UGAd13

After 2 weeks of the H&R front only drop I have to say that I really like this set up. This is the first set up on my car so I can't compare apples to apples, but I also ride in an '01 Max w/ H&Rs front/rear with Illuminas (4F/4R, I think) a lot and I like the way my car rides better. The '01 handles a lot better overall, but on my '03 it is a huge difference from stock. I can enter corners faster with less body roll and faster acceleration out of the turn. Highway driving is a bit more bumpy but not as noticeable with the full set up. I suggest this set up for people like myself who want better handling but aren't racers or drive like a bat out of hell all the time.

Kevin

did you stick with GLE rear springs/shocks? might want to consider upping those to a rear SE stock setup. Thanks for info>

UGAd13

Yes, GLE stock rear springs/shocks. I might however have to put in the rear H&Rs when I take my stereo out. I'm getting kind of tired of not having any trunk space.

housecor

iTrader: (2)

When I blew the Illumina I didn't try to get warranty work done. My drop was below 1.5" up front which voided my warranty on those so I just bought a new one. Hard to say if they'd have noticed but I didn't think it was worth the bother.

And yes, it does look very similar to most stock Maximas but it was a dramatic difference for me since my front wheel gap was huge. I just wanted my car to look normal, handle better, and have have a bit more aggressive stance. This did the trick for me.

UGAd13 - I completely agree. I'm very happy with this setup after a week or so. My only complaint is road undulations from rigs on the highway are more noticable but the ride is otherwise very near stock. I've also noticed a couple of other great benefits which I also appreciated on my Progress drop:
1. No more wheel hop!
2. Much less torque steer
3. Much less wheelspin. The stiffer springs really plant the tires on the pavement. I can punch it around corners and the car just flat hauls.

I love flying around corners now. The front end just digs in and pulls you around. I don't feel like I'm going to fly out of my seat anymore. While I haven't found a safe place to test the heightened limits, the car is much more balanced rather than heavily tending to understeer. Goodbye plow. I like the feeling that the rear end could come around if I kept pushing. Some might find this scary/dangerous, but you must keep in mind the limit is so far out there that I won't reach it on the street. It'd take heroic stupidity.

Dave B

Looks good, housecor. It's nice and level and I'm sure the ride quality has improved dramatically. I always found the adding wheel travel to the rear beam was key in keeping decent ride quality. You and I are on the same page too. I did a similiar thing with my G35 sedan. Stock, the front gap is a crack under 3" (4 finger) while the rear gap is a crack under 2 fingers. The 350Z springs will work on this car and give it a 1" drop all around. The only problem is the camber on the front and rear gets way out of whack. The front can only be fixed with $300+ adjustable upper a-arms and the rears would require camber bolts. After riding in a G sedan with the 350Z springs/struts (Charle's G), I said screw that. The car rides like a pogo stick on rutted surfaces and the camber in the rear is really bad. I went against the grain at g35driver.com and did G35 coupe springs in the front and left the rear untouched. Since I have the Sports suspension, I already have the coupe-spec stiffer struts and stiffer springs. The only real difference with the coupe springs was that they give a .6" drop and they have a 10lb lower spring rate. Once installed, I was very pleased. The front gap is ~2.5 fingers or about .5 finger higher than the rear. With me in the car, the gaps drop to 1.5 fingers (1"), front and rear. Most importantly, the car looks a lot more even, the ride quality is the same, and the camber is well within spec. I'm so use to having a Maxima, that the G looks plenty low. I'd love to .5" less wheel gap, but I'm not going to risk the expense and ride quality.

ChromeSE5

iTrader: (3)

This seems like a very cheap and effective mod since you only had to purchase the springs. They probobaly seem easily available in the forsale forums.

