My car was handeling dangerously bad! I would take a turn at 15mph while running over a bump and the rear end would wobble around violently. When I drove on the highway and over bumps around turns, it felt like the front and rear of the car were two seperate things. I would almost completely loose control of the car and I have a rsb!

Had my brother check it out at his shop and it turns out the rear shocks were completely gone, fronts were ehhh. So I decided to put in nice decent oem replacements, no fancy adjustable shiit-too much $$. I ordered new Kyb Gr-2 all around for $230. Price was right!

The car handles 98234578390 times better now! Feels real solid around turns and overall great ride! Bumps that felt like earthquakes before, now are a breeze to drive over. Much more smooth. Next up, I'm gonna get some H&Rs or Eibachs.

It maybe just my imagination, but it really seems that the rear end sits slightly lower with the new shocks. Could this be possible?

-Paul

 

yea it's just your imagination. wait until everything settles in then it'll be even.

 

congrats on your new shocks...I was looking at the gr-2's before I decided that I am gonna order tein basics.... yeah your shocks were all worn out and its a good feeling to have fresh ones now....I doubt your rear sits lower, its probably just a placebo effect(your imagination) .. happy modding

 

You're now ready for lowering springs. Although GR2's are ok for that, I think AGX's or Illuminas are more suitable for this. I also just picked up a set of new GR2's for $223 + tax. This is all I can afford right now. I really wanted to go with the AGX because I do have lowering springs but cash is very tight right now for me. Also, I really don't like the GC springs that I have but it'll have to do for now. I'll ride in these for a year and start saving for AGX + Sprint. I just have to replace my current blown struts because its beginning to handle the same way as yours did. Plus my alignment is off so I really need to change the struts before doing the alignment.

 

ive had my gr-2s for over 2 years now and found the ride to be much more stiff than the stock struts but nothing like lowering the car. I still prefer the way the car rode with stocks

 

No maybe you misunderstood me. I didn't mean that the rear sits lower than the front. I meant that, it seems like the rear sits lower now than how it sat with the blown shocks. Again, probably my imagination but it really seems like it. The front and rear seem real even now. Before it looked like the front was lower.

Anyone have any H&Rs or Eibachs for sale, pm me!

-Paul

 

be careful of sprint springs i have had them on my max for a year and they have collapsed ruining my new kyb gr2 struts. I have never had this problem before with sprint I really wonder why it happened

 

did u replace your struts yourself? or pay someone to do it? i just bought a set of kyb gr2's and want to find out how much it will be (time/labor) to do all 4. thanks

 

It's not hard but if you've never done it before, then it will take a while the first time around. I'm going to be putting in mine with new boots and strut bearings.

How-to's:
http://web.archive.org/web/200108060...x/springs.html

http://vbxmaxima.8m.com/shocks.html

 

I just bought the GR2's. I'm still waiting for the swaybar bushings and the lower control arm bushings so I can set everything up. One question though:

I'm thinking of cutting the stock springs to lower my max. Is it a bad idea to do so? Are they going to destroy my new GR2's? Any suggestions welcome.

Thanks

 

Very bad idea especially on stock springs. You are affecting it's load rate, very dangerous idea. If you want to lower your car, wait til you get lowering springs and hold off in installing your struts. That way you will be doing all this work only once.

 

Neither lol. My brother installed them for free. He has a shop in Passaic, NJ where he works strictly on dsm's and supra's. My maxima was an exception of course because we are blood.

I could have done it myself but there was no need to go through the trouble when my brother has a lift, tools, and everything needed to do the job.

-Paul

 

u could have waited to put the springs as well before gettin those new struts on ur car ... coz u gotta repeat the whole thing again when u put new springs

anyways, it's already done ... so congrats on ur new ride ... where did u say you bought them ?

 

Ok then which springs do you guys suggest are good to go with the GR2's? I dont have much money so they can't be too expensive

HOW about the TEIN S-Tech Springs ? Are they a good choice?

 

These are the GR2's on the rear of my car. For some reason they are a bit stiff but oh well life ain't perfect.

The small black springs puzzled me but I couldn't find any other way to install them so I think I got them right?

 

S-tech is probably a bad choice for the gr2 because gr2 are just stock replacements. Get some mild lowering springs like H-tech.

 

Ok so the TEIN H-Tech Springs are a good choice for my GR2's then?

Also, the difference between S-Tech and H-tech is only the lowering level? Or is it there more to it? Why are the H-tech more expensive than the S-tech?

 

I have had GR2s and H-techs for over a year now. They have worked out quite well. The drop is really nice and even with the H-techs.

As for ride quality, well, it should be a little stiffer and rougher than the stock SE setup. But the h-techs are still pretty mild for aftermarket springs. That's a good thing b/c GR2s were not meant to take very stiff springs.

I don't recommend getting S-techs with the GR2s. The lower the spring, the more stress on the strut. I'm not sure your GR2s will last very long with S-tech springs. As for the price difference, it's like $20. Why worry?

 

The typical quote I got when I was looking was 3-4 hours labor. If you go to a regular mechanic, that's a lot of money! If you go to a reputable (non-chain) muffler/brake shop it will be much cheaper because their labor rate is cheap. Only $40 per hour usually.

I had mine done for $140 for all four struts, springs, bumpstops. Make a few phone calls. Doing it yourself isn't that tricky either. Borrow the spring compressor (autozone, napa, whereever). I'd borrow a breaker bar, too, if you don't have one. I changed my strut mounts recently and the strut-to-steering knuckle bolts were a b_tch to remove! Good luck.

 

Thankyou Captain Obvious! lol I have financial issues so yah...

I believe my brother ordered them for me from his parts store. Not sure the name but I can find out. Of course that is HIS PRICE, not list price.

-Paul

 

just careful with the potholes in NJ, after you change the springs. because those gr-2s wont last long with eibachs. so your best bet is to get h and rs in the future

 

Yea I'm going with either H&Rs or Tein H-tech springs. No more eibach.

 

i'm running h&r's with gr2s and couldn't be happier. ride feels great and looks just right. i'd recomend this combo to anyone looking for an ok drop but wants a nice riding combo that feels better, imo, than stock.

 

H&Rs have a reputation for having a very compliant ride. So yeah, good advice. H-techs are also pretty good in terms of ride quality (possibly not as good as the H&R though). I was considering H&Rs, but at the time I bought the H-techs were much less money. Can't go wrong with either one.

 

GREAT!! Thanks for everyone's advice, I guess I'll go with the H-tech's then.

Could you post some pics of your lowered Max with the GR2's and the H-Techs?