DFWmax

hello all --


i have been searching the forums for some answers to my questions. my maxima has 93,000 miles on it and since i plan on keeping it for a while, i am thinking about putting in some new shocks.

i am not overly concerned with dropping the car with new springs, but the main thing i would like is to get the maxima to ride like a bmw, or audi, where the ride is firm, but not jarring. in contrast, my maxima seems more "floaty" on the road, and definitely has more "boat action" after i hit a bump.

how do i fix this? will getting new shocks, firmer ones, like the tokico illumina give me what i want? i am thinking i would stay with the stock springs, since i am not necessarily going for a dropped look. this sounds like the combo for me, since i read in someone else's post that the bmw/audi uses a medium spring with a firm shock to give a comfortable, yet firm ride?

oh, i am also on stock rims, but using 225/55/16 tires.

anyone in dallas/fort worth have the tokico illumina and stock springs? i would like to see it in person, maybe?

thanks for any input.


tommy

mzmtg

iTrader: (11)

Tokico Illuminas are their adjustable struts. These would be overkill with stock springs.

I would recommend the KYB GR2. They are valved 15% stiffer than stock.

GR2s, combined with a strut tower brace and maybe a rear sway bar would get your car buttoned down really well. Don't forget good, performance oriented tires...

drewm

Couldn't have said it any better

DFWmax

what do you mean "overkill"... i thought it would be nice to have the adjustability of the shocks? speaking of which, does anyone know the range of the adjustment, i.e. is the lowest setting as soft as a stock setup? it would be nice to be able to adjust the ride so if i know that i am going to have "guests" in the car for a road trip, i could soften it up, but for regular daily driving, i can firm it up a bit.... or is this really too much??

i also noticed that i can purchase the front/rear separately. is there any reason why i would/should change only the front/rear and not the other?

i do have a front strut tower brace, and a rear sway bar, both from stillen. tires are yoko es100.

i don't know if it makes any other difference, but most of the miles put on the maxima were highway miles, with only the driver. i do notice that the car feels more "stable" with three other people in it (i.e. the back of the maxima doesn't feel so springy).

edited to add: should i think about putting in springs too? or will it not give me the effect i am looking for?

if i did this, my friend ("honest ron's garage") would help me put it together, as i need to keep costs down, but i would hate to put in the shocks, and then find out that i need to take it apart again to put springs in...

tommy

drewm

Yes, that is true, if you're willing to spend the extra money for adjustables then it would have extra benefits. I remember posts from a long time ago where members who didn't want to drop ran Konis and SE springs and sways and felt it was an extremely good suspension setup. These days, I still do believe that Koni makes the best adjustable shock, but it's hard to compete with the very low priced AGX which usually gets recommended. The Illumina is still pretty new and somewhat expensive, and I'm not sure many members want to be the test rats for that shock. You might find this page pretty useful in your decision including information and prices:
http://drewm.dyndns.org/~drew/maxfaq...p?MaximaShocks

DFWmax

yes, the cost is a little high, so i want to make sure that it will fit the intended purpose.

"honest ron" has konis in his jetta, and he also has eibach springs too, i think... the ride is very nice. however, it looks like you have to do some major installation work to get these into the maxima, which is something i am leery of. i would like to get these put in on a saturday or something and be done with it. also, some of the other shocks are adjustable, but not from the outside??? so you have to keep taking the assembly apart to tune it?? wow.

thank you for the link to your website. i had already gone to it, and was looking for the link, when i came back to my thread, and found that you had posted it.

more questions, as usual -- do these firmer shocks also mean less lean in corners?

can you comment on the springs issue? do i need new springs? i think there is not too much wear/tear on the originals, as it is usually just me in the car, and it is majority "smooth road" hi-way miles?

thanks,

tommy

drewm

The konis are the only ones non externally adjustable (and that's only for the rear), AGX and Illuminas both are.

Generally lean is counteracted with sway bars, unless you're talking about slalom runs where it's quick right to left transitions, which would be partially the sways and partially the shocks.

Generally what shocks give you is stiffer compression and rebound which allows you better control in bumpy corners and bumps in general without allowing your suspension geometry to change drastically mid corner which could possibly lead to a loss of control. For example last night I was doing a little more shock settings adjustment, and was doing some pretty hard bumpy left corner testing. And I must say, that this Eibach/Koni/Stillen Sway/Motivational Mounts setup keeps amazing me over and over again.

Generally springs never wear out and never need replacing. And if you plan on having a stock harshness ride, I'd stay with the stock springs. Unless you want to go for all out performance then I'd suggest Eibachs or on the extreme performance and cost side, some JIC FLT-A2s. But both of those ride quite a bit rougher.

mzmtg

iTrader: (11)

If you want to go ahead and get adjustables, AGXs are the way to go. There's no real reason to get either of the alternatives (Koni & Illumina) when you consider all the factors (cost, ease of installation, ease of adjustability). The AGXs can be set anywhere from a hair softer than OEM to race stiff.

Konis require dissaembly of the front strut bodies and you have to remove the rear struts to adjust them. Plus, only the rebound damping is adjustable.

I don't know much about the Illuminas other than they appear to have the same ease of installation/adjustability as the AGXs. But, they are much more expensive.

You can get AGXs as low as $330 shipped if you look around.

DFWmax

ok, i will look into the kyb agx too.

what else do i need to get to do this? do i need to replace things like strut bearings (?), and or other things that i read about?

tommy

spiff56747

iTrader: (-1)

you probably need to replace your dust boots. you can see the condition they are in without dissasembling anything. if they are torn up, get new ones.

strut bearings, its your call. theyre like 30 bucks each, and if you have that money to spend then go ahead, it might save you problems later on if your old ones ever go bad. when i replaced mine, the old ones were kind of dirty, but they didn't look like they were falling apart or anything.

also, maybe you should try getting the tokico illuminas, if theyre not too expensive, since not too many people have them. i've actually read they are a bit softer than the AGX's in absorbing really severe bumps.