I lowered my i30T with the H&R springs and stock shocks. I also have a addco RSB. Now, every time I go over large sized bumps, or going over a speed bumps any faster then a crawl, I get a large banging sound from the rear. Its like the shocks are bottoming out or something, which is strange as these springs are 25% stiffer, not softer?

 

Probably the Addco bar.. I have one too and I get the same thing on some bumps. Take it off and see if the noise goes away.

 

Only large bumps? It bangs? I had the sway bar before I lowered it, and it only started after I lowered it?

 

stiffer springs doesn't mean anything... it doesn't mean you won't bottom out... it's the dampers/shocks/struts that does the the controlling... this is why it's said to not run after market shocks on the oem struts... because they were not designed to be used for lowering... there's not enough damping... that's what you are getting...

-Shing

 

But funny thing is, I called H&R myself and asked them if it's okay to use stock struts with their sport springs on 5th gen max and even asked them if I needed to cut bumpstops..they answered no to both questions, I was like are you sure?? They said Yes!!!

What's the deal?

Tim

 

I don't have an answer to your question, but I was wondering if you could tell me what the lights on the lower part of your front bumper do? Is there just a single fog light or is there a second light for a running lamp?

I noticed a second plug hanging when installing my fog lights and I figured it was for some light on the I30.

 

i used to have a miata and i kept hearing a loud knock when i took turns too hard or hit bumps or potholes. i had no idea what it was and the first time it happened, it sounded like the whole chassis snapped or something. i went on like this for about a month until i finally figured out what it was. i was rotating my tires and there was a monkey wrench sitting im my spare tire. on hard turns it would bang against a side and over bumps it would bounce. i dunno if this will help you but here's an experience with loud unknown bangs.

 

You should have cut the bumpstops if you didn't. The springs are shorter so they are going to hit that bumpstop under a smaller load than before.

 

I may be off on this, but doesn't the I30t have a different suspension that raises and lowers itz self via switch or automatically, or am I thinking about another infiniti?

 

OK, H&R DOES "claim" you can use stock shocks. Secondly, I will double check for loose items, but I don't think there are any. Last, lowering springs (Good ones at least, I guess) are NOT shorter. They have several coils (3) that are very close together. They are called dead coils, and once loaded, completely compress, and this is why the car is lower. I compared the H&R next to the stock units.

I'd really really hate to spend more money, and time to change the shocks and springs AGAIN, and still have this problem. Several people said these shocks should last about 60K, by then, I will have likely replaced the car with something else. I think it may be shocks too, but the car handles and rides great as it, just large pot holes and speed bumps make the rear sound like its going to fall off.


As far as those lights, the front ones are Fog lamps, and the sides are cornering lamps.

 

Mingo told me that the stock shocks on 5th gen maximas are stiffer than Tokico Blues!!!!surprised me!!! and of course we all know that tokico sux everywhere you go, you hear the same thing for Honda/Toyta!!!Weird!!

So, we are out of luck unless go for Cattman coil-over..which is way overpriced!

Tim

 

its hard to tell what your hearing, but ill tell you what i heard when i did mine and had some problems. i have a 3rd gen so some things may be a little different. i would hear large clanking noise comming from the rear when id go over bumps. i used tokikos and eibachs. eibach told me that the clanking noise could be caused from the dead coils clanking together since they are so closesly wound at the top and bottom. anyways to make a long story short, the upper strut seat was not alligned properly. to find that this was finally the problem i had to go through just about every possible mistake that could be making this noise. so here are some to look for:
-springs not seated correctly
-putting front springs in the rear (its stupid, but many people do it)
-upper strut assembly incorrectly installed(hard to tell unless you take it all apart)
-coils on springs clanking together(you would see the powder coating on the springs getting chipped off)-also i think this was kinda a line of bull eibach handed me.
-springs not compressed enough or too much when installed.
btw, i called both eibach and tokiko and bumpstops are not to be cut. i have not had any problems with the suspension since i fixed the problem.
hope this helps a little. sorry i couldnt tell you a specific answer.

 

What did you do to fix your problem? I still need the car re-aligned so I will look and ask if the springs are seated correctly. Also, how much would you need to compres the springs, just enough to get the strut housing together like it was? I know they are NOT over compressed, so I can rule that out. Any they are not backways as one set is a much larger spring the other.

