Hey guys so far I have sway bars and good tires, but I want more so whats the next step? I'm a muscle car guy so replacing the sway bars was a far as my knowledge goes lol. I do need new shocks so I was trying to decide between kyb Gr-2's or Tokico HP's, which is better or do yal have any others that would be better? I don't want to spend more than 500 and I want a smoothish ride from my Z like not to the point of breaking my spine like it does now over every dip. The car is stock ride height and as far as I know the shocks have 120K on them and have been with the car since it left japan in 04 lol

 

probably should have browsed/searched https://my350z.com/forum/brakes-and-suspension-399/

Your car probably rides like crap with 120K on the OEM shocks (mine is at 40K+ and it's craptastic). The HPs are a standard replacement for the OEM dampers. A basic upgrade is sway bars and Tokico D-Specs (adjustable). And maybe some springs for a slight drop.

 

I have some Tanabe NF210 springs and Tokiko blues with little mileage on them for sale

 

Dampers are long overdue for replacement LOL.

 

the Tokico D-Specs are great replacement for the oem shocks

 

D-Specs or Koni yellow will improve your handling. Another great improvement for your car 04.5 or newer springs. They can be gotten used for cheap. (you may already have them)

 

Were the front springs changed on the 04.5?

 

i think the spring rates were increased

 

OP , buy GOOD parts, and simply buy them used here in the family.

my stance LX are pretty soft to be honest. but the cool part about our car is that snappiness u already dont like. i assume ur worn out dampers are to blame for making a less nice feeling tho.. our oems suck tho.. buy someones shocks from the board, ull be happy u did.

 

As far as buying used wearable items, unless you know exactly what to look for you may just perpetuate your problem.

 

Shocks look like a logical next step for you, but I have no experience (that I can remember) with the kyb Gr-2's or Tokico HP's.

My Koni Yellows were a great improvement over stock though.

 

This!

Suspension is one of the few parts that I always urge people to go for NEW only.

If you're looking for new shocks, I'd go with either the Tokico D Specs with some lowering springs, or some Koni Sports w/ lowering springs. Most people refer to the Koni Sport as a Koni Yellow. The Tokico HP is a bit cheaper than the D Spec and offers good performance, as well.

Let me know if there's anything else I can do to help.

 

I recommend Koni yellow.However,with your budget,the Tokico is a good choice.
I'm running Nismo sway bars with my Koni's.I'm very happy with this setup for overall
street driving.

 

I ran Tokico Illuminas on my last car, they were very nice, but honestly, i don't think i needed the adjustable damping.

Tokico make good shocks, though i don't know much about the D spec, i do know the HP are just normal non adjustable versions.

As for alignment, i'm getting conflicting info on this. According the Suspension 101 on this very board, anything over about 0.8inch drop, causes alignment etc to move out of true (fine) but doesn't allow anything to be adjusted correctly (not fine)

However, someone i know in England just got the sportline springs at a 1.5 drop, and their alignment was fine....

 

Each car will be slightly different. It's odd that they would still be in factory range with the Sportlines, but it's not entirely impossible. I'm running the Eibach Pro-Kit and my front was just out of spec so I bought adjustable arms. There are so many components that come into play and that's why each car can be slightly different. Still very odd that Sportlines allowed for factory alignment specs.

 

I'm trying to go for the oem shocks but they cost way too much at nissan and i was looking at tokicos are they any good? i just want to replace my oem one with the tokico with the oem springs too will that change anything or work?

 

Non adjustable tokicos are totally fine..great actually. Especially w those progressive springs. Cheap, done. Ul have no qualms.
the myths uv read about can't align to spec r false.
A set of toe delete bolts for 80 bucks before ur alignment will be all you need....maaaaaybe camber links too..but were talking 200 bucks tops.

 

do you know how long will the tokicos last? and they are a oem replacement right? im just making sure because im a noob to 350z.

 

They'll certainly last longer than oem..the quality is very good. And they have better valving for lowered springs too..better than oem by far imho.

 

ok thanks for the info.