Im looking at lowering my max, but i only have the money for springs.

Anyways, I was looking at either Eibachs or Maxspeeds, but will be running on Stock Struts because I don't have the money for aftermarket struts. But I don't know which one to get. I really want to get rid of the gap, but at the same time I don't want to bottom out. I have a semi steep driveway, so I must be able to get up and down without problems. I also live in PA which have a lot of pot holes and bad roads, so I don't want to bottom out all the time too. I will also be investing in RSB and FSTB soon.

Maxspeeds
I heard Maxspeeds handle like stock, but I am afriad that there will still be a big gap. I think I will be able to get up my driveway with Maxspeeds too.

Eibachs
I have seen pictures with Maxima's with Eibachs and I love the look of the drop. But I am afriad that I wont be able to get up and down my driveway. I'm also not sure how the car will handle on roads with bumps and potholes.

If anybody could give me some advice that would be great!!

Thanks

 

Depending on the condition of your existing struts, i would recommend saving up for them and doing the install all at once. My OEM struts didn't last that long with the Maxspeeds, and i drive on pretty bad roads.

No experience with Eibach's, but on my Maxspeeds i have approximately a 3 finger gap between fender and tire. I have yet to scrape on any type of incline, however i tend to hit the curb when parking head-on.

Here's a site that shows the differences in drops:
http://www.innerbean.com/housecor/sp..._decision.html

 

With stock struts, your pretty much out of luck. The only one's I would even consider with stock struts are Maxspeed or Tien H, but then again all your doing it shortening the life of your stock struts and will have to replace all 4 soon anyhow.

Save up and do it all at once.

I have Maxspeeds with Tokico HP's and they are a great option for daily drivers.

 

so I put htechs upfront and kept h&rs in the rear...struts are illuminas set on 2 all around...the ride sucks =/

Im putting the h&rs up front again soon (the last time I had all 4 of them installed I had "blues"). So now that I will have H&Rs all around again whats a good setting to set the illuminas on now? I dont drive hard so comfort is #1for me...comfort is all Im looking for

 

I have to laugh at this thread....I'm on my 3rd set of springs since I had the Maxspeeds

 

update: Im on H&Rs all around now with illuminas. The ride is amazing in every respect.

Is there something wrong with setting the illuminas to "1"? Im guessing there is b/c I have not come across anyone who has theirs set up like that. I mean its the softest setting...

 

there is no comparison. the maxspeeds ride like **** compared to the h&rs. the only plus to the maxspeeds were they set the front about an inch lower than the h&rs but it want worth the ride difference.

 

According to the link the front drop on maxspeed and h&r are equal. The difference is that the rear is one inch lower on the h&r springs.

I'm suprised nobody has rigged up something to measure the spring rates. You would need a ruler some weight and a rig to hold the spring steady as more weight is applied. Once it gets to an inch PRESTO.

 

welll i dont know about the link but i did have maxspeeds on my car and now have h&rs the maxspeeds definitly sat lower in the front by at least an inch but the h&rs set about an inch lower than the maxspeeds in the rear.

 

For those people running maxspeeds on stock struts, do you have any experiences with a heavy load, like 4 passengers and luggage and how this affects handling. You ever bottomed out? Irish said he bottoms out w/ H techs but those give a lower drop in teh rear, right?. People say it rides close to stock, but what does this mean in various driving styles and factors? I didnt see any specific question pertaining to this so i thought I'd ask. Sorry if has been covered in other threads. However, thanks for the new rule Irish, oh and thanks for the advice on a ski rack. I'm fixin to take two ski trips totally about 2000 miles with 3 to 4 passenger and luggage. I just want some opinions, experiences, recommendations, etc. on whether or not i should throw the springs on before the trip, could always put on just the fronts so the *** end isnt so saggy w/ so much weight.

 

First off, it depends on the condition of your existing struts. It was fine on mine for a couple thousand miles. Although, eventually they gave up and i had to replace it with GR-2's. The bouncing on freeways was getting annoying and unsafe.

 

60K on original struts.

Any other insights?

 

I had 70K on original struts and springs and the front struts were shot. I replaced them with some new tokico HPs and some slightly used maxspeed springs. If I was you I would replace the struts with something after market or at least lower mileage OEM struts. 60k is kina high for any lowering spring on stock struts. Also maxspeed is considered a linear spring so they don't sag as much as other springs with extra weight in the car.

 

I have 76K on maxspeeds and stock struts. I put them on at 100K. Never had an issue with rubbing or bottoming out. The CV boots tore at 70K.
I'm installing H&R's on the 03 though. For now with stock struts.