im looking for a new suspension for my 97se what would be the best setup

 

...read the stickies, search, try the suspension and brakes forum.

 

ksports coilovers...

 

ksports.. i rock them...best besides jic's

/thread

 

GC/Koni > JIC > Boss Chen > Progress Coilovers > Tein Basic > GC/AGX > D2 > KSport > Eibach/Illumina > Eibach/AGX > S-Tech/AGX > Progress/Illumina > H&R/Illumina > H-Tech/Illumina ...................

Oh that's right, you didn't mention your needs.

 

WTF???? What is the deal with people and GC's now??? I took mine off because people said they were crap and now I always see people giving props to GC now!!! Do you have GC and Koni Fr33way? Hows the ride and how low are you dropped? I was dropped to a 2 finger gap all around and to me it rode good even with stock shocks. Do you hit the bumpstops in the rear? On mine I was literally almost riding on the bumpstops on mine which is another reason I took them off. Let me know I may invest in the konis and put them back on!!!

 

dear god

 

LOL seriously I was around 1-1 1/2 inches above the bumpstops when I had them on. I upgraded to ksports which felt like a night and day difference but sold them to catch up on bills. Now that I'm all caught up I was going to go for ksports again but all this talk about them being crap now is steering me away from them.

 

Stock.

 

Oh that's right, you ALSO didn't mention your budget, driving habits, and 47 other things that we need to know.

 

QFT (10springs)

 

my bad guys its an everyday driver n once in awhile autocross my budget is about 500 give or take a few

 

the best overall setup is shortened Koni yellows and eibach springs.

 

Hey JSutter hows the ride with your GC's and Konis? How low are you dropped? I'm really considering investing in konis and putting my GC's back on.

 

Nonsense, best setup by far is S-Techs with stock struts.

Bonus: release the gas from the struts.

 

coilovers if you have money,,, if not get tein springs--about $200

 

It felt stiff as hell the first week, but now its like butter. Suspension travel is key. Its a completely different feeling; its stiff from rates not harsh from hitting bump stops. Over large dips you can feel the suspension working, not just slamming into the bumps. I had the adjusters to the top, with the shorter konis that meant the front was about 1" lower than stock while the rear was pretty much stock. I recently lowered the adjusters 1" all around. I couldnt be happier at this height. I have 2" of travel up front and plenty out back. I think its about a 3 finger gap all around with the rear 1/4" higher.

 

The best setup for that kind of money is probably the Illumina suspension kit (springs and dampers).

$500 isn't much for suspension, though. As has been said, you should really go for shortened Koni Yellows with Eibach Pro Kit springs. That should run you about $800. If you can stretch that, manage the more difficult install, and get it dialed in, you'll definitely thank yourself.

 

Sweet!!!! I am seriously considering putting mine back on. Whats your finger gap in this pic?

My drop looks like it would be a little higher than that. I was thinking around 2-2 1/2 finger gap. I had that on my ........ stock struts and the front never hit the bump stops and I believe I had 1 1/2 inches of travel before the bump stop in the rear. What do the shorter konis do? Does it just allow a lower drop with more suspension travel?

 

Yes, shortened Konis allow more suspension travel. You should probably have at least 2" of available compression travel in order to avoid smacking your bump stops over rough pavement/undulations.

 

if that setup is gonna run about $800+, wouldn't it be better to go ahead and spend a little extra and get sum ksport coilovers whenever there on GB?

just got my first paycheck but realllllly tempted to spend sum on sum suspension work.
i mustt fight my temptation...

 

Depends what you want. Ksport coilovers could give you better handling and of course a bunch of adjustability. On the flip side, they'll ride more firmly, require periodic checking/cleaning, and might not last as long depending on the owner and how they're set up.

 

depends on wat is more important to you: comfort, handling, or low drop. if your bottom cant handle the pain of feeling every hairline crack in the road then say goodbye to a low drop. if you dont really care about the comfort and handling but just want a low drop then go for the coilovers. there are certain springs that give you more comfort than handling and others that are more for handling than comfort. it all depends on wats more important for you.

 

Finger gap was 1. It was too low for the front konis I have, but 3rd gen konis would have done the trick. The rears were ME mounts and GC's on b14 AGX; the rears were all the way up btw. Being that low screws up all the angles so I dont recommend it with any setup. You are full of it about the bumps if you were that low. My Eibach AGX combo was a 3 finger gap and had 10mm of travel up front. Stechs are higher that that pic and on the bump stops when parked. Shorter konis bring back the lost suspension travel from lowering. My konis are 4th gen yellows trimmed 1" at the bottom, thus making the whole insert shorter. You could lower the car down that extra inch, but then you are back to square one. Google shortened konis or look on the sr20forum for info.

I have since redone my setup from the link below to 4th gen yellows all around and stock rear mounts.
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=480763

3rd gen Konis:
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=375301

 

back when i owned my '96 i went with Sprint springs and KYB AGX shocks. Felt very controlled and sat nice and low (about a finger gap all around) I think i ran that setup with the shocks set 3 up front and 7 in the rear. Also i cut down the rear springs a coil and a 1/2 to make the car sit 100% even.

 

Fixed. Konis are designed to last the lifetime of the car and as such have a lifetime warranty.

 

I wish I had close up pics of my GC setup.... I don't know how much travel I had in front but I don't think I ever hit the bump stops in front. The back there was very little travel I think. I seriously think there was about and inch before the bump stops I'm going by how much of the chrome strut rod was seen before you see a big rubber piece which i'm assuming is the bump stop. Thanks for the links I'm gonna read them and hopefully not get too confused lol ksports were so much easier as far as not having to worry about suspension travel but all these complaints about them blowing is making me consider putting back on my GC kit with koni struts. Here are some far away pics of my GC setup on stock struts and hopefully you could tell me if I would have trouble with travel on this type of drop.


The due to the driveway the front went from a 2 1/2 finger gap to a tight 2.



The rear for sure was hitting bumpstops I couldn't see any of the chrome strut rod. Again due to the driveway and weak stock struts the rear sank from a 2 finger gap to a 1 finger gap. You think I would have trouble with travel with a 2 1/2 finger gap all around?

 

I am partial to D2's.