yep!! im going to start gathering info on what set of coilovers will best suit our car for a custom setup... my sprint springs and tokicos have done there job. its time for something to really open up the availability for our cars to hit the track with the sickest stance and handling available.
1. so! which set of coilovers do you guys think would be the best for the weight of our cars?
2. which brand do you think performs the best? i dont care AT ALL about comfort, im all about handling
3. price... not really an issue, so dont hold back.
4. i know we have the whole front and rear independent suspension so 4th gen and up are out, anything thoughts on the A31 cefiro fitting our cars more so then something else? or just the sickest set of coilovers i can find and just fab up something really crazy?
yea i know this is retarded and crazy... but thats me in a nut shell...
thanks ahead of time.
just shake ur head up and down because its getting done!!!

 

... Are you talking about the adjustable coilovers? Cause if you are, you know they don't make them for these cars, right?

 

Deadfall hurry up ! I wanna see this!!!!!

 

no, im talking about doing a custom setup, i want to put some coilovers on the max. i konw none are made for our cars, but i figure i may be the first to do so. just seeing if anyone knew about what kind are the best and what kind would best suit our cars

 

Wow thats gonna be some serious custom fabbing. Theres gonna be so much to account for. And even after you get it to sit right, how are you gonna get the alignment right and all those other measurements? Good luck though. I think you might wanna go to the suspension section, they'd probably know a bit more about which set-up is the best.

 

Drop it with some Eibach's or ST's and call it the day.....

 

get some gabriel's and paint em red if u want custom suspension

 

Nope. You're about 10 years behind the curve on that one.
I built a set for my car before I ever moved to Houston. Spent a ton of time and money on it, and couldn't really get it to handle any better than Konis and Eibachs. In the end, I wish I'd never messed with it.


If you want to do it "right", it's going to cost you about $3500 and will be a full custom setup, including custom ball joints, rear suspension links, and possibly front control arms.

Koni 8611 race series inserts ($325 each) and a ground control type sleeve setup should do the job ($400). Throw in custom camber plates for $3-400, custom ball joints $300, replacement tie rod ends $200, and another $350 or so for the rear modifications to get the roll center above the ground.

Your main problems are going to be:
1. suspension travel. The 3rd Gen Maxima has a stupid-short strut and very little travel. you'll need a short strut to do it. they get $$ real quick, as you can see.
2. picking spring rates. that's easy, but you need someone that knows suspension modeling. easy enough to do though with some simple measurements and calculations.
3. geometry fix. if you lower the car more than about 1.5" the suspension geometry goes to crap. you're going to have to fix that.

But it's doable if you want to do it.

 

good to know,
how did yours turn out? did they work well? are they alot better then my tokico blues and sprint springs? cause mine are about shot and im looking to eliminate the "bumpiness" after hitting a bump, its like i hop 3 times then settle out. i just want something adjustable height and stiffness wise, so i can have it good for the street then full blown crazy for the track. i know a guy that does absolutely crazy suspension down where im at and i've been talking with him soo.... i hope we can talk some more figure out what will be best for the track, im not at all concerned about driving on the street with it extremely stiff, i just want her to handle like a pure track car.

 

3100lb FWD sedan with 65% of the weight on the nose.... about that......

want a similar Nissan with better results on the track? Get a 86-89 Z. 200lb lighter, RWD, fits 265's in the front and 285's in the rear without poking, has true 50/50 weight distro out of the box, and can be made to use S13 coilovers with a bit of convincing. and has the same VG30 we know and love... Even on non-coilovers, I'd put my Z against any 3rd gen Maxima in existence... not to mention the suspension geometry can be corrected with spacers due to the way the balljoint/steering are attached.

 

..?

