Hey guys, so after a lot of reading on the various springs and shocks/struts and coilovers. I've decided to go with Tokico HP's and am torn between the Tein S-tech and H-tech. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

I have a 2002 Nissan Maxima SE with a blown suspension. I have 54,000 miles on her and plan to use it as a winter car in the future. I plan on also adding the Progress sway bar while im at it. It's currently my daily driver and am looking for something a little stiffer than stock and would like it have an even stance.

I know that the Tein S-tech and H-tech both give the Max a pretty even stance. The S-tech will give a more aggressive drop than the H-tech, but my concern is what other's experience is running either S or H-techs in the midwest or East coast. The roads here are can be rough and pot holes are our enemies.

QUESTIONS:

1. How often, if ever, have people here experienced "bottoming out" while running S-tech's?

2. I typically drive alone, but if I do have 2-3 extra people, will that added weight be enough to increase "bottoming out"?

thanks guys!

 

H-Tech.

I'd go with Coilovers, if not, then Progress if you can find them.

S-Techs, in my opinion, are horrendous due to their weak spring rate and aggressive (not by today's coilover standards, but for a spring) drop.

They will bottom out every chance they get since Nissan didn't allow very much suspension travel.

Even when I was alone (150#'s) , even if you remove the bump stops. Imagine when you have other people.

They do look good, not better than coilovers, but that's about it.

 

never knew there was multiple rates, but i have the green ones which look to be the s tech. the car takes bumps like ****, i feel i have another issues other than springs, like some bushings. but your summary does describe my springs pretty well, im also 275 lbs so...

 

yeah, i was considering coilovers but since it's going to be winter car primarily, a lot of people and shops are telling me the salt here will just require me to rebuilt the coilovers more frequently, but not necessarily.

i hear 50/50 on the bottoming out issue as well.

 

There aren't, or at least I haven't heard that they are adjustable. They come as they come.

Try them out and see.

I had Progress rear and S-Tech front, lowest you can go with only springs, and the rear was fine, it was the front that sucked.

I ended up putting the Progress back up front.

 

i meant rates as in h or s. i bought my car like 2 weeks ago and it came with this setup, but im pretty sure ill go coilovers in time. i have coilovers on my cobra and LOVE them

 

that sucks that yours rides like @ss. i've heards that they are pretty comfy, but like you said, could have other contributing issue. that last thing i want to do is get the H-tech and still feel that i could go a lil lower.

 

yea, the s techs sit right, they look good. they ride good too, until theres a dip in the rd. i can take speed bumps fine, its when theres a dip in the road and you hit it with some speed. thats why im thinking control arm bushings may be bad also. but after the initial bottom out/slamming sound, the 225/45 18s scrub alittle

 

yeah, im looking to run 245/40/18, think there may be any issues?

i've also read that i should buy the following:

(2) Moog - K90655 Shock Mount

(2) Two Front OEM dust boots with bumpstops
(2) Two Rear OEM dust boots with bumpstops

Any one have the part numbers for the OEM parts (just want to make sure i get the exact item needed, some of the parts guys are retard$)?

 

Pretty sure there are not differences in their rates, they probably use the same rates. B

ut H techs aren't as low to the ground as S-Techs in terms of elevation , not rates.

And so, the H techs being not as low are more forgiving since they allow more suspension travel so bottoming out doesn't occur as often.

 

i can assure you there is more to the different ride heights and qualities than just the length of the spring.

S tech's:

Springs Rate Front/Rear: 201/268 LB/In

Lowers Front/Rear: -2.2/-1.6 inch

H tech's:

Springs Rate Front/Rear: 179/285 LB/In

Lowers Front/Rear: -1.6/-1 inch

 

Splitting hairs, that's not much of a difference, but you're right, they are different, but they need to be more different.

 

So I called the local Nissan dealer they gave me the following part numbers:

(2) Two Front OEM dust boots with bumpstops - part # 54050-2Y001 - $14 each
http://www.nissanparts.cc/cart/?pn=54050-2y001

(2) Two Rear OEM dust boots with bumpstops - part # 55240-2Y000 - $28 each
http://www.nissanparts.cc/cart/?pn=55240-2Y000

Do these parts look right?

 

would you also need to replace the rear strut mounts or just the fronts? ( going through the same thing as you are IL =] )

 

From what I've read on the forum, there's no need to change the rear strut mounts, since they are non-wearable parts back there.

What type of setup are you thinking? I'm leaning more toward the h-techs.

 

I agree with NMEX - DON'T get S-Techs. If you want to be that low, get coilovers, end of discussion.

If you go with H-Techs, put them on Illuminas. H-Techs and Progress (if you can find them) are the lowest you should go on a spring/strut setup, and they should be mated with Illuminas only.

Yep, perfect. 2 of each.

Just the fronts. Moog K90655 x 2.

