does anyone have illuminas and stock SE springs? on the softest setting, how do the illuminas compare to stock struts in terms of ride comfort? I don't really care about handling, just comfort. I'm very close to buying new struts and am looking for something softer than stock SE.

 

iluminas are more expensive because they are good for lowering and you can change the damping. If you are going to use stock springs than take a look at the tokico hp's (aka blues).

 

The maxima has a soft enough ride stock. Putting Illuminas with stock struts seems like a waste of too much money. Tokico blues are pretty much stock solid stock replacements. They are not harsh, and ride friendly. Diy Dreamer is right.............

 

well that's my problem then - I think the stock SE ride is far too harsh, unless my stock struts are blown and I don't know it. I'm looking for a softer ride that doesn't jar the shiznit out of the car every time I hit a bump, or expansion joint, or pavement seam, etc on the shoddy chicago roads.

 

SE springs are supposed to be stiffer than GLE. I still have the gle springs in my garage. I figure joint on the car might need checking as well as other components connected thesuspension.........

 

I have Tokico HP's (Blues) that I bought for my stock springs but they're just sitting in the garage. (i'll survive the winter with the old ones) I hear they're a good replacement & that's why I bought them.

- Jay

 

I think the front springs are the same. only the rears are stiffer on the SE. the big difference I suspect is the struts. OEM GLE struts are a rip off, so I'm trying to find a soft GLE style aftermarket strut. do you still have your GLE struts? sell 'em cheap?

I've hear the Tokico Blues are slightly stiffer than SE struts, so I'm not going there.

I'm considering illuminas because you can make them softer - but how soft is soft??

d00 had a good write up on ride comfort that involved smaller, lighter rims and tires, but I don't want to drop that kind of cash and I'd rather stick with the stock appearance.

h*ll, I might just go get Monroe sensa-tracs.

what joint are you talking about?

 

The Blues are actually valved differently then the stock struts. They aren't stiffer at all, compression and rebound are completely different then the stock units. The Blues ride very smooth and quiet on the stock suspension, very similar to a luxury car.

The Illuminas can be adjusted to be actually softer then the Blues (1) up to a very nice sports car like firm ride when their set up on the higher settings (3 - 4) By the time your at 5 they are pretty stiff and it becomes fun to play in the twisties.

If you want a nice smooth soft quiet ride, put a nice all season turing tire on the stock rims and toss in a set of Tokico Blue sturts. It will be like you've just got a new car.

 

If you want a good ride with stock SE springs, don't use the Illuminas. They are great shocks, but the stock SE springs make for a pretty stiff ride. I put Illuminas on a year ago and eventually took them off. The handling had improved, but the suspension always felt jittery and excitable....even at the softest setting. Setting them higher helped until things got bumpy. The car never felt hooked up except on smooth roads and while pushing the car hard. After a long drive I always felt a little beat up from the ride. And that's with Michelin tires. I also felt that the Illuminas didn't react well to weather changes. I would have a pretty good ride on very cold and relatively hot days, but for temperatures in between, the ride was too jarring. Based on all the forum posts, Illuminas work best with dropped springs. Just my 2 cents. If you want smooth and comfortable, go stock (if you can get a 70% dealer discount!), or just get the Monroe Sensatrac. Your roads are really rough up there and you need a confy ride.

 

nj, goldmax - thanks for the great info. this is exactly what I needed to hear. I'm glad I didn't drop all that cash on the illuminas! Tokico blues or sensatracs it will be. now i just have to decide if I'm going to do it myself or bring it to a shop....

 

You need chassis stiffening. Stage-2 subframe connectors and a FSTB will go a long, long way for only just over $300.

 

I completely disagree with goldmax on the Illumina comments.
They are not designed to work best on sport springs, they are designed to work best with the car's original springs.

I think you have them confused with KYB products, because thats exactly how they behave. Tokico products, both the Blues and Illuminas have a much more comfortable & fluid like ride. Thats why they ride pretty good with more agressive springs. KYB products are very firm and stiff, combine them with a more agressive spring and there's your jittery ride!

 

d00d - how does chassis stiffening help with ride comfort? I can see how it will make the car handle better, but for a softer ride doesn't it all come down to springs and struts (and less unsprung weight, like you have said before)?

 

All I know is what I observed when I had the Illuminas on. Too stiff for me. I originally went with them based on all the raving reviews on the forum. Virtually no one was disappointed. What I experienced was different than what I expected. Some days they seemed great, others days the ride drove me insane. I even had riders comment on the harsh ride. For some reason, my set didn't seem to adjust well to weather changes. I guess I'm just one of those .org'ers who prefers a more stock like ride. It was worth the try, but I think there are always going to be tradeoffs when you make the swap to performance components.

 

With all else being equal in the suspension, a stiffer frame makes the ride feel softer in addition to the handling/control being better. Also, a stiffer frame has a lot less noise/resonance coming from under the car when going over expansion joints, railroad tracks, etc.

Notice how even luxury car makers boast about the frame stiffness and torsional rigidity in some of their advertisements.

When going over hard bumps, one of two things can happen:
1. With a flexy frame, the bumps (3000+ pounds of momentum with high impact forces) compress the suspension and also induce bending forces in the frame.
2. With a stiff frame, the bump cannot bend the frame so easily, so more motion is taken up in the suspension. Since the suspension is therefore doing more work, the ride becomes softer -- all else being equal.

However, in practice, all else is usally not equal when it comes to aftermarket mods. Most people who are doing frame stiffening are doing so to make their already stiffer-than-stock suspension parts more tolerable in the ride. Also, another application for frame stiffening is for extremely high horsepower cars, where the muscle car torque can also bend the frame.

To be put another way, a performance car with a stiff frame can get by with softer suspension parts and still have good handling.