happypants

I was considering replacing the seats with La-Z-Boy recliners. The ones with integrated cupholders!

SungNamZ

I would definately do something with that tire pressure. The plate on the door advises 35 psi cold.

ChinaClipper

iTrader: (2)

There is even a difference in the stiffness/firmness in seats between the Touring and all other 350Z seats. The leather used to cover the cushions does not have any "give" compared to the cloth, so the seats are more taut and feel stiffer and much more firm to the tush than cloth covered seats. Verified by riding in my car and others in the club. The leather seats feel very hard.

pkc415

so how much are the Koni's anyways?

jmark

iTrader: (1)

$675.00 on preorder special with 350Evo. Not sure what the price is now. Check with dwnshift.

Boomer

The jittery feeling you still have may come from the OE tires. Thats how mine felt. You can get progressive springs in a couple of flavors, Eibach with a .8"/1.2" drop, or Tein H.Tech aka Luxury Masters with a.3/.2 drop. The Teins have 358 lb. spring rates in frt, 375 lbs in rear; Eibach I don't know. The stock springs are 347lbs/417lbs. The Teins would give a much more supple touring ride w/o much of a drop, the Eibachs would be more supple with a larger drop. The Teins are $195 at Performance Nissan, Eibachs are a little more.

I wouldn't keep the OE tires 1 minute longer than I had to, they have a terrible ride that even the Konis wouldn't help much, if at all. I have spent $650 net for tires and $1090 for the shocks and install. If I sold the car, I would lose a minimum of $4000, maybe 5000. I sold the OE tires for $350 net and will offer the stocks for a track setup at maybe $250 and defray my costs a little more.

Ask some of the members about their experiences with other springs, but not coilovers, I was warned they would be much stiffer than springs/shocks combos. You mentioned a younger time when you could stand a stiffer ride, the progressive springs should mediate that, but you're stuck with another install fee.

Right now, if the stock springs prove to be too uncomfortable, I will go for the sport touring oriented Tein H.Tech and adjust the Konis on the rear to keep the rebound under control. You will lose more money selling or trading the car than modifying it, we've seen that here in several instances; I will not be a victim and I feel comfortable enough to say I know what the solutions are to make any Z habitable w/o flattening my wallet.

Also, I was just outside driving and the ride was sorta rough; we just had a major cold front come through and any cold tires can ride like rocks, especially the OE tires.

Boomer

This is one of the HEY STUPID tales you tell when you find out something by accident. Being tall, I automatically adjust all car seats to their lowest setting. This means the Touring seats I have had ZERO cushion because I was riding on the bottom oftheir travel. I adjusted them upward and discovered they are much more comfortable because they have some cushioning. Unless you have a body that absolutely dictates you put the bottom cushion all the way down, try it, you might be surprised, I was.

jmark

iTrader: (1)

Good points Boomer. I meant to mention the cold temp. idea. He did say it was 40-45 degrees where he was driving. I think the tires are just more complaint when the ambient is 55 degrees and more.

Redfoot

iTrader: (25)

Konis installed, took about 3 hours although the car was already on stands with tires, front sway, & front bumper removed. It would have been a bit simpler if Koni had not made the front rod so long, they shorten that piece an easy inch, then the swing in up top would be a breeze. Anyway, a single person can do this without any problem. It probably does help that I had the bumper & the wheel well lining off. I did use a spring compressor up front to help shorten the unit up a bit, I don't think it could be done without it, unless you disconnect the lower arm that the shock attaches to. Just a few more things to finish then I can kick it off the stands and see how it performs.

Redfoot

iTrader: (25)

rear

Redfoot

iTrader: (25)

another

jmark

iTrader: (1)

Redfoot,
I know you are waiting on Eibachs but are you going to test it with OEM springs first. Just curious because I see the 350Evo sways installed too. I plan on running the OEM springs, Konis and 350Evo sways. On pic 2 is that small hole for the rear adjustment of the shocks.

Redfoot

iTrader: (25)

Yep, going to drive it for a while on stock springs, until I get camber adjusting parts for the front and back. No, that's just a paint chip (Koni quality packaging) the adjustment is way up top. See photo. You got to be carefull to make sure this area will face out the side when your tourqing down the nut on top before its installed.

happypants

The Koni rep told me the reason why the paint chips is because European enviromental regulations require water based paint.

All I can say about the instructions is I hope IKEA furnture comes with better to understand instructions.

Mr. Motion

Installed mine over the weekend. I found that cutting the bottoms of the old struts ways the easiest way to remove them. To install the new ones, I had to remove the pin attaching to the lower arm to get enough clearance to put the strut in place. The bounce is greatly reduced on concrete roadways but not gone completely. On the negative side, I noticed an increased noise and harshness going over minor bumps. It felt like the tires were taking a bit of a beating. I'll try adding more air to see if it helps, but this was a little disappointing.

jmark

iTrader: (1)

Colder temps maybe. Tires seem less complaint the colder it gets. You and Happypants have similar findings and are in the same area.

Mr. Motion

Oops. Went outside at Noon on a hunch that perhaps one of the struts was loose. Sure enough, the nut on the top of the one on the driver's side had come loose. Apparently it did hadn't seated all the way up into the hole during installation, even though I had tightened it down from on top. Word to the wise: after installation, take it for a test drive and then check the top mounts for tightness again. Much quieter now.

Jhanna

To all in search of a more compliant street ride:
About 4 months ago - I installed a set of rear shocks from the Infinity Coupe { about the same purchase price as Koni }. It gave me a very favorable result - eliminated the bounce coming from that end and was very compliant.
I purchased a set of Koni's and installed the front pair about 3 wks ago. Set on full soft - it gives the ride compliance I've been looking for.
I then installed the rear Koni's. The ride was much stiffer initially and has softened considerably after about 500 miles. It is set on full soft and while it has solved most of the bounce problem, it is still stiffer than the Infinity Coupe shocks - but not as stiff as the stock shocks.
I will be going back to using the Infinity Coupe shocks on the rear in combination with the Koni's on the front. This gives me a very satisfactory ride on all surfaces.
I will keep the rear Koni's handy if I ever feel the need to track or autocross again and need the adjustability.

TCL

Did the softer G35 rear shocks increase the car's understeer?

C Ray Z

iTrader: (2)

Oh man what an improvement. The porposing that I felt at my first HPDE course at Sears is history.

I am so excited with the improved handeling. I ran 2:28's around this almost three mile course. This was only my second day on a road course.

I am running the stock springs EVO front on medium stock rear sway, Koni's set on medium new allignment with "0" setting on the front. Rear with 2 degrees negative and "0" toe.

Tires 265x35 Yoko and 295x35 Yoko ran very well. Some overheating and rolled rubber. Brakes got hot and I had to baby them a bit but no fade.

I took photos but I will have to add them Tommorrow.

We had four 30 minute sessions. I had a blast and believe me the EVO sways and Koni combination make this a very competative car. The S2k were passed easily.