I have Illumina/H&R setup set to 2/front 3/rear. A couple of weeks ago I had 3 people in the back seat and 2 in front. When I hit a moderate dip in the road I bottomed out pretty hard. It made the fender edges rub against the tires and put a pretty good slash into the sidewall. This hasn't been an issue without people in the rear of the car (which I seldom ever have). Will stiffer settings on the struts fix this or is there an easier way to get more suspension travel? Suggestions.

 

A different offest rim will cure that, stiffer settings wount.
I've bottomed out my H&R setup more then once and never had the tires side wall come in contact with the front fender or rear quarter pannel.

 

what wheels and offset do u have

 

350Z wheels 17" x 8" 33 mm offset.

 

Well what you're looking for isn't more suspension travel--you didn't hit the bump stops, you rubbed your tires. What you need is some stiffer springs. I think H&R is already a pretty mild drop, so you don't want to go higher (and would have a hard time doing so without using stock springs). Also, look out for those bumps/dips.

 

I was pretty suprpised that it happened because the H&R's are pretty stiff. That's one of the reason I chose them, because I didn't want to be slammed so low. I very seldom have anyone in my back seat and when I do it's usually only one person. I'll just be more careful and not let anyone ride in back.

 

H&Rs are IIRC ~20% stiffer than stock actually, I think second only to the Maxspeeds in softness. What offset wheels and what size tires are you running? Rolling diameter could also be an issue.

 

I have 350Z wheels, fronts aren't a problem at all so far. The rears are 8" wide and have 33mm offset with 235/50/17 tires. If I put a pair of the 7.5" wide front rims with 30mm offset and 225 or 235/45/17 tires I wonder if that would help tuck them inside the fenders???