what setting should i put my kyb agx struts on when i get them installed....i plan on putting weapon r coiloves on and having the car as low as it can go....i dont want it to be stiff as hell but i dont wanna bounce on every bump...what do u recomend for the front???? and the back????? thanx guys....i dont plan on racing i jsut want an ok ride....i know i am gonna expect a lot of bumps or i mena i will feel every bump but i dont wanna be bounicng everywhere so just give me some good settings!!! thanx, Tom

 

Fronts I'd suggest 2 or 3, very easy to adjust though pop the hood and use the mini-flat head and turn it clockwise to a different settting.
Rear 4 or 5,again its easy to adjust just have to crawl a under the side of car if you fit and turn the dial on them. Becarefule when adjusting the right if by chance do it after driving a while exhaust/muffler are hot.
Just play around with settings later on all depends on roads you go through on daily basis for track go stiffest 1 and 8.my 2cents

 

I have my fronts on 3 and my rears on 5. I like the way it drives.

 

thanx fo the input...i think i will go 3 on front and 6 on the back..

is 8 the stiffest setting for the back and is 4 the sittfest for the front????

 

Stiffest setting (front) = "4"
Stiffest setting (rear) = "8"

I depends on both the roads you drive on, but more importantly on the correct settings to match the spring rate on your coilovers. The setting that's right for someone w/ standard lowering springs and someone w/ coilover which have a higher spring rate (stiffer) may not be the same.

Advice on this topic is only going to be relevant from fellow users of Weapon-R coilovers. You may have to play around with settings to see what works best, but start somewhere in the middle: 2or3(f), 4-6(r) and go from there.

(I don't have coilovers - APEX 1.6" lowering springs)

If the shocks are set too soft for the coilovers, they won't respond to the compression & rebound of your springs with enough control & the tires/wheels may feel like they're coming out of contact with the road (bouncing) through choppy bumps. This can be especially unsettling if it happens at the rear during a corner, as the rear-end can break loose more easily. (I found this to be the case when I had my rears set at "3," so I dialed them up to "4" & the problem didn't repeat itself on the same stretch of test-road.

That's the cool thing about the AGX: with the turn of a dial, in real-time, you can adjust the valving for both compression & rebound dampening to match almost any available spring rate! These things kick serious booty!

 

In case you're the type who rushes to play with the toys before reading the instructions. . . (I know I'm 50/50 on that one

When adjusting the front strut settings using the supplied screwdriver:

Be sure to press DOWN on the screwdriver to sink the adjustment screw down into the adjustment assembly BEFORE turning/changing the adjustment setting! (Keep pressing down whenever turning).

If you just try to turn it, you could damage the adjustment assembly beyond repair!


Btw, I saved the clear plastic protective sleeves that (came with) were on the threaded ends of the strut rods and after I completed the install and set my adjustments, I trimmed the sleeves to fit over the top of the adjustment screws inside the engine bay. I sprayed a little silicone spray lubricant* into the sleeves and fitted them over the adjustment screws for protection. It took 1 extra minute & seemed like a no brainer to me.

*Don't use WD-40 or other petroleum based products here, as they can damage plastic parts over time.

(I know they're designed to be exposed to the elements in an engine bay, but what can I say, I'm a belt & suspenders kinda guy)

-K-

 

i went to the kyb site and there are at least 5 different types of products, which one does the maxima need? thanks for your guys help.

 

i bought my coilovers used i was gonna use some wd40 on the coilovers where the spinners r at...is that a good idea???

 

one more question fo you.....if i dont have the correct setting on the agx's can that damage teh strut at all???? i want these things to last!

 

Fair warning: Your Max is going ride like absolute crap. When you drop a car, you reduce the amount of travel in the suspension. You will be bottoming out everywhere you go and you'll most likely be riding on the bumps stops. I've got a 2" drop and I've only got about 1.75" of travel. I've got Konis in the front and AGX in the rear. I rarely bottom out, but it does happen. Lowering the car like you say (2.75-3.0") plus the fact that you've got heavy chrome wheels will make for a horrible, poor handling, and unsafe ride.

I recommend that you revise your setup or atleast only run a full drop at carshows only.

 

thanx for the warning honestly i appreciate it....but i will go as low as i like and then i will raise it if i see major problems until the heiht that i feel is good for the roads that i travel on.....plus i plan to have the suspension on stiff settings wont that prevent me from bouncing a lot when i drive over bumps....???????

 

I have 2 inch drop with sprints and its like stock ride! I love them.

 

If the setting is too soft, this can promote a lot of extra movement of the piston inside the strut/shock cartridge & (in theory) could contribute to premature wear. So, I would avoid going too soft.

Generally, the AGX is believed to be one of the (if not THE) most durable struts for the Max, but keep in mind, the general rule is: the lower you lower, the shorter the lifespan of your struts/shocks.

If you want them to "last" definitely don't make a habit of running your coilovers lower than 1.8" -> 2.0" (maybe save this for slow blvd. cruising nights or carshows) If you run 2.0" or lower all the time, your price will be a shorter strut/shock lifespan. -And I agree that generally speaking, the more travel you remove, the harsher the ride will be, because you're fundamentally changing the suspension geometry designed for the car.

Having said that, at least you're getting coilovers, so if you're not happy with the ride height/ride quality at a certain level, big deal! Change it! Enjoy.

