I was the lucky recipient of the '98 I30 with 51k a few months ago, and figured I give a little update and ask for a suspension recommendation. Driven the car about 5k now and only had one hiccup (Evap canister and control valve) replaced from pull a part for $20. Car was in Ohio the majority of its life and has some surface rust underneath, so a nice used southern part did the trick (although has a popping on startup, if anyone has an idea of what's causing it? pressure in the system?) trying to post a video of the sound. will below when i find it


Getting these 18" sport wheels off myG35 powedercoated this week and putting them on the I30, which leads me to the suspension part. When I had them on my 96 I30 the wheel gap was horrendous. Now, I am not a stance person, nor will I be racing, but do not want a 6" gap either.




My two thoughts are something like H&R/illuminas or coilovers. Where I am torn is whether or not to do all bushings/A-arms/tie rods, etc while I am in there. Yes, the car is super low mileage and doesnt really need any of them done now, but I fear after sitting on the factory bushings/arms for so long + surface rust, etc and then being lowered may speed up wear. So what does everyone recommend? Trying to stay under 1k, and do a majority myself without a lift or airtools - so easier the better.

Lastly, here are some updated pics and a few oldies I found



Windshield tinted w/ceramic Viper




Bro's 1993 (in 1994)



Current black Max's - 05/98

 

How many miles will you be driving each year?

If I remember correctly, our member dwapenyi is running H & R lowering springs on his I30. I use H & R lowers on the 99 Maxima. I'm running 18 X 7.5; 40MM offset Maxima wheels on the 99 model Maxima with spacers. No rubs so far. Struts are KYB AGX adjustable. No strut complaints. I would price springs, struts, and all new strut bushings to see how close you get to the $1,000 mark. As you know, MOOG suspension/steering components are widely used here on the ORG.

 

Coilovers.

 

I'll prob be driving an average of 15-20k/year on average -do you have a pic of your 99 with that setup? sounds like a similar setup to what I am thinking - springs, struts, 18 OEM wheels..

I know it's a basic question and I've read through the suspension master thread here but most of the info seems dated and not sure what decent now. So, specific to our cars what would be the major pros/cons of either the spring/strut vs coilover setup? Just not trying to deal with camber arms and toe adjustments, already have to do that on the G35, and just want this to look decent with low maintenance for daily usage..

Thanks for the insight

 

The Maxima gets 25k or more miles a year with the largest percentage being on a relatively rough cement highway. So its a highway warrior. I attempted to keep the high mileage factor in mind when picking a new suspension. Time will tell if I made the right decision. So far it is holding up fine with MOOG suspension components and some low dollar CV axles from a big box parts store. I'm sure other members can provide good insight into coilover advantages.

Unfortunately, I'm surrounded by speed dips. Speed bumps flatten out over time, speed dips just get deeper.

If you watch this video, on the last bump you can hear the car scrape. I had some neighborhood scraping going on with my Q45 at stock height. I remedied that with 18" wheels. If I'm not careful, the Maxima will scrape going over a speed dip right now.


BRB

 

Thanks, that's good to know - I did a bit more digging and research and decided the Tein coilovers that use the stock mounts were my choice but cant seem to find them! So now not sure if BC or D2 would be ok with the pillow mounts (is that what clicks?)...

or possibly back the a decent spring/strut and some urethane bushings...damn decisions.

 

Are you looking to install a Front Strut Tower Bar and other handling enhancement items?

 

Probably not, but I figured if I am going to spend $200 on springs, no reason to put them on 16 yr old struts, so replace those +/- $400, and while I'm doing new struts and springs may as well do some bushings, A arms, ball joints, etc.

At that point I'm near 1k, so that's why I started thinking coilovers -

So now I don't know what I want (can you tell?!)

I'm leaning back toward spring/strut and some bushings. The moog's you mentioned above, are those the urethane ones everyone always uses, or is that energy?

 

Take a look at the following thread posts about MOOG CK line of LCA and the part numbers. I like to use Energy Suspension (ES) poly bushings where possible.

https://maxima.org/forums/4th-genera...ml#post9018022

https://maxima.org/forums/4th-genera...ml#post9018245

 

I just had my TEIN Street Advance coilovers installed literally 2 hours ago. only 1 inch tire to fender gap now. Looks sick and handles like a beast. 2 hours is hardly tried and true though.

 

For what it's worth, I recently installed H&R springs with Illuminas in the front and AGX's in the rear. Also, threw on new control arms and sway bar end links. I have about 3k on the whole setup and I absolutely love it. My max see's about 15k a year and most of the roads around here (Southwestern PA) absolutely suck so springs/struts worked out better for me.

Side note(s)

I am riding on stock 95 SE rims & tires and have yet to put a larger rim and thinner tire on, obviously that would change the ride a ton.

I did end up spending more than/about the same as a set of brand new coilovers (I would have to break out the receipts but ballpark would be $1,000) but doing the install yourself definitely helps.

 

Since you wanted to see the difference between a stock suspension and H & R lowering springs, I found a couple of pictures to share.

1) Here's a picture with new KYB AGX struts on stock springs. You can see the orange KYBs showing above the front wheel.



2) Here's a picture with H & R lowering springs. It is not as low as it could be with coilovers -- but lower than stock.

 

Those G35 rims will look great on your car, especially lowered.

