Some of you may remember the thread that I posted last week about my suspension mishap. If you didn't read it, here's the short version: I hit a big bump and the top mount of my driver's side front suspension broke. BTW, my car is lowered with Sprint Springs.

Anyways, I stopped by my neighbor's body shop today to pick up the new piece that he ordered for me. We were chatting for a bit and he mentioned that I might want to consider switching to better springs before I put the new piece in. I asked him what the heck he was talking about.

He said that the whole reason that the piece broke on my car was because I have no more "spring" left in my springs, and that they are compressed all the way. Since they settled and are compressed completely, then all of the pressure is being put on the top mounts of the suspension, which caused them to break when I hit the big bump. He recommended that I switch to springs that don't lower the car as much, mentioning Eibach as a good brand of springs that I should consider. He said that if I put the new piece in with the Sprints that it might last me a short while, but will most likely break again if I hit another big bump. I also mentioned to him that I'm ordering 18" wheels soon. He said that I shouldn't put the 18" wheels on until I raise the car back up a bit because there is no give in the suspension and I might bend a rim.

I took a few pictures of my springs compressed to show you guys. Here is the passenger's side and driver's side suspensions. The driver's side appears to be more compressed, but I think that might be due to the fact that I haven't fixed it yet. This is the part that I have to replace on my driver's side suspension.

I'm beginning to wonder if my springs are compressed to much or something. But how is it that numerous people on this board have had zero problems with their Sprint Springs. My neighbor is very reputable and knows his stuff, but something just doesn't seem right. Can someone shed some light on this for me? Should I consider switching Springs? What brands should I consider? I really like the Sprints because the suspension is strong enough in the back to hold the extra weight of my stereo. The last thing I want is a saggy rear.

BTW, check out this picture that I snapped of the bottom of my front bumper. A lot of these are old. I've learned how to be more careful now. I can't wait to get the body kit on to cover some of these scratches up.

If anyone can help me out, I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks,
-Nick

 

Your neighbor is right to some extent. I did take a look at those pics and they look like there compressed a bit. BUT, there's still some travel left there. I did one install of Sprints on a fellow orgy members car. I test drove it as well and it rode just fine. The springs are designed to operate compressed like that. Thats not exactly what caused your top mount to break.

It's true that with a drop from Sprints, you really don't have much suspension travel left. But it's the strut that limits you, not the spring. The strut will hit the bump stop before your sping is totally compressed. Thats what caused your mount to fail.

Eibach is a great spring for performance.
H&R is also another excellent spring for performance while maintaining some ride comfort. I personally like them.
Maxspeed has had great reports as well.

All the above mentioned springs will not give you a slammed look, but will close the gap a bit and maintain suspension travel.

It's all up to what you want, looks, performance or drivability. Right now you seem concerned about drivability. Go with one of the springs I mentioned and don't worry so much about the road and the bumps. Or, stick with Sprints and keep your eyes open.

One other spring I forgot to mention. B&G's - They are lower then H&R, Max, Eibach, but not as low as Sprints. They are a firm spring and you will feel the bumps. I had them on my car for about 2 months. A bit to firm for me, but I had no problems with bumps. Just that they hit kind of hard.

PM me if you'd like any more info.

Tom

 

Good Lord there's barely any wheel travel what so ever. The coil wrap gives the appearance of even less travel. Were these springs new when you got them or have they been cut? My Intrax gave a 1.8" drop in the front and I could squeeze my fingers and feel the space between the strut top and the bump stop (cut 70%). The space was only about .7" of travel before hitting the stops. The Sprints are about .5" lower in the front than the Intrax therefore you've got about .25" of upwards travel :ekk: Talk about dangerous.

IMO, the combination of no real upwards wheel travel, the spring at full compression, and the strut hitting the stop, all in one motion is what caused you're failure. I suggest getting rid of the springs.

Dave

 

I shall dub you "The Suspension Guru"

 

those sprints look seriously F##%#%@ed.

i've installed like 4 sets of sprints and none looked like your images when compressed.

perhaps your struts are gone since they're not providing enough dampening

 

I have never seen any springs that look like that. Perhaps a sumo wrestler was sitting on top of your car?

I think Cheston is right. My sprints looked nothing like that.

 

Sprints suck.

 

hey nick, I bought your other sprints a while back in february. I sold them, and then bought some more sprints to be coming on friday, long story. Anyways, when I had your old sprints with the kyb's, i rode around for 2 months, and the person that bought teh setup from me has been riding around on them ever since, for a total of 8 months without a problem.. The springs were not supercoiled like your pics, there was a lot more travel, were your springs always like this? If not, I would conclude you recieved faulty springs and may have messed up the agx's b/c of it. I would stay with the springs cause I like the look they give, ride quality is good for my tastes and handling kicks a !!!

 

Those pics look pretty ****ed up. I've never seen springs that compressed before

 

Ben....shhhh.... Yea your springs are really compressed. I went on a little suspension tweak test today and set my agx on 4/8 and it was insanely stiff but i remember physically looking at my sprints to see if they were still wrapped well and they are not nearly as compressed as yours. By the way 4/8 is ruff as hell but those on and off ramps are so nice to carve.

 

Could someone post up a picture of their Sprint/AGX suspension compressed so I can get an idea of what it's supposed to look like?



