maximus681 and I installed some B&G springs the other day.

I couldn't find any pics of what a 4th gen looks like with B&G springs, so I figured that I would post some.



As you can see, the drop is not that much. It seems almost as high as stock. I think I got totally ripped off. Look at that wheel gap.
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Just kidding.

Here is the drop with B&G. I'm pretty happy with it. I am using KYB GR2 (with about 10k miles on them) up front. The rear is stock struts (with about 150k miles on them). I was planning on saving up a few months until I can afford Illumina or AGX or Koni. So far, though, I'm happy with how it is riding.



Still got a lot of work to do before Maxus 2010. I set the bar pretty high for myself last year (2nd place lightly modded 4th gen) and I want to keep it up.
Laundry list includes changing rear valve cover gasket and cleaning intake manifold, fixing the splash guards, cleaning up my retrofit a bit more, maybe fixing my little bit of rad core support rust (its got two large rust spots that arent all the way thru but which i hit with rubberized undercoating to try to slow down getting worse), fix the damn EVAP code I've had for like 2 years, debadging the trunk or tinting the chrome emblems darker, getting better bumper lights and replacing the bulbs with chrome amber ones, cleaning up my interior and fixing my shift boot. I have something really cool in the works for the stereo and navi (bigass touch screen), and I gotta fix the exhaust. The b-pipe has rusted apart right before the muffler flange. I'm probably going to saw the muffler flange off, stick in a short piece of pipe, and tape it up. Then try to find an inexpensive catback that isn't obnoxiously loud. I'm also thinking about painting my stock SE rims. I like their look a bit more than my '00 GLE rims. I did a pretty good job painting them, and they've held up, but it's a little rough in patches because it was hard to sand the sides of the little spokes. I want to strip them, sand them really well, hit them with a few coats of primer, a few coats of paint, and a lot of clear coat. I did no primer and 2 coats of "wheel paint" and 2 coats of clear last time, and the color is nice but it's definitely a satin finish, not a high gloss.

 

Looks pretty sweet. That retro is purty..

 

nice drop and love the retrofit

Keep it up dude...and I'll see you at maxus

 

it think you need some new rear struts, the azz is lower than the front. i like the color of your car, it goes well with the painted hubcaps(the color of them)

 

Thanks guys. Link to the retro is in my sig. Currently, it's on my workbench, because I'm cramming in some bigass Cadillac projectors instead of my bigass M35s. It's been too cold for me to want to work outside when it's dark out, so the retro work has slowed down. It will get done soon tho. Not like Maxus 09, where I finished the retro at like 11pm the night before, then left 4am in the morning.

Error 404: Hubcaps not found.

They're 5th gen wheels. From 2000 GLE I think? 16", 9-spoke. They are wide in the center and have lots of short spokes, so that's why they look like hubcaps.

 

A few more shots. Check out my awesome 95-96 headlights! Retrofit version 3.0 is still on the workbench.

Second pic is a better shot showing the wheel gap. These are 16" wheels with 215/55R16 tires, so afaik stock size.

 

The drop looks pretty decent man. Those retos loookn clean as well.

 

lookin good man! that retro is sexay

 

Thats not how suspension works.

 

yeah I'm a little bummed about the reverse-rake stance.

IDK, I figured it might be because I am a 5MT. IIRC, the 5MT is a lighter trans than the 4AT, so springs designed for an even drop will make the MT higher in the front, and will make the AT lower in the front. Not sure if that's true or not, but it seems reasonable. My 5MT front springs were a bit shorter than Maximus681's 4AT front springs when we put them side-by-side.

But yeah. Last time the rear struts were replaced was in a factory in Japan in the fall of 1996. There is an orange gasket above the strut mount that was smushed so badly that it was barely recognizable. It was paper thin, crinkled in places, and oval shaped instead of circular.

I'd like to get Illumina or AGX or Koni struts all around, and maybe replace some bushings, but this suspension install was quick, cheap, and dirty. And being that my stock springs had been installed incorrectly, the ride is just as good as before!

 

nice ride bro

 

daylight with the retro on, since I didn't have one (OP is stocker headlights)

 

headlights look sick

 

Retro needs some shrouds....and possibly some tape. Oh, and look, the side isn't jacked out anymore.

Nice hubcaps.

95-96 headlights ftw.

You need smoked corner lights and bumper lights to match your tails and wheels.









But really, the drop looks good man, what's retro 3.0 gonna look like?

 

I am gonna redo the shrouds a little bit, they're not really on that good now. I am very happy with my PVC and brushed chrome trim rings, so that will not be changed, just clean them up.

v1.0 - stock 97 headlights, MDX projs
v1.1 - fixed aiming, added Hella shrouds
v2.0 - R34s, M35s
v2.1 - R34s, M35s, yellow capsule highbeams
v2.2 - R34s, M35s, MDX highs, E60 chrome shrouds (this is what you saw at Maxus)
v2.3 - R34s, M35s, MDX highs, black and chrome homebrew shrouds (2nd pic in OP)
v2.4 - R34s, Catera lows, MDX highs, same shrouds (most recent pic in the thread)

v3.0 is gonna be sick. It's still going to be R34s, still gonna be Catera and MDX, but I have a plan in the works that is either gonna be real trashy and end up with me ditching and going back to 2.4, or it's gonna be awesome. No one has even considered doing anything like it before.

I already have red/smoke tails. Foglights may be removed again.

I want to get new bumper lights. They are a little mismatched and have pillowed lenses. I think I showed them to you in June.

Did you ever get a drop or those Z32 wheels, or still rollin' with the 4x4 boat anchors?

 

Sounds cool, can't wait to see what 3.0 ends up looking like.

Yeah i remember the bumper lights thing. IMO you could just "smoke" them and it would match well enough.

Yeah, i'm currently rolling on my boat anchors (they look sweet though ) but I have a set of z32 wheels "rednecking-up" my backyard I just need to find a good deal on tires.

 

meh, I don't really like the way lights come out with the spray-on tint.

I might get the ones with the completely clear front lenses, and maybe open up and do a bit of tinting.