VQuick

iTrader: (17)

Get Boss Chens if you are looking for smooth ride and adjustable drop, I've heard great things and have ridden in a 5th gen with them, they are very comfy and well-made.

GOLD00GXE5SPD

iTrader: (5)

just dropped on h&r front springs and h-tech rears with illuminas. im really very impressed with the ride, i had originally thought it may either be too soft, or too rough depending on the settings, but 3/3 is just right! with the progress rear bar ,everything ties in well together. a fsb to correct steering input and ill be ready to autocross. thanks alot for the great info on these and all other suspension threads. even stance and great handling, i never thought it would be possible.

MaxxBlack03TE

Great info....lots of good advise. Just starting my max and am looking forward to modding it :-)

dmpesso

ok well i got a 2002 GLE and the ride is horrible the bumps eat the car and it pulls to the side wen cornering. Whats the best thing to get for my car and the differences, springs? coilovers? sway bars? or a complete suspension. let me know please thanks

Tsukuba_Circuit

iTrader: (2)

I recently upgraded my suspension to aftermarket shocks and springs. Tein S-tech with Illuminas. I bought new Tokico strut mounts (incorrect application) that I couldn't use. Good thing my existing mounts were in good enough condition to reuse. I also bought the recommended KYB dustboot/bumpstop for all four corners. I pulled the part numbers (SB104 and SB108) right off of KYB's 2006 Catalog. My mechanic said the strut mounts and dustboots/bumpstops do not fit. The Tokico strut mounts I bought are said to be for 95-99 Maximas and 00-03 I30's. I assumed that since it would fit a 00 I30, it would fit mine as well...that turned out NOT to be the case. That was my fault for making that assumption. The KYB parts however I don't understand. Are KYB boots made to ONLY work with KYB shocks? I'm thinking that since I used Tokico brand shocks, compatibility may be the problem. If that's the case, that is really stupid. Those boots should be somewhat universal. Another factor that I strongly doubt is the competence of my mechanic.

My question: Has any other A33 Maxima successfully installed KYB part no. SB104 (front) and SB108 (rear) Dustboot/bumpstops on Tokico Illumina shocks? My new suspension is already in and so far it is superb over the oem setup. My settings are 5/5 for the Illuminas. I have only bottomed out on the rear once. Never in the front so far. Btw I'm running UNCUT oem bumpstops for now. I assumed the kyb parts would fit so I didn't explain about trimming the bumpstops since the kyb ones are shortened.

pardon the long post, I just wanted to give enough info to get a valid response. TIA!

97gshogun

iTrader: (1)

i've been looking at tein lowering springs a 1.6 and a 2.2 drop which should I do?

Tsukuba_Circuit

iTrader: (2)

^^^Get them and make sure you get stiff performance shocks like Tokico Illuminas or Koni Yellows. Otherwise you will blow out your shocks in no time if you get KYB GR-2 or Tokico Blues on the S-Tech springs. If you can afford it, just get coilovers and be done with it. A FSTB and RSB will help a great deal.

Anyone have the answer to my question?

SWIFTMAXAZ

Whats up guys

I bought my 2k2 not too long ago and it has tien springs with illuminas all around. Well the back rides nice, but the front bottoms out and is stiff... almost feels like it has no room to function, or they're shot. Is there something I can do to trouble shoot? Or you think something needs replacing?

I don't know if the bumpstops are cut... but would this suspension bottom out in the front with new tien springs and illuminas if the bumpstop was not cut? Lastly... I can't find any info on adjusting the illuminas... which of the settings is what?

1 Soft - 5 Stiff?

Anyone with experience with the tiens and illuminas... I'd appreciate any info. Thanks in advance

Tsukuba_Circuit

iTrader: (2)

Well you're right...it barely has room to function or "travel." If you have S-techs, you'll lose about 2 inches of suspension travel due to the drop. That's why you hit your bumpstops easier since it takes less of a major movement to reach the bumpstops which is why its advised to trim the bumpstops. I think your "problem" is that you need to make the Illuminas more FIRM by setting it to a higher number. 1-Soft, 5-Firm...also mentions in the paper work that came with the Illuminas. When I first rode on the Illuminas they are set at a default 1F/1R. At 1F/1R the ride was very soft and was unable to control the bouncing and "see-sawing" of the suspension.

Use a small flathead screwdriver and set to 3F/3R to start with. To access the rear shocks, I put both the back seats down and push the trunk liner to the side once you remove the fasteners. MAKE SURE YOU SET THE ADJUSTMENT "****" IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DESIRED NUMBER. I won't be responsible if your shocks get damaged because the **** wasn't correctly set. You'll know it's set properly when the **** is centered on the desired number with the bottom of the **** "sitting" directly on a line while the top of the **** points in between lines. Take a good look and you'll see what I mean. A lot of Illumina owners like to stagger the stiffness of the front and rear shocks to give the maxima more oversteer tendency while reducing understeer. This is done by setting the rear stiffer than the front since it is a FWD setup. When I experimented with this, I did not like it. I could tell that the front was softer than the rear and when going over bumps it felt odd and uneven. IMO the ride felt evenly balanced and neutral when I set the same setting for the front and rears. Experiment for yourself.

