Every so often new threads are started asking about suitable strut and spring combinations for the Maxima/I30. I've been through several setups on my Maxima and ultimately moved onto coilovers. Since it's not a daily driver I was able cope with the drawbacks of driving around in a severely lowered A32.

Fast forward to November 2009 and I ended up buying a '97 I30t as a daily driver. It was essentially stock plus several nice upgrade gems, but rode on the stock suspension. I loved the fact that I didn't need to worry about speedbumps, inclines/declines and all the other headaches associated with driving a lowered car. Still, it was ugly with the gap so I decided to source out possible setups.

On the cheap route I was intending to go with KYB GR-2s and CMS (Canuck Motorsports) springs but ultimately decided against that and went with Koni Yellows instead. I am familiar with Blues, GR-2s, AGX's and Illuminas on the Maxima and I was never fully satisfied in the way they absorbed bumps. I stayed with the CMS springs mostly because the manufacturer was local and I had installed various sets on other vehicles in the past with good success. I had run Tein H and S Techs before and didn't want to run them again.

Knowing what the ride was like with the S-Techs, I made sure I had enough travel with the Konis. Luckily, you could shorten the fronts. CMS seemed to have altered their specs as the Maxima drop height was spec'd at 1.8" front and rear, and they no longer produced the I30 springs, which offered a milder drop at 1.7"/1.5".

Here's the only sideshot I have of the I30. This one is in winter mode with Probe GT wheels and 225/50R16 Toyo Observe Garits.


I was lucky enough to grab the front and rear struts and springs on the stock suspension for free from a fellow who was moving and wanted to unload it. I gutted the front struts to house the Koni inserts. I used a pipe cutter to chop the tops off and cleaned them up.


Here's a closeup of the gutted strut:


Next up was to drill out the bottom of the struts with a step bit to allow the threaded tail of the insert to go through the OEM housing.


The finished hole and holes:




I was trying to figure out a way to slip the insert through the housing. Using the bolt supplied and stacked washer method didn't work so I ended up using a small piece of 2x4 and hammering it in from the top. Worked perfect.


Here's the Koni supplied rubber piece to keep the debris and water from getting in between the insert and housing.


And the threaded part fully passed through the housing.


Here are the rears partially assembled. I didn't want to re-use the parts on the stock suspension so I bought all new parts from KYB, Monroe and Moog at a local auto store. I also cut out gasket material in favour of the expensive and thin OEM gaskets and bought spiral wrap to prevent and possible noise from coil bind.


I didn't take a close up of the P11 G20 MEP style rear mounts I bought. They allow me to gain about 3/4" of travel back in the rear. These are just like Mzmtg's mounts which I had before and sold, but these were more beefy and had the addition of ears to hold the upper rubber seat in place to prevent any side to side movement. I had also trimmed the front and rear bumpstops as per JSutter's direction and glued them back together so the dustboots would stay fixed to them.


I did end up having to bring the car into the shop to complete the job. First the ears were too long and couldn't fit over top coil so they had to be bent out a little. I am getting a little squeaky/chirping noise from the rear when the car is cold though I suspect it's more likely from the rubber seat rather than the ears rubbing on the coil.


Instead of using the supplied bolt, washer, bicycle spacer (which I bought) at the last minute and consulting with the shop tech I decided to have them weld it directly to the housing. Best option I think.


Fronts in:


Rears in:

 

About a week after installation (running Falken ZE-912 215/50R17):




Now, there is a noticeable rake with these springs, about the same as when I ran S-Techs. I expected this as it seems to be present with a lot of their springs. When I measured, the fronts were just about spot on with a 1.8" difference while the rears were actually short coming in at just over 1". The drop should look a little more even for those with manual transmissions but I'm still debating whether I should disassemble the rears and cut a coil to even it out.

I dialed in the settings in the rear backing off half a turn from full stiffness while the fronts are about 1 turn from full stiffness. If you think Illuminas were good, you're missing out. The extra travel is so welcomed though the difference is not quite night and day, but is still markedly better. The compression and rebound compare closer to my Progress coilovers than any of the struts I had used in the past. The springs are geared more towards comfort, so the shortening and extended travel rear mounts compliment the softer spring rates. The ride compares to H&Rs and H-Techs.

I am starting to get a little noise when accelerating through left turns so those axles will need attention soon. Also, the complete build cost me several hundred dollars more than the Progress coilovers and dealer purchased front mounts combined. It's pricey but you'll definitely feel the difference. I knew the Konis would be good and had wished I had gone with these from the start.

