The lifespan of your stock struts will depend greatly on your driving conditions. Others have had luck with their stockers lasting well over 30k while others have had them fail in less than 5.

Stock struts are made to perform at a certain compression level (e.g. stock ride height). When you swap out for lowering springs the struts are constantly compressed at a level where it normally would only see when hitting bumps and the like. In other words, it wasn't designed to be compressed all the time. This accelerates its life which ultimately leads to premature failure.

 

Apologies.....but something like that can sway alot of opinions, even though it doesn't *really* say anything that differentiates the springs. Really I was just hoping to get firsthand opinions of people (note the part where I said no "I heard it was good" and such).

While you and I can certainly weigh manufacturers' write-ups appropriately, there are many out there who see all that tech blurb and will say "OMG, that must be the greatest spring ever made!" (look how many people are fooled by the "Tornado" and "Electric Supercharger" tech writeups, which are quite convincing)...Alot of people are sheep, and will listen to whoever has the most convincing argument....I was just trying to get a feel for peoples' direct experiences.

Again, didn't mean to sound like I'm pissed or anything, you know that's just the way i type

As to the maxspeed writeup (or lack thereof)....I will write it off to the fact that "it's just a spring", and that company makes alot of other things that seem to have longer writeups. All said, great writeup doesn't mean the product is great (or bad) and no writeup doesn't mean the product sucks (or is good)....

 

I got maxspeeds and they are painted blk, and they look like stock but they don't make the car stand tall like stock

 

I love my H&R's. wish they could be a little lower. These are the Sport springs. Maybe we should see if they would make a set of race springs that they also sell. I would buy a set in a instant.

Race springs

For the discerning enthusiast that wants the ultimate in performance and an aggressive look, H&R Race Springs are the perfect solution. H&R Race Springs will lower your vehicle approximately 1.75-2.5 inches (depending on the make and model of your vehicle) and should be matched with high-quality, sport-tuned shock absorbers. Camber correction may be necessary, for H&R camber solutions check H&R's Triple C Camber Adjustment Bolt application guide.

 

Google search:
Maxspeed Springs 54,200
H&R Springs: 139,000

Yahoo Search:
Maxspeed Springs 98,900
H&R Springs 220,000

Just sayin'

 

I've been running the H&R front only setup with stock struts since November. Very happy w/ this setup. Rides great (unless I've got a full load where the progressive part of the H&R's tend to stiffen up), handles better than stock.

I see quite a few others are running this setup now. Glad to see it's caught on w/ a few of us mismatched spring crazies.

 

what exactly ARE you sayin' ?

Google seach:
Lamborghini: 3,030,000
Honda: 11,300,000
Toyota: 12,400,000

Just sayin'

 

Nothing really. I was just playing around. You seem to really like your springs and that's cool. I just bought the H&R springs after searching around I found them to be more of a recomended manufacturer overall from more vehicle owners for more than just our Maximas. I wanted to slightly drop it but keep the ride as close to stock as possible. Over and over again I read that the H&R springs were the best for that task.

I haven't had Maxspeeds on my car so I can;t compare. I can say that with my Illuminas set at 2F/3R the ride is as smooth as stock but can corner without diving in corners or feeling like a boat over bumps in the road.

 

i'm not sure if anyone mentioned this already, but maxspeed springs have the same specs as h&r's golden apple (the paper name of maxspeed) used to be the distributor for h&r. and they decided to just make their own springs and sell those. my friend's uncle owns golden apple, and he used my car to prototype the springs and that's what was said to me. =D.

 

...from the horse's mouth.....

 

huh? hahahah tha'ts a funny A$$ smiley... i haven't seen that before.

 

While some may wave this off as BS: it's actually not the first time I've heard this. I think there is truth in it.

 

it's not bs tho... cus the owner himself told me.

 

Wow. Is there any way to verify this?

 

I have maxspeed and kyb gr2 and love the ride. It rides almost like stock with the lower look though. The drop should have been that way from factory.

 

i had H&R springs on my max for a little over a yar and i was riding on stock struts. i loved how the car felt on the road and the car just huged turns. the ride was a improvement over stock but for some reason i wanted a stiffer ride and wanted my car to sit lower and get rid of the wheel gap even more. i never had the H&R mounted on illuminas though. my bro currently has the same setup as i used to have on my max (stock struts/H&R springs) and everytime i ride in his car it brings back only good memories of the springs. Yes they are pricey but you get what you pay for. When i removed them from my car, they still looked liek they came out of the box. No sagging at all. That is my opinion
now i am on s-techs and illuminas and no regrets either.

 

I have 43K now and installed Maxspeeds at 6K. I have stock SE struts and they are doing well, if they ever go I'll get adjustables. I like the ride, much better at hiway speeds and cornering.

 

I have H&Rs on Illuminas set 5f/5r most of the time. I'm certainly a fan of the ride and handling. Only setup I've had so I can't really compare them to Maxspeed or what-have-you.

I would still recommend.

 

I suppose I should post my review here from my other thread since I seem to be one of the very few who's had both.

