Hello Fellow Forum Members,

First let me start by saying I know this topic has been beaten to death over the years, however the specifics of my conundrum are A-typical. Typical 350Z ownership/doctrine says "go low or go with coilovers". What I'm trying to accomplish is stock ride height or damn close to it, but with aftermarket coil springs. The OEM struts on my current Z are failing due to age. I've read MicVelo's detailed posts regarding the Bilstein B12 Prokit and Koni Yellows along with other threads/posts regarding strut & coil spring combos (Spring Rates, etc) and I was surprised to learn that Nissan changed the suspension specs on all 350Z trims made after 2004.

Some background. My original 2006.5 Z33 (RIP) ran with Koni Sports (Yellows) on OEM coil springs. All other suspension components were OEM except for the rear diff. bushings and front compression bushings (whiteline). This configuration drastically improved handling, overall I was very happy with it. That being said, the neglected CA highways/freeways would cause some very jarring impacts (potholes, cracks, etc). To the point where my aftermarket headunit in the car would glitch out and reboot from the faceplate (for a fraction of a second) losing electrical connectivity to the headunit on some of the harder impacts (Note: This was happening with the Koni's set to the softest setting).

With that said, I'm leaning towards the Bilstein B6 HD struts on the OEM coil springs. However my OEM coil springs have 116k+ miles on them and I'm worried they are starting to get tired out (There's also some areas on the front springs where the protective coating was damaged from using a cheap spring compressor! I'm worried about rust forming under the coating now). I'm looking for an aftermarket option that will pair nicely with the Bilstein B6 HD struts. I see a lot of people mentioning the Tein S-Tech, but I feel the "settled" drop is more than I would like (0.75" to 1.1"). Another option are the Tein H-Tech springs, these still incorporate a minor drop, but probably not noticeable once paired with the Bilstein struts. My only concern with the H-Techs is simply that very few people seem to run with them, there's very little in the way of reviews for comparison. As I mentioned before, typical 350Z doctrine is to go low! Maybe I'm just getting old, but the idea of crab walking over every speed bump and driveway or scraping my exhaust, bumpers, etc does not appeal to me. I also don't want to be in the middle of a good tune and have my radio suddenly reboot because of an overly harsh suspension rolling on poorly maintained roads.

So, I would love to hear some community thoughts. Are there other coil spring options available which are similar to OEM? Perhaps my problem wasn't the Koni Sports, it could have been that specific combination with the OEM coil springs for all I know.

How about other Strut/Spring combos? Right now I'm not interested in replacing control arms with adjustable units, I also don't want to get coil overs for the simple fact that I love to tinker and I have a feeling I won't stop messing with them! I'm looking for a tried and true combination that still offers an improvement over OEM, but not at a total loss of comfort. The application would be daily driver with some weekend spirited driving or canyon carving.

My current OEM setup is just terrible all around. The rear end is very bouncy over speeds bumps and on roads with small dips, etc. The front is actually sagging as if it has been lowered. Body roll and plowing is at a level that I would consider unacceptable. I think it's obvious the struts are shot, although I don't see any obvious signs of weeping. I think the best option is to replace both struts and springs alltogether.

Thank You for your time and consideration if you read to the end. I'm looking forward to your input.
-Icer

 

I ran the h-tech for all of 6 months, didn't like them for ride (oe shocks) or height. I then switched to eibach pro-kit and tokico d-specs and loved that combo for looks and handling.

Mic knows his suspension, if he had been around back in the day (well he was, because as old as dinosaurs) when I had mine I would prob go the bilstein route

 

First off the radio shouldn't cut out so make sure all connections are solid. What year car do you have now?
I love my Nismo S-tune kit and I can't recommend it enough, catch is to my knowledge it isn't sold in the US anymore and it is quite expensive for what it is, with it being Nismo you know they did their homework on setting it up. You can still buy it from Japan vendors like Nengun or RHDJapan. Drop is .6 and IMO rides better that OEM.

 

Mark, the reason nobody produces "stock height, but stiffer" springs is "it's not cool". And I kind of agree. But.... my Bilstein B12 Pro Kit springs (which, deceptively, are NOT the same as standalone ProKit springs) offer a modest - 19mm - drop and the car does look much better for it. But aesthetics aside, I think what you want - if you can find 'em - are a set of stock Nismo (the car, not "aftermarket" S-Tune that Dark mentioned) springs. Pretty much leaves height alone but are a bit firmer than stock, work great with the Tokico built Z33 Nismo shocks and should do well with the Bilstein B6. They do come up from time to time. I'll let you know if I see them. (Saw a full setup not long ago, maybe a month or two...Facebook? Don't recall.

In the meantime, for stock height, H-Tech are really the only aftermarket game in town. I know little about them as no one I know runs them except for Trav and we already know what Mr. How-Dare-He-Call-Me-A-Dinosaur thinks of them. (Psh, I'm older than dinosaurs.)

