StratonAce

I've just had new suspension and new wheels and tires put on my 350 and there are a couple of issues i'm hoping some of you might be able to help me with.

First, I've just had the following put on the car (along with several other undercarriage items):

Hotchkis Sway/Spring Combo Stage 1 TVS Kit
https://conceptzperformance.com/hotc...-z33_p_565.php

Koni Yellow Sport Adjustable Shock Kit
https://conceptzperformance.com/koni...217_p_9372.php

I've also just added a set of Volk TE37SL's, 19-inch at 9.5" in front and 10.5" out back. Offset is +22. My tires are 255/35/19 and 285/35/19.

Just got everything installed and there are 2 problems...

The rear fender is bouncing off of the tires on bumps. I don't have the fenders rolled, but even if I get the fenders rolled I'm thinking the fenders are going to bounce off of the tires in the back. It'll keep the tires from getting eaten up, but should should they still be hitting the fenders? After reading a ton of threads on this forum I was so, so sure that 285/35 was going to work with the Hotchkis springs. Where have I gone wrong?

The second issue is that the front has not been lowered at all, but rather raised. And quite substantially. I thought the Hotchkis springs would give a 15mm DROP in the front, not a raise. It's raised it so high I wanna say it is considerably higher than stock. What could have gone wrong?

Can anyone suggest anything to look at in where I might have gone wrong?

StratonAce

I guess I should list out ALL of the parts that have been replaced along with the suspension. Also, the alignment was done after all of the parts were put on.

SPD Front Knuckle Lower Control Arm Ball Joints w/ Seat
SPL TRE Z33 PRO Front Outer Tie Rod Ends V5
Whiteline Complete Rear Suspension Bushing Kit
Whiteline WEK003 Essentials Bushing Kit
SPL FUA Z33 PRO Front Adjustable Upper Camber Arms V3
SPC Adjustable Rear Camber Arm Links w/ Toe Bolts
Nissan OEM 54468-CD00C Compression Rod, RH
Nissan OEM 54469-CD00C Compression Rod, LH
Powergrid Sway-Bar End Links
KYB SM5542 Strut Mounts
Tanabe TTB063F Sustec Front Strut Bar
Koni Yellow Sport Adjustable Shock Kit
Hotchkis Sway/Spring Combo Kit

Wheels:
19-inch Volk TE37SL's
FRONT: 19x9.5 offset:+22 255/35/19
REAR: 19x10.5 offset:+22 285/35/19

My phone is dead, so I didn't get pictures, but I'll post some up soon, if I don't figure things out first. The front sits so, so high now... I'd guess it's over 2 inches from the tire to the fender. Even after the springs settle, I'm thinking it's still going to be very high. The back seems okay, obviously maybe a little TOO low now with the new wheels and tires; but the front is way higher than the rear now.

terrasmak

iTrader: (8)

A roll will take care of the rubbing in the rear, and will probably get rid of it.

Up front, something is wrong, it should have lowered the car. Not easy to diag without the car in front of me

StratonAce

These are the things we'll check tomorrow. Does this seems about right for all of the things to check?

For the springs, check the part numbers on the springs against the part numbers on the box to make sure they are the right ones.

Are there spacers with the springs?

Are the shocks compressing properly?

Check to make sure the front springs are seated in the bottom Koni shock perches properly.

Could the extreme height of the front be caused by tightening the control arms on a lift? Instead of with the weight on the car? So make sure that they didn't tighten any of the weight bearing bolts until weight was on the suspension (control arm bolts, etc).

Were the springs correctly installed in the spring pockets?

StratonAce

Also, is there anyone out there running my suspension/tire/wheel combo?

With the Hotchkis springs and 285's in back were you bumping off of your tires?

Corvett z07

I'm running 18x9.5 +22 up front with 245/40 tires and an 18x10.5 +22 out back with 275/40 tires. However I'm running completely stock suspension and as far as I know, I don't rub much at all, only on very fast dips in the road, then it'll rub the fronts on mine as far as I'm aware.

