I feel like I'm opening Pandora's box with this question, but here goes. Springs vs. Coilovers. I've been doing some research, but both of these drop your car. I live in TX, travel a lot to the country, tons of potholes, not so good roads, etc. I don't want a drop, more than anything I want a better ride/better handling. What do you guys suggest?? Are there any springs that don't drop the car much?? Or if I get coilovers, how high are they at their highest setting?? I do not want the car lowered if possible. And if I do, the smallest drop possible. I just want better handling into corners and on the open highway. Thanks in advance

 

Rear sway bar, front strut tower bar...both of those will mitigate body roll in corners with no drop

 

^^ Agree with Amerikaner83 on the RSB and FSTB.

Honestly the Eibach drop (1.3 front / 1.4 rear) sits the car perfect and it's still a progressive spring rate so the ride won't be hard as a rock compared to say, the Swift Spec-R's for the Z cars. Even with the Eibach drop, I had zero issues with speed bumps, etc as long as you took your time. The Eibach's also got rid of a TON of understeer.

You could also look at different tires (high-perf A/S or dedicated summer tire) and the Racingline adjustable endlinks if you still don't want to lower the car at all.

 

Eibach lowering pro kit!!!

Your car rear end won't be sticking up as much and the ride is just as smooth as stock. Pot holes and bumps aren't a problem.

Get the kit and put 19 or 20" rims on and you should be good to go. Nice ride with a look!

 

hey im selling the eibachs kit on the forum market.. jsut a thought

 

I think I'm going to try the front tower strut bar, and rear sway bar first, then go from there. I had a Mitsubishi lancer gts with these and it turned on a dime and held the road awesome, so I think ill start there. Not looking for a drop. I'd rather go fast than drive slow looking for potholes.

 

You probably won't notice much of a difference with the FSTB (our cars already have one from the factory that runs under the windshield cowl), but the RSB whether its Stillen or Racingline will help reduce roll in the corners. I do recommend the Racingline endlinks front and rear though; they really perked up the handling and steering response (mine are 1/2" longer over the OEM endlinks).

 

Really?? I thought it was only the SV or SV sport had FSTB. And endlinks?? What are those, what do they do, and how hard are they to install.

 

How to improve handling?

Easy.

Look in the mirror, and work on that part.

 

On Nissan's website they call it a "Front strut tower reinforcement" and its on the base "S" and "SV" models.

Endlinks connect the swaybar ends to the strut assembly. Racingline's are completely adjustable and are less prone to deflect under cornering loads. Basically the more vertical you can make your endlinks, the more responsive your sway bars become. Only downside is that your handling response can become a bit twitchy if you make the endlinks too long over the OEM ones. This is why I only did 1/2" on mine front and rear. Offered the perfect balance I was looking for.

 

Lmao... ^^ you speak the truth. Driver mod FTW!

 

AutoX/Road Racing/Cornering/Driving is 60% Driver, 20% tires, 20% car.

I learned that the hard way when a 1978 Benz Diesel Wagon w/ blown struts and worn tires got one of the top 20 times @ an autocross.

 

If that's the case I might as well drive a Prius or F-250. I'm not asking about my personal driving. I'm asking about the car. If I wanted tips on cornering I'm pretty sure an internet forum is not where to get advice from. I'm asking about what will help my vehicle perform better. Because believe it or not, my 2010 Mitsubishi lancer gts would run circles around my 2011 maxima s. So thanks for your comment about my driving, but I think ill take the better advice of some of the more knowledgeable members on upgrading my endlinks, fstb and rsb.

 

Ill have to look into these. How difficult of an install are they??

 

It's really not bad at all. You could do this at home if you've got a floor jack and some jackstands hanging around. Only time consuming part was making sure both front links and both rear links were identical on each side. Rear links were kind of a PITA since space was kinda tight and could only get 3-4 degrees of rotation in the wrenches. Fronts were a piece of cake. Maybe looking at 1-2 hours total for all 4.

 

i noticed the rear sway and eibachs the most by far. front strut tower bar not as much. ive heard great things about the end-links as well (which can be adjusted to your liking)

 

your father?

 

i have FSTB, RSB, Endlinks, Coilovers, Rear Brace(CXJ Performance for maxima S).. only thing im missing is a FSB from the sport package but i rather wait till an aftermarket one comes out.. my car handles pretty nice

 

How big of a drop did u get from your coilovers?? If you set them as high as possible, how big of a drop?? And FSTB and FSB?? Are they not the same thing??

 

no, front Sway bar. the other is front strut tower brace.

and i got em almost the same height as eibach if not higher.. their 27 1/2 inches from the ground to the top of the wheelwell all around.

 

+1 On what's the highest possible drop on coilovers?