HI,
I am planning to pick up a new suspension for my car late this week or early next. I am looking for a significant drop, not too stiff and good handling. I am now deciding between Tein SS w/EDFC or the JIC coilovers. I am really lost with that matter, I really want a good combination of handlight and comfort and have no experience at all with the way those two ride. Any suggestions...? thanks.

wait, wtf are k-sport coilovers? how do they compare to Tein and JIC?

 

get boss chens

 

theres very few people who have them, and most of them seem to be from california but from the very few reports on them they are supposed to be good.

I personally dont think any coilover setup available for the max is truly street worthy but if there was on street worthy I would seriously consider it

 

I will have a test car on the east coast soon. If you ever happen to meet him at a meet, hopefully he will provide a ride.

For the original post: I would seriously recommend AGAINST a significant drop. You will sacrifice ride quality and proper suspension geometry which will exacerbate other ride issues just for simple looks. However to answer the original question, the JIC's may ride smoother due to the monotube design. The larger shaft diameter soaks up bumps more efficiently. (Monotube shocks only equipped on the A2 version)

 

dude, first off dont get coilovers and check out the coilover thread in the stickes.

illuminas and HR/tein H/eibach are the best way to go!

if u must get coilovers K sport are the absolute best value. all pretty much handel just as good as any other one. but if money isnt an object tein are the best for our cars. BTW, DO NOT GET JIC!!! terrible reliablility...many issues including pillow ball mounts, blown shocks ($250 for new ones) and noises all over, customer service kinda sucks too.

 

the best thing about teins is that you can get EDFC with them, which is not true for KSport...

 

EDFC is an option. You pay extra for it. But if I had the teins I would buy a used EDFC off ebay for a couple hundred bucks. It is quite convenient

 

but i still dunno what brand of coilovers to get...

 

budget, usage, and preferences (customer service) will determine brand will work for you.

 

yo larrio what about ure boss chens....can i slamm it and still ride smooth i have s-techs i want lower i was thinking k-sports

 

They are smooth, but when you "slam it" there are other factors at play.

 

how bout reliability? My car will be in weather below 30 degrees for months at a time. Sometimes it gets down into the negatives here, will your coilovers blow in the cold? Cause it seems like all other coilovers suffer from that problem. Plus they make noise, plus they ride hard.

 

Can't guarantee about the cold. Hence I do have a East Coast test car in the works. Just waiting for stock to arrive.

As for your other concerns, they will not and should not make any noise. If you are worried about long term support in terms of shocks blowing out, you can always try the Progress coilovers sold by Cattman.

 

to be honest I dont want to have to use long term support I want a coilover with shocks that dont blow in the first place. I dont see myself needing support for my illumina/H&R combo. Why is it harder to make a coilover setup as reliable as a spring/strut combo?

 

all i need is an ok ride, a few bumps is not a problem and pretty good handling... which coils should i choose...?

 

When you slam it with K-Sports, the ride is harsh. even on 17's, but personally, I don't mind it. I rasied it recently and it rides smoother.

 

click and read --> http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=442798 you have to form your own opinion based on what others have said, thats how everyone picks their suspension, not based off of what others tell them to get.

 

see i have 19's and the ride is already harsh i have s-techs with stock struts...... and dont really car about the harsh'ness is long as it doenst feel like i cut springs

 

change them to aftermarket struts and you shuold be alright.

 

Shocks are rated at around 100,000 miles of usage. Of course this varies from car to car due to different driving conditions. The iiluminas will eventually need service and replacement, very much like coilover shocks. Also consider that the standard coilover spring has a much higher spring rate than stock and aftermarket lowering springs. Given the normal lateral cycles and abuse a suspension is subject to, any coilover setup lasting for 5+ years is considered a good trade. This is especially true because coilover setups are race inspired technology for the street, not that other way around. Race teams can afford to rebuild shocks every so often, not the average street user. However the average user doesn't consider this option when purchasing coilovers and expects the product to last forever, which is unrealistic.

Until someone can drive on coilovers for an extended period of time, it cannot be determined through scientific testing how long they will last. The only thing we can determine is when they prematurely fail. I've had these coilovers for 50k miles and they still work fine. I do not anticipate any problems for the next few years either. However cold conditions and heavy snow areas cause a lot more wear and tear on automotive components (regardless of suspension). It may be something that you'll have to consider.

 

I have Tein SS... best mod you can possibly buy for your car and i live in NYC... and i ride on 19's... the ride is still pretty smooth and rides way better the s tech springs... i like tein because if you feel your ride is not smooth enough, you can buy different spring rates for your coilovers... and if your still not satisfied you can send your coilover's back to tein and they will change the fluid in your shocks so that it rides smoother but that is a little bit more money... don't listen to anybody who says that coilovers don't ride smooth... obviously the lower the drop the harsher the ride will be but its not harsh at all... my friend has JIC's and has never had any problems and he's also on 19's in NYC... plus you live in cali so you won't have no problems with ride quality... tein has 16 way damper adjustabilty... coilovers is definitely the way to go... people who ride wit me can't believe that i have coilovers... my click of friends that ride with me in NYC are thinkin about converting to coilovers... RIDING IS BELIEVING... i will never buy regular springs again... thats my word...

forgot to mention that the top of my tires are about 1/4 of an inch away from the fender... i'm pretty dropped... and it can still be dropped another 2.5 inches... being in cali you have nothing to worry about... and teins customer service is unbelievable... just call them and you'll see...

 

Are you talking about the shocks in general or the shocks that are used by Boss Bhen?

BTW, I don't know much about the way shocks are built (internally) so this MIGHT sound a bit stupid, but does the break in period affect further reliability of the shocks?

 

Shocks in general, not coilover shocks. Hence my explanation on how there is no formula to determine shock life in coilover setups.

 

wait, you need to break the shocks in?!?!?!?

 

That's what I want to find out myself.

 

My shocks are dyno tested from the factory. No need for break-in.

 

To be honest I'de like to have a ride in a car with the boss chens at some point if they turn out to handle the cold weather ok, because we have all heard that they ride better than most of the other coilover setups

 

Ey mang, are you going to the Freakmont meet? I have K-Sports on my car. I'll give you a feel for them.

 

I don't like to make statements. Hopefully the product speaks for itself. Look for a few East Coast maximas that will be equipped with these. There will be a warranty during the first winter for the few test cars I have out there.

 

i am embarrassed to go to a meet. My car is dirty like crap, my tires are bald and i am running a spare in the back on the right. If you come to a meet people will throw rocks at me. I am planning to order coilovers, swaybar, rims on either monday or wednesday... and then we can go to the meet... hehe

 

C'mon man, wash your car and just go.

Tell me when to go! dumb dumb dumb dumb.

 

Actually, word on the street is that Ksport is developing such a system, and they're going to make it so that it can retrofit onto all current coilover kits....

EDIT: Oops, found this thread in a search and didn't realize it had been dead for a month... Sorry...

 

s-techs / stock struts suck even with 17's