EDIT: Oh, forgot, another spring set you might want to look at (search around to see how much they lower the car): Tanabe GF-210 (or something close). If my aged mind recalls correctly, these also lower the car less than an inch and are about 20% stiffer than stock. Modest enough that I recall their claim that stock shocks work with them. (BZZZT.... IMO, any stock shocks that have over 25k on 'em need changing for performance application.)

 

Are we even sure the Z33N doesn't have THE S-tune kit? Same color suspension and made by same manufacturers lol.

 

Nope. Different animals. I had three of those suspension kits back in the day, one on car, two off. PNs of the S-Tune parts are different and valving of the S-Tune shocks AND springs are a lot stiffer. The stock Nismo shocks are "soft", comparatively.

 

Thanks for chiming in Mic. The B12 Pro Kit is very appealing to me, however I'm not ready to purchase adjustable control arms to keep things in spec. I checked out rhdjapan and I do see the S-Tune kit still listed for about $1200 USD (not including tax/shipping). That price isn't bad at all, but do they really have it in stock or just forgot to take the listing down? I see so many places do this.

To answer DarkZ03, my current Z33 is virtually the same as the old. It's a 2006 Enthusiast (6MT) whereas my old Z was a 2006.5 Base model. Both vehicles are the same color (WV2) Silverstone. I kept my old Z as a parts car and have been stripping it down slowly. I put a lot of love into my old Z and there's still a lot of good parts I plan to transfer to it's replacement. In terms of the radio, everything is connected perfectly fine. It's the design of the Head Unit, it's a double din with a detachable faceplate (AVH4000NEX from Pioneer), the "pins" on the faceplate momentarily loose connectivity with the contact pads on the head unit due to nasty bumps, this is not a cable issue. To be clear, this issue is somewhat rare. There's only a few roads I travel frequently that cause this problem, I just have to be careful and anticipate the pothole or uneven pavement (sometimes ticking off the guy behind me when I brake for no apparent reason). Probably the worst one is the 237 West to 85 South cloverleaf (if you live in Silicon Valley, maybe you know what I'm talking about).

I'll need to look into the Nismo option more. If my memory serves, I almost purchased a complete, but used set from another member years ago. I ended up pulling out due to the mileage on the struts.
-Icer

 

A big part of me is thinking I'll just pick up the B6s and stick with the OEM springs I have now (Btw, I can't believe how expensive used OEM Coil springs are on Ebay). I really liked the Koni Sports, but they might be a tad too aggressive for my street application here in CA.
-Icer

 

What I can tell you is I do a lot of business with RHD if they have it on their site it is available. I just bought a Nismo twin disc clutch and got it like 3 days after it shipped. They have really good service, never had a problem with them!

 

For what it is worth, I went with the Bilstien shocks and found some good used Nismo OEM springs also added Brembo Brakes. 2005 enthusiast model. I think I am the only person, besides you, that wants to maintain the oem ride height. Never have to pucker up going over speed bumps etc.

 

There's a local member to me that thinks the same way, the car is low enough from factory but the tiny drop from the S-tune kit is hardly noticeable and it's a package designed with matching springs and shocks. One could say the drop looks better but I didn't notice it TBH.

 

Yes, I agree, I think a slight drop is not too much and still allows for clearance. I run 19" wheels and that fills out the gap pretty well. My driveway is on an incline so as I come up to it from the street it already is kinda tight. Usually take it one wheel at a time. Here is how it looks on stance.

 

Pretty similar! I am also on 19s it's getting harder and harder to get wide 18s nowadays.

 

I used Bilstein B6 shocks with Factory Nismo springs. I also added a Hotchkiss front adjustable sway bar (using stock end-links)

I picked my springs up off Ebay from a California based company for $155 bucks plus shipping.

I sprayed degreaser and washed them off. Looked really good.

I cannot get phone signal to check the name of the vendor.

Having autocrossed with stock springs and stock shocks, the difference is EXTREMELY noticeable. On the street, not so much. I rarely drive more than 3 to 4/10ths on the street.

 

Thanks for all the responses! KBoltz, if you ever get a chance, please post a link to the vendor.

I've been searching online auto dismantler/wrecker websites and other "used" outlets like Ebay and Craigslist. So far I haven't been able to find OEM Nismo coil springs. Mostly just the Nismo S-Tune kits. If anyone has a solid lead on a set, please shoot me a PM. I have a lot of work coming up on the Z, the car will have all corners off the ground for a while, the perfect time to get the suspension work done while I'm in there doing other things (Exhaust, Differential, Clutch, RJM Clutch Pedal, Exhaust Headers, MREV2 Plenum, and many other things!).

Cheers!
-Icer

 

Was finally able to get the transaction to load. Looks like it was ASolutionsautoparts. Still a current vendor on Flea Bay