So, i decided to do the work myself and with the help of my brother and his air tools, we had all four corners done in 4 hrs. Not hard to do as long as you have a NICE set of spring compressors....and ideally, air tools.

I replaced the struts and shocks + strut mounts and strut bearings.
Unfortunately i was very stupid and I did NOT replace the rubber guard/boot around the struts. Mine were a little torn but they are still protecting the strut. I could have spent $20 for two new rubber boots but i did not. Lesson learned.

I reused the stock OEM "SE" springs. Car is NOT lowered.

First impressions: I have the struts/shocks set on 4/5 (F/R). The ride is not harsher than the stock setup, in my opinion. The suspension is stiffer, yes, but it is NOT harsh over bumps. I have to admit that most of the roads in the area are pretty smooth so i may change my mind over time and lower to 3/3.
Body roll is almost gone and the ride is more controlled. Car feels "safer" on the highway. Overall, it is more enjoyable to drive it. I have to admit that for some reason i expected even better results but i guess my expectations were a little unrealistic. The body is not stiff enough to get that BMW or even Acura/Audi "solid feel", yet smoother ride.

Small problem: I followed everyone's advice and i took the car for 4-wheel alignment today. Even though it drove straight and i didn't feel any difference in behavior after the new shocks were installed. I decided that it may be a good idea. I went to Gemini Good Year. The guy who was working on the car told me that the alignment was way off. The rear wheels needed a lot of adjustment. The front driver side was almost OK, however, on the front passenger side, he could not get the "camber" into spec. The best he could get it to was 1.4 degrees. Everything else was fine and he said that if the car does not pull to the side, i should not worry. I drove the car and it drives straight, does not pull to any direction. I hope that this is as minor as he made it sound. Any ideas???

 

As far as I know, there is no rear end adjustment on the Max....

 

He should have provided you with the alignment specs along with your receipt. If so, you can compare them to this:
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....lignment+specs

To add to that, If there is indeed a problem, that would point to something being bent/mechanically damaged.

 

What you should do next is add a rear sway bar, and swap out those stock springs. As for your camber adjustment being off, i have no idea what to say on this matter

 

I saw the print out....it has numbers and colors. The "rear" wheels were both in red color when they put the car on the stand. At the end, it was all in the "green" area.(except the front passenger side camber)

 

I'm in the process of installing Illumina's and Eibach's all around and have reused the rubber pieces in the front so far (except the bellows/bumpstop)... I just got the rears in the mail today and should have them on tonight!

 

I already have rear sway bar + front and rear strut tower bars.

 

Were the values different?

 

Hmmm....this is strange. I am confused. I will check the print outs from the shop again and i may even post them here for reference.

 

The rear can't be aligned so either they are lying to you or there is some damage back there. When I replaced my stock shocks with blues I also noticed a better ride. Yes the springs on the SE are stiff, but I really think it's the stock SE shocks cause my ride got so much better with the HP. Congrats on the new shocks..

 

You order your illuminas from Performancepeddler.com?

If so, my rears should be in soon then.

 

are u using OEM bumstops/dust boots

 

glad u like the new struts and saved the money by diy.



.

 

IIRC, the rears can be put back to "spec" but not neccessarily aligned. So you CAN make minor adjustments to the rear beam but you cannot "align" it like you can IRS 4-wheel alignments. All this should be valid unless you have bent your beam out of place.

 

Here is what i have on the notes that the technician gave me:

There are two sheets of paper - "before" and"after"

REAR:

"Before"

Toe: 0.20 degrees (Left)(red) .... 0.77 degrees (Right)(red)
Total Toe: 0.98 degrees (red)
SAI: N/A

"After"

Toe: - 0.03 degrees (Left)(green) .... 0.03 degrees (Right)(green)
Total Toe: - 0.06 degrees (green)
SAI: - N/A

************************************************** **********
FRONT:

Before:

Camber: -0.1 degrees (L) -0.1 degrees (R)
Cross Camber: + 0.0
Caster: 3.0 degrees (L) 1.3 degrees (R)
Cross Caster: 1.7 degrees

After:

Camber: -0.1 degrees (L) -0.1 degrees (R)
Cross Camber: - 0.01
Caster: 2.7 degrees (L) 1.4 degrees (R) (this can't be adjusted)
Cross Caster: 1.7 degrees

As you can see, there were some changes made to the REAR Toe.

 

^^^ Yup, many believe that the rears cannot be touched... which seems to be a rumor. My alignment shop always asks if I want a 4-wheel or just the 2-wheel alignment, and they do know I have a rear solid beam.

Does the car react any different for the rear? I'd assume it's at least more smooth.

 

Where are the specs for the front toe? Do you know what brand of alignment machine was used? I would guess the toe is based off the rear center line of the car and you need to adjust the front toe but it may say rear. I have used a FMC and a Hunter alignment machine and I have not seen a printout like that. Anyone familiar with it?

 

The car is smooth now, yes. I am not sure if this is due to the better alignment or new shocks/struts. The changes that were made by the alignment shop do not look major, however, according to them, even 0.2 degree difference can mean a lot for tire wear and etc.

 

Where are the front toe specs, and why are there only toes specs for the rear wheels?

Cliffs: it seems to me that those toe specs are for the front wheels, not to the rear. (as the rear is preset front the factory, and those who really want to adjust it go through all this trouble of bending the beam)

 

Yup, yours should be arriving any day now! I'd check your order status online or call them, they can give you the tracking info for whatever was drop shipped to you (most likely the rears).

 

No. I bought some from Advance Auto Parts, made by TRW with a lifetime warranty. $16.XX/each for the fronts and $15.XX/each for the rears.

 

you can take the lower strut bolt and drill the hole laterally so its a football shape (____) then you can then pull the wheels in and out +1 degree or minus 1 degree for your camber adjustment to get it into spec. Being that you camber is off .2 id say you have a worn bushing or link causing you to be slightly out of spec. If your front end is tight this trick will get you into spec. If you had to adjust cambler 1.6 degrees like me you will need some new thicker strut bolts. Just giving some options ..good luck!

 

Update: Finally got all 4 installed, photos here. Also made a comparison of the TRW and OEM bumpstops/bellows

 

Tire Rack has the Eibach springs for 215 shipped at least to my Zip