He answered that in his first paragraph

 

i was going to point that out too but i figured my points made that answer somewhat irrelevant. Thing is that if you want a car that handles like a track car, you have to start with a platform that's capable of handling like a track car, which a 21 year old FWD sedan with an iron-block V6 and macpherson struts just isn't going to be able to do... a 2400lb bubbleback Civic with its double wishbone front suspension and a lightweight drivetrain is a totally different story from a Maxima, aftermarket support or not.

 

Its unfortunate they dont make Konis and Eibachs anymore. Always wanted to feel that set up. My friend has the KYB GR2/ST combo and it feels a bit on the rough side.

 

Why not since your looking into doing custom source info on the 1999 nissan skyline gt 25 sport. (4 door skyline) closest besides the A31 cefiro in body likeness.

 

Only the car was RWD/AWD, along with the A31. Suspensions are way too different.

 

im gonna ignore your statement d. im done wasting my time and getting banned putting you in your place. this way directed to dead2fall and he had questions so to keep this peaceful im just gonna ignore you permanent and gie my ideas to those with actual questions. anyways dead2fall since your doing custom that means you dont care if you have to modify your chassis to make this fit and i would say best option is the gt-r suspension. The 4 door skyline has a similar chassis design not exact but probably close enough to accomplish what your after.

 

Yea, I understand what u mean

 

my next project will be using alot of suspension parts and other stuff from the skylines but thats after i get mostly done with the major work on this maxima. And before anyone wants or tries to put there stupid 2 cents in. Money can accomplish anything and i really dont care what you all have to say because after i have done it you will see and no i wont share my information with those who doubt me or what i plan too do. I dont care what you trolls have to say.

 

i never doubted u elusive.. not even for a second

 

lol wasn't meaning you VE nor dead2fall, chromie, shil, jeff92se, brad92se, and any of those that havent been trying to be trolls like some people have been on here but most who always trying to say this is impossible or that cant be done. Are not true enthusiast of the 3rd gens and really i rather not see nor hear him running there gums about something cant be done because it hasn't even been done before. The beauty of building a car is to defy the odds and prove others wrong and i for one would rather not follow a common trend like most on here but design a new way to do things.

 

The weight of the engine have a lot to do with the handling of these cars. Put a VQ in it and I'm sure it would handle the corners much better.

 

why would i put a VQ in my car?? that engine isn't ment to go in a 3rd gen... anyways, im already making 350whp and 320tq ...
VG'S 4 LIFE!!!

 

[QUOTE=Matt93SE;8050222]Nope. You're about 10 years behind the curve on that one.
I built a set for my car before I ever moved to Houston. Spent a ton of time and money on it, and couldn't really get it to handle any better than Konis and Eibachs. In the end, I wish I'd never messed with it.


so you want to sell me the set? so i can mess with it and make it work maybe slightly different

 

late into this thread and skimmed it, but its been done. a guy on CarDomain has a VE that he built his own coilover setup for, anything can be done

i remember 2 years ago everyone said that a 2.0/2.2" drop wouldnt work, went for it and ive got mad JDM low now.

you could maybe try A31 Cefiro coils and mod them to fit, maybe R32 GTS-T sedans but Skylines have more in common with 180sx/200sx/240sx

 

[quote=dead2fall;8056221]This wouldn't be the first time Matt said something was a piece of **** and don't waste your time f@#king with it, cause it's useless.....

 

Neither do coilovers, yet you want to do something about it

He was suggesting the VQ cause it's all aluminum so lighter weight in the front, better weight distribution. Aaron92SE did the VQ35 swap and I bet it cost a lot to do, which doing a coilover setup would probably be just as difficult.

I have read that Nissan did a 4th gen rear suspension prototype on the 3rd gen but I could never find the video on it. Maybe it can be done with that setup?

 

Yeah but when I'm pressuring my 3rd gen around a corner, I can feel the weight of the engine dragging the car further than where I want it to go and that's not the suspension at all. It's weight distribution...I love my VE but some things are obvious.

 

4th gen front struts are something like 2" longer than 3 gen struts. going to be expensive to try to fit something else like an A31 of A32 kit if you're just blindly throwing parts at the car.

