i want to drop my car and get better handling, but NOT way rougher ride. also, i dont have that much money to spend. what should i get? coilovers? or springs and shocks?

 

Little reading material....

http://maxmods.dyndns.org/index.php?MaximaHandling

 

H&R springs and Tokico Illuminas
Keep the stock 16" wheels on the car as well. Thats the closest to a stock ride that you can get.

 

I would really listen to what njmaxseltd mentioned if you want the best quality ride.

 

I just did the Tokico Illumina Kit TOK-ILK246 ($560) from prostreetonline.com and had a local garage install and balance the front end for $250. On good roads the ride and performance is excellent. The stock 3+" of wheel gap is cut in half and the stance is great.

So far, very happy but it's only been a few days.

 

i find it funny that almost everyone wants some a drop, save money and not loose ride quaility. if you want to save some money then cross out coilovers as most sets are over 800$ and they do ride stiff.

H-tech, tokico, and H and R springs will get you what your looking for in. Most cases the springs are within $150-200 area. Illumina are what you want for shocks, i dont recall how much they run for tho.

 

I believe a little over $500.

 

Im looking for the same thing basically, I use my car as a daily driver and dont want a bumpy ride. I know Illuminas are my best bet for shocks, but theres a few to choose from with the springs. Which is the best?

 

If you want something close to Stock , Get Tokico Illuminas w/ H & R Springs. That would be as close as you'll get to having a smooth nice ride, with minimum drop. All else will be harsh

 

What size wheels and tires do you have? The Illumina/H&R combo is very likely the suspension setup that I will use as well. I recently got 17" 350Z wheels and notice quite a difference in steering response and ride quality as expected when going from a 15" 60 series tire to a 17" 50 series. When this set of tires is done I'll change to 235/45/17 all around. Can the Illuminas be adjusted to the softest setting to get a decent ride quality? I know ride on rough roads will be much firmer than stock. Is handling night and day better than stock suspension?

 

nice question. i have 2k3 17's, and there is abitt of a wheel gap, id like to cut it in half. will the Illumina/H&R combo drop it that much?

 

Yes it will close the gap nicely and give the car a clean look, not a slammed look.

 

What price are you guys finding Illuminas for? Lower than $430 shipped?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/TOKIC...WDVWQQtcZphoto
H&R lower than $240 shipped?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/H-R-S...rdZ1QQtcZphoto

 

true coilovers. anything else (if purchased new) is waste of money and time. its like payin a hooker full price but gettin a bj !

 

You need to resize your sig, its ****ing up the thread widths.

 

I have 225/40/18 tires, your 235/45/17 should not be a problem. The garage where I had the Illumina kit installed set them at the softest setting, that changed when I got home. I'm at 3 all the way around right now, I'll probably play with it a little to find the combination that I like.

p.s. The Illumina Kit comes complete with shocks and springs. Seemed like a good combo and if I have a shock blow out, it will be harder for them to come back and say it was a result of my spring selection. Just a warranty concern.

 

How smooth does the illumina kit ride? Is it as smooth as other have said about the Illuminas with H&Rs?

 

how rough does it ride now compared to stock?

 

Then just wait.

 

2 months ago the car was completly stock with 75k miles, so my stock SE suspension was still in good shape. I believe that the SE had a firmer suspension than the GXE and GLE from the factory. The previous tires were 215/60/15. Just changing these to the 18" made you feel the bumps more, but that was traded off on better handling. The look is what was killing me, it sat like a 4x4 with low profile 18"s. Then I started looking at springs and based on these forums, figured I would go with the H&R's. Reading more, it appeared that just swaping springs with stock shocks was probably not the way to go so the Illuminas came into the picture. At this point I was where most of you guys are at, Illuminas with H&R's. I changed to the Tokico springs because of the kit price and no negative comments from the forums. I also figured that this combination was designed together by a single manufacturer and would eliminate the trial and error of mixing components.

I'm not a suspension expert, but my research showed that the H&R's received the most reviews with the Illumina springs rated similar in ride quality. You will feel the bumps in the road but that is as much of a factor of the wheel setup as the suspension. This is on nasty roads, with nice asphalt or the Interstate the ride is great.

 

My take on all this:

I had the H&R/Illumina combo now for well over 2 years. My friend has eibach paired with those same shocks. His ride IS much stiffer. I like mine the way it is.

What I have been able to observe is that when his setting for the shocks is 3, and mine is set to say 4, then the ride quality of both is nearly identical. Now say his setting is 3 and mine is 5, then my ride is the one which feels much, much stiffer.

It appears to me that the shocks you go with have a greater impact on overall ride quality than do the springs. Though I realized that it all depends on how you pair it up.