I'll also look at the RSB once its on the lift. Furthermore, the I30T shocks are Stiffer like the Maxima SE, and H&R says they are designed for your stock parts (Maxima SE, which crosses with I30T). Hope this does away, very bad for a Luxury Tourang car to bang over bumps like an old chevy

 

Also,I think the sound is when its going down, not springing back up. I can't find anything loose in the trunk, so I think I can rule that out, but will check again. Its like the rear shocks botom out on large bumps? The fronts are fine. Thanks for the feedback so far guys. I have a few things to go on now.

 

That's not true at all about the OEM struts. Of course Nissan never said they were meant for them specifically, but that doesn't mean they CAN'T be used with lowering springs. However, after 40k on my OEM struts w/H&R springs, they finally drove me nuts enough to replace. Were they banging or rattling? NO!!! They were just allowing the car to bounce a lot over the road surface!
Saying his OEM struts are causing the banging noise is incorrect. My bet is with the RSB!

Good luck

SHUMAX

 

After lowering the car your rear beam is angled differently and when your suspension goes up its gonna come down a bit different. So your addco bar might be hitting something. Try taking it off to test.... I had a STILLEN RSB on my 98 lowered, never had a issue.

 

check the side that the noise is coming from. it may be a loose shock/strut rod nut. the nut that screws onto the rod. was it ok at first then it started up later? this could mean something came loose, and it will be stuff at the top, cause the bottom only has that big bolt.

 

well, first off, anytime you do these performance mods you are definitly sacraficing luxury. the suspension is going to be much rougher than stock, thats the downside for the improved handling. just like if you get exuast and intake mods its gonna be louder. if you are hearing just a thud sound when you go over big bumps, i would probably say that it is normal. if i go over bumps in my car i hear some thuds too. its probably because your hitting the bumpstops. what you dont want to hear is clanking noises and sounds that would give you the indication that things are loose or something is slipping. In my case, the problem i had to fix was the upper spring seat and the strut mount that sits on top must be alligned with a 110 degree offset(hard to explain w/o a pic). i didnt do this the first time around so when i would go over bumps you could hear the spring popping out of its seat and clanking all around. as you could imagine this hindered the handling quite a bit. if you think you are just hitting the bumpstops, and nothing serious is going on, i would suggest just taking it to say, a local performance shop that has dealt with these parts before and let them take it for a test drive. they would definitly be able to tell if there was something wrong by listening to the sounds it makes. i dont think a nissan dealership is going to know much about these aftermarket parts and the effect they have since they dont deal with them ever.

 

When I first installed my Addco RSB about a year ago, I shoved the midsection brackets as far outboard as they'd go only to find out there is a slight interefernce with the lateral link through the motion envelope. It made a banging sound like you describe. If the i30 rear suspension is exactly like the Max then try either repositioning the midsection brackets further inboard or trim the end of the passenger side bracket just enough to clear the lateral link. That's what fixed it for me.

 

it's the sway bar. it's probably hitting on part of your rear suspension(like your control arms)..take a look at your sway bar to see if there is any damage due to contact.

 

yeah check the swaybar for contact and I vote to check the center nut on the strut install. If loose it might allow some movement when the spring/shock is fully uncompressed(ie.. on the way up)

 

Just one other quick thing.....
Make sure the jack in your trunk is still secured down. Might have been knocked loose, and while you are at it. check the spare tire. Just some easy suggestions.

 

Do you need to cut the bumpstops even if you get aftermarket struts.. Like KYB-GR2s????

 

Tex', let me/us know how you make out with this problem as I have a 2k1 Maxima which I am planning to add H&R springs while maintaining stock struts.

Also, curious to kmow your impressions on the ride quality versus handling. Can I assume cornering is impressive now? Is the ride considerably harsher? Thanks.

 

It's probably the RSB hitting. See the bottom of this page:

http://www.win.net/audtatious/audio/tech/addcorsb.html

 

It's the right side bracket that holds the sway bar to rear beam. This bracket will hit the control arm above it. Mine used to hit even before I was lowered. I bet if you look at the bracket you find that it is bent on one cornor. What you need to do grind off about a quarter inch from the bracket and problem solved. Good luck.

 

Why do you keep bringing back old a$$ threads that don't relate to GR-2's just to get an answer?!?

 

This has been discussed in other posts, and I've had the same problem. The issue is the panhard bar in the rear suspension hitting the RSB bracket when the suspension dips. It will be worse with weight in the rear.

You can confirm the problem by getting under the car and looking at the brackets on the beam axle - the one on the passenger side is probably showing marks from the panhard bar and may actually be starting to bend.

Fixing this is very easy - simply loosen the brackets on the rear axle and slide the entire bracket toward the center of the car an inch or two. You need to leave just enough room for the panhard bar to drop without hitting the bracket.