I am in the process of doing research on lowering my car. I have decided on H-techs springs. My questions about the GR-2's are...


1) Do they get softer over time?
2) Does the rear end of the car bounce?
3) How many miles do you have on yours?
4) Would you buy them again or get an adjustable strut?

 

1) dont know yet, put em on about 2 thousand miles ago
2) yes, bounces like crazy
3) again, hardly any
4) NO, get adjustable

I didn't trim my bumpstop so that maybe causing bounce...Im running H&R springs..

 

i have eibach pro and gr-2 for 3 months now and im starting to regret getting the gr-2. the ride was stiff the first month especially during the evenings. not sporty just stiff.

now the ride is considerable softer after only 3 months. maybe it has finally settled and this is how soft it suppose to be. i wish i had the adjustable so i can stiffen it up a bit.

the rear does not bounce anymore then the front.

the thing i hate the most about the spring/shock is that it doesnt feel like i have independent suspension anymore. for example, when i run over a bump on the right front i can feel the whole car bouncing rather then just the right front.

i drove my girlfriends 2004 stock 2 door honda accord ex and its rides a lot more sportier then my 98 max. drove my friends 2002 audi and that feels a lot more sportier.

i still get some body roll even with a front strut bar and lots of noise from the front springs. i got less than 100,000 miles on the car. ive had eibach/tokico blue combo on my old integra and that was a nice ride. maybe maxima was not meant to be lowered with all the weight.

forget the gr-2 and get the adjustables.

 

I agree, I have the same set up and it's too stiff for me, should have gone with Illuminas...

 

yah man dont get gr-2's.....get atleast agx's or then if ur feeling great then get illuminas

 

had sprints(2") and GR-2s on my old maxima.....

 

yeah i have eibbach and gr2's...it was stiff when i 1st installed them...but now they're soft...UGH...if i had to do it again i'd go with agx adjustable ...with eibach.

 

I've had my gr2's with maxspeed springs for about a year now. Rides very comfortable. If you're gonna get the GR2's make sure you're getting soft springs. i.e maxspeed or h&r's. The gr2's arent as bad as most people say they are. I can barely tell the difference in ride comfort from stock.

 

im on gr2's and s-techs and i can barely tell the difference from stock exept it looks 10x better and you can feel the road a bit more.

 

I'm on H&Rs with GR2's. I've had them since mid Feb. this year, so about 3 months. The ride is good. Still comfortable. There is no bounce in the rear at all. The only concern is when i get my 17's. It might be a little less comfortable then. Other than that i am very pleased, but i would probably get adjustable next time because i will have more money.
Good luck.

 

from what i have read, just spend the few extra bucks now on Illuminas and you will NOT regret it! that's my plan now too!

 

so would u guys suggest tokiko hp's over gr2's

 

I don't have personal experience with HP's, but from what i've heard, don't get hp's. I like the GR2's.

 

I'd get illuminas if you plan on keeping the car for a while. The ride can get annoying at times over rough roads with the GR-2s. Plus the illuminas are supposed to last longer.

 

from all ive heard.. i heard that adjustable illuminas were the best

 

Im aware the Illuminas are the best.
I just want feedback on the non-adjustable GR-2's.
From all the research the HP's are just factory replacements and shouldn't really be paired with a "lowering" spring.

 

Someone's gonna flame me for this...

OEM replacement shocks (KYB GR-2, Tokico HP/Blue) are not made for lowering springs.

If you're on OEM replacement shocks with lowering springs, especially S-Techs, and you claim it's as nice as stock, there are four possible reasons why:

1. You don't really care about the extra bounciness because the better handling and control makes it feel better to you
2. Your experience of what a stock ride feels like was on blown shocks
3. You like a bouncy ride
4. You're pulling our collective chain

I really don't mean to flame here. It's just physics.

OEM replacement shocks are made to.... replace OEM shocks. They're made to work with the stock springs, and at the same time be a little firmer and a little more durable. When you use lower and stiffer springs, the springs will force the shocks to move up and down faster than they were designed for. They'll also make the shocks sit lower, which will compromise their effectiveness. Result: the shocks can't control the motion of the springs and your car bounces like mad over bumps, and your shocks will blow out in a matter of weeks.

I'm on GR-2s with stock SE springs, and they're just fine. 12k miles and hardly any signs of wear. I have seen a 5th Gen on S-Techs with GR-2s, though. His car rode almost as badly as a 4th gen I30 I saw that had cut Eibach springs on stock shocks -- and that was the bounciest freakin' vehicle I have ever been in. And that's saying a lot, since the 5th gen is heavier and has a stiffer chassis, which will make the ride smoother.

Of course, it won't be nearly as bad with H-Techs, but still... If you're looking at H-Techs then you're looking for comfort with some additional handling, and nothing -- nothing -- will beat Tokico Illuminas for that. Plus, even with the drop of the H-Techs, the Illuminas will still probably last you for the rest of the time you own the car.

If you're at all concerned about a bouncy ride or the life of your shocks, do not go cheap on your shocks.

 

Would the AGX be pretty bad too? I always thought stiff=good for handling, and i heard the AGX are stiff. I plan on lowering the car without the knowledge of my parents because i'm not allowed to, so i'm going to need a ride thats pretty damn close to stock, but handles really well. I know that Illumina and H&R is the closest feeling to stock, but that may be over my budget. My budget will probably be around 550-600 dollars. What is the best combo for this budget?

 

GR-2s are factory replacements as well. Same deal.

 

lol what the parents dont know doesnt hurt them...lol i myself and alot of my friends have all had to lower our cars w/o the rents finding out. idk why their all so against it...????

-ohh yea i got gr2's with stechs and its stiff as *uck. then again i have 18's but still... i will prolly go with llumi's when they decide to blow..

