Can someone please give me a basic rundown on the differences between, Cambers, Coilovers, Shocks and Springs?

 

Springs provide a separation between the chassis of a vehicle and the wheels so that when the wheels hit a bump, the shock to the chassis and passengers is reduced and delayed. They also reduce body lean when cornering. (Further control of body lean is achieved with anti-sway bars, sometimes called anti-roll bars. Quality aftermarket anti-sway bars can significantly improve the handling of cars like the G35.) Springs set the height of the vehicle above the pavement.

Shocks dampen the oscillations of the springs so the car doesn't continue to bounce up and down after hitting a bump. More importantly, they stop the wheels from bouncing and increase the contact time of the tires with the pavement. This is especially important when cornering or riding on a "washboard" type surface. The more wheels bounce, the less tires are in contact with the pavement and the less the they can control vehicle direction and speed. Wheel bounce when cornering (because of the centrifugal force experienced) allows the car to drift into the other lane when cornering on the inside and to leave the road when cornering on the outside.

Coilovers add supplementary springs on the top of shocks and are generally used to spoil the ride of cars like the G35. Aftermarket springs and shocks alone from quality manufacturers can achieve suspension performance and handling adequate for all driving applications except those of a dedicated racing vehicle.

Camber is a wheel adjustment (alignment) term that describes the positional relationship between wheels on the same axle in terms of the distance between the tops of the wheels versus the distance between the bottoms of the wheels.

 

opps didn't realize someone else was replying at the same time

 

Yeah, that.

But to add to that, springs relay the road feel to the driver. The only reason to upgrade these is for looks and better road feel unless you have upgraded your (anti) sway bars too.

Struts/shocks absorb the bumps and keep your wheels on the road, giving you traction needed for handling... If you want better handling, this is what you want first (besides tires).

While dropping your center of gravity should theoretically help you corner by controlling the body roll more, the drop really doesn't do anything for performance. It matters when every little mod counts, but the reality is, until you have your chassis completely reinforced, with full suspension, etc... (ie: you've turned your car into a track car) it won't matter as much whether you're dropped 2" or 4".

And just a bit more insight on alignment for you... Specialty Performance Products (SPC)

Hope this helps you more than it confuses you... and if it confuses you, I hope someone can help clear up the points I'm trying to make.

 

Thanks guys, that does help alot.