I recently lowered my G35 coupe with Hotchkis springs on Tuesday of this week... after two days of driving, the rear end seems like it's "floating" especially after I hit a bump or rough spot in the road... I know I need an alignment (the car is also pulling to the right pretty hard) but would that be causing the rear to feel so disconnected?

Also, the rear doesn't seem to be quite as low as I thought it would be - did the installer maybe install something incorrectly? The front sits perfectly...

Any advice/opinions/comments are GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!! Please help me!!!!

 

There really isn't anything to install wrong in the rear. You just pull out the old spring and put in the new one. You probably just need to get used to the car. If the ride isn't good for you, maybe look into some adjustable shocks and struts because the stock stuff is not meant for lowering springs.

 

nope there is something wrong and I think I figured it out...

I really hadn't taken a good look at the camber of the tires, and it looks like there is about 1.5 degrees of negative camber in the front and 0 degrees in the rear (the installer must have messed with the camber arms when he installed them) - that is why the rear doesn't look as low as it should and why there is such a weird feeling coming from the rear - I scheduled an alignment for tomorrow, so I'll see if that changes things...

My last two vehicle were lowered ('96 GMC 1500 p/u w/ 17's back in the day and a '00 Monte Carlo SS on Eibach's) so I know when something isn't feeling right on a lowered vehicle...

 

An alignment can do wonders. Go and do the alignment, then complain after

 

Oh I didn't even notice you had camber arms. Yeah if you are running positive camber then that would definitely change the handeling characteristics. I don't think it will change the ride characteristics though. The camer arms also won't change the ride height either, just the angle of the tire. You might think it looks lower with negative camber and the top of the tire angled in towards the fender though.

 

I have Hotchkis on my Z and notice the same thing. Mine is aligned perfectly and while it removed the bounciness of stock, it seems to have added a porpoising effect. I feel like my car kind of goes up and down floaty and moves in a circular motion is how I would describe it. It kind of worries me at high speeds.

I will say after they have settled it's not as bad now. Right when I lowered it, the first days were scary, the first couple of weeks were wierd, and now it seems ok. Maybe it is just getting used to it, I just wasn't confident at all in the handling at first. (I did get 20" wheels at the same time so that may be part of it).

Overall, I feel my drivability was better stock, just too bouncy.