Which one of the two do you feel is better and why (be specific)?

Also, what are the best set of springs to mate to each of these struts?

 

Depending on what type of drop you want will determine the best springs to get.

If you just want a decent drop and smooth ride Illuminas and H&R will most likely be the winning combo.

Struts:

AGX and Illuminas are great struts, more people will state the Illuminas ride better than AGX (which I'm sure they probably do). So if you want to most comfortable adjustabel ride get Illuminas.

Springs: if you want a super drop but cant do coil overs get S-techs. S-tech and illumias are enjoyed by those who have them. If you want a moddest drop and comfort go with H&R.

 

i dont really know, but agx are cheaper than illumina, os im going to to gues they are a little better. AGX Warranty states it is limited lifetime, but it says its void if they are paired with a drop of more than 1.5". so now im wondering if S-Tech guys have had any problems. Tokico Illumina Warranty is a limited warranty for as long as you own the car, except the electronic components which are only covered for a year.

i havent done my susp yet, but i will prob do S-Techs and AGX

 

Yea its bad the warranty is for only a 1.5 drop but they are good struts themselves anyway. I myself and doing S-Tech and AGX also, many who have AGX have had little to no problems with them.

I myself would choose AGX cause there about $100 cheaper and there is a difference between then but not enough to make me spend the extra $100, maybe I'll need a ride in someones car who has illuminas so I can tell after I get the AGX on, but I fall in the broke college student catagory so I choose AGX for now.

 

Where have you found AGX for $100 cheaper than Illuminas? I found two dealers that, if you get the struts from one and the shocks from the other, will get you into a set of Illuminas for $378 shipped, which is actually about the same as I've seen AGXs go for...

 

Can you tell me more about this? I am looking to get Illuminas with Eibach.

 

Also it's worth noting a couple of things:

1. AGXs have been known to get really harsh in cold winter weather.

2. Some people end up with blown AGXs, whereas I have yet to hear a story about blown Illuminas - even with huge drops and super-stiff springs (e.g. Ground Control).

3. AGXs are the shocks that Eibach recommends for use with their Pro-Kit springs. Ever notice that the AGXs are warrantied up to a 1.5" drop, which is how much the Pro-Kit springs drop most cars? From what I can tell, the Pro-Kit and the AGX were probably developed together, so if you're getting those springs and want performance more than comfort, you should probably get the AGX.

 

Bro I really want to get the illuminas for $378, can you tell me about that?

 

1. Tokico Illumina struts from www.performancepeddler.com: $120 each w/ free shipping. On the front page in the upper-lefthand corner, there's a space for a "Wholesale Login". Type "maxima" in there and login to get the discounted price.

Links:

http://www.performancepeddler.com/de...T_ID=TOKBB3102
http://www.performancepeddler.com/de...T_ID=TOKBB3103


2. Tokico Illumina shocks from www.adventon.com: $138.50 for the pair, free shipping.

Link:

http://www.adventon.com/acb/showprod...tGroup_ID=2803


3. Eibach Pro-Kit springs from www.adventon.com: $223.72 for the set, free shipping (you have to add it to your cart to get that price).

Link:

http://www.adventon.com/acb/showprod...tGroup_ID=2602

Total comes to $602.22 shipped. If you can possibly spare another $150 or so, you should also get KYB front dustboots from Cattman (www.cattmanperformance.com) and a set of mzmtg's long-travel rear shock mounts (PM mzmtg for details). Those will increase your suspension travel, which is important when you drop the car.

 

$378 shipped for illumines is a great price and I’ve seen illumines fot atleast $430 shipped, so in your case its not that much more than AGX, but if that’s a sale and ends soon then back to the regular price of the illuminas.

 

There is no comparision between the AGX and Illuminas. AGX's feel f'd up compared to the Illuminas. You may get decent life out of the AGX's down in FL but up here, they just don't last long.

 

Correct me if you find that I'm wrong, but the prices on the sites I listed above have been stable for quite a while. Doesn't look like they're temporary sales... at least, they're not listed as such.

 

your right but I didnt know before, hence why I said "if" so if that just the price then there is a good source for illuminas, good find.

 

that looks like an awesome deal for Illuminas. $380 shipped? That even beats performance peddlers $408 shipped for all four, the best i've seen after months of shoppin around.

 

The price of $378 for a set of Illuminas beat anything I could find on eBay: cheapest price is around $413 + 15 shipping. Likewise, AGX's on eBay go for $332. The eBay seller whom many here use, JDMwerks, has a Tokico Illumina + matching spring set for $550 shipped. The spring set (with a drop of 1.25") was specifically designed for the Illuminas. Would that combo be a better choice than AGX's & Eibach Pro - which I think would be around the same price as the Eibach's go for $227?

The knock on the Illuminas seem to be the adjuster dial which required an offset screwdriver, and has settings that are hard to read, and sometimes the settings change on their own. The knock on the AGX's seems to be longevity and paint chipping off the shock body.

Now, one other little question I have is the following: is switching to lowering springs really necessary? I know the dropped look is great, and a lowered car really cuts down on body lean, but what if you had a limited budget and you also wanted to add beefed up sway bars, front and rear?

Suppose it were your car, and your main goal is to provide it with a more, solid road feel and more control in turns as well as to eliminate that "bouncy, floaty" stock suspension feel, what would you choose?

(a) a spring set and adjustable strut combo, or

(b) adjustable struts and better front and rear sway bars?

 

I got illuminas w/ eibach!!! im loving it!!!

 

[
The knock on the Illuminas seem to be the adjuster dial which required an offset screwdriver, and has settings that are hard to read, and sometimes the settings change on their own.

Suppose it were your car, and your main goal is to provide it with a more, solid road feel and more control in turns as well as to eliminate that "bouncy, floaty" stock suspension feel, what would you choose?

