Hey guys,

Im just debating about what to do for my max,
Im getting new springs and have a few options available to me, they all offer a series of different stances

o, and my car is an auto, more weight up front

1. Ebachis - small drop 1.5/1.3 slight raked stance
2. Tien S-techs - Large drop 2.2/1.8 defined raked stance
3. Sprint - Large even even drop 2.0/2.0 Nice and level to hug the ground

Just a question,

is the raked stance just for looks?. or does it offer superior braking and cornering.

thanks

 

do not get S-techs, whatever you do. They are way to soft a spring rate for as low as they drop. The ride is terrible, i know, i had them. just trying to save you the headache.

I like the Eibachs.

 

thanks for the info, yea Ive heard about that. but every answer I got was. well Ive heard. blah blah.

So its down to Ebachis and Sprints

 

by the way, just because the springs SAY that their drop is those numbers....doesn't make it true.

 

i have sprints, and they are by no means level. the rear springs were cut by the previous owner one coil. and STILL im higher in the back. Dont think that just because they SAY their drop is w/e it is, that its true, lol. Cus my Sprints with the same tire/wheel combo as fellow 4th geners with STechs is really about the same, just tyhat my springs are alot stiffer (Stechs IMO are pretty damn soft, not a good thing when you're as low as they put you, makes for quite the bouncy ride.... gtr_rider can attest to that, LOL but thats just My opinion, I like my rock solid suspension)

 

Don't go with a raked stance, it would be not very good to shift even more weight up to the already super heavy front end. (hello understeer)

After market shocks are a must if you are going for a drop.

Im running the Tokico suspension kit (tokico springs and illunimnas) it seems to drop evenly, (maybe 1.5" f/r). The springs seem about the same stiffness as my OE SE's but then again the tokico's are progressive so...(top portion of the spring has a lower rate compared to the bottom)

I would recommend the Tokico kit to ANYone that wants a more agile max with road manners.

Its one of the only mods Ive done i am 100+1% happy with.

 

Lol, Eibach's will give you a reverse raked stance. They sat lower in the rear on my car, as well as lots of other people on here.

IMO Sprints and Tein S look similar, but Sprints have the most raked appearance because the rear sits higher. Tein S looks the best, but as others have said, the spring rate is not high enough for how low they sit on a stock travel strut. You'll be hitting the bump stops all day. But at least you'll look good while you're at it....!

 

Weight is static and you're not shifting it by adding rake. Actually raising the rear or lowering the front helps reduce understeer a tad by changing front vs rear roll centers.

 

thanks guys, o and sorry I forgot to add,

I currently have tokico illuminas all around, and they arent performing great, I was told it's because they are performance shocks and are designed to be used in lowered applications or with stiffer springs,

so this is what brought this on

** BEJAY1, what suspension set up are you running?, the pic in the sig looks perfect

 

why not some coilovers?
Jae

 

<-foot in mouth

learn something new every day

 

Im working on getting K-sports, but wont happen for a little while, Im going back to school soon so I wont have much money or time to do much, Im just throwing on some springs for a good look and performance, My car has almost 160,000 and stock springs are way soft

 

Brian is runing Gen3 cattman/progress coilovers re-valved stiffer with Hypercoil 600lb 11" front, Hypercoil 550lb 10" rear - 3/8" rake.

His setup is intended for autocross/road course lapping and really isn't ideal for a daily driver for most people.

In his sig pic, he's in a hard left turn, so of course the car is leaning.

---

since this thread is clearly more concerned with how a drop "looks" though, I'm moving it to 4th gen where it will get more attention from those concerned with how their drop looks......

 

Actually having no front-sway in that pic might've been the culprit too

Back to topic I kinda like the even to slightly raked look myself.

 

i got a set of springs from vogtland... from NZ for the maxima QX and to be honest it gives me the feel of stock i30t springs.. with the illuminas.... does anybody else have this?

ne how i like the rear up a bit just because when i have stuff in the car or additional pass. it helps cause there is more play.. rather than sitting on bumpstops...

 

Actually, using a raked stance WILL put a little more weight over the front axle, but nothing really noticeable.

