Looking for a smooth ride. already had the KYB AGX and I thought they were rather hard (even at the lowest setting). Please post your experiences. I appreciate it.

 

read read read...then read some more like i did

http://maxmods.dyndns.org/index.php?refs=MaximaShocks

 

illuminas are the best as far as struts go...i have them and i love them..springs depend on how much of a drop your looking for...i can recommend tein h techs b/c they are soft most of the time, but still have a low enough drop to make ure max look good. if ure looking for an even lower drop, you could go wit the s techs, but it will be a lot bumpier. if you just want a really low drop and dont car about how the ride is...invest in some coilovers.

 

smooth ride? get airbags... any aftermarket shock/spring combonation is going to make the ride stiffer, thats the whole reason they make them, to reduce body roll and stiffen up handling and response. if you mean relatively smooth ride (in relation to the majority of aftermarket shocks/springs) then i cant help you, but i can tell you you wont find anything smoother than stock suspension unless you go with airbags/hydraulics.

 

the stock struts are kyb aint they

 

They are Tokico.

 

Koni Yellows

 

School time.

Incorrect, incorrect, incorrect.

First, we're talking about shocks here, not shock/spring combos. Second, aftermarket shocks aren't just for handling. Adding a better-made shock without also adding stiffer springs can easily make the ride smoother by controlling wheel motion better.

I think some cars came with Sachs shocks...





As for the original question, the BEST shocks you can get for our cars are Konis. Period.

 

ur damn right...they are soo worth the extra money and install

 

KYB GR2's....have em since 3 years and have driven all over NYC roads. They are still very stiff and responsive. Also give a really nice smooth ride. Perfect for a everyday driver/commuter car!

 

Anyone know if stock springs from a 98 auto SE maxima will work on a 98 manual SE Maxima?

 

Yes they will.

 

Yeah, but I think they are slightly taller (because auto is heavier). Hence your front end may have a tad more wheel gap...if you can imagine that

 

Yea you will have more wheel gap with the Auto springs. They are front only. The rears differ between the SE and GXE/GLE.

Konis are the best, but Im not sure if they are more comfortable than Tokicos.

 

air bags/air cylinders give you a floating feel.

hydraulics are not smooth at all, unless you get accumulators.


Im speaking with experience

 

How does a shock resist suspesion movement and improve smoothness(I define smooth as less impact and not as a controlled ride) at the same time?

 

Re-read what I said. I said they control wheel motion, not resist it.

 

I wish I knew what the best combo was a year ago... I went with Tokico HP struts and Eibach Pro Kit springs. The ride is so bad that I am returning it to stock.

 

on the tein h-techs, i love mine. right now i just have tokico hp's struts, the ride is firm but still rides very nicely. illumnias are in my future though. h-tech springs are the best.

 

I got a set of tokico blues with stock springs for now and they ride and handle great. I eventually going to get a set of tein type s springs.

 

H&R and Illuminas...

 

If you like your Tokico Blues, don't get S-Techs. Those springs will blow those shocks out in a hurry.

 

Please educate, how does this control thing work? Don't be offended, but rather take a moment to eradicate ignorance.

 

My pleasure.

I should clarify something... Technically, shock absorbers do work by providing resistance. But the word "resist" implies that they prevent the suspension from moving, which is not really the right idea.

So, let's start from the beginning. The function of the suspension is to absorb bumps and imperfections in the road while keeping the car level. That's why you have springs: they allow your wheels to move up when you hit a bump, and then they bush your wheels back down to the road afterward.

Some terminology now: When you hit the bump and your wheel moves up, your suspension is compressing. When your wheel comes back down after hitting the bump, your suspension is extending, a.k.a rebounding.

It's pretty obvious that you always want your wheels in contact with the road. So, when you hit a bump, you want the wheel to come up, come back down, and stay down. If you just had springs by themselves, your suspension would continue to oscillate up and down, compressing and rebounding repeatedly, for a while after each bump you hit. That's what springs do... they oscillate. That is very bad for two reasons. First, it would cause your car to bounce and shake all over the place. And second, it wouldn't let your wheels be in contact with the road at all times.

That's why you have shock absorbers. They're supposed to let the suspension compress when you hit the bump and let the spring extend the suspension afterward, but prevent the useless oscillation afterward. Result: Your suspension compresses, rebounds, and then stops; your wheels move up to absorb the bump, move down to come back in contact with the road, and stay down so everything stays in control. The better a shock absorber is, the better it will do that job, which will improve your ride quality AND your handling: it will let your suspension absorb imperfections in the road while keeping your car in control at all times.

The best shock absorbers actually go one step further: they can provide relatively high resistance to low compression forces, and relatively low resistance to high compression forces. Basically, if you put load on them slowly, like when you enter a corner very quickly, they will resist the motion and actually help the springs keep your car from leaning over. But if you put load on them quickly, like when you hit a bump, they will not provide too much resistance and your suspension will still absorb the bump normally. In other words, you get a massive increase in handling AND a smoother ride at the same time. The term for all that jazz is "digressive valving:" Know it, love it, and buy a set of Koni Yellows because that's the only way you'll have it on a Maxima.

As an aside, "shock absorber" is actually a horrible misnomer. They're supposed to be called dampers. But, eh... welcome to America.

Does that make sense?

 

lather rinse repeat.........I LOVE MY KONI YELLOWS...i think i will get vinyl made up with that saying...i have run Gr2 Agx...and HP Blues......granted i never ran Illiuminas but I will never give up my yellows....u have way more precise control on dampening the rears are a PAIN IN *** to adjust....in the middle they still ride and handle better than my AGX on full stiff on road courses

 

koni yellows.. there should be no dispute there.

 

Thankyou, but two more questions:
1. does this shock control rebound similarly(if not then what would happen if your car hits some bumps while turning. wouldi t progessively lean more)
2. what mechanisms in the shock allow it to react differently to different compression forces(i would assume this is a continious range of reaction)

 

the valving in the shock allow them to react diffently...in KONIs case i think its based on load...so the harder u push me the more it adjusts....

 

All shocks control both compression and rebound. I presume you're talking about the Konis here, though. The trick to them is that the rebound damping is adjustable. If you dial in way too much for your suspension setup, then yes, there is a possibility that your suspension will "pack down" over a succession of bumps. It's unlikely, though... Koni's tuning is pretty damn good, so even on the maximum setting you're unlikely ever to see that happen.

They use valves and such that open and close appropriately to change how the shock fluid is pushed around by the piston.