Hi guys. Z newbie here. Just got my 03 Z a few weeks ago and I noticed that the suspension seems to be very stiff. I understand that sports cars are designed to have stiffer suspensions but this one feels far from that. Its like back in the cheap old days when you want to lower your car, you just cut a few turns from your stock spring and put them back in, you'll feel like riding a bull when passing on uneven pavement. I thought maybe the previous owner did some tweaking and tried to make the ride stiff. Is it possible to adjust the OEM suspension?

Everything is stock. Its rolling on 18" 2003 OEM wheels with Goodyear Eagle GT 225/45 fronts and 245/45 rears.

Based on the diagram below, the front seems a bit low since I measured the wheel arch height to be 26.375in (FRONT) and 27.625in (REAR). Tire pressure kept at 35psi cold.




I know that when running on low profile tires eg. 35, 30, you'd feel the texture of the pavement but still have the same "bounce" on the car. Since I have slightly higher profile tires, I don't feel the pavement but the car bounces a lot especially when I'm on this part of the I-5 where the road seems to have a very small "stair-like" effect. The car literally feels like its going down a set of stairs.

I'll see if I could get into another stock Z and compare how it feels. CHEERS!

 

Can you take pics of your suspension??? climb under and lets see whats there...

take lots...all angles???
-J

 

I'll do that.

 

ya usually an older Z (03) has blown oem shocks (if still originals) and the is bouncy and has mad body roll..

-J

 

I think they're still originals when I saw it the last time I took out the wheels but didn't feel too much body roll when cornering at 50mph. And I don't feel any play on the front suspension when I try to push down on the front fender.

 

I too, like OP, feel like my car is a bit rough. Iono maybe its just because the roads in NY are extra crappy

whenever I drive over a rough patch of road, I feel like my teeth is going to rattle out of my mouth.

How would I go about fixing this? How can I make my car take road bumps smoother? New shocks? Im a suspension noob

 

Welcome and congratulations.

How many miles on the car?

You could select more comfortable tires.

 

Car has 58k miles so far.

 

This is about the right miles to replace shocks. Springs will last as long as the car.

 

these are nice and smooth oem replacements:

Rockauto.com:
brand - Monroe Sensa-Trac.
Front driver- $83.79 (MONROE Part # 72250)
Front passenger: 83.79 (MONROE Part # 72251)
Rears: $29.79 each (MONROE Part # 5795)

Taken from:
https://my350z.com/forum/8293479-post10.html
-J

 

nice! thanks for the help!

a few questions though. Are these improved over stock? Or are they pretty much just direct replacements? Because I noticed the Tokic shocks in the other thread.

Also, it seems like rockauto no longer has the front shocks for sale. they only have the rears in the "shock absorber" section

 

IMO, the easiest way for any Z owner that has a 03 or 04 car that has the unrevised suspension to get a better ride quality is to find a set of low mileage 2004.5+ revised shocks and install them. Otherwise I would go with Tokico D-specs and set them to 3 or 4 clicks above full soft. In the same respect I would not touch Tokico HP or KYB GR-2, both of which seem to have retained some of the original shocks over reliance on either excessive compression or rebound damping.

Sorry, I really do not get warm fuzzy feelings about Monroe shocks, especially having driven on the shocks I do recommend. I've owned Monroe on another car, they were ok, Z deserves more then ok.

 

^^^thats very helpful, thanks man

I'll look into the D-specs. I was actually looking at the HP too

 

Sorry to bring back an old thread, but I have this exact same issue, I recently got an 03 350Z and the ride is super bumpy, I already ordered some Tein S.Techs for it, and was going to go with the Tokico HP shocks and struts for it. I was wondering if this is truelly a bad choice. I found a set of D-Spec for about $220 for the fronts, but no rears. Is it ok, or better to get the D-Spec for the front, and regular HP for the back, or shouldnt mix and match. Please advise....

 

It may work, may not. I would just get the D specs. Its not like you feel your suspension every day while driving or anything.

 

I think G35Sedan hit it right on the money when he assessed the HP's, they are ultra stiff. I haven't seen the dyno plots for them but I'd be will to bet they have more compression dampening than really needed (or the rebound is incredibly quick ramping). On other platforms I've noticed the HP's were actually stiffer than the Illuminas at full stiff.

 

Any other price conscious suggestions for shocks, im not going to be really tracking my car or doing any racing, just want something to replace stock (most likely shot) shocks when putting in the springs, so that I'm not bouncing over tiny bumps All suggestions welcome

 

I think the Konis are always a safe bet for a street driven car that will see limited track time. They don't excel to the point a uber dollar set up would but they are fairly well damped and better the most coliovers under $2000. The only thing is I really wouldn't call them low priced at $800 for the set (no springs) but definately not a bank breaker.

 

I own a 2004 with 86k on it, and I will be buying OEM Nissan shocks and struts from a 2006 very soon.

 

I completely agree as well, but doing that is getting harder and harder to find......even an 2008 350z can already be older than 3 years old now that the 350z is out of production....plus ensuring they came off a car with XXXXX amount of miles is hard to do now a-days unless you know the guy your buying them from......?

yes, D-specs would be a great choice if the OP and others that chimed in are willing to afford it...

I hear ya........I would just like to say that I have installed and driven the Monroes i posted above on multiple 350z's...driven and tested them on the street and feel they are a great OEM replacement for a great price.....i would say that their performance is about a notch or two above "NEW" oem shocks, or in other words like when your Z was bought "NEW"..... I recommend these because the OP along with the others that have chimed in seem to be daily driving with no desires to race..........that being the case, having driven monroes specifically for the 350z i feel its a great choice when 2004+ low mileage shocks cant be obtained........maybe even a better choice given price difference when buying.......depends on the deal your getting...

I would hands down rather suggest the monroes over paying some guy $150 bucks for his used 15,000 mile oem shocks off his 2008 350z...etc....

Congrats, good find.....low milage on them?????? u get a good price??
See that 06 can already be 5 years old or so....

I by no means want to degrade G35sedans opinion.....i value it highly as i know from many threads that he definitely knows his suspension.....just offering my known insight and drive time on Monroes for those I have test drove and installed for friends of mine.........They are a great low cost alternative for a daily driven 350z thats in need of shocks...

-J