VQuick

iTrader: (17)

With some springs you might have good results, but keep in mind that if you trim your bumpstops you are drastically reducing the cushioning if you bottom out, and you will. My H-techs are soft enough that I switched back to stock bumpstops after cutting mine. Every medium sized bump or bigger was horrendous because it bottomed out hard.

SWIFTMAXAZ

Thanks for the info

On that flathead ****/screw, there is like an arrow with the flathead line going through it. The arrow and flathead line point the same direction, and you can feel it click in place when you stop on a line next to a number. So I'm a little confused about the "MAKE SURE YOU SET THE ADJUSTMENT "****" IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DESIRED NUMBER."

There is a line separating every number 1-5, and so if the arrow is on the line between 3 and 4, which setting is it on? I don't get why they just didnt make the arrow actually stop on a number...

I tried 1 "click" counter clock and tested the ride. it was really crappy and felt every little thing in the road. Tried 2 clicks forward and it seemed way better, more like tighter and more muffled on bumps and not so sensetive to tiny bumps in the road.

I tried to bounce the front on the fender and it doesnt really go anywhere. The back does... it feels smooth with lots of play area. I think the illuminas in the front are ok. And I think my problem is with the tien springs. Maybe theyre sagging and not lifting the front to the right height to not bottom out so easy.

Agree? Disagree?

Tsukuba_Circuit

iTrader: (2)

Yeah, it's a confusing setup to adjust the Illuminas. You're looking at the wrong side of the "****." You WANT the "arrow" to line up between 3 and 4 or whatever numbers, that means you correctly set the dampening setting. When the "arrow" lines up between numbers, you need to look at the opposite end of the ****, that should be "in the middle of the desired number" and NOT lined up between numbers. This way there is no confusion on what setting (number) it's on. If you're still confused, let me know and I'll take a photo for you or you can take a photo and I'll photochop it as a diagram.


If you've never adjusted them since they were new, the default setting should be on "1" which is the softest. IMO with S-Tech springs, the Illuminas need to be set to at least 3 front/rear to be able to properly control the stiff s-techs. So clockwise equals more stiffer and counter-clockwise is softer. I noticed the best handling at 5 front/rear. I wish the Illuminas would start at 3 as the softest setting and then just get stiffer from there.

When you push down on the fender, it's a good thing that the chassis doesn't move much which means your suspension is stiff. Maybe your rear setting is softer than the fronts? Tein springs are high quality springs and I doubt they are sagging. Your shocks are what control the car from bottoming out, not the springs. Lowering springs increase the chance of the car hitting the bumpstops because of the reduced suspension travel. If the shocks are stiff, the car will "fight" the bump resisting the travel movement.

OK, here's an analogy. You know those doors with the "shock" mechanism mounted at the top corner of the door usually found at business bldgs? If that "shock" was worn out or soft, you could fling open the door and the door would just swing open very fast and could possibly hit whatever is behind the opening door. If the "shock" was new or stiff, it would resist your pushing force to the point where it opens up just enough for you to exit and then closes behind you. That make sense?

I can't believe no one on this forum is able to answer my simple question about the KYB Dustboots/Bumpstops.....
Do KYB part numbers SB104 and SB108 fit with Tokico Illuminas?

OOmaxSE

iTrader: (19)

Here's a very simple question for you Illumina owners:

Can you keep dialing the settings to the right (or left, doesn't matter) from 1-5 and then back to 1 (without going counter)???

I did that to mine but I wasn't sure if it was normal. Basically, I can keep twisting the ****/flathead dial to the right and it will continue to go even from 5 to 1 (when twisting clockwise). So there are no "locks" between the jump from 5 to 1?

VQuick

iTrader: (17)

I always assumed you couldn't, that you had to go clockwise from 1 to 5 and vice versa. I would bet that it's not designed to go clockwise straight from 5 to 1....

Tsukuba_Circuit

iTrader: (2)

.....

OOmaxSE

iTrader: (19)

Hmm, that's really strange... Well it happened to me, hopefully mine is ok!

Can anyone confirm this?

VQuick

iTrader: (17)

Well, if you set it to 1 by going all the way around from 5, is your ride soft and floaty, or is it super stiff?

VQuick

iTrader: (17)

This is from the 4th gen FAQ thread, but may still help you out:

http://forums.maxima.org/showpost.ph...3&postcount=48

OOmaxSE

iTrader: (19)

It's not on the car yet tho, so I can't confirm this. Irish remembers the instruction saying to dial clockwise from 1-5-1 and so on. If this is true, I shouldn't worry because that means there is not a "lock" between 1 and 5.