I have Maxspeeds in the rear. And H&Rs up front. The stance is beautiful and the handling is leagues better than Maxspeeds all around.

 

H&Rs are well known to be progressive, maxspeeds are well known to be linear.


Explain to me how they can be the same



BTW: Eibachs FTW
I had 6 people in my car (including one in the trunk) this weekend for my buddies bachelor party and the car still never rode hard or bottomed out.

 

Maxspeeds coming in the mail tommorow morning. Will be installing fronts only on shock struts. I'll let u know how it turns out.

Irish, when you ran maxspeeds, what settings were your illuminas? I recall you having the fronts stiffer than the rear. Any benefits of that particular choice? thanx

 

I just switched from Eibach to H&R's. I also went from Tokico Blues to Tokico Ilumina's (2F,2R) and I can say that the ride is much more comfortable for me. I don't do really hard driving, so I've not noticed any difference in handling. However, I would imagine that under harder driving, the Eibach's would probably perform better. I haven't noticed much difference in stance, but the H&R's are about 1/4 " higher.

 

Well, I installed the front Maxspeeds on stock struts. The drop looks perfect. As it should have been from factory. The rear is fine stock, I don't know WTF Nissan is thinking with the 4x4 gap, but whatever, this is why we have aftermarket options. It took it for a test drive on various roads. Suprisingly the thing feels as smooth as stock. jarring ride, no bracing myself for impact from potholes or sudden irregularities in the road, nothing one would expect from performance springs. Now handling hasn't greatly improved.This of course is due to still rocking the stock struts and stock rear end possibly. I won't be winning any auto-x events, but then again, I won't be participating either.
I have yet to take it to the highway and do some real driving to see what improvements other that looks. more to come

 

I have H&R's and I love the handling. They are mounted on tokico blues. I DO feel even the smallest bumps but the handling is much improved

 

I have H&Rs with GR-2s; ride is firmer and noiser than stock but handling is much improved. I never liked the drop in the rear as it looked lower than the front, so I recently went back to SE springs in the rear. Now the drop front to rear is perfect and the slightly softer springs in the rear gives me perfectly neutral handling (no understeer); I can get the rear end to kick out if needed, great for auto-X or fun! Oh, with the H&Rs in the front and RSB the feel of the road is still there (same noise too) so I am very pleased with the this mongrel mix of springs, highly recommended

 

wow, a blast from the past. To think I've used two more brands of springs since I had maxspeeds and started this thread.....

 

Had Maxspeeds. Although ride quality was like stock, it wasn't nearly enough of a drop for me. Ended up switching to Tein S.Techs which rode ok, but looked much better.

 

How are the eibachs treating you?

If the ride ever gets too stiff for you deff add the SFCs, they softened up the ride quite a bit for me.

 

what's a SFCs?

 

Still loving my H&Rs with Maxspeeds in the rear.

 

So Irish, now that you've had a few different combos. which has given you the best handling/control? Which has given the best ride quality (in your opinion) using stock as a baseline? And which has given the most even/best look? I trust your judgements as I have been around here for a few years reading your threads and think that you have valuable knowledge and insight as well as a boat load of expereince with our cars.

On a side note: I do think you're a bully ... only to the newbies who ask questions when all they had to do is not be so lazy and read some threads before posting though! Afterall they deserve it.

 

I have H&R's and love them... except... the drop in the back is a little tight when the roads are bumpy

 

SFCs = subframe connectors
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=480114

 

Not to speak for irish but from reading his previous posts and talking to him a few times, I am gonna guess he likes eibachs the best for handling/control, H&Rs prob have the best ride quality, and H-techs probably give the best looking drop, unless you're lookin to go really low but Irish said he had problems with them bottoming out.

 

yup
1. Eibachs - best handling, decent ride, good-looking drop (a little low in back)
2. Maxspeeds - good handling, stock-like ride, even drop, if you just want a mild drop. Powdercoat chipped, only downside.
3. H&R - good handling, good ride, drop IMO is too high in front, too low in back.
4. H-techs - subpar handling, decent ride except on big bumps where they bottom out, best LOOKING drop. My least favorite of the springs I've used - would not recommend.

 

i have h&r's with illuminas and i LOVE the ride, but the drop in the front is really dissappointing.

i wish someone would make some nice lowering springs with a good ride. i know i'm just dreaming though.

 

So i'm looking to get maxspeeds with gr2s and i've read around that the powdercoating on the maxspeeds tend to chip. Is this chipping from just wear and tear, or from installation? Someone said they painted theirs black? What would be the best way to add to the coating on the springs, get them powdercoated again, would paint do much?

 

The "paint" on the Maxspeeds are like soft rubber coats. It wears down rather fast. I painted mine using Hi-temp enamel spray (it was the only thing i had available then) and it's holding up just fine. It's been about 2 years since then.

 

would that high temp enamel be like engine rated rattle can paint?

 

That's pretty much what it was. Although you can probably use any type of paint on it. I didn't even think the paint would last this long, i only applied it since i didn't like looking at the yellow.