Newbie here,

Recently purchased a 2007 Z. Suspension is completely stock right now. My intentions with "upgrading" the supsension is mainly for the look. Id like it to to be lowered a bit, and atleast not look stock. I also do not want to have camber issues or bottoming out issues, because I drive it daily. I have narrowed it down to either the Tein S-tech or the Hotchkis, and I've determined, from what I have read, that I wont have camber or "too low" issues with either (if I am wrong please correct me) Which of the two set-ups looks lower? Much difference in the ride quality. Lastly, I considered the TVS hotchkis kit also, but I am not sure if it's really necessary. I dont plan on running the car on any tracks at all this summer. I really like how it handles now, and if springs did not make the ride any worse, I'd be happy. Is the TVS kit really that big of a difference? Worth the extra 300-400 bucks if I just drive it on the street?

 

Sway bars are definitely worth it! i used to have Hotchkis TVS kit, but now I have sway bars and coilovers. I have a set of used Hotchkis springs for sale if you're interested. Also, the Z was still on stock camber when lowered on Hotchkis springs and the front and rear alignment were still in specs.

 

Few things...

I think sways are useless for the street. And you can count on your endlinks failing so you'll be replacing them with heavy duty powergrid units at some point. Therefore the real cost of sways ends up being even more.

Hotchkis springs were designed for the original 2003-2004 shocks and don't pair well with 2004.5+ versions in my experience.

 

tein s techs would be a great choice.

I had some on my car before getting coils.

 

I used to have those teins, I liked them alot..but isn't the hotchkis fully linear? I know the tein is half linear, half progressive.

 

Not many people will have tried both springs to give you an objective feedback you seek. With that being said, I had the Hotchkis TVS Stage 1 kit and it served its purpose well. My suggestion would be for your to look up the spring rates on both and see what fits your needs better.

Anyway, if you're not concerned with handling, then the sways would be a waste of your time and money. Also, I've been on my current sways for about 3-4 years now and I had Stillen sways briefly before that and my endlinks never broke (except 1, but that's unrelated). That's with many miles, drag strip visits, and autox runs, too.

Lastly, Hotchkis springs are linear in the front, progressive in the back.

 

OP keep in my mind any drop over 1" will put your alignment out of spec and you will need to get a camber kit if you don't want to wear out your tires prematurely. I never had the Hotchkis springs but I was happy with my Swift Spring and Hotchkis sway setup when I originally began modifying the car. I would suggest the Swift R springs if u want something a little more of a drop then the standard swifts

 

Question, just because the camber is still "in spec" the tire wear could be/will be worse when lowering without a camber kit?

Thanks

 

Correct. The OEM spec for camber is a range of camber angle, so the closer you get to the limit for negative camber angle, the more camber wear you can expect.

 

I have the hotchkis springs, and I actually sit higher in the rear opposite to what others have noticed. They are fine, maybe a bit soft at times other times just right. I may go with the Teins at some point as the spring swap in this car is as easy as it gets.

I just replaced the struts with bilstein HD's, another huge improvement over the twitchy unrevised 03 struts. Always loved the monotube Bilsteins on all my cars.

I don't know if the 07 sway is the same as an 03 sway, but the stock front swaybar on the Z corners horribly period. Street or track does not matter bad is bad.

The Hotchkis sway bar kit is the best suspension upgrade in my experience ever for this car regardless of where you drive it. I was actually majorly disappointed when I first felt how poorly a stock Z handles 90 degree turns.

It's a rear wheel drive car, so get the front sway big and fat, and rear to match it, and set them to how you like them, it feels like it takes a couple hundred pounds off the front end.

Question for tein owners: Do the Teins have the bottom of the front springs coated to reduce road noise like the stockers?