IloveVQ

iTrader: (1)

Will lowering the car cause the CV joints to go bad prematurely?

dmpesso

CAN SOMEONE PLEASE HELP.. I have the 02 max GLE and the suspension sucks, the steering wheel feels the bumps sometimes and the car moves a little ifim going over a bump fast, u can basically feel every dam bump. what would i NEED to get a more comfortable ride and BETTER handling like around corners and everything, im not worried about lowering my car thats not wat im looking for, just a more comfortable ride and better handling. thanks

DrKlop

iTrader: (3)

check out the links posted in the first post, especially the one that says "If COMFORT were your sole goal"

dmpesso

excuse me but im a MAJOR noob and I cant come to my own judgement based on wat everyone says on there. Just someone please tell me whats the best investement for a smoother ride over bumpb and somewhat better handling especially cornering. also will get 20 inch rims put on my car affect anything or make watever setup i get less effective, ANY feedback is appreciated. thanks

CoolMax

iTrader: (7)

There's plenty of info in the link he suggested...maybe get some adjustable shocks, an RSB, & maybe an FSTB.

not sure if you are expecting someone to pick a setup for you...

VQuick

iTrader: (17)

It's true that the 5th gen Maxima does not have the best ride, but with a GLE stock suspension it shouldn't be notably uncomfortable. I would suggest you check your struts; they could be blown. Bad struts will definitely hurt ride and handling.

The easy way to test at home is to push down each of the four corners of the car in succession to test each strut. Just push down on the left side of the hood right above the wheelwell, for example, give it a hard push and watch how the car reacts. It should bounce back and stop very quickly. If it bounces up and down a few times then your struts may be blown.

It might be best to take the car to a shop and have them check the struts, but that's a easy and free way to get an idea.

If your struts are fine, there's not much you can do to improve ride over a stock GLE suspension, to my knowledge.

babyboyws6

iTrader: (1)

Progress Springs (1.7 front 1.5 front.. about) w/ Tokico Illuminas. while sitting on 18x8 G35 coupe OEM rims wrapped in 235/40/18 Toyo's... Do you think i would experience any Rubbing issues even with a full car of people?

SWIFTMAXAZ

Tsukuba_Circuit, thank you for your info above. I see now what you mean about the other end of the arrow pointing to the number. Here's a real close-up shot for anyone else who may be confused about it.

zero2sixtyZ

iTrader: (30)

Look into bars for the chassis. Lower Tie Bar, Rear Sway Bar, etc. I know when I get the Lower Tie Bar (I am still unlowered) that the chassis stiffened that bumps felt more solid, no more feedback thru the chassis. It basically allowed the suspension in the front to do its job more. Also, I can't express how much it helped in the turns. FSTB didn't do too much.

IloveVQ

iTrader: (1)

This is set on two correct?

MaxBoost925

iTrader: (33)

my car doesnt handle well enough for how much money I put into the suspension. it's quite a dissapointment. I remember when it was stock with just an FSTB holy moly that sucker cornered, but now it seems like i have too much bump steer and my car hecka leans too much. *sigh* dissapointment i tell you!!

VQuick

iTrader: (17)

ILoveVQ, yes that's set on 2.

MaxBoost, if you're as low as you look in your sig pic, your suspension geometry is far from optimal. Yes, you will get bump-steexr and your very low roll center will make the car lean more than it otherwise would at your ride height. It's all about the angles of the control arms. Stock they are angled down from the chassis to the wheel, but when lowered 2"+ they are angled up which messes up the camber curve and all sorts of other stuff.

Check the Suspension forum for more on this, there have been several discussions. Also, this site has some excellent explanations:

http://e30m3performance.com/myths/We...t_transfer.htm
(2 pages on the consequences of lowering)

Here's a figure from that site:

Tsukuba_Circuit

iTrader: (2)

Thanks, VQuick I understand now.


No prob, SWIFTMAXAZ. enjoy the suspension

playboi21617

so which are the best springs for a 5.5 eibach or Tein H techs the S tech are to low for the back. cause i tryin to get that are better than the stock springs and handles better. holla back:attention

VQuick

iTrader: (17)

Eibachs are unquestionably the best handling. Probably one of the most comfortable too since they are stiff enough that you won't be slamming into the bumpstops.

babyboyws6

iTrader: (1)

Any body have any issues or problems with the progress springs??
and what type of adjustments do you make for illuminas.. is it like stages of stiffness??

babyboyws6

iTrader: (1)

one more thing....
Progress springs with 235/40/18 size tires on 18 inch rims... would i be rubbing with a car filled with people...
if not how bout 19's...

shannon

check out bump stpd maxima on www.maxima.org.nz/

shannon

hey bro iv gt 19z on ma maxima an it bumpyd lol.it may rub a lil bit but hardly enough to do any damage to your tyres an thats with a ful car.i havent flared the guards either so i cant even fit ma lil finger between the guard an the wheel lol.but if you were going to go bigger than 19z an have it really low then i think there would have to be a few modificationswww.maxima.org.nz/

babyboyws6

iTrader: (1)

well what size tires are you running to have a slight rubbing issue??

babyboyws6

iTrader: (1)

theres shouldn't be a problem with 245/35/19