Hey all,

I'll keep this brief...I'm on Swift Spec R's and G35 shocks as I wanted to try and go for a soft ride. I like it. Next step would be switch out to soft sidewall tires but that's a long way off I think.

When my shocks wear out....and I wanted the best ride quality for touring purposes...would oem G35 shocks be the best replacement or would Koni Yellows be actually a smoother ride on the softest setting?

Any suggestions on what shocks would be the best for my goal when I have to swap them out? PSS9's?

I'm lowered a little more than an inch for those not familiar with Swift Spec-R's. (great springs...love them). (Ideally I'd like Fortune Auto 500's with Swift springs, just to raise car a smidgeon, but still...very very very happy)

Thanks everyone,

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i would look into the Tokico D-Specs... they are more adjustable than the yellows. i have them and i am 2 turns out from full stiff... not too stiff but still comfortable on highway

 

Most likely G35 are also Tokico. Mine lasted 30k miles on my roadster. I would suggest Koni, since they have shorter tubes for shorter springs and you can click to full soft.

 

Wouldn't shorter springs be a rougher ride since less available travel in the spring?

Interesting that G35 might be Tokico....I'll research that...would they be the same as Tokico D-Specs or Tokico Blues?

I'm leaning toward Koni Yellow for rears, or Billsteins, but want to have the facts before I need them so I can buy the right shocks when needed.

Thanks guys,

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Ours are black Tokico's (stamped or printed). I'm not sure which retail model it would be equal to. It would be more cost effective for Nissan to use as many of the same parts. Unless things have changed, there is no Infinity line in Japan (all models are Nissan).

I have Bilstein/Swift right now but I'm going to try Bilstein/OEM this weekend to see which I like better. If you don't want to lower your car then this may be the way to go.

I had adjustable Tokico's with either H&R or Eibach on my CRX a long time ago. I couldn't get any of the clicks to match well with the springs. Koni's were a lot more expensive back then.

You could try giving Swift a call and ask if they can recommend which would match best to their spring and your goal.

 

the current d-specs dont have clicks.. you just move it to where you want

 

OK, so I tested (rear only) Bilstein/OEM. Keep in mind that I have a Roadster and the rear is supposed to be heavier than the coupe. Also, I don't know if the OEM rear spring rates are different than the coup's.

My OEM Tokico's were really shot as I had the perfect 2 finger gap. So when I installed the Bilstein's it raised the gap to 3 fingers.

The best way I can describe it is firm, but not harsh. It was similar to MBZ C350 and with the Swift's it's more like BMW 335 (not handling, only ride comfort). The biggest difference was the dip on the toll road. The OEM was smoother and the Swift was bouncier. The dead Tokico's bottomed out "smack"!

 

goracerx that doesn't make sense that you car raised up an inch. shocks shouldn't have any affect at all on ride height.

 

They do if they are shot and I can compress them by hand, which means they can't hold the weight of the car.

 

Thanks guys, and especially goracerx.

Anyone know how much softer a shock the G35 is versus the 350z oem (which are also Tokico I hear).

Supposedly Koni Yellow's on full soft are a softer ride than 350z oem, but...are they softer than G35 oem?

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the springs are technically holding the car up.... the shock just provide the dampening when you hit a bump. my oem shocks i could compress by hand and they only had 35k miles on them

http://www.carbibles.com/suspension_bible.html

"Shock absorbers
These dampen the vertical motion induced by driving your car along a rough surface and so should technically be referred to by their proper name - dampers. If your car only had springs, it would boat and wallow along the road until you got physically sick and had to get out. It would be a travelling deathtrap until the incessant vibration caused it to fall apart.
Shock absorbers (dampers) perform two functions. As mentioned above, they absorb any larger-than-average bumps in the road so that the upward velocity of the wheel over the bump isn't transmitted to the car chassis. But secondly, they keep the suspension at as full a travel as possible for the given road conditions - they keep your wheels planted on the road."

 

I understand the damping of spring compression and rebound, but i'm not putting the blown shocks back in to prove my point with pictures.

I still would have chose a GT over track if I bought a coupe. There's threads that explain why Koni's shorter stroke is better for lowered cars and one that raves about the Bilstein/Swift combo on the track. My issue is the Roadster's rear is heavier and I get a bouncer ride.

I'm debating getting the Koni to experiment with the damping which is exactly what I didn't want to do as reaching the top of the rears are difficult. The Bilstein PSS9's have the adjuster on the bottom of the rear damper but I didn't want to spend that much. I spent the same on my RX7's Buddy Club's which I don't use. Moreover, the Koni's are twin tube as were JIC and those were horse manure. The best dampers I've ever used are Ohlins on my CBR 1000. Even without swapping springs to match my changing weight, they are always silky smooth at any speed.

Maybe you should start a thread in the G35 forum and see what setup they use to retain their touring feel.

 

FYI the fortune500 coil overs are not going to be soft by any means? They don't ride rough but they are stiffer then the oem struts? I also changed from softest to stiffest and really felt no real difference. I am not running the swift spring though andI may end up doing that in the near future. I just don't know if by adding the swift spring will raise me or not.

 

Good to know on the Fortunes. I could have got them at a good price but no experience with them.

I was hoping the OP would have updated by now. I'm wondering if the G35 or Q50 suspension did the trick for the touring feel.

 

Ride quality comes down largely to spring rates and shock choice. The higher quality the shock and the softer the spring the better the ride quality.

Koni and Bilstein are the best in the business, bar none. Tokico is a decent third, but for the money doesn't really make sense. I have had Konis on other cars, but from what I understand they are a little rough on Zs. Which leaves Bilsteins. I haven't had/ridden on Bilsteins, but from all my reading on here, as well as me knowing one of their program directors, it seems like they are above and beyond the rest. Here is what some dude said about their coilovers in a suspension info thread at G35 Driver:

And what he said about their shocks:

For ride quality I would probably go with stock springs and Bilstein HDs.

Something else to consider... if you are in a cold region your roads will be **** and the Z will ride like *** no matter what. I travel between NC and NYC a bit and my Z rides nice down here but is cringeworthy up there, and I am bone stock on 18s. If I was up there I would get a G35 sedan.

 

^agree

Ridden on Koni single adjustables for a number of years with 2 different spring combos, great overall just definitely not a touring setup..it takes up the slack where the stock suspension leaves you wanting more performance (which can be harsh, especially on pre 04.5 cars). Not crazy rough but again the overall feel of this and any package where you pick the springs is going to be dependent on which springs you choose.

Bilsteins are where you want to be if you want touring quality. Get the non-adjustable PSS kit and be done if you want height adjustability, if you're ok with just getting a set of springs then as the ^poster said just get the HDs.