I was on a business trip from April 14-18… and called my wife before returning home on Friday to let her know I would getting in around 6:30 PM.

She said…”Do you want the good news or bad news first.” “Give me the good news first,” I said. She said my friend from Nissan dropped off my Z with my new S-tune suspension/stabilizer kit installed, and said to tell me that before having a drink after returning home, that I should take it out for a drive. (By the way, the bad news was that it would be pouring rain here all day Saturday.)

So – returned home, my wife was waiting with the keys, kissed her, and off I went for a one hour drive before dinner … on a course that would take me on a two lane, four lane, high speed road to include speed strips on the blacktop , and a twisty, bumpy road.

This is only a 60 minute, initial report…on the stock 18” rims with the “POS” RE040 tires before my new wheel/tire mod goes on:

1. The dreaded “porpoising” is gone, dead, and buried.
2. The overall ride is a bit stiffer… but very close to stock. Very nice…!!
3. The understeer is gone.
4. Like Steve (aka: raceboy)… I always felt that when I turned the steering wheel, the Z responded on a half-second delay. With the new S-tune setup, the turn in is quick-but-smooth and has given the Z the true sports car agility it should have had from the beginning. There are no surprises when running a tight and twisty road – the steering, turn in, power on-off, and overall handling are very fast, crisp, and instinctive.
5. On the tight-and-twisties, for the first time, I could just about feel the back end about to slide – but coming off speed and a little let up on the throttle, BOOM – the grip was there. You feel very confident on this S-tune setup… a confidence that I entirely lacked on the stock setup… since there was no “feedback” to advise whether your were close to or at the edge of cornering grip.
6. Body roll has been reduced significantly…very flat cornering.
7. With the nimble steering and handling comes a feeling of lightness to the Z that was non-existent with the stock setup.

Summary… after a 60 minute drive and returning home… I then had a drink and toasted my S-tune … for giving me the ride that I had longed for since taking delivery.

 

congratulations on your new suspension set-up. it sounds great!!!!!!!!!

anyways, i installed my nismo sways last monday. let me tell you that i am very satisfied with the suspension of my car now also!!!!!!!

talk to you soon, and can't wait till your wheels arrive!!!!!

keep up the good work fairladyz!!!!!!

 

i know this is a stupid question, but i just wanna get your opinion...
when you get your 19s, do you think you're gonna have rubbing issues???

 

Hardy- It will depend on the offset of the 19" rims

 

hardy...

No problem. I double checked with both the wheel/tire specialist shop where I am buying the TE37/S03 PP's and my friend at Nissan... and they both said ok.

One thing that surprised me was...my friend at Nissan said he would have opted for the rear... 275-30 setup with the S-tune and the 19 inch rims (although he would have preferred an 18 inch setup all-around for the ultimate circuit performance). However, Rays recommend a 35 tire setup all-around. Since the S-tune drop is 20 mm or about 3/4 of an inch... no problem.

 

how wide are your rims in the back?? i'm goin with 10.5 in the rear, and wana make sure the rims wont hit the strut of the nismos...any input would be appreciated

 

What was the bad news?

 

The Rain!!! Thanks for the post FairladyZ in Japan

 

Do you have any pics of the car after the installation? I know racerboy said there was a slight drop involved, and I'm hoping it's not too much. I'm sounds like you did the full kit (which is my plan when I finally get my car )

 

I'm looking into the s-tune setup also. Could you tell me how much it drops the car? Thanks

 

wow, thanks for a great review. I was waiting to here from someone who purchased the s tune that was not an avid racer (aka raceboy) but an everday person so we could get an actual account how it would handle for the everyday driver.

So the porposing is really gone?

Are you an average everday driver, not a race guy specialist?

How much stiffer than stock? I plan on doing some long distance drives in my Z and am wondering if the new suspension would make the longer drives easier or harder on the body.

once again, great review, give us some more!

 

fairlady, can't wait to see your wheels with the S-tune set-up...

 

Well.. it not only poured rain all day Saturday, but today - Sunday as well, so I have not taken the car out. Damn... I was really looking forward to some great driving this weekend.

MATIX... not sure regarding the 10.5 rears. I will be running the standard 8.5 F / 9.5 R... with 22 offset all around. You might talk with john350Z... since he is the expert on the 10.5's.

polar md...I have not yet taken any pictures.. but the 3/4 inch drop is pretty mild on 18 inch stock wheels.

cmeisson...as I said in my original post.. the S-tune drops the car 20mm (3/4 of an inch) front and rear.

all-bark.. from what I could tell during that 60 minute drive... the porpoising is gone entirely. I do not race or track.. I use my Z for the daily drive to work.. and agressive driving on weekends. The S-tune is just a little stiffer than stock... and for your type of driving, I would definitely recommend this setup. Your daily driving will not be affected -- and you will certainly enjoy driving the Z a lot more than with the stock setup. It was getting to the point that I really did not like driving the new Z - because of the bounce - and actually did not go out a few weekends...because driving was simply no fun.

 

Thats what I like is a good way of solving the problem with the bounce..good job! Im up for coilovers being installed next week..cant wait..I too im tired of the bounce affecting an otherwise great car..I ll be the next one to say "gone entriely!" im going with JIC's though..nice review..

 

thanks for the reply.

after you have had the chance to put on a few more miles how about another review?

and whats with all that rain? are there really places in the world with all that rain and/or snow?

 

Any reason why nismo sways instead of the cusco sways?

 

Great post Fairlady, thanks for the info....

I am ordering the complete Nismo kit, air filter, and Top Secret Front Diffuser from JapanParts in the next few days. After reading Steve's review, and now yours I am sold. I drive about like you Fairlady, mostly to and from work, but some spirited driving on occasion, so I think this kit is the way to go.

 

Thanks for the report. If Nissan can't fix the bounce, I may get this, but spending more money on the S-tune setup is almost like rewarding Nissan for giving the bouncy Z's a poor setup, I almost hate to do it, but the bounce is soooo bad...

What does the S-tune suspension come with? Is it shocks, springs, and sway bars? How much should we expect to pay for the parts and installation? What's the warranty like?

 

The full kit is shocks and springs, and sway (stabalizer) bars for the front and rear. You can also buy the sway bars seperate from the shocks and springs. The bars cost about $550+ maybe 50-100 bucks for install (these are pretty easy to install), the shocks and springs run around $1200+ 100 to 300 bucks to install (maybe even more to install, but it is also pretty simple). I do not believe there is much of a warranty, the parts are only sold in Japan now. However, if you are concerned about the warranty, wait until Nismo products are for sale here in the states, and you will get the full Nissan warranty. My guess is NNA will begin selling these parts in the next 2-3 months, expect an announcment in the next week on availability.

 

fairladyZ,

Did you measure/adjust the camber after the NISMO was installed? Any differerce from the stock setup?
Thanks.