300 lb rear Eibach springs on my GC's with KYB's ... too soft?
 

Is it going to be too mushy?

Tkx!

Yes, especially if you lower it alot...I'd go with a 400 or 450.

No its not. First of all, how do you drive the car? Is it full race? Streetable? That will determine your spring rate. Previously noted someone said to go with 400-450. To me, that is a little too bouncy and uncomfortable. It's great and controlled on the track, however. On the street, you'll have to fight with the car to keep it in line on bumpy roads. An optimum streetable suspension would go with softer springs and a rigid chassis to achieve maximum handling and control. If you think about it, The BMW M3 uses 175 lbs. springs to keep optimum ride comfort along with handling. The Acura NSX just increased its spring rate from 174 to 194 to increase highway stability. The stock GXE spring rate is 112 lbs. The SE spring rate is 134 lbs. Determine what you don't like about the Maxima's handling and address it from there. 300 lbs. springs will feel great on a 2" drop, but will still ride a bit harsh. IMHO 250 lbs. is a great spring rate for a 2" drop.

I thought 4th gen SE and GXE springs are exactly the same?

Do you Know what the spring rate for the eibach pro kit is?? I hate my springs, way too stiff.

Eibach Pro rates anyone?
 

I'm curious too, I thought Eibach "progressive types" didn't actually have a rate to compare.

350 ( I'm pretty sure)...Most good coilover kits come with springs at 400-450 to go with this you need to get the matching shock...it's a matching game, one part good with one part bad is no good...same reason as why aftermarket springs are better with aftermarket shocks rather than factory. You can not compare the factory spring rates of a bmw to a coilover setup for a maxima...and even if you did look at h&r's coilovers for the bmw's, most I believe are about 450.

So are u saying that my GC coilover kit with 500 lbs springs in the front & 300 lb springs in the rear are f&cked?

I'm saying if I were to build a coilover Kit I would go with a 400lb springs all around. Then devolop a shock to go with it.

You don't want the same rate springs all around. For one thing the engine is in front and you need stiffer springs to support it. The front and rear of the car is very different and has a big difference in weight distribution. I'm thinking equal springs all around might not be a good idea.

that's a good point ... hmm ... do u think 300's are too soft then? I don't know why my GC's came with that set-up .. weird ...

The front springs are the same on all 4th gens. The rears are a bit stiffer on SE's.

SE's also have tighter bushings, a bigger front sway bar and stiffer shocks and struts.

I don't know enough about Maximas to know the best spring rate for them... I know that alot of people w/ Ground Controls on Hondas go with something like 400/300 or 400/350 f/r rates, for those people that regularly autocross or something like that. A higher spring rate in the rear can make the car extremely unstable or even dangerous if the car gets unsettled around a bumpy curve (referring to FWD cars). Higher rear rates might be okay for track use, but for everyday street use, I do not recommend it.

This is not true. While the front springs remain the same whether SE or not SE, they are different between auto and manual. According to my FSM for a 97 on page FA-25, the MT front coils are 13.7mm in diam, with a 390mm free length. The AT coils are 13.9mm and 400 mm.

The strut and front stabilizer bar specs are referred to as "all" making no differential to SE or non-SE.

The rear however you are correct-Page RA-13 states "Except SE" is 11.9mm diam and 130mm free length, and "SE' is 12.1mm and 310mm. Struts have no difference listed.

It makes me wonder though, if the SE suspension's only difference are the rear springs. Seems kinda fishy to me.

I've been told that ideally you want to keep the same spring rate distribution front to rear. IE if the fronts (stock) are 200 and rears are 150 then you want to keep the same ratio (4 to 3) with any coilover spring rate. Typically the front end is higher rate due to weight up front, but you can adjust to compensate for oversteer (or under) by increasing one end or the other.