Hi all,

Another noob question from me :/, sorry.

I was thinking that I'm going to get new shocks and struts in a few months and am doing some research.

However, I'm not sure if I have a stock suspension. The car has 128k on it now, and I think the struts are pretty bad. I parked next to a stock 02 SE Auto (mines a 6MT) and thought mine look like it was a little lowered.

Is there a way I can check to see if it is lowered, and by how much?

I just found out about those Stagg SHS and was thinking of giving them a shot if anyone has any input. All I've heard about them for the 02-03 is that the ABS bracket doesn't fit.

Thanks

 

What color are your struts and springs? If everythings black it's most likely stock.

 

^ +1

Another way to check is to see how many fingers you can fit between the tire and fender. I think stock Maximas are about a 4 finger gap.

 

What about Eibach?

 

Everything seems black to me. How big are your hands? Lol. What's a 4 finger gap equivalent to haha.

 

^ 4 of my fingers are exactly 2.5 inches. Just happened to have a ruler laying around.

 

Well those would obviously say Eibach on them.

OP, I think your suspension is stock.

 

thanks guys, i'll check it out tomorrow. I'll see if it measures out to around 2.5 inches above the tire give or take a tenth or two since i just got new tires

 

Without accounting for the size of rims and tires, I think the true measurement would be ground-to-skirts, yes?

I have stock 17" SE rims and OEM-sized tires, with stock sptrings and Tokico Blues... and the measurement from floor to skirt is exactly 8" in front of the back wheel, and the same 8" behind the front wheel. If this helps you.

This is a funny thread. "How big are your hands?" LOL

 

Measure it. Oh look at that! the front is supposed to be higher than the rear!!

 

Wow thanks guys. I actually measured them the way Rochester suggested and got about 8". I guess that means i'm pretty much at stock height. I'll definitely check it out your way knight_xyz. I was very tempted to call u butters btw.

 

it's Captain Chaos!!

 

my car seems to be little below spec. I have the stock rims with 225/50/17's on the car as well. The front and back seem to be about .25" to .5" off. Could this just be cause my struts are worn out? I know I need new struts.

 

The most appropriate method would be from the hub's center to the fender (or other chassis reference).

As tire size varies, so will the distance from the chassis (i.e. skirts) to the ground.

 

How is that my Eibach Springs are black just like stock!!

 

.....

 

Spot on, 2slow. As always.

 

get coilovers .........................

 

I'm just browsing around and biding my time till I can bombard y'all with questions. Had my 01 Max for a week, and of course I got taken for a small ride. I too need struts. With this question about finding out if it is stock or not, I have to know. Does this matter when I go to get mine? If I buy the struts that are made for the car and the car has been lowered, will it not work? Just curious

 

Here's a newbie response, and hopefully one of the guru's can make sure I'm not giving any false info. If you are going to be getting just 'replacement struts' such as the KYB GR2's, then you can't have a significant drop. Doing so will shorten the life of the struts by alot. If you want your car to be dropped, you'd need to have struts that can handle the drop.

As for 2slow's response, that makes perfect sense, so would anyone happen to know the magic numbers for a stock setup given that method?

 

Good answer. All my research into struts over the last year led me to believe KYB GR2's and Tokico Blues (and OEM Nissan struts, for that matter) function best on OEM springs. And that their life is significantly shortened when dropped. I'm sure people have opposing opinions on that, it's just my interpretation on the general consensus.

I suppose I could whip out the tape measure later tonight.

 

Hmmm, that's very good information. I think we'll have to find out if this thing has been lowered. I was thinking it had, but then they put all the original parts back on before they traded it in, or whatever they did that the car ended up with me now. Not sure I mentioned, I got her for 3500, she was ticketed at 5200 but I talked them down. Wasn't too hard, I had cash in hand and did not need financing. Some of those roadside dealers would not even flinch when I tried to get them to drop the price of a car, I think they really loved the cars and wanted to keep them. I had a heck of a time finding a good used car, and this is what I got. We test drove her. Knew she'd need struts, and breaks, but the rest was well hidden. Got her home and she's a hot mess. The previous owner did a lot of modifying, then, just threw on the original stuff, and now I have to figure it all out to get her back where she should be. The struts are one of the number ones on my list, cuz the ride is AWFUL. I can't hit a manhole cover without thinking the car is going to fall apart. Our roads are terrible, and uneven, so we just bounce all over the place. It's like riding in a big truck. Does that sound like just the struts, or do y'all think there is anything else I need to be considering?

