What are good suspension choices for a SMOOTH ride? (I guess I'm an old fart!)
 

Hey eveybody.

My 98 SE Auto has about 141,000 miles, and I'm thinking it's probably about time for some suspension work.

I'm an aging 26 years old, with a kid on the way, and it's actually MY WIFE that drives the Max most of the time. So I'm not quite as concerned about the best autocross times.

I'm looking for good-quality suspension components that offer a smooth ride (equal to or smoother than stock SE) for not a whole lot of cash. I noticed a guy on eBay who was selling KYB AGX's... I think the set was a tad under $400. Do you think this would be a good choice? Since they're adjustable, I can set the damping down to a SMOOTH position to take the beating out of those long road trips.

Whaddya think?

Re: What are good suspension choices for a SMOOTH ride? (I guess I'm an old fart!)
 

i think i saw the agx's in a group buy for $340 here, check out the group deal forum.

I would get the AGXs and use stock springs or H&Rs, if you want a drop.

I have the H&Rs and on decent roads they ride like the stock springs but they do not soak up the big hits like the stock springs do. The roads around here suck, sometimes I question whether I should have gone with aftermarket springs. The handling and look is :eek: though.

just get KYB AGX's for struts and don't mess with the springs. If your springs are bad then buy some new oem ones. If you're looking for a drop you're probably going to feel a worse ride. But your best bet would to get progress springs and keep you 15" rims on your car.

I'm 29 and I hear what you're saying about getting "old". I've been on a quest for the best ride and I've tried many different setups over the past 3 years. Here's my experience:

With no drop:

KYB AGX struts
Motivational strut mounts
Warpspeed subframe connectors

With a drop:
same as above, but with H&Rs

DO NOT run larger wheels if you want to keep excellent ride quality. I love my setup (as above, but with 17" rims), but I'll admit that on rough surfaces, the ride harshness is higher than stock (mostly because of the rims). It's not horrible though. My old man loves riding in my car and he think's it rides great even on rough surfaces. When running my stock 15" rims, the ride is VERY close to stock.

I rode in as friend's bonestock BASE model G35 over the weekend. When I say base, I mean base. Cloth interior, no HID, 16" rims, tall all season tires, no Bose, etc. Anyways, while riding in the G35 I noticed the ride really isn't any different than my Maxima's. I can only assume the G35 with more common 17s and sport suspension would ride slightly harsher. The only thing I noticed the G35 did significantly better was soak up bumpy turns.


Dave

Don't get the AGXs if you want a smooth ride unless you have very straigh roads where you live. AGXs are too firm even on the softest setting. Get the tokiko blues. I've been told that they're much smoother than KYB shocks, even smoother then the GR2's. I myself have the GR2s and find them to be somewhat firm. The front doesn't absorb small imperfections very well and make my frontend and steering wheel nervious. Also, the tokiko blues will only cost you like $310. As for springs, the only springs I would ever consider after a bad experience w/other springs are the H&Rs.

Peace.

KYB AGX = Firm, sporty ride even at the softest setting.

KYB GR2 = Nice firm strut, not as sporty as the AGX's and much cheaper.

Tokico Blue = Nice smooth ride with great handling. Couple them with the stock springs and you have a very nice riding vehicle.

Tokico lllumina = Same as above, only there adjustable from smooth to nice and firm. These have just been released for our cars. There a bit pricy, but probably worth it.