WD-40: My answer on that is - I use WD-40 on metal to metal parts, but if there are plastic or rubber parts which can be contaminated by the WD-40, I'd opt for silicone spray lubricant, instead. (Petroleum based lubricants are harmful to plastic/rubber over time)

 

It doesn't matter how stiff your struts are, they don't limit wheel travel, they only slow down the up and down movements. You will bounce when you bottom out, which will be all the time. Your car will sound like it's crashing over bumps.


Dave

 

Geeez, Dave. Let the poor guy enjoy his new parts a little before completely condemning his setup, huh?

-And actually, struts DO help limit "wheel travel," by controlling the effects of inertia occuring during both the compression and rebound of the springs. The stiffer the strut setting, the more compression & rebound energy from the spring coils is absorbed, the less wheel travel (car [body] travel, actually) occurs. Sorry, this is just a simple matter of fact.

All people running coilovers aren't necessarily bottoming out all the time, as you seem to suggest. Only people who regularly run at 2.0+" drops run into trouble, and even then, it's only over extreme bumps.

I'm sure our brave soul here will be able to find a happy medium with all the height & dampening adjustments he'll have at his disposal. He'll have almost unlimited possible combinations, afterall.

 

man you are seriously a big help i didnt ev think of that...i am assuming that by bottoming out you mean that evryime i go over a bump the bottom of my car will scrap against the road.....what if i drive extremely slow over big bumps on the road....if that means slowing down fom a 35 mph to about 5 mph i will do that...thanx for all your advice guys!

 

hockeyghst-
When I say bottoming out, I mean the strut is at full compression and hits the bump stop. What you end up feeling is a sharp joint, bounciness, and "crashing" over bumps. Anything over a 2" drop and you're pushing your luck by bottoming out regularly. A 3" drop will put you very close to scraping, especially your front end, engine cradle, resonator, and muffler tip. Forget about running a front lip spoiler.

KWheelzSB-
I'm just informing hockeyghst what to expect with his setup. Sure, he'll be okay on a 2.0" drop, BUT he said he was going to run the full Weapon R drop. It doesn't take an "extreme" bump to bottom out a 2" drop. I've got this setup, bottom out over decent bumps, and I'm running on quality struts. Bottoming out on a bumpy turn is really easy because the suspension is already compressing, and then you hit a 1" bump and BAM, you're on bump stop. When you've only got <1.7" of wheel travel, higher rate springs and stiff struts aren't gonna save ya.

Dave

 

well i shouldnt have said all the way low...i want the top of the wheel well to be within a 1 finger gap away from the tire....i dont know how low that is but i will take ur advice though and again i really do apreciate this!

 

Ok, ic - that makes sense. . .

 

What I'm really trying to find out is will 18" rims effect the eibach/kyb suspension setup...meaning - how much room will it leave between a 235/40/18 tire and the body of the car after the setup is made. Also how will 18" wheels d on performance and safety wise with the setup?

I'm thinking of aluminum Konig 18" rims.

If one would compare 18's with 17's with the same suspension setup, what will the differences be in performance and safety on bumps, etc.

thanks in advance.

 

It's all about the overall diameter. You can run either a 235/45-17 or a 235/40-18 & retain the same overall diameter, so there's effectively no difference in clearance issues between the two.

larger wheels = heavier, slower accelleration/braking, more likely to dent, more expensive tires, firmer ride, but the look SWEETER.

Just depends where your priorities are.

Safety? Not sure what you mean about that - either configuration you mentioned is "safe," imho.

 

I run with fronts at 1, rear at 2. Too soft you say. But I've tried all the combinations, and 1/2 has very good handling, as good as 2/4 I would say, but without the ride penalty. Since you are planning to drop your car to the weeds, I would use a stiffer setting on the shocks, 2/4 sounds good. Remember, try out all the combinations, each driver has different preferences.

If you drop your car 2.5", you need to trim your bumpstops to preserve some of the wheel travel. IT will help your ride quality tremendously, although a car that low will always ride rough.

 

where are your bump stops???

 

I guess what i ment by safety was.....two things....
1) How much room would be left between top of 18" 235/40/18 tire and the body of the car.
2) Would there be more room between the car's bottom and the ground on 18's then there would be on 17's

 

Same as stock wheel/tire. (See comments about overall diameter)

Same as stock wheel/tire. (See comments about overall diameter)

Maybe I wasn't clear: if the overall diameter of your tire/wheel combination remains the same as OEM OAD (ideal to retain accurate speedometer/odometer function), it doesn't matter whether you have a 15",16",17", or 18" wheel. The clearance and fender gap will remain the same; you'll just have a larger wheel in the middle of the tire.

Overall diameter is retained when you size up to larger wheels because the sidewall of the tire is "shorter."

15" wheel - maybe a P215/60*-15 (this #, I'm not sure if OEM)
16" wheel - maybe a P225/55*-16 (this #, I'm not sure if OEM)
17" wheel - maybe a P235/45*-17 (this size matches OEM OAD)
18" wheel - maybe a P235/40*-18 (this size matches OEM OAD)

In each case, as the wheel gets larger, the (percentage of)* sidewall of the tire gets smaller/shorter, in effect, keeping the overall diameter of the tire the same, in spite of the larger wheel. OK?

For tire/wheel tech questions, visit www.tirerack.com