Anyone thinking that the shortening is too much of a hassle needs to give your head a shake. It was so simple it would a waste not to do it.

 

Boy, you've been busy lately. Looks good, a bit too much rake for me though.

 

The front is to low, makes the wheel well arch look funny.
How's the bump steer?

 

I like how you used spiral wrap to insulate the coils. Very resourceful.

 

Ok Bonka..u have piqued my interest.

U and Sutter with your KONIs lol...

Few questions sir if u dont mind:

I have the Blues and they are ok. But u sayin Konis is much better at absorbing bumps. Ok thats fine.

Does the Konis come with instructions for install?

Can u explain the bumpstop cutting procedure?

Why did u insert the front Konis in the front OEM?

I have never replaced struts and most likely would have my mech do it for me. Anything specific i should tell him?

 

Konis are great, I cant see why orgers would run anything less. Im not sure how I feel about the welding. Its simple and quick but the heat can ruin the strut.

Nice to see a set of rear mounts what shouldnt slip. I had Motivational Engineering and Bens, both slipped. Bens do add travel but the are not well designed. ME mounts were very nice but still slipped some. I tried to source some MEP mounts but gave up.

I used to have CMS springs. I only got rid of them because of the rather low front. Are you running the lower perch on the rear konis? Thats the stock length but there is an upper setting recommended for towing. Im on the upper setting this year, its a bit high for Eibachs.

Dont go to some grease munkey, find an org member. cashoit youre not to far from another koni enthusiust, 98SEBlackMax. Maybe he can give you a hand. I got Joe into konis and he went all out with his setup.

The instructions for konis are all over. I made a write up with lots of pics. The instructions that come with them are just generic and crude diagams.

It differes depending on the style of bump stop. Some are foam that can be removed, some are all one piece of rubber. All you are doing is trimming off a rib for more travel.

Konis are inserts and get bolted into the stock strut body. Biggest reason is cost savings. They are simple to install with basic tools.

 

I agree. I'm thinking about taking off 1/2-1 coil from the rears.

The fronts definitely look lower than the advertised 1.8", but before and after measurements match the spec numbers for the fronts. The 912s I am running now do run large for 215/50, especially for Falkens as the 512's I had before I had dropped the car had shorter sidewalls.

Bumpsteer is evident but minor. Bumps, dips, grooved roads, jounces and through turns it's subdued at worst when I do get it. I was expecting more considering my past setups.

The instructions included are useless as Sutter mentioned so I went over the several writeups (including JSutter's) and threads on here instead.

I went with the KYB bumpstops, but the OEM equivalents (SB104 and SB108). I cut off about 1.5cm in the middle and glued them back together. Why? Because if I just cut them from the top or bottom, the dustboot would no longer stay attached to it.

Save the money and do it yourself. I ended up having to bring it to a shop because I went the welding route, otherwise I would've finished up the install myself. I have minimal tools and was able to put this together with ease.

I had initially not wanted to weld it in but figuring the possible issues of play and noise from the insert (a possibility because I didn't shim the bottom of the insert before putting it in the housing) I checked out various options. I knew heat would be an issue but the tech assured me it would be fine.

I am still getting a little noise from the rears, either from the ears rubbing on the coils and/or the upper rubber seat rubbing against the metal causing the squeeks. I may re-bend the ears back in but shorten them up so they clear the coils and perhaps lubricate the rubber seats.

On their website, they did list another spring available for the A32, under the I30 which drops it 1.7"/1.5" but they no longer stocked them and would not manufacture a set for me. It's a touch too low and even with the shortened Konis I wouldn't want to go any lower.

I am on the lower perch. I'd like to even it out a bit so I am considering taking off a dead coil in the back. CMS use to do special requests and you could spec out a spring for them to make, but it doesn't sound like they are doing that anymore.

 

This.

Konis shd be plug and play man. I dont even have my stock struts no more.

BUT, Sutter man i kno u been through a lot of setups and u know what u talkin bout.

I jus got my blue installed so they still good but next time ima try those KONIs.

I can do all the prefab myself but i would still let my mech do the install. I got 2 jobs and no time for a mod or repair thats gonna takes more than 2 hrs of my car being down.

 

So you welded the bottom nub of the Koni to the strut housing? That might present a problem if you ever have to rebuild/revalve the front struts.

But I do agree, if the Konis came premade ready to bolt in they would be more popular. Also several have tried making bolt in kits for the Konis but end up giving up as no one on here wants to spend that kind of money.