 

mos def Ebachis 1.5/1.3 Raked Stance

 

having the back higher to start with it better i reackon because by the time you put a sub in the back and full tank of gas the back drops down and sits more level.i hate it when the *** is draging along the ground and the front it high in the air

also having it higher in the back would also but more traction to the ground.
i dont see how having the front lower would make more under steer since the back would be floating around more and getting a bit more body roll snding it around the corner better

 

I have TOKICO struts (blues) but, I have not lowered the car yet. I was thinking about TEIN H TECH. You say the TOKICO spring ride as well as stock. I want the look of the lowered car and all but, I don't want to compromise the ride to much, being my daily driver. I'v been in friends cars that have been lowered (not maximas) and they were bouncy and harsh. I can't do that.

 

OK first, the tokico kits are shipped with the illuminas. I haven't seen a source for just the springs but I'm sure they can be had. The drop is mild, you wont attract any attention from it (which is good). But if you happen to park next to a stock max you can see the difference. ( i will post pics if needed as well as # of finger gap)

The ride, which is something i think your really concerned about, let me tell you a little about it.
The tokico springs are a progressive spring unlike the linear stockers. IIRC the progressive spring has a softer spring rate on the top and harder on the bottom. When it is compressed a bit (ie a bump) it will compress like a soft spring, and when you fly around some valley hairpins at 70km/h it would compress deeper into the spring, get what I'm sayn'. (I'm not sure about this one->)The problem with progressive springs is that they are not as predictable at the limit.(???ive pushed them past the limit and dont find them so)

The ride IS more harsh, but it nothing like a civic with cut springs on stock struts. I am 100% for the tokicos as the everyman suspension setup.

PS: the tokico blues are the "HP"s and are not adjustable IIRC they are used as OEM replacements. If you have the cash get the full set, you'll love to be able to switch the shocks from squish for a road trip, or to F1 style (lol maxima handling FTL)
last price i saw on the kit was around 480 ish

 

I saw several distributors online that pair the tokico springs w/Blues.
Jae

 

theres two kits,

basic performance package that has springs with the tokico blues,

and a performance kit that has the red springs with illuminas,

personaly I would prefer a more noticable drop, the tokico kits will make the car no longer a 4x4, however not so much a lowered look

but they feel almost exactly stock, if anything smoother because of the better shocks, so in that respect they are good

 

I had progress with kyb gr2's and it was a great ride. Not to low but i had the front lip so it make it look lower.

 

... there is a drop thread on here, i think in the FAQ which has pics of cars with dif springs on diff. gens etc. that might be valuable to you.

 

Yea I checked that, Heh

This thread was more to find out if there were advantages to raking the rear of the car in terms of handling, and to prove the whole tien s-techs being really soft.

I picked up some sprint springs today from Chris. Ill take pcis before and after, thanks for all the help

 

bump for Kevlo, this is his favorite thread.

 

I think it's funny how people still rank springs by the amount of drop in tenths of an inch. Like there is a big difference in .2". Just round to the nearest inch!

 

it's even worse when they rank based on fingerspaces.
Jae

 

I measure by saying my front lip is exactly 3" off the ground.

 

4th gen fenders give the appearance of a lower rear, so your going to want a larger drop in the front to give the same amount of wheel/fender gap for the front back...

My Tokico springs I got with the kit are pretty even, H-techs are good too

 

Aren't there parts underneath the car that are lower than the lip?
Jae

 

Tokico illumina kit on an 98 SE auto

14 1/4" front 14 3/4" rear 1/2 tank no one inside. From center cap to fender.

 

The front lip is easiest to measure.

 

got_max, I think us local guys should give you a ride in our cars to get a good feel of our spring/shock setups. Wait until the next meet?

 

I would go with the sprints because the 2 inch drop is noticeable

 

no rake please

 

That changes with the tire height, what kind of lip you have, etc.... not a good way to measure ride height

Best way is from fender to wheel center.

 

thanks for this thread. I almsot bought the s-techs until I read that they are way too soft. I think Im gonna go with the sprints. btw when u get a chance got_max please post some pics of the drop. also what do you guys think about the k sport springs. thanx a lot

 

Sprints are in, however not super satisfying. I will write a review so the mods can stick in the susp. review sticky. but the front drop is perfect. low, the rear almost seemed to have no noticable drop at all. unfortunatley i forgot to get before and afters of the rear. tonight ill post pics

 

I'm saying the front lip is how I measured how low MY car is.