Seriously man, call me. You have my number.

Correct. No need to replace rear strut mounts.

 

man, the more i read this thread, the more i realize my suspension prob wasnt setup that great. i bought the car like 2 weeks ago and i havent taken it apart to get a real good look, but i can see the springs and shocks. my car has the tein s tech springs(green) and tokico hp struts(blue). also, after looking at the parts that IL posted, my dust boots are all falling apart. i didnt know that was also the bumpstop. if dust boots are garbage, i assume the bumpstops are falling apart as well...???

 

Green springs can also be old school Progress.

Bumpstops/dustboots are sold as one, so if you're replacing it you're getting both.

 

the springs are def tein, if the bumpstop/boot deteriorates i assume(again i havent gotten in there to take a look) it allows the suspension to bottom out/top of the strut to smack the bottom of the strut mount, correct?

 

Yea pretty much.

Change out your springs to something else. Or get coilovers. S-Techs are simply un-healthily low.

 

Thoughts on pairing H-tech with HP rather than Illuminas?

 

You can probably get away with it but the HP's won't last as long as the Illuminas would.

 

I had s techs for a year you will be sorry if you get them i had them on illum struts they were bouncy and uncomfortable save some money and get coils

 

^^

 

I'll probably just get the H-tech's with the Illumina's. I was also planning on getting the Progress rear sway bar. Are they any other parts/bushings that I need to buy or should replace while I'm at it?

 

IL, from a quick glance at ebay, that spring($200)/strut($600) combo cost as much as the coilovers everyone swears by, may be worth looking into

 

I typically get all my parts from here:

http://thmotorsports.com

I'll be honest, I don't know anything about coilovers. I understand that time to time they need to be rebuilt. How often, I don't know. Does the whole system cover the front and rears?

What systems from here should I look into?
http://thmotorsports.com/suspension/...s/c-10110.aspx

Thanks guys.

 

Spent the last 30 minutes on the phone with THMotorsports and this system looks to be the winner for me. Shocks/Struts, springs, dustboots, bump stops, shock mounts, all that $hit added up come out to about the same as this kit.

Ksport Kontrol Pro Kit

http://thmotorsports.com/ksport/kspo.../i-511081.aspx

Thoughts?

 

I'm not a fan of K-Sport coils. I'd have gone Megan/BC or if you could swing a bit more, JIC.

Coilovers require more maintenance than springs and struts. Also they will not last as long. With Chicago winters don't be surprised if you're rebuilding at least one damper at 20-30k miles.

And just to add, yes you're right about the price. All in, lowering springs, struts, boots, mounts will cost about the same as a coilover setup. But it's the above factors (convenience, longevity, and comfort) that are sometimes the reason people continue to proceed with a spring/strut setup.

 

I would replace your sway bar end links with Moog, and your sway bar bushings with ES Poly bushings. Those would be the immediate other things to do.

From there, the sky is the limit. ES Control arm bushings, Moog ball joints, subframe collars, ES trailing arm bushings, subframe connectors...the list goes on.

 

I haven't purchased it yet so I'm still open for other systems.

They also have:

http://thmotorsports.com/megan_racin.../i-173261.aspx

I'd like to stay under the $1000 mark, thoughts.

SOURCE: http://thmotorsports.com/suspension/...s/c-10110.aspx

 

megans seem to be pretty popular around here. i assume theyd be a safe bet.

but im not sure what you guys are refering to when you talk about rebuilding coilovers. maybe its a northern thing, im in ga obviously; but i have never in my life rebuilt my coilovers before

EDIT: i just saw a post about a leaking coilover, so i assume thats the problem. ive run coilovers on my cobra for yrs but the setups are totally different. for mustang, the coilover kit is just a threaded sleeve and upper spring mount with a bearing in it. you can put the coilover kit onto any strut made. completely different setup...

 

So THMotorsports recommends the Ksport and a couple people here recommend Megan or BC. What are the differences?

 

A lot of people recommend BC coilovers as well.

I found these two systems, BC Racing BR Series and BC RAM Inverted:

http://www.circuitmotorsports.net/bc.../i-526043.aspx

http://www.circuitmotorsports.net/bc.../i-542152.aspx

Any thoughts? I see on there site there is a rear damping extenders available, what is this?

 

just get basics Tein,Megan or BC or JIC if your ballin

 

I've been finding a lot of good material on the BC BR series on the forum.

REALLY GOOD THREAD HERE:

http://nycmaximas.org/showthread.php?t=28904

 

The people here don't make a profit by pushing K-Sports

 

This pretty much sums it up.

 

Hey IL, i ended up gettimg eibach springs with illuminas, so far so good, nice stiff ride, no drama. The rear looks pretty low, wondering if it will scrape under load. Replaced the mounts too with moogs, dunno why, originals looked identical. Did not have to compress the spring for the rear setup, is that normal?