njmaxseltd

iTrader: (19)

OK so I got tired of the gap illusion with 17" wheels but didn't want to sacrafice the nice smooth ride of the Maxima. After some carfull research I decided on H&R springs. My car only has 35,000 miles on it so I kept the stock SE struts because they were still nice and tight. So here's my install story....

I went down to my brothers place in South Jersey he's got all kinds of tools being he worked in autobody for years. I rented a spring compressor which turned out to be a real piece of $hit but did the job. We got the car all jaked up, wheels off and strut tower brace losened up. We used an impact to blast off the lower mounting blots and the top 3 strut tower bolts. Removed the ABS wire mount and brake hose from the strut and it came right out of the car. Now came the tricky part. Compressing the OEM springs with the joke of a compressor I rented was scary. You need a lot of force on the spring to get it off the strut. Anyhow, after we got it off, the H&R's go in with no compressor. I made sure I reused all the rubber isolator sleeves from the old springs. *IMPORTANT* This assured me no rattles from the new ones. They were easy to peal off the old springs and I placed them on the new ones in the same locations. Reassembly was pretty simple. (so i thought read on..)
The rears were a piece of cake, took about 15 minutes to complete both rear struts. They unbolt from the car very easily and the OEM springs come off pretty easily with the compressor. Again, no compressor was needed to install the H&R's on the rear.

Now for the test drive. The first thing I noticed was a noticable crunch when turning the wheels from lock to lock. I figured the top bearing on the strut tower just needed to work it's way in. I read threads on here regarding that noise so I knew exactly what it was. The drop is awsome, the wheels fill up the wheel wells really nice now. Ride quality is very good. Sporty, tight road hugging feel especially at high speeds. Cornering is excellent and no additional road noise at all. OK so I'm happy right? NOPE - the crunch noise got worse that night, so the next day I took the F___ing thing apart again (which was pretty simple now) and this is what I found.

The right front strut had it's bearing upside down. BAD.... destroyed the bearing pretty much. I took it apart and greased it up but knew I needed a new one. Left front seemed OK, it was smooth so I just put it back. Took it for another ride and the crunch was almost gone. At least I know exactly what it is. After my ride back up the parkway, the crunch noise was almost totally gone. COOL, until this morning, back again. So I went to Nissan and got 2 new strut bearings. ( 40 bucks) I'll put them on right before I get the car aligned.

Was it worth it? YES, it's like a different car, smooth sporty quiet ride with much increased handling capabilities and a great look! I'll be posting some new pics of the car soon (sig pic is b4 drop) along with another cool mod I did last week. (Painted body color splash guards)

BRIGBOY

it was easy right?

njmaxseltd

iTrader: (19)

Actually it was pretty simple. I'd almost recommend replacing the strut bearing while you have it apart. Saves you another tare down if they make noise, the pair of bearings is only 40 bucks, Nissan has plenty of them in stock. I think it's a common problem with age or installation of new shocks/springs.

Sonic

SWEET!!

nfafan

I did'nt and it cost me a set of near-new tires!!

An excellent mod!

njmaxseltd

iTrader: (19)

http://images.cardomain.com/installs...653_3_full.jpg

Here's a link to a pic with the H&Rs installed and the painted splash guards. I think it looks great, what do you guys think? Cool or what?

Weasel

iTrader: (2)

Looks awesome, like it should have from the factory.

GaMax97GLE

iTrader: (3)

I have the H&R's too and love them. Mine took over 6 hours to do with jack and simple tools but that included lunch and taking my time on a lazy Saturday.

Miguel97GLE

I really like the look of those splash guards! BTW how much did ride quality suffer after the drop?

Miguel

njmaxseltd

iTrader: (19)

Thanks! Ride quality didn't change all that much. The only thing I do notice is the front end has a bit more of a short stiff bounce on dips in the road. The rear is awsome, it doesn't feel like your riding with a "mini van" suspension back there anymore. The best feel is on the highway, totally different feel, like you really have the road in your hands now.

NickStam

iTrader: (3)

spring compressors are jst clamps. they aren't supposed to be fancy.

MaximaRacer

I've had H&R for about 3 months now.. I love it...if you wait about another month to let the springs settle you will notice that your car will drop a tiny bit more then it is now...it looks great!

pawn

where did you get the paint to do your mud guards....

1st97SE

What type of shocks did you use with your springs. I really would like to purchase the H&R's, but I'm stuck between the Tokico's and the Koni's. Any suggestion's or opinions would help.

Thanks
1st97SE

pawn

I have koni's......there awesome

ny96max

i had the exact problem with my car when i dropped it too. I had to change out both bearings in the front to solve my problem. I love the H&R ride!

Anthony

njmaxseltd

iTrader: (19)

Got the paint from an automotive body shop supply house. My brother is in the business, so he shot them for me.

njmaxseltd

iTrader: (19)

I'm glad I'm not the only one that had that bearing problem. I replaced both of them last night. Noise is gone and I think the car is a bit more quiet on bumps too.

The ride is great, nice and sporty, gives nice road feedback. I'm going to get the alignment done this week.

Does anybody know if I'm going to need camber bolts now?

xHypex

iTrader: (1)

Glad to hear everything worked out for you on the spring install. I want to redo my suspension next summer with H&R/AGX, and the information on replacing the bearings will save me some trouble. It's also good to see other Maximas with painted mud flaps because I don't usually care for the black

-hype