 

something wrong with the field service manual method? Whats the point of measuring from the centre of the hub to the high point of the fender well? there is no point of reference. IE what should that measurement be? This is right out of the Nissan FSM. Park on a flat surface and measure from the ground to the wheel well. Very Simple

 

Center-of-hub to fender is the only measurement that's fixed to stance. Wheel diameter, tire size and tread depth will compromise measurements that includes those factors.

I realize this is kind of a silly exercise , so I'm not going to defend it too vigorously. But that makes sense.

 

you would think they would recognize this setup is hideous

 

So what is the Nissan spec from the center of the wheel to the fender? And how do you know your tape measure is spot on center of the wheel. Seems to me its much easier to stick the tape measure on the flat solid ground and measure to the fender





Show me a fwd car without the larger front wheel well

 

So what is the Nissan spec from the center of the wheel to the fender? And how do you know your tape measure is spot on center of the wheel. Seems to me its much easier to stick the tape measure on the flat solid ground and measure to the fender





Show me a fwd car without the larger front wheel well

 

I don't know, but if you start with a stock setup, there's your answer.

Just center on the cap. How hard is that to do?

I need to go out to the garage measure this. Think I will...

 

omg, am i reading this thread?

 

Knight, my front measures exactly 15.5" from fender to center-of-cap. And my rear measures exactly 15.0" from fender to center-of-cap.

What does yours measure out to?

If you're looking to maintain consistent character, then no, you're not actually reading this thread.

 

But is that correct??

 

It's neither correct nor incorrect, it just is what it is: unladen measurement from center-cap to fender lip on a 5th gen with 8yr old OEM springs.

If the OP measures shorter than that, he's lowered. Wheels and tires don't factor.

 

But those 8 year old springs must be pretty saggy

 

It's possible... I did say they were 8 years old.

However, if you had to endure all the childish 4x4 comments from the pavement scraping crowd here on the Org, you might think otherwise.

 

Pavement scraping crowd... I get it!

It's cool that someone made a thread like this, as I was never sure if my car had been lowered or not. Shift-Ice had some nice pictures and measurements to go along with his spring/strut page, as does the FSM. This has prompted me to actually go and bust out the measuring stick! Crazy.

Okay, so with my questionable springs and struts (the struts seem fairly worn) here are my results with no stuff in the car, a full tank of gas, and 245/45 tires on the stock 17" wheels.

Front wheel: 27" 10/16 from ground to wheel well as in the FSM and 16" 11/16 from hub to top of wheel well
Rear wheel: 26" 15/16 and 15" 10/16, respectively

The FSM says I should be at roughly 27 and 5/16s in the back and a shred under 28" in the front. Symptoms of completely worn out struts or springs in the back?

 

Lol, I'm glad my newbie question is actually making people wonder about if their used car has been lowered . I'm at work right now, but I'll try and check it later and get back to you. Since my numbers were slightly off of the FSM, I was also wondering if the bad struts could have to do with why its a little lower than spec.

 

Someone school me if I'm mistaken, but struts manage rebound and have no bearing on stance... that's all in the springs. In which case, since I'm slightly lower than Eirik (as measured definitively from center-of-cap to fender lip), that would mean my original springs have lost some of their springy-ness.

Am I right?

Like my 80-something mother... lowered with age.

 

you are correct John. The springs determine the height of the car

 

Just to add some confusion, strut/shock/damper internal gas pressure will affect (change) ride height; especially mono-tubes with light cars. Although ride height is primarily controlled by the springs (not sway bars, even though they are springs).

 

But our cars aren't light... Right? So... =/