Do some research, take some measurements, buy the right parts and you can do pretty good. it won't be cheap to get the right parts, and unless you're ready to spend $1500+ on custom/race series struts that are shorter than the stock 3 gen stuff, it's just not going to happen correctly.

Either way, good luck.

 

I dont understand the need for these coil overs though. My friend has the GR2/Intrax combo and it feels stiff enough and he can take turns like a champ. With some stickier tires, he would do even better. Like honestly, what would be the difference with a custom coil over set up? How much lower do you need to go?

 

Dead 2 Fall I'm really feeling your motivation and I love your 3rdgen already the way she sits. Coilovers would be bad *** if your willing to spend the time, money and headaches your going to run into while making this happen. I'd love to offer suggestions but unfortunatley the realm your entering is beyond my experience. I've always depended on the after market companies to figure out the mathmatics behind suspension geometry. The only thing I would suggest is to find somebody who's done this or is capable of doing this for advice. Other than that I'm waiting to see your thread when you actually start this project...I'm sure your going to follow threw on this project, good wrenching my dude!!

 

It's not just about going lower. it's about getting better shocks and stiffer springs. the only real difference between a $600 set of Megan "coilovers" and a $6000 set of Penskes is the shock itself.

going lower hurts soooo many things on these cars that you need to do a ton of work to fix that once you drop the car. At that point it costs more than the coilovers to fix the rest of the suspension. It can be done- and has been on a few track cars I've seen- but for the most part people aren't goign to want to spend the money to do it the right way. they want low so they think they need coilovers with 3 feet of thread on the collars.

 

Well said my man... this was the issue I had with lowering my Max with the Sonar Suspension she came with. She was set up a certain for the electronic suspension and the adjustments the computer makes via the sonar sensor. With this set up your only able to manage about an inch lower without throwing everything else involved. The struts actually tighten up nicely during sport mode and ride comfortably during the comfort mode. I kept the set up because she rides so much better than the regular GXE ride and almost as tight as the factory SE set up. Most suggested the conversion to non Sonar but I just had to keep it, plus it's different than most 3rdgen owners...really it's different than most 4 door sport cars in general. I believe you know what you want, as do I know what I want and I believe you will achieve your goals that you have set for your Max. You have attained so much already with your 3rdgen and this is just the next step in finishing your dream 3rdgen as I see it, good wrenching!!

 

^^yea, I talked to this guy in tampa fl that does all custom setups, and he is helping me get the right parts together, I'm in the navy, and I'm leaving soon, so when I get back I'll be ordering all needed for this project

 

er... matt93se already did coilovers, and he already gave up trying to make a better mousetrap out of a 3rd gen i think you meant that to be to the OP.

 

so that means you're going to be doing tierod and balljoint relocation as well? if the car is to handle like a "true track car" then you might want to read some articles in grassroots racing magazines, written by people who build track cars, about the proper way to set up roll center height and camber curves. Otherwise it's just another FWD car with stiff springs and a low ride height... show car, not track car.

 

jw but why build custom coilovers when companies currently make coilovers for our cars?

 

lmfao dude no company makes a true coil over for ther 3rd gen maxima. Ebay coil overs dont count there not real coil overs.

 

Actually they don't. Its a bit of misinformation mixed with lack of knowledge. Those are for a different chassis (A31). We are J30. A31 is rwd and never imported to america. Long story short (thats been repeated multiple times) they don't fit on our cars.


Man will someone please put this in the stickies so we don't have to repeated this to every new person that discovers those things?

 

... You won't find that in GRM, I guarantee. I've been getting it for several years now and the only thing I've learned from GRM is how to dyno my Miata or put a skid plate on my rally Volvo or which street tires work best on my autoX Civic.

They're all nice guys, but that's not the reference material you need to do this kind of work.

 

http://www.tamparacing.com/
you think this place could help me out? im only 2-3 hours from tampa??