I purchased these springs new. Maybe they are defective or incorrectly packaged from Sprint?

I'm beginning to think that my Maxima was not meant to be modded. There is always something going wrong having to do with my mods!

Anyone else know what the heck is going on?

Thanks for everyones help!
-Nick

 

I just thought of something. Is it possible that I installed the front springs upside down? I thought that I was really cautious about doing that when I was installing them, but now I'm beginning to wonder if I installed them the wrong way. Just a thought...

-Nick

 

Your wish is my command. Its blurry but I took these shots in the dark with no macro mode on.

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/gspurgeon/DSCF0029.JPG
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/gspurgeon/DSCF0030.JPG

Oh yeah, ignore the burnt rubber hehehe.

Also-Sprints have a lifetime warranty, call them up. They will tell you that they can test whether they are in spec or not and if they are not they will give you new ones.

 

Return those springs to sprint, they will replace them. On that same note those AGX might be shot like cheston said. I worked on quite a few cars and the Sprints did not look like that. When you reinstall them look at them youll notice that on one side the coils are closer to each other. Put that side on top. Just get those springs replaced and check those shocks or buy a better shock then the AGX.

 

I have seen hundreds of Maximas with Sprints, and they have NEVER looked like that...There is definetely something wrong...

 

I hope I didn't install them upside down. I'm going to have to check that out because I don't remember if I put that on the top or the bottom.

Thanks,
-Nick

 

Blown struts will not cause the car to be lower. All the weight of the car is on the springs. Struts/shocks are dampers only therefore they do not bear any load.

As for installing the springs upside down, how would this cause the car to be any lower? The weight and dynamics of the car hasn't changed. The car might ride like crap, but it shouldn't be lower/higher because of the direction the spring was installed.

Dave

 

Your right it doesnt matter if its upside down if the spring is upside down or right side up. My springs are on upside down.

 

Well, I don't think the car is lower. It just appears this way.

Since Sprints are progressive springs, if they were upside down then the coils would be closer together making them look as if they were compressed, hence my springs look completely compressed, but might now be.

Here's how I'm approaching the situation. This Saturday, I'll be ripping apart the suspension to replace the top mount. While I have it apart, I'm going to check the springs to see if they are in correctly. If they are, then that means that there is something wrong with them. I'll bring my stock springs along and switch to them if that's the case. Then I'll call up Sprint and have another set shipped to me. Then I'll just keep the car stock height for the winter, and re-lower it next spring. If they are in upside-down then I'll switch them and see if the coils are still compressed when I lower the car. If it fixes them, then I'll keep the Sprints. If not, then I'll temporarily go back to stock as I mentioned above.

Thanks to everyone who helped me out. If anyone still has any information then please post.

Later,
-Nick

 

Did you put the OEM bumper stop back? Because they more I look at your pics, the springs seems to be about the same as mine. Maybe it's those rubber wrap that give the illusion that they are closer.

http://photos.imageevent.com/1max2nv...e/Dcp01425.jpg

http://photos.imageevent.com/1max2nv...e/Dcp01424.jpg

 

I was waiting for someone to catch that! The angle Nicks pics are on make the spring look more compressed. I've installed Sprints and can tell you they look very compressed, but they ride just fine. They are designed to operate compressed like that.

The spring wrap Nick has on his coils and the angle the pic was taken make it appear to have no space between the coils. If there's ~ 1/2 inch of space between each of the coils, and there are 5 or 6 coils, that means he's got 3 inches of spring travel, which I'm 100% is way more then he has left on the suspension/strut travel!

He's springs are fine.

Lets do some math....

A 2 inch drop leaves you with less then 2 inches of strut travel even if you cut your bump stops. Now add a big bump + a worn upper strut mount, the strut hit the bump stop (protecting the strut) putting a lot of force on the strut mount and it let go. No big deal, just fix it.

Replace the mount, leave your Sprints in there if you like the 2 inch drop. If you aren't sure of the drop at this point, I highly reccomend you put your OEM springs back on for winter. You will love the way your car rides with AGX's on OEM springs. It's awsome, trust me here. Next spring you can either put the Sprints back in, or sell them and get yourself some H&R's, Eibach's or Maxspeeds. IMHO H&R's are the best spring out there for our cars. They handle excellent, ride great and you don't have to worry about the road conditions.

 

Do Sprints come in different colors??? Because looking at all the pictures you guys took, they're all BLUE. Whereas the ones I got from Alex of Southwest Autoworks for my 96 are RED. They've been on my car for 1.5 years now and it looks and rides like Sprints; so are the RED springs on my car Sprints?

 

Red Springs with a similar drop and ride are B&G's.

 

I'm pretty sure DropZone Springs are red also

 

Thanks for everyone's help! I do agree that the wire wrap makes the springs look more compressed.

Anyways, it's over and done with now. I'm back to stock springs and shocks. One of my KYB AGX is now garbage, but I will explain that at a later date since I don't have pic to show you yet. It didn't blow, but it almost broke.

I only put the front stocks back in so far, and the ride quality is 100% better. I have no regrets, and I doubt I'll go lowered again.

I'll update you guys about my shock as soon as I take a picture of it.

Thanks again for all the help,
-Nick