I'm doing this because I'm dropped about 2" (I know, I'm beyond the no-go point on the camber curve for these cars) and my driver side rear sits lower than the passenger side and even the driver side wheel looks more tucked, ie. it looks like it has -5mm offset than the passenger side.

Here's what Larrio posted a while back:

My understanding (and this is where I need to be corrected) is that you are essentially raising the beam to where it should sit relative to the lower-than-stock suspension components and then resecuring the lateral link at that point in order to unbind the bushings and level the suspension components.

This is where there is a void in my understanding. The FSM says to raise the beam until the control rod and lateral link are on the same horizontal plane as the beam. But will they still line up properly if I have a lower than stock drop? Isn't that "calibrated" for stock ride height? Or will this leveling still be possible because you've loosened all connections for the components to reposition, thus the term "recentering" the beam? I'm under the understanding that there is only ONE way these components will be on the same plane, and that is at stock ride height.

Here's the diagram for reference.



Sorry if this will be obvious when I actually do it. But in the meantime, I'm sure others might benefit from this discussion.

On a less technical note, any suggestions on good, precise ways to measure the ride height? I was thinking after I pull the wheels off, I'd just measure the distance from fender to hub or something.

word, good collation of the scattered info on this topic thanks.

from the thread http://forums.maxima.org/5th-generat...rear-beam.html

Puppetmaster, i recentered my RB as i noticed my driver side tucked in quite a bit more than the pass once i was lowered on sprints. what i did was measure from the center off the wheel to the fender. So when i had the wheel off and the rear beam jacked p i just jacked up until the center of the hub was the same distance from the fender. I did notice a ride quality difference. since the rubbers were not bound any more the car felt as little soffter in ride but like a bit more body roll due to no binding anymore. i DID NOT notice any diff in the clearance of the fender in relation to the wheel. the driver side stayed tucked in, maybe it moved .5 mm but nothing noticeable.

Thanks Prophecy. I never saw that thread.

This post was helpful.

http://forums.maxima.org/4890327-post66.html

Thanks for the feedback. I'm fine with all that, I just want to do it right.

The looser feel I can deal with because I'll just stiffen up my coilovers and I am also looking at getting stiffer springs all round anyway. The slight wheel "tuck" relative to the passenger side is a secondary thing I can live with because I'm not getting any prizes for looks anytime soon.

This is great info. Maybe this will fix the rear end wagging I get as well. Also, I've hit a pothole a couple of times with the rear driver's side tire, and it makes a disturbing sound. Like the beam is not tight on that side, or that my strut bolts up top have backed out, and the strut is moving down and slapping against the car when the tire meets the ground again. Doesn't sound good at all and the rear beam axle is a new one from my donor car. I'm sure it's installed correctly and all the bolts are tight. I'm going to have to check my top strut mount and make sure those 2 bolts are on tight as well.

Will have to do this recentering though. Thanks.

Also, I hear you on my driver's side having a higher offset then the passenger side. I thought it was me and something I did, but glad to see I'm not the only one. I wonder why this is.

I tried this a few months ago, it does get the rear MORE centered, but not perfect. its not obvious that the left is set in anymore atleast. Ive heard people say that the rear get looser and softer when centering the beam but I added my swaybar at the same time so i cant comment.

So when you put stock back on, you have to center it again then?

I experience this same exact sound with my coilovers. Its ONLY on my rear passenger side though. I always check and recheck that everything is tight. But, i still get it.

When I get around to it, i'm gonna remover the tophat assembly and figure it out. I believe it has something to do with that . It seems like there may be a very slight bit of play in it.

As to the topic at hand though. I have to also get around to recentering my RB too. Either that, or just put a small spacer on the driver side.

I'm glad to know that I was not the only one with this issue. I swapped out the RB from the donor because my studs in one of the hubs were screwed up from me trying to install spacers with extended studs. The knurl didn't grab completely when I put the wheel back on and when I went to go remove the lug nut it kept free spinning the stud. Started running out of ideas and took an impact driver to it and finally after a couple hours and some twisting and bending, I finally got the lug nut off. But after all that abuse to my hub, it just widen the hole and no stud would bite down. I just replaced my whole axle with the donor one, and that's when all that noise started. I need to look into this myself at some point when I get some time. Just doesn't sound safe at all.

I did the recentering procedure today and was able to get the lateral link to be on the same plane as the beam, the control rod however, with my drop at least, went to the angle / once I had raised the beam to my measured ride height. This was what I was initially concerned about. From what I can tell, it is not physically possible to get the control rod to line up with the lateral link and beam AND maintain my current ride height.

For procedural notes, I put the car on stands took the wheels off, loosened all the appropriate nuts, raised the beam using two jacks on either side (because I didn't want to remove my RSB), measured both sides, and tightened everything back.

I haven't driven it yet, but I'll post again later if there are any differences.

Okay, this may be a worthless opinion but I went out for a quick spin and maybe it's the placebo effect, but the ride quality definitely seems to be better in the rear in terms of absorbing bumps and it actually feels like it is turning flatter.

The driver side tuck has not gone away (I measured to be doubly sure and it's about 3/8 to half an inch further in than the passenger side) but like I said, it doesn't bother me that much, so no, I will not use different sized spacers to make both wheels flush.

Thanks for the review Joel. So this is a worthwhile adjustment to make is what you're saying?

sounds good thanks for the input, I may just leave mine alone for now.

Yes, definitely worthwhile.

On my drive into work today, I could feel that ride quality is improved and on the long sweeping ramps, more importantly, there's much less bump steer if the ramp is bumpy. It just absorbs the impact much better.

But on these higher speed turns, I now feel what people are saying that the rear isn't as tight and there's more lean. Not sure why I felt differently the other night; maybe its because I only look short sharp turns at less than 40 mph.

I wonder if there is more/less of a chance now for the rear end to swing around for someone equipped with a RSB. Since I've had these Tein SS's I haven't found the need to add one back on. I think you have one on yours still. You should remove it and then do a comparison with just the coilovers with and without the RSB. Maybe reentering the RB puts it back in that scary realm again. I have not had my rear swing out on me before and I hit corners pretty hard sometimes.

i dont think your off on your assumption. I noticed when i did mine it took the bumps better. Hahah made it feel more cusiony and i was like where did the sport feel go. But yea it def softens ther rear up