Gary U

I recently bought a Loaded 1999 SE Limited with 5-speed. I love the car, but think it sits just a bit too high (visually). I would like to drop it just a bit to close the gap somewhat in the wheelwell.

My concern is that going with something like Eibachs will require a better strut/shock (true?) and also ride harder than it does today. This is my daily driver, and the stock suspension (with added rear swaybar) seems nice to me. Any ideas on how to bring it down an inch or so without loosing the plesant ride and needing special struts/shocks?

By the way, before you think I am a wimp who wants a soft car, think again. My toys are my Z28 and SS Chevelle. The Z28 is set up for the track and gets street driven in nice weather. I just went to an adjustable coil over set with 700 lb Eibach race springs on custom valved Bilsteins. The car handles great, and satisfies my need for a true handling car.

Anyway, any help on the Maxima would be appreciated.

dch95

I have been told that H&R is the best as far as lowering (not too much) and you won,t get that phaucked up ride. I have Progress Springs and I really wish I would have done a search and asked what was the best. I also kept my stock struts and shocks. I did the drop to do just as you are trying to do. Getting rid of the 4x4 look. It looks a heck of a lot worse when you have 235/45/17. BTW the struts and shocks have held up for about a year already. Hope this helps.

mtrai760

iTrader: (19)

I've heard that H&R's are suspossed to have the best (closest to stock) ride. But I have also gotten much recomondation to replace the struts at the same time, stock units will go quickly. I just picked up my H&R's the other day, I'm waiting till next week to put them in when I can afford the new struts... Good luck.

ny96max

Gary U:
Buy yourself a set of H&R's. I have had mine for over a year now and they will give you the closest to stock ride that you can get. When i lowered the max i also changed out the struts to all Tokico's. I had 40k on my max when i did the suspension work and was told my stock struts were still fine, but i changed them out anyway. And they made an even bigger differnece in handling and overall ride quality.

I reccomend H&R/Tokico to anyone looking for a smooth/sporty ride in their max.

Gary U

Thanks for the info. Has anyone actually compared the Eibach to H&R on the same car or taken back to back rides in vehicles with each of the springs? I want to make the best decision I can (at this point, I am not sure I will do anything).

ATmax99gle

iTrader: (5)

Progress rides great and are very affordable. www.ptuning.com carries these for cheap.

95greense

i had the eibachs then took them out and put in H&R's. i won't say the difference is night and day but it is noticible. IMHO though, any aftermarket springs will not come close to the factory ride.

redmaxpa007

iTrader: (21)

I will let you know the difference between stock and eibach...on monday....installing eibach/tokico setup this weekend..

dsmercado

I have the Eibach/Tokico setup now. There's definitely a difference in ride comfort. I'm sure I was just used to the cushy ride in my GLE. I was not liking the ride during the first day I got them. Now I'm used to it, so no big deal.

But the trade-off is better handling, cornering, and a reduction in that big factory "fendergap". The stock shocks and springs weren't doing it for me since I got 17-inch wheels. I had a much more pronounced "floating" feeling than before.

The upgrade was well worth it in my opinion!

Good luck!

redmaxpa007

iTrader: (21)

ride harshness will be an issue in 6 months or so. My wife will be having the baby... i will probably look into getting h&r's eventually...

thanks for the info.

dch95

Gary U

95GreenSE:

Did you change to the H&R because of the anticipated softer ride (compared to Eibach)? Which struts did you use - same with both springs?

nixima

I have H&R on my car. They lower the car by about one inch and the ride is very close to stock on nice pavement. I still have stock shocks and they are surviving well. My bother's 97SE has that same set-up and after 50K miles the stock shocks are still good. I have used H&R on other cars I have owned, all with stock shocks with no problem.

party_boy

just a quick reminder...manufacturer drop is the drop in the front of the car not on the wheel well. It is a greater visual drop in the well. Remember after settling expect between .25-1" additional drop depending on the manufacturer. Save yourself headache and get them both at the same time 1 install instead of 2.

Gary95

I had been thinking about lowering a little myself, but didn't spend much time on this... I had to replace all 4 tires recently, because the tread was worn enough to induce wheel spin on wet hills. I went with Yokohama Y388 P225's. A slightly taller tire so that it fills the wheel well a bit better. I just couldn't see forking out $1200 for 17" rims and matching tires, especially since my stock alloy "sawblade" rims are still looking great.

But I digress... Can you lower your suspension by an inch or two with the stock rims and wheels? Or do you need to step up to lower profile tires on taller rims?

dsmercado

I believe you should be able to lower you car even with the stock wheels. The diameter of the wheel and tire should be almost the same whether stock or aftermarket (bigger) wheels. The wheels get bigger but the tire gets smaller (lower profile).

I went from 15inch to 17inch wheels and the car was feeling very wobbly so I lowered the car.

I guess the wheel upgrade goes hand in hand with the suspension upgrade for better handling, cornering, and less body roll.

Hope this helps.

dmbrazilian

I have a question for all of you guys with the H&R/Tokico set up or just the H&R springs...Did you guys have to get a camber kit for the car or not? Or did you even have any problems with the alignment?

thanx

Morris

I ended up with the Eibachs and have kept the stock struts. It was pretty timely when I installed the struts, since I needed new tires I went with more of a touring tire than performance. I bought the Michelin MXV4 Plus tires so the ride would be a little better. It was a major change in the ride. If I were doing a lot of rally-crosses and stuff, I would have bought a performance tire. I just wanted the springs to close the gap and give it a little bit more aggressive stance. Not to mention, the touring tire will last much longer.

04 maxse

Nope no camber kit. Every time you mess around with the suspension you should get a wheel alignment, but as far as problems, None..