Dave B

$40 shipped. I wasn't complaining. Install is a pain though. Dealing with a front multilink suspension isn't fun one bit. It took me 3.5 hours to install two springs. The rears appear to be super easy though. I'd venture to say 1 hour total.

gaby617

iTrader: (5)

love the lower look, not slammed but just over the tire is always a plus. i just installed s-techs and hp's on factory 17's. i love the ride even though boston street sucks. one complain i do have is that ive noticed a slight lower drop in the rear, very slight unless you stare at it youll notice it. is that natural, i was in the impression the front would sit lower. should i wait a few and see how they settle or is the answer already in front of me-those with s-tech springs or knowledge, help will be appreciated................

nyautostyle

looks sweet, not too much of a drop and just perfect

NisMo-Max

iTrader: (40)

Still Looks Stock To me!!!

ghostrider17

iTrader: (6)

Housecor et all:

What Size and Brand tire are you guys running on these setups now?

As you guys might recall -- I've not been happy with the daily driving characteristics of my progress/illumina setup. The ONLY thing that I think i did different from most with this setup, is the tires: Kumho ECSTA's in 235/45/17.
Great grip, and great tire for the money - but I'm starting to think that these may be the main culprit in my overly stiff suspension traits.

I'm seriously considering going back to a stock size tire with a taller aspect ratio 50 or 55 to give myself some much needed "cushion" in the bump absorbtion category.

Dave B with G35 looks like he's got 235/60/17's on that thing....

Please let me know what you guys are rolling on.....

gr

housecor

iTrader: (2)

I'm still on the OEM Potenzas. I'd never consider anything lower than 50 series - not only due to ride - but because the wheel gap is emphasized with lower profiles as well.

Dave - Thanks for the compliment. The G drop looks excellent. Exactly even to my eyes.

UGAd13

Me too. However, I am thinking about changing to 235/45 so I can get the Proxes 4.
*edit* I'm on OEM Turanzas.

ghostrider17

iTrader: (6)

What I have noticed in going to a PLUS +1 tire size, is that when you push the tires REALLY hard -- they tend to "roll" on the rims.

You can actually feel the things squirming on the rims when at the limits.
NOt good. Needless to say -- I don't go there anymore.
I don't have any issues pushing the suspension/tires to 50-75% of the limit, but when you crank-up the struts to max firm, and get ON IT in the turns, you can definitely feel the oversize of the tires on the 7.0 inch rims become a factor.
AGAIN: not an issue in daily driving, and driving at less than 75% of the suspensions' capabilities -- but something to be aware of if you're planning on really using that extra capability.
Also, the FIRMNESS of the 45/ series sidewalls and VR speed rating of these tires REALLY makes the ride FIRM. To me, it's almost become unbearable.
Nobody else seems to complain of this with my same setup -- so it MUST be my tires.

I will almost undoubtedly go back to a less aggressive, taller, and WR rated tire to get some much needed CUSHION out of the tires in the future.
Damn these Kumhos for wearing so well!!! 15k, and still got 50% tread left.

gr

GodFather

iTrader: (10)

Housecor, you did your H&R front w/stock struts in 3-23-2005. What's the outcome of the stock struts now? I have a 02 6-speed and I am very impressed with your final suspension setup. Only worry is how do the stock struts hold up?

housecor

iTrader: (2)

I'm still running (and loving) this same setup after all this time. That's 3 years and 30k miles on this setup. I still definitely recommend it.

LA02MAX

iTrader: (3)

Peter, the struts should hold up fine because the H&R drop is so mild, but IMO it's better to have the adjustability of the Illuminas. However, if you would rather not spend the money on struts, using your H&Rs on the stock struts really wouldn't be bad.

pbn85

iTrader: (8)

I can attest to the saggy rear of the maxima with H&Rs which I why I will most likely put stock struts on the rear for this coming winter and leave the fronts on H&Rs. To be honest with you, even H&Rs on illuminas can be rough at times though for the most part its very much like stock.

this is OT and I apologize...can stock struts handle the htech drop w/o blowing? I had htechs last year on illuminas and it was still rough...maybe stock struts will be more comfortable

GodFather

iTrader: (10)

Alright, thanks a lot everybody...

I already have a set of the 4th gen H&R springs. Seeing how you guys are positive about the stock struts to hold it up reliably, I'll drop in the front set and call it a day.