 

Okay.

Stiff springs are good for handling, and good shocks let you have firm damping, which is needed for stiff springs -- otherwise the suspension will bounce uncontrollably. A good shock isn't necessarily always stiff, though. Good shocks (e.g. Konis, Illuminas) actually have more give to them when you put load on them really suddenly -- i.e. when you hit a really hard bump. This lets your suspension absorb the bump. Then, when you put load on them slowly (i.e. when cornering), they resist the movement much more. So it's kinda like they're sometimes soft and sometimes stiff.

The valving of a shock is what determines when it's soft and when it's stiff. AGXs are valved to be stiffer overall, so they might give you slightly better response but they'll ride a lot rougher than Illuminas. Illuminas seem to be valved in such a way that they work extremely well on our cars, with a variety of springs.

So... your question about a drop and improved handling that your parents won't notice, for $500 to $600. Answer: unless your folks think anything stiffer than a Lincoln Town Car is all the same crap, it's impossible. Lower and better handling means stiffer, period. It might still be really nice if you have great shocks, but there's no way to get around having more bumps. The closest you could come to a nice, soft, stock-ish ride would be Tein H-Techs with Illuminas. That'd run you around $600 shipped. If your parents know nothing about cars and rarely ride in yours, this might work.

If your parents are paying close attention, though, you'll have to go a step further. That means chassis stiffening (front strut tower bar, stage 2 lower tie bar, and stage 2 subframe connectors), KYB front bumpstops, and long-travel rear shock mounts. Grand total is around $1300.

Mind you, your car would ride and handle incredibly if you did all that. Not only would it be about as smooth as stock, but it would feel much more planted, solid, and sure-footed. It'd be insane. I'd love to drive a Maxima that was done up like that.

 

Great explanation!

My parents only driven my car twice. I don't see when i would really need to give them a ride in mine. My mom is clueless, but my dad knows how just about everything on a car works, but he's not a car guy, just a smart dude i guess. If i were to get the H-Tech and Illumina combo, would i need to spend any more money on any other parts? Everything has to be included in my budget. I'll try to get some local maxima owners to help me with the installation. Another question is this: I know h-tech is a pretty small drop, so would it look any better than stock with my sawblades, and would it still look like a 4x4 if i got aftermarket 17s or 18s?

My main dillema is wheather to get suspension against my parents will and still look like an old lady mobile with the sawblades, or to get rims and look like a 4x4, but not an old lady mobile.

 

i have maxspeed springs with gr-2s...no problems really but if i could re-do it again i would go to s-techs with illuminas

 

True, it just seemed that people were having more success with them than HP's.
Then i read your post #17 and now im back at square 1.

 

Got GR-2s with Tein H-techs. Drop is moderate and not immediately obvious - what the Max should have had in the first place IMO. After the first couple of weeks the shocks settle and soften up a bit, now the ride is great! No more 4x4 look and the ride is only slighlty stiffer than stock.

 

You spend much more time driving your car than looking at it, yes? If you're on a limited budget, you'll be a lot happier if you go for feel and performance rather than looks. Besides, a lowered Max with sawblades does not look any more like an old lady mobile than a 4x4 one with rims (IMO it looks much much better).

Also, if you're even considering rims, keep in mind that you'll need new tires as well, so you should budget at least a grand for all that. But if you're gonna spend that money, might as well get the laundry list:

- Tokico Illumina shocks/struts ($410)
- Tein H-Tech springs ($200)
- Warpspeed Stage 2 subframe connectors ($250)
- mzmtg's long-travel rear shock mounts ($85)
- BlehmCo Stage 2 lower tie bar ($200)
- Stillen front strut tower bar ($150)
- KYB front bumpstops ($60)

Total: $1355 shipped, give or take. Those parts are in approximate order from most-to-least essential for your purposes; it's not that you have to get the extras, but they will help.

All that stuff together will give you some subtle but noticeable lowering and make your car much better. The ride will be almost as bump-free as stock, it won't wallow or bounce, it will handle like it's from another world compared to stock, and it will feel incredibly more solid. Hell, even your braking might be better because of your lower center of gravity.

If you spend that money on plus-size rims, you'll still have a 4x4, and your ride quality, acceleration, and braking will all be slightly worse (more unsprung and rotating mass).

That's the "short" answer, lol... If you want to know, I'd be happy to explain how those mods contribute to your project, but this post is getting kinda long and I promised myself to cut down on the essay writing.

 

Gr-2's are decent shocks. I have them with Drop Zone springs and the ride is slightly firmer, but much more controlled in the corners.

I think the stiffness of the springs affect the ride more than the shocks. The shocks are only supposed to control the squat and rebound of the springs.

Fom my past experiences with Tokicos, the illuminas are great until they start leaking, which will usualy happen within 2 years of hard driving. Good thing the warranty covers replacements.

I fully expect the Gr-2's to fail within 3 years, but then I probably will not the the owner of this vehicle.

If you're on a budget, then go for them. If money is no object, there are better options out there. You also have to buy based on what you want the car to do. If you're just crusin', save some cash and just buy them. If you're autocrossing or racing, spend teh money and upgrade.

 

Ride quality is affected by both the springs and the shocks. You have to match the two properly. Neither one is more important than the other.

There are some stories of people having problems with Illuminas, but that's to be expected since so many people have them. AGXs are worse. The only shocks that are more durable than Illuminas are Koni Yellows.

Keep in mind, we're not talking about someone who just wants better handling. We're talking about someone who wants his car to look a little better and feel and handle better without his parents catching on. There is no spring besides stock that GR-2s will be able to control well enough to make the ride feel like stock to someone who's really paying attention.