Coming from Indiana, I've got some of the similar rust belt wear to Ohio, but you deal with it as you get it, or at least try to. Won't stop me from wanting to lower my car when I get a chance. I'm interested in seeing what you decide on.

Those H&R lowering springs seem to give a modest drop. I like it.

 

the first pic, thats stock height? i dont understand why who would get struts first then springs lol

H & R springs do give it a better look than stock, not super lower, but heck a bit better look than the "lifted" stock height this car has.

 

New gas filled struts and bushings can give some lift to a car with a worn out suspension. We didn't expect it to look so lifted after the new struts, bushings, and other suspension components. Also, there was some thought of working within a particular SCCA class at the time.

Here's an interesting Benz thread that discusses the lift that occurs after new struts and bushings with before and after H & R spring pictures. I guess this isn't the first time this has happened.

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/r129...unts-lift.html

 

This is my car with H&Rs, KYB-GR2s, and OEM 16s from a 2001 I30;

[IMG]https://maxima.org/forums/<a href=http://s828.photobucket.com/user/codifus/media/Nissan%20Corner/I30t-LEFT-SIDE-CROPPED_zps150452ae.jpg.html target=_blank>

 

I run both setups on both my cars and I would be inclined to say coilovers as it's likely the cheapest option assuming you buy all the little bits so it's drop in ready for a spring/shock setup and if you're dropping past 1.5" (and most do anyway) you'll want the extra suspension travel despite the firmer ride. I would sock some money away for replacing the CV boots at the minimum. I moved from various springs and ultimately to coilovers on the Maxima and it's expensive and annoying having to re-do the same work over and over again.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with a spring/shock combo if you're happy with the ride height they offer. I spent a ton of time looking at pics seeing what I liked. The springs I used have an advertised drop of 1.8" and I think it's fine for DD (outside of the rake) and I already scrape more than I want to and I like the softer ride anyway. Only downside was that I went all out and spent what totalled to be more than the cost of my coilovers PLUS all the little bits.

The front-end stuff really depends on the current condition. If you're doing your own labour (or cheap labour) I would consider it otherwise hold off until you need it. I just re-did the I30 front end with Moog LCAs, stabilizer bushings, endlinks and inner/outer tie-rods that'll take a good chunk but I'm at 205,000 miles and it needed to be done.

Here's a reference thread with my I30:
https://maxima.org/forums/4th-genera...-overview.html

 

I don't know if this will be useful to you guys at all
Since I don't have a 4th gen but...5th and 4th suspension is so much the same that I might as well.

I've been running H&R + KYB on my car since this past summer, this is my first winter with the current setup. I've been loving the setup, the car handles so much better than stock but maintains a decently comfy ride. Even with H&R drop being only ~1.5" the car still bottoms out in the rear very seldom (usually over some really big dips). And I'm in north VA where our roads are pretty excellent really. So for those in cities like NYC, Chicago, etc where roads are bad I would definitely think twice about coilovers, esp. during winter when more pot holes develop.

For comparison sake: I rode as passenger & drove a buddy's 5th gen with Tein coilovers and it felt stiffer and more harsh than my setup, but without any better handling. His tein coils were set lower than my setup by close to an inch (he had about 2.4" drop) and he has way more understeer and no suspension travel as a result. The drop does look way better I guess, depending on who you are.

To me the H&R has a nice drop that takes it about as far as you want to go, any lower and things really start to go south it seems-handling wise and maintenance wise. My H&R setup also provides great road feel thru the wheel and I know exactly what the car is doing at all times, the same was not true about my buddy's car with Tein coilovers which felt much more unpredictable and less responsive to steering, seems like this really gets hampered once you go past 2" drop.

I suspect a big reason for coilovers is when you want to go beyond 1.5-2" drop, because running a spring/strut setup that low will destroy axles real fast and you WILL bottom out frequently. With coils you can at least make that kind of big drop work better and have parts last longer, due to the much firmer design of the coils. Plus, you get the benefit of adjustable height/stiffness with coils so you can switch it up between summer/winter.

For me, H&R ride height seems perfect. It leaves the car looking like it should have from the factory, but it doesn't make it look slammed or dropped so you don't get those looks from other people on the road. My car only has a two finger gap in front and one finger in back between tire and fender.

I hope this can be useful at all... And BTW this wasn't meant as an H&R advertisement I don't work for them or anything, and usually not a fan of praising something so much.. But the H&R spring really are a great product for the Maxima.

EDIT: Btw dude that is a NICE and mint I30! Congrats on such a nice car, makes me want one again. I've had an 01 I30 in the past, black on black.

 

Get with a TEIN distributor and get TEIN street advance coilovers. These are compatible with EDFC Active if you ever feel like upgrading later. Drove on them without EDFC for a while and ride was adjustable to my liking. Just got to climb around the car to do so but very rewarding.

 

Thanks Bonka for sharing your professional work! It's always a pleasure when you stop in.

D. Stillwell how can any of us forget those cobblestone streets in some parts of NYC? I called it the suspension destroyer.

 

H&R and Koni's

 

I've used numerous springs and struts and installed quite a few more setups for friends over the years. I can't recommend lowering more than 1.75" unless wheels gap is your priority. Ride and handling will suffer when lowered too much.


I like Eibach and Koni for a great blend of performance and practicality. I set the rear Koni's on the higher perch.