I'll be buying a complete set of Stillen body kit and rear H&R 20mm wheel spacers, modify the headlights, then tint the fish-bowl windows. That should settle the cosmetics pretty nicely.


-Peter-

MaximumPower01

Looks good!

I've been thinking about dropping the front only also, cause I really hate the "saggin ***" affect, with my 1.4" drop all-around.

After seeing how yours looks I'll definitely give it a go now, thx for the push!

rocketsled

i like the look, not too extreme, still looks stock, but you get the benefit of some performance.

Torgus

iTrader: (10)

you forgot to take pics of it lowered...

whorufool

nice job, my friend did the same too

vball_max

iTrader: (5)

Houscor, you were talking about the oversteering with this setup......is that with an RSB or without? If you dont have one, do you think adding one would help that a bit?

01SilverMaxima

iTrader: (1)

Noobie question here, RSB=Rear sway or strut bar?
Get your flame on.

Puppetmaster

iTrader: (48)

RSB = Rear Sway (or more accurately, anti-sway) Bar.

01SilverMaxima

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for that

G4nismo

iTrader: (9)

looks sharp! i love the rims! hehe

i wish mine were titanium...

vball_max

iTrader: (5)

Yes....I know RSB = rear sway bar.

The oversteer was due the softer springs in the back causing more body roll in the rear. I would think the RSB would take out some of the rear body roll, and therefore possibly lessen some of the oversteer. Thats why I was asking.

vball_max

iTrader: (5)

Does anyone know where to buy the front H&R's only or do they come only in sets of 4?

I would like to try this setup, but dont want to spend more than I have to, and living in a small condo, i have no place to keep extra stuff around.

Any help would be appreciated....

Thanks.

Kyle00

iTrader: (5)

You'd have to buy them used. Post a wanted ad in the classified section

1HotA32

iTrader: (2)

looks good very clean i might add

GodFather

iTrader: (10)

Just got mine done last Thursday. I used 4th gen front H&R's on stock front struts, drove to Houston 4 hours away for vacation, came back on Sunday. Total of 730 miles with several bumps and dips on the infamous Louisiana I-10. The suspension fared well without a problem at all.

Additionally, I had installed 25mm rear hubcentric spacers on the same day. That little mod adds sparkles to this car's cornering stability.

Summing up my suspension setup, I have H&R front spring on stock struts, completely stock rear setup, and 25mm rear spacers. Overall, the car height is very evenly balanced, all wheel gaps are very even, about 3 fingers thick, comfort is just as good as before, performs very well to what I'm looking for, and looks darn good after all, especially with the rear wheels spacing out by 25mm.

Thanks a lot for your recommendations, housecor...

-Peter-

MetaOrbit

iTrader: (19)

on the Louisiana I-10 test. That has to be possibly the worst interstate I've ever driven in my life.

My H&R front + Illuminas all around fared well there too.

rocketsled

I've been trying to decide between a few setups. Eibachs , H&R fronts front only, or Eibachs front only, obviously all paired with Illuminas. I love the look of the front drop only, but drive on some really terrible roads, and the occasional gravel road. Any opinions out there?

Kyle00

iTrader: (5)

H&R Fronts only is the way to go for sure. I have them on my car now and I'm impressed with them

SinGin

The front drop gives your car a very clean look.

AlpineGt66

iTrader: (8)

same here, just put mine on this past week ago. Could not be more happier. I out-cornered my friend's prelude on coilovers!!!

DasYears

his car is badly setup, with you on both f/r drop and struts, his stock would outhandle you. hes got the car dropped pretty far am i right?

i cant believe how high that looks, the front only drop used to be the way i really wanted to go, but now that i have coilovers it looks really high. crazy how the mind works

AlpineGt66

iTrader: (8)

he has skinny tires on his. but he told me he couldn't keep up when I took that on ramp. It goes into a 90 turn, then a u turn to get on the interstate. maybe he was trying to hard? lol. I am sure it was the the wheels and tires though. Anyway I am still happy with my setup. Too low is no go in the snow.