Holy Crap the Maxima feels entirely different. I decided to leave the Eibachs on the car and it seems to be a good move. Both front and rear set on 3 and the car is firm but no longer harsh like it was with the worn out stock shocks.

 

nice bro, pics on before, after?

 

Car was already lowered by the original owner so it looks basically the same no ride height change.

 

illluminas are nice

 

Yeah I'm really impressed with the way they cleaned up the ride on my car. Before the Illuminas my car had the Eibachs on the stock shocks. The rid was Harsh, easily unsettled by poor road conditions and would frequently bottom out on bumps it shouldnt. Now the Ride quality is firm without any of the harshness and has yet to bottom out even over speed bumps.

Heres a quick pic i snapped with my Cellphone

 

I got blues in the rear and i like the stiffness, now can i put illuminas up front cuz like u said its not to harsh i think if i put blues up front it will b to harsh.

 

well from what i read when i was deciding what shocks to buy, over all the Illuminas were considered to be stiffer than the blues, but very few people had gone from the blues to the Illuminas or visa versa.

 

seei still dont understand adjustable struts, cant the stiffness b adjusted to where i would want it or is that just dampening

 

Dampening is adjustable from a soft to stiff in 5 setting graduations...1 being the softest, 2 being firmer/stiffer than 1, 3 being firmer/stiffer than 2, 4 being firmer/stiffer than 3, 5 being the stiffest/ most firm.....Get it?

 

ok that makes since but is it better to have illuminas all around or can i stick with the blues i have in the rear and get illuminas up front for that adjustability

 

It'd be better to have 4 matching shocks but theres nothing wrong with running different shocks on each axle.

 

both of my front struts were blown on my 02 GLE and the ride was terrible. So bouncy and uncontrolled, and it felt like a boat when turning. I put H&R springs in the front along with Illuminas and it's like a whole new car! Even though I still have the stock springs/struts in the rear (i ordered rear illuminas to go with my rear H&R's just to even it out). I notice especially when i'm pulling into/out of my driveway the difference in stiffness between the front and the rear. I'd say keep em all the same. I was very impressed when I replaced my front blown struts with the new springs and struts and really can't wait to replace the rears

 

Niiiiice AE

 

Why not get F & R and call it the day!

 

Thanks though i'd much prefer a black interior but when a deal turns up at nearly 3k under bluebook its hard to say no

its called money some of our money trees have been picked pretty bare

 

its called money some of our money trees have been picked pretty bare[/QUOTE]

^exactly

 

I'm looking forward to the transformation myself. I have an 01 with 80k and H&R's on the stock struts and it's about that time, and after countless threads about the Illuminas I think it's my best choice. So I'm looking this week to grab a set for the for all four corners than comes the brakes before winter.. Glad to see generally positive feedback that these usually work great for different applications...Any good hooks right now on the Illumias anywhere?

 

I did H Techs and Illuminas last summer and I love it, we went to the mountains last month and i set em all to 5, it did great in the curves

 

What's the best way to tell if the original shocks are gone. I'm not really bottoming out, but the ride is stiffer than I want it to be.

Brent

 

Classic quote!

 

Normally you dont really 'notice' shocks going bad since it happens over time, however pay special attention to how the car reacts after larger dips in the road. If you feel the suspension rebounding too much it means the shocks arent doing their job.

Thanks I try

 

You think its nice now throw a rear swaybar and moog end links on there and you'll be surprised all over again.

 

Im not so interested in doing a sway bar since this is my DD and have no intention of building something that's great at carving corners. I do want to do the end links and I'm kinda wishing I spent the money on new top mounts for the fronts. However as I've already noted I've picked my money tree fairly bare