I am surprised no one ever tries the B14 rear Tein mounts with standard lowering springs. My coil over spring modified Teins have held up great over the last year without any springs slipping and a huge gain in travel.

 

I'm curious as to how the threaded part of your coilover stays put?

 

Magic.

The GCs have an insert that fits onto the Koni rears. So the threaded part sits on the insert and that sits on the strut. I also used 3/4 inch heater hose cut into strips stuffed into threaded part from above to stiffen it up and reduce noise. The whole process was described in the Koni thread I made in the advanced suspension section.

 

Have u ever come to the blackstone valley rt 146 maxi meets?

 

Up until they said we couldn't have the meets there. My car doesn't get noticed as most Maxima peope around here really don't care about what I do.

Ask Dan Mack, he approves of my car! Lol.

 

I went last yr in like october and its was cold and Neil (NRW) was there. Havent been since then tho. Curious to see some other setups but it was too cold to do much

 

I considered the issues when I had them welded so hopefully they'll last a while. I'm comfortable in buying another set outright if I did have to replace them though.

I briefly considered the Tein mounts but went for simplicity instead. I was worried about possible noise issues with the pillowball mounts and I think I read about these mounts increasing the rear height a little, something I didn't want. I may still buy them down the road just to try it out though.

 

Bonka,
I have few questions.

1- how did you get the P11 mounts ears bent. I have the same set-up minus the konis, and my mounts wont fit over the springs.... I had P11 mounts on my old max with no fitment issues, I wonder why....

2- did your mounts come with any rubber or did you use the stock rubber with the P11 mounts?

 

Do NOT cut the springs you will screw up your spring rate, the car looks great with that drop.

 

Didn't have a bench vise so had the shop use theirs. Were yours made by DMSentra? I know a couple of other P11 G20 owners having to bend out the ears as well from batches made by him. I know there were a couple of other members who made these mounts so there could be variances of the same mounts floating around.

No rubber. Bought KYBs but they run small enough to possibly cause issues - I am thinking of going with some Energy Suspension insolators.

 

Yup, DMSentra.... Ok, Im gonna try to bend them with a vise. Do you know if they used heat, like a torch on them or was it just- stick in vise and bend?

so your coils just have these mounts on top them with no rubber in between? Im thinking of slicing the stock upper mount rubber in half so the coils have something to rest on....

Thanks....

 

No heat. I tried using a set of grip pliers at first but it's thick steel.

No I used the insolator but once assembled, mounted and on the road being used the insolator starts to pinch and shift slightly, enough to cause metal on metal contact with the coil to the mount. Go with the OEM ones.

These are the 2 insolators from Energy Suspension I'm looking into using:

15.6103


9.6107

 

oh ok,good info man. I have a long way to go to get this right so well see.

update this thread if you do end up using these isolators, I would love to hear the results....
Thanks for your help....

 

No problem I'm pretty sure I'll be getting them since I'm waiting for some free time to re-do the rears and trim a coil off. Mind as well replace that.

 

What do a set of these Konis cost?

 

I paid ~$750/taxes in locally.

 

Thought I would update this thread since I recently got fed up with this noise I was getting on the passenger side.

Passenger side strut tower, notice anything?



Driver's side



Passenger side mount underside






Rubber section completely separated from the metal mount. There was this fine black powder everywhere, likely the remnants of the adhesion material between both parts. Significant play caused the strut shaft to sit off center and move around causing the noise. These are Monroe mounts with 60,000 miles on them when I undid the front end. It's been making noise for a long while so they've failed much sooner.

OE mount below for comparison (these have about 155,000 miles on them)



I avoided the KYB mounts due to longevity issues and OE units took too long to come in from my local dealer so I went with Monroe's.

Moral of the story, use OE mounts.

Worried the play may have killed my Koni Yellows up front I pulled those and quickly threw together a Tein H-Tech/KYB GR-2 Excel-G combo for the time being reusing those OE mounts mentioned above and new OE strut bearings.

In all its glory


Tein had an amazing sale on these springs so I quickly grabbed a set. I tried some different strut boots since I hated the KYBs I used before. Ironically I picked Monroes because the kit felt superior. Soft neoprene boots with a retainer ring to hold the boot to the bumpstop vs KYB's hard plastic boot that would eventually dangle.

Installed. Holy gap batman.


Will likely pull the CM/Koni's in the rear and match the fronts to even out the look.

 

Great write up Bonka!