what are you talking about? You mean that the handling with tein s-tech and gr-2 is not good? I dont know but i love my setup... handling is amazing!!

 

guess who makes stock strut for maxima? Tokico, that right

 

sorry, you dont know what you are talking about.

 

Nope, this was the driver's side. But my mysterious noise issue was from the passenger side. It almost sounded like the wheel was loose at times. Now that I'm back on stockers the sound is completely gone. Apparently had something to do with the strut/spring setup but I could never hunt the root cause down. Multiple others running Illuminas have complained about similar noises and have never hunted them down. Trust me, I've gotten plenty of emails.

I will say this guys: To my surprise, I drive significantly faster with my stock setup back on! The additional compliance allows me to really run without worrying about slamming into a pothole. While the Progress rode great most the time, worry about hitting potholes/expansion joints always kept me staring at the road. Now I feel more relaxed to just enjoy the VQ35 point and squirt power in traffic. And I've gotta admit there is only slightly more body roll with stock compared to my former setup of 2 all around. I'll be honest and admit this: I miss my drop solely for cosmetic reasons. Too bad I can hardly stand to look at my car with the horrendous wheel gap.

 

You're oversimplifying the issue. Best handling? Yes. Lowest available drop? Yup. Best ride? No. H&R's/Maxspeeds with Illuminas are widely considered to provide a very near stock quality ride. No coilover owners can honestly make such a claim. What is "best" to one person may not be best to another - it depends on your priorities.

 

peace

one thing i know... i like my setup, you like your setup. Thats all

 

Housecor I felt the same way after replacing stock susp. I thought I was riding in a high lift jeep. After about 3months back on stock I dont miss the being paraniod about potholes and rough terrain feeling. It is definitely quieter over the rough stuff. I would have to agree when you say that handling is only slightly less. I do miss the look of the drop though .

 

man i cant wait until i order some illuminas. i always wanted some expecially since i am riding on stock struts/shocks. i hope mine dont blow.

 

housecor, sorry to hear you and 2k2nyc both blew illuminas. I've been riding on my illuminas with eibachs for about ~7 months with no problems, and I'm always driving hard on the highest settings (my struts are 4f/5r right now). I would just get another one from SWA and consider different springs, I would suggest h&r or eibach.

 

All this is really worrying me. Should I buy some different springs like H&R or Maxspeeds and take off my Progress springs before this happens to me?

2k2nyc, how long did you have your Illuminas/Progress on your car before you blew a strut?

 

sorry, i dont want a "stock" ride. I road race my max 7-8 times a year. IMO springs/shocks suck. coilovers ride HARDER, but BETTER. until you drive in a car with coilovers, you wont understand. my buddy has springs/shocks in his car. he drove my max and did nothing but praise how good the car feels over bumps. Harder? yes. but way better than ANY spring/strut drop unless you want stock.

 

not here to fight, but your setup sucks compared to coilovers. PERIOD. i had your setup its BOUNCY. you might not know what a good suspension is...and i will leave it at that.

 

probably coilovers are better but i have no money for coilovers right now, i never tryed any other setup so i dont know... for me tein and gr-2 is a good combo with nice handling!!!

 

if you say so

 

Housecor...you sold me your springs on 9/20/04, then you post this **** on 9/23/04... then when i asked you why you salling you said you wanted to try a new set up... way to be a good org member... only if i lived in kansas...

 

guys your worring about this spring issue to much. its probably a fluke thing. bad pot hole bad seal anything. the progress springs arent the problem. there are many other spring companies making lower drops and higher spring rates then progress. i agree that it sucks that it happened but dont try to figure out what happened. just get another a check the struts from time to time. ive done suspensions for years and worked on hundrds of cars sometimes there are problems. i did a race car (integra type r) with ohlins coilovers w/ resovoirs it had rediculous spring rates and dampening. when we got it to lime rock we pulled it of the trailer and the rear strut was leaking. all from the bumps of being on the trailer. we were pissed and then had to swap out the whole suspension to race. it was a proto type any way. good thing on race day you bring extras. any way dont go crazy on this issue as long as it was installed properly then they should last for a while unless your racing every day. hope this helps

 

Ouch, granted. Frustration understood. Allow me to explain. I decided to move to Maxspeeds and 18's many months ago when I saw a certain orger's setup that I think looks excellent. So yes, it is the truth that I sold them to pick up a new setup.

And yes, I had another motivation to move to the new setup: While visiting my parents they complained about the ride. I noticed the ride seemed a bit harsher but I thought it was just my imagination or me feeling older because of my impending B-day. I was always happy with the Progress ride up to this point, but after my parents griping, I decided it was time to make the move on the new setup. I pulled the struts from the car and saw one was really dirty but I didn't think anything of it at the time. I placed the spring ad right after pulling them and you PM'd with payment the next morning. It wasn't until after I shipped the springs that I noticed the piston on one of the struts had fallen to fully compressed on one of my front struts, unlike the others sitting by it (Such wasn't the case when I removed it). It was at this point I realized the strut was blown. Also, I didn't mention anything about the ride being part of my decision because it wasn't really an issue for me until my parents mentioned it. I had no technical reason for my sudden change in impression at that point so I didn't mention it because I honestly accounted it to parent brainwashing.

Keep in mind only 2 (to my knowledge) out of many running Progress have had any Illumina strut issues. Also, many are running more extreme drops (s-techs) without complaints. If you're no longer interested in Progress, I've no doubt you can sell them easily for what you paid or more. I had 2 PM's with serious offers within a 2 hours of posting the classified at that price.

 

Understood. I was just pointing out that the coilover setup isn't necessarily the best for everybody. Some (me, for instance) merely want minimize the wheel gap and maintain a ride as close to stock as possible. Handling isn't honestly a big priority for me. It sounds like we're on the same page.

 

Housecor, don't buy Maxspeeds. They are knockoffs of H&R's. I am going to be getting rid of mine soon. They do not control the car or handle very well at all. I have noticed since I got 18's and better grip that the car wobbles through turns. With the stock springs it didn't do that. From day one I discounted the problem as being the 17's and Craptenzas but now I am pretty sure that it is the Maxspeeds. I also noticed with friends in the back seat, the rear end got squishy and bouncy.

I will either be installing coilovers (if the ride quality is as good as some claim) or H&R's. My Maxspeeds are toast.