I don't know if this holds any relevance at all but I had Koni yellows on my camaro and I wasn't a fan of the valving. The compression felt much too soft, the rebound alright tho. I would dyno Koni shocks if you were to road race on them due to possible variance in rebound dampening from shock to shock despite having them on the same shock settings. Plus they always seemed to be playing "catch-up" when you first throw the car around a corner. It felt as if the car rolled a bit, then the shocks decided to begin to do their job. I was on linear springs too in case anyone was wondering. Again, I really feel like I'm slamming Koni's here, I would be at a stop and I'd let the car idle an inch and I'd hit the brakes and the car would stop and then half a second later it would jiggle, and then settle into a stop again. I've just had many interesting quirks with Koni shocks that I'm ready to try something new I guess. Anyhow my silly ranting aside, I don't know if it does hold any relevance anyhow because it was on a completely different car so it might just be the suspension geometry of the camaro or maybe I just had the wrong springs or something

MicVelo

That's a stumper....

Almost sounds like the KYB strut mounts were somehow mounted on top of the stock mounts! Not possible since they're both male parts but....

Like terrasmak said, can't diagnose without putting hands on it. If you had it done professionally, I'd take it back and have them figure it out. There's NO WAY that setup should have raised the front without doing something wrong.

StratonAce

Thanks guys. After scouring the internet, I'm really thinking it's one of two things: either I got the wrong springs, or my installer tightened everything up with the car on a lift. I'll be taking it back in Monday to have them check things over.

As far as the Koni shocks, they've already been mounted and everything, so I'm stuck with them for now. And on the 350, maybe they'll be okay? Hopefully I'll find out Monday or Tuesday.

For the rear, I guess I'll just get the fenders rolled and hope that'll be enough. I'd hate to think how bad the situation would be if I went for a big drop with the 10.5" wheels and 285 tires.

MicVelo

Take the previous commenter's post on Koni shocks as an anomaly... or exception, not the norm. Not taking anything away from the poster's comments as there is such a thing as a bad set or "improper for the application" but overall, Koni makes a product worth owning.

Koni shocks have been around for 75 years (the company itself like 160 years old). You don't stick around that long without making quality products. Ask all the thousands (probably more like millions) of Koni users from street enthusiasts to, more prevalently, the racing community.

I have run Konis on the street (S30s back in the '70s and '80s, Porsche, and on present Z33) as well as on my Datsun race car with great results.

StratonAce

Yeah, I'm sure the Konis will be fine. If not, well, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

StratonAce

An update for those who might run the same parts as me in the future and run into the same issue.

The issue with the front end being so high... the installer put the perches on upside-down. The less said about that, the better I guess.

The rear, the guys who were going to roll the fenders for me said that the paint MIGHT crack. And then again, it MIGHT NOT. There's just no way to guarantee that it won't. A part of me doesn't have a problem with that as the paint is not in the best of shape anyway, and I had planned to get the car re-painted somewhere down the line. BUUUT, I may not be able to get that done until next summer. I'd hate for rust to get in there during that year period. Plus it really does look like it might STILL rub a bit even with the fenders rolled.

So, I'm just having them put OEM springs back on, which should raise it enough to stop the rub. I'll hang on to the Hotchkis springs until I can finally get the car painted, at which time I'll also get the fender roll with the new paint and then put the Hotchkis springs on again.

At least the new Volks look nice.

travlee

iTrader: (8)

it is possible that the paint may crack, but if they do it right... heat it up, and take their time it shouldn't. where in tx are you... they guy that did mine is here in dallas

StratonAce

I'm in Allen. And yeah, it probably won't crack, but I don't think anyone can guarantee that it won't. I just don't want to risk it right now as i may not be able to get the re-paint until next Summer. and like I said, it sure seems to me like it will still occasionally rub even after a roll.

I think I'm going to play it safe and just store the rear springs away (and run OEMs on the back for now) until I get the repaint, and then get the fender roll at that point.

travlee

iTrader: (8)

you have no idea how OCD i was with the nissan... if you are interested let me know, he is in carrollton

it cracks if they try to go flat on the first roll, jake does 4-5 small rolls until it almost flat... heating up the metal and paint each time

travlee

iTrader: (8)

by keeping the stock springs in rear, with aftermarket front.. handling is going to suck

StratonAce

Really? Well crap! >sigh<

How bad will it be?

travlee

iTrader: (8)

i can't put a number on it, but you will have a noticeable angle to the car also

travlee

iTrader: (8)

someone else may speak up... micvelo would be a good person to ask

StratonAce

Well, I guess I'm gonna HAVE to get that roll.

Things can never be easy.

travlee

iTrader: (8)

i pm'd mic, terrasmak would also be another good resource. i could be wrong, but it would look weird imho