ive read in the past that maxspeeds were "near stock in ride" and "identical to HRs" but now they are being compared to the harshness of sprints and eibachs. whats going on here?
i know a lot of you have maxspeeds since there were so many groupbuys so share your experiences. if you can only compare it to the stock springs, thats fine. thanks.

 

I saw no difference between the stock SE springs and the Maxspeeds.

However if you have a GLE or GXE you will.

 

I had GXE suspension. I think the Maxspeeds are a little stiff, but not jarring or anything. I have nothing else to compare them to.But they are not overbearing.

 

Most people haven't tried multiple spring sets. I've only had the maxspeeds and they are pretty nice. I like the amount of drop it gives because it doesn't lower the car too much. Its not that I don't want lower. Its just that I live in NYC and the potholes are killer. I think the harshness has more to do with the struts than the springs. I would say the maxspeeds are 15% stiffer than the stock SE suspension. It's a compromise spring. Good handling, not too low, not too harsh.

ZuM

 

Maxspeeds = SE Ride, but handle a bit better with lower CG. I personally want it a bit stiffer...might try just installing KYB's.

 

 

Adjustable shocks make more difference than the spring. The maxspeed spring lowers the car just enough to avoid that floaty feeling from being up to high. With my AGX's set on low settings, it feels better than the SE ride. With it on high settings, look out sprint's

The issues that have been popping up were because SprintMax noted that MaxSpeeds are linear, that is, not progressive like the H&R's. This means, the jarring feeling you get from a bump when your spring is quite compressed (ie, a bunch of people in the car, or going around a corner really fast), is not far from the reaction the spring will have even when it is reletively unloaded. Good spring for the $$ IMHO, and typically drops a little more than the H&R without any sagging problems. Every spring has it's plusses and minuses.

 

this is my first suspension upgrade but the maxspeeds and the kyb agx's ride is luv. i thought it was gonna be a lot worse. good setup and im driving on the f#cked up streets in boston, A+ in my book.....

 

 

maxspeeds are pretty soft. It just got a lil bit stiffer and lowered the car a lil bit. But improved handling. I recommend them if you dont want too much of a drop. I think people say maxspeeds say there harsh like sprints is because of the AGX's adustment.

 

I just installed my Maxspeed spings 2 days ago on 95 SE 5sp with
100km on stock shocks/struts. The ride is very much like the
stock SE ride with just a hint more firmness. The drop eliminates
the 4x4 look but the car doesn't look dropped in an absolute sense.
I mean to say it looks dropped compared to the stock springs, but
makes the car look the way it should have from the factory.
I'm happy with the ride and look so far. There will probably be
some settling yet.

 

Have you had any problems with the install being on your stock shocks/struts? Im looking to do the same thing. Thanks in advance

 

I've only had them on for 6 days so there hasn't been any
opportunity to check the shocks/struts for leaks. The ride
seems fine however. As for installation problems, it was
a straight forward install. I didn't get any new parts
except for the springs. The dust boots were not in good
shape however, and I may yet replace them at a later time.
The upper strut bearings (3 piece plastic disc assembly) I
cleaned and regreased. Actually, I did replace the plastic
tubing that covers the spring coil were the coil rests on the
bottom spring perchs, but not the rubber isolators on the top.

 

What he said. I have a GXE also and i noticed the difference. definitely stiffer.

 

I had my Max speeds on for over a year now and changed to KYB AGX about 3 months ago and realized the hard ride or soft ride is more attentive to the shocks/struts than the springs...I did notice a diff from stock and H&R as well but more drastic rdie change from the install of the AGX.

 

changed from tokiko/eibach to kyb/maxspeed - former handles great but a bit harsh; the latter handles very well with comfortable ride

 

I have a 99 GXE. I put my Maxspeeds on with 86K on my factory springs. The ride got much better to me. Firmer but definately not harsh. I don't know how an SE rides but Maxspeeds ride better than stock IMO (86K springs might have something to do with that.

Originally posted by los-maxin1
Have you had any problems with the install being on your stock shocks/struts? Im looking to do the same thing. Thanks in advance

I've been running stock struts/shocks for about 3 or 4 months with no problems. I was going to get new struts right away but I know several people who have been running stock struts for over a year with no problem. I figure I'll wait until I blow these before I buy adjustables.