(a) a spring set and adjustable strut combo, or

(b) adjustable struts and better front and rear sway bars?[/QUOTE]


Is it true that the Illuminas can change on their own sometimes? Has it ever happened to anyone? Does it happen often? Is this bad???

Sorry, can't answer your question very knowledgably because I to am in the middle of figuring out my suspension, but i would say springs and struts because if your still riding up in the air, you'll be just like some SUV and have a higher center of gravity. although i have heard wonderful things about the rear sway bar. hmmm...

 

awesome thanks for the link hopefully i can afford a drop this summer

 

How do they ride? This is the setup I'm 99% sure I'm getting as both companies are the best of the best. How's the ride on bumps? does it skip out over hard corners with mild bumps? How is the exact drop? How long have you had them?

 

Holly crap, good going man, cant wait to buy my like that.

 

I'd still like to know how the Tokico spring set that was made for the Illuminas compare to the Eibachs.


BTW, I have not read good things about KYB boots. (Source: Epinions and TireRack)

 

The Illumina kit with the matched springs (made by Vogtland, in case you care) included is definitely your best bang-for-the-buck, and the best balance of cost, ride, and handling. AGX + Eibach will handle a little better but will ride significantly harsher and won't last as long. The argument for Eibach/Illumina is that it will ride just as well as the Illumina kit and still handle better at the limit, hence the $50 higher cost.


I've never heard of the settings changing by themselves. If they do, it's probably after some very seriously harsh driving and a lot of bottoming out, and it's extremely rare. Either way, it seems to be a small price to pay for a shock that lasts a lot longer and rides much more smoothly.


Poor control in corners and the "bouncy, floaty" feel both come from the same things: springs that are too soft to keep the car level and the tires on the ground, and struts/shocks that are too soft to control suspension movement. If you want to get rid of those things, you want to replace both springs and shocks. Replacing only your shocks will leave you with springs that are still too soft to hold up the car, and replacing only your springs will make things incredibly bouncy and will kill your shocks really fast.

The problem with adding a sway bar with the stock springs is that the Maxima already snap-oversteers when you hit the limit, and a sway bar makes it worse -- even though your limits are higher, once you hit them, you could be in a tree faster than you can blink. Unless you're a very very serious and experienceed driver and know your car better than you know yourself, a sway bar should be a later mod.

Springs and shocks together, on the other hand, will increase the car's limits and make it feel better without making the handling balance so much more dangerous.

You don't seem too concerned with having ultimate handling; you just want the car to feel better. If I were you, I'd get the Illumina strut/shock/spring kit, with KYB front mounts/boots/bumpstops and mzmtg's rear strut mounts for increased suspension travel (should run you under $700 shipped). Then, later on, get some Warpspeed subframe connectors to stiffen your chassis ($250 shipped). That will help your ride and your handling.

 

Me too! Ditto!

awesome ride & Handling. Throw on some 18's with 245's and looks perfect IMO

 

From what I can gather, they're actually very very similar except at the limit, where the Eibachs are a little stiffer. If you're even slightly forgiving about tiny differences in handling and harshness, you probably wouldn't even notice the difference.

Incidentally, if you aren't forgiving about handling, there's a group deal on K-Sport coilovers until the end of this month (May 2005), here:

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=399208

At $740, those coilovers will handle better for the money than anything you can get -- period -- and apparently it's a real shock how smooth they are, considering how freakin' stiff the springs are.

 

I can't figure out which link had the Illuminas for 378$ shipped. Which one guys?

I already bought the springs, from Canuck motorsport in Canada (Basically a slightly less stiff Eibach, with the same drop in the rear and a additional 1/2" drop in front, which is fine since I removed nearly 100 pounds in the front/engine bay area).

 

Does anyone know Eibachs approximate spring rate? They don't have it on their site. I'm trying to compare stiffness to a brand called Megan Racing. Anyone heard of them?

 

There are three links: One for front-left, one for front-right, and one for both rears (you have to use the "maxima" login for the first two to get the low price).

 

Eibach doesn't publish their spring rates. They're really cagey about it. I Googled it though, and while I didn't find their spring rates for the Maxima, I did find their spring rates for a ton of other applications, and there was definitely a trend: they tended to be as soft as or even softer than stock in the middle, and between 2 and 3 times stiffer on the outside.

Megan Racing is a good brand. Not stellar, but they apparently have good stuff.

 

Can we have the URL again, please?

 

Scroll up... post #9.

http://forums.maxima.org/showpost.ph...59&postcount=9

 

what electronic components are in the illuminas? There is no power to them. I'm lost.

 

maybe they have electronic components for other cars like the Z or something

 

I think it's just that they make shocks to fit certain cars that have electronically adjustable suspension, so that's what it's referring to. Obviously that doesn't apply in our case.

 

werd me 2, eibachs and illuminas

 

Those with Eibach and Illuminas that are 5spd, any sag or is it even drop?

 

I am currently running the AGXs with eibachs and they are harsh. But the handling and the look are present. I do about 300 miles a week from medford to brooklyn and they are still holding up. The only bad thing is that I have the settings 3(front) 6(back) and when I hit a big pothole, blown tires on the sidewall is the result.

 

OH I see. I would have loved to have the control of th ilumina at the touch of a button. My friends lexus lx470 had a switch that basically did the same thing that we do when we get out and adjust it. It went from sports car to well....lexus.

 

Im still jot getting 378 shipped....

 

it doesn't seem to be adding up correctly...? and links arenet working

 

Megan racing springs are $104 shipped at streetracing.org they have a stiff spring rate but are REALLY cheap, that was why I was leery I don't want to buy $100 worth of crap just to have to buy Eibachs later...