoughts he posted:

i have tein basics on my Z. lowered my Z so that there's abt a 1" gap between tires and top of wheelwell. no bounce at all, but w/ 19's the ride is extremely stiff. i had eibachs before and the ride quality was much better. talked to tein and they said the basic is less stiff than their flex kit at its "softest" setting and the height of the ride will not affect the stiffness. had the basics for abt 600 miles and it seems like the ride is a little more forgiving now.

little_rod wrote on 11-20-2003 05:57 AM:
So they are stiffer than stock, but less stiff than the flex. Interesting that the eibachs were softer in ride quality, of course they are progressive and use stock dampers. How is your body roll??? Is the body roll alot less than stock and with the eibachs?? Is the body roll stiff enough that you don't have roll, so you don't worry as much about sways??

Thanks for your thoughts.

no need for sways if you're just driving on the street, canyon roads, etc., and would probably be fine for the track unless you're hardcore. while i do have gripes abt the stiff ride, given the cost and performance, i'm happy w/ the purchase. good luck on finding the right suspension for your Z!

 

why do you put 350z oem springs and structs on the sedan? just wondering..

350z shocks are the problem, not the springs that causes bouncy rides...

as for the tire feathering, it has something to do with toe-in (alignment). After proper adjustment, I no longer have tire feathering problem...

I think I had about 6 alignments so far.... sad

 

Was thinking about the Basic Kit, but if the ride is stiffer than Eibach, then i guess I will just wait for Tokico or Koni..

I currently have the Eibach Pro-Kit and it does ride better than stock springs, but still has minor bouncie rides..

 

Shocks/struts are actually dampers. They dampen compression and rebound so you won't feel like a wobble doll, just riding on springs. The Z has struts, but most of the time they're used interchangeably, not precise, but done anyway.

 

Well, from what he said Apexi350, they are not as stiff as the Tein Flexes in their softest setting. That says a lot, cause a lot of people here have the flexes, and seem to think they are pretty forgiving.

From what I see, they are a mild upgrade from stock. Adam, from Z1, says that they felt real similar to the Nismo S-tunes. They are coilovers, and they will probably not ride quite as good as stock as far as stiffness, but they don't seem to be as stiff as some of these other coilover systems. If you are looking for a smooth ride, coilovers in general, might not be for you.

 

I want a better ride, w/o bounce or harshness on the crappy roads where I live. Several members steered me away from coilovers altogether, I am waiting for the Konis to come out because they will be calibrated to work w/stock springs. I'm not interested in dropping the car at all.

 

Yes the problem is the struts, to much compression dampening without suffcient rebound control. The Koni's solve the problem by trading the compression dampening level's lower to rain in the ride quality, not a compromise I'll except, I'd rather of seen them increase the rebound.

I was lucky enough to have been given a test drive in a 350Z where I was able to bring the car up to 10/10th's of it's handling limits. It was a instrument in my hands, road surgery that is. Problem was, I couldn't get past the 2 seater thing with my wife. I drove the coupe and the sedan and handling wise they didn't measure up. Installing the 350Z suspension brought back the elements from that 350Z test drive that were missing from the OEM G35 setup. Catch is, I knew the ride quality vise's would come along to.

Things that are the same:
All G's and Z's have the same sway bars
The 350Z and the coupe use the same springs

Sedan's with sport spring rates are very simular to the coupe and the Z, but the coupe and Z are lower than sedan's via shorter springs (struts are even shorter)

As noted strut valuing from the Z to the G is wholly different

 

Yeah, we have talked about what you are looking for, before Boomer and I totally understand how the konis are best for you as I think they will be. For what you want, you don't need coilovers, just making the point that from what apexi350 is saying, he doesn't need coilovers either. The teins or s-tunes are some of the mildest coilovers out there as far as a performance upgrade.

BTW Boomer, have you looked at the Tein Comfort Spec Cruising master Type-CS?? They might be something you could look at.

 

What is your suggestion(s)? I am basically down to adding the Konis + 350Evo sways vs. the Nismo S-Tune + Nismo S-Tune sways. The ride sucks with the OEM shocks to put it bluntly. Car doesn't have to ride like that to handle well IMO. The new Tokico D-spec shocks sound interesting too. I expect a lot of new suspension solutions to come out this year. I don't want to drop the car anymore than the NISMO S-Tune does.

 

I think if you can wait, then get the Konis and 350Evo sways.. It will be better than Nismo S-Tune since you can adjust the shocks...

It's also cheaper too

 

I've waited this long. What's another 3 months.....

 

I have looked at them, but they are still more expensive than the Konis. Also, I am very familar with strut replacement, not coilovers and I have no way to determine if they are right for me, no test drives, no returns if I don't like them and double labor costs for installations. I am not a DYIer any more.