After doing some reaserch, I've come to the conclusion that the best lowering option (if you want to go for a slam or "really lowered" look) is the ground control coilover mount/spring. If you own them, please list where you bought them, and if you don't mind, for how much. Thank you.

 

I got mine in a group buy off www.groupbuycenter.com through a company called No Limit Custom in FLA. I paid 335 in the group purchase, regular price is 395.

 

stay away from ground control!! - they suck- horrible ride, get some eibachs

 

Too bad GC coilovers use Eibach ERS springs. Horrible ride is also subjective... to me a horrible ride is a floaty ride, not a stiff ride.

But yes, I must admit, el emeraldo does sort of have a point, be warned, GCs are very very very stiff. As stiff as you will find. Just depends on what you are looking for by lowering your car.

 

i got my gc's at autotrix in South Florida for $350 including install.

 

Your Mods: FSTB and regular clear corners (to match my headlights)

Just because someone says something it gets carried way too far with people like you posting. Similar to the NOS puddling issue. Have you had a first hand experience with GC's? I doubt it. We all come here for an idea of mods and what can be done to our cars. What works better and also bad experiences. A lot of times those opinions are biased in the fact that people hear one thing than post that over and over not even knowing the facts first hand. It's monday and your post irritated me.

Back to the point, I purchased mine from Stealin for (I think) $375. The ride is stiff, but until you've been in a car and taken a corner, I don't want to hear any comments on the ride...


(Pardon the vent)

 

I've installed 2 sets of GCs on my friend's Hondas and my opinion is that they are crap. The only good coilovers are ones that have shortened and threaded housings. On the 4th gen Maxima, any drop over ~1.7" limits the amount of wheel travel dramatically. The 4th gen sits like a 4X4 stock and with that gap you see most of the wheel travel. With low springs like Sprint/Intrax, you've got about 1.2" of upwards wheel travel and that's with cutting the bumpstops 70%. Pretty much any bump over 1" will cause quite a shake because of the limited wheel travel and high rate springs to keep from bottoming out. There are guys in this Org that run their GCs at 2+" drops which is very unsafe IMO. With the lack of any real wheel travel, the Maxima's suspension, or lack of it, becomes a spring board. If you hit a decent bump in a turn, it is quite possible to loose control of the car. I don't know how many slammed Honda's I've seen go down the highway, hit a bump, and I watch the rear tires actually come off the ground. Quite scary if you ask me.

BMWs and WRXs handle awesome because they have a ton wheel travel, soft springs, and stiff struts. This gives you a comfortable ride teamed with stellar handling.


Dave

 

wow.. I had no idea about these facts...

 

I just wanted to mention that my comment was directed towards the 2nd, 3rd, 4th... hand experience people.


There are people on this board that have GC's installed and are happy with them (I am one). There also have been complaints of noise, which I have yet to find. The problem I have is that people are so quick to repeat what they have heard, which might not even be true. Similar to installing an intake wrong and having problems. Then translating that into an issue with the intake. This gets repeated and so on...

I agree with the spring rate issue, but you will have that on any car that is modified from stock ride height. GC's are probably the worst of the bunch but the issue is still there with the other springs. It's been mentioned that they are too harsh for normal driving which I don't believe to be so.

Just my $0.02

 

ground controls scare me. the springs are sooo little. but i love the adjustability and i don't mind the stiffness of the springs.

my name is krzymax, i am an addict. i ride on ground controls...

 

Check the South Eastern section of this forum we have meets down in South Florida...

 

Having rode in MadMax's car, let me tell you it handles like a dream and the ride really aint that bad at all. Looks slammed too!

 

I admit I have never rode in a Maxima with GCs, but I have ridden in many Hondas with them. I have first hand experience with low springs like Intrax. IMO, a 2" drop like the Sprints/Intrax really limits wheel travel and are as low as you should go on the street. With the 2" drop, you've removed over 50% of you upwards wheel travel. Like I said before with Intrax, you've got 1.2" of wheel travel before you hit the bump stop, assuming you removed 70% of it like I did. With GCs on the typical 2.5" many guys run in here, you're looking at about .7" of wheel travel before you crash on the stops and ultimately to the strut mount. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to understand that .7" or less of wheel travel is going to be dangerous because the tire will "po-go" over any bump over 1". When the chassis becomes unsettled, you loose control. GC runs high rate springs in an attempt to keep you from bottoming out and not for handling. IMO, sleeve type coil-overs are junk. A GC equipped running a 2.5" drop might feel like it handles on rails on a smooth surface, but take that same car on a real street and see what happens.




Dave