After installing my sways, I wanted to upgrade the suspension to make handling even better. More specifically, I wanted
- "streetable" drop, or as low as i could go without worrying too much about scraping
- alignment to specs w/o aftermarket a-arms or toe bolts
- improved handling/grip
- firm but comfortable/tolerable ride for a daily driver

Since I don't track the car, I really didn't need adjustable height or dampening. Research told me springs in the range of 8-9 kg/mm were most liked for the street. The only suspension that gave me everything I need was the Nismo S-tune for the JDM Skyline Coupe. As a bonus, it's tuned for the car by Nismo and comes with a Nismo warranty (in Japanese, tho ). The only place I found it was Japanparts.com. It cost about $1450 shipped to my door and arrived in 2-3 weeks. See pictures of the parts here: https://g35driver.com/forums/brakes-suspension/126190-look-what-dhl-brought-me.html

Installation isn't too difficult if you have the right tools and took 5-6 hours for my friend and I to do it. My friend had the S-tune for his 350Z, so he knew how to install it (the instructions come in Japanese). The hardest part is disassembling/assembling the front coilovers. The back's a piece of cake.

I went to Darin at West End for my alignment, and everything went back into spec except for the front camber being off 1/4 of a degree. That can be taken care of by swapping the front tires at 1/3 tire life or just taking some turns more aggressively . The reason for the front being off is that I got tires a bit smaller in diameter than OEM. Falken FK-452s went on at 235/45R19 front and 255/40R19 rear.

Ride is more solid than stock, with much more road feel, but yet smoother and more comfortable. I don't like a soft, spongy ride, so I've found the ride improved in every situation except driving on LA's sucky highways below about 70mph. Have even had a couple girls in it without complaint .

Coupled with my Hotchkis sways, handling is *dramatically* improved. Understeer has given way to neutrality/slight oversteer. Grip is much improved, and the car feels much more responsive. I'm attacking freeway cloverleafs and turns much harder now. This is how the car should come, IMO.

The drop is mild but noticeable. I've measured it to be 0.8" f/r. Wheel gap is better. I have yet to scrape anywhere, either, and I've had it on the car for two weeks.

I've attached some pictures. I know not many people have this suspension, but it's a great choice, IMO even though it's not slammed and is probably too soft for FI or heavy track usage. Let me know if you're in LA and want a ride.

 

sorry about the long review..

 

I have the same Nismo G35 springs with camber kits and Koni shocks. They work great for autocross and track conditions as well. Your right, this is the way the car should have been from the factory.

 

I'm surprised it's not more available in the US. Maybe people just haven't heard about it.

 

almost looks stock height, but that's probably the max you can go
without going out of camber aligment too much.

 

The pictures are a little deceiving, but you're right that the drop is as low as you can go on stock arms/bolts. I had to measure the drop myself to believe it . Depends on what you want, I guess.

 

Hate to dig this up.. but from what I have read the NISMO S-Tune suspension for the 350z only drops the car 20mm(.8"). So what is the difference between the alleged JDM skyline coupe nismo suspension and the nismo suspension for the z?

 

The Nismo S-tune for the skyline coupe drops the coupe 20mm (.8"). What that means is the coupe S-tune springs are a little longer to account for the heavier car. The coupe S-tune drops a sedan about 1.3" if I remember correctly.

 

What are your spring rates for the coupe s tune?

 

8 kg/mm front and 9 kg/mm rear...same as for the Z

 

Ok, then that pretty much answers my question. If I use the z s tune suspension, it is going to drop my car, a sedan, the same amout whether I get the s tune suspension for a jdm coupe or 350z.

those rates are f/448 r/504.

Z springs drop the sedan 1", which I currently have. The z s tune springs drop the z an additional 20mm(.8"), most only see .6" drop.

So with the z s tune suspension, it should drop the car around to 1.5-1.6".

or am I missing something?

 

I checked the z s tune spring rates and they are f= 8.1/453 and r=8.9/498.

Considering the 04 sedan weighs about the same as a 350z.

 

1.5" or in that range sounds about right. I'd be concerned about spring preload, though. With the springs compressed that much extra, the ride is going to suffer.

 

bwassul, I've read your review and it made me want to look into this S-Tune JDM Skyline Coupe suspension, coupled with Nismo sways. Seems like a good setup while not needing to worry about camber issues. Just wondering if I have to roll my fenders. Running 275 width T1R's on 10.5" rear rims +22 offset. Would Nismo sways coz my endlinks to go bad as well (which seem to be a common problem with aftermarket sways around here)?

 

The Nismo sways have the same stiffness as the sport-tuned suspension sways, but I see you have an '03. I went with some Hotchkis sways simply because I had the sport-tuned ones and wanted more roll stiffness. The Nismo ones should be fine...coupled with the suspension, you'd have a Nismo-tuned ride. I don't think the Nismo sways will give you many problems with the end links since they're so close to the ones you have. If I remember, the Nismo sways are fairly expensive. The ones from Stillen give you a little more stiffness and are very popular. I have the Hotchkis and can't complain.

275 T1Rs on 10.5" rims at +22 is a very common setup. I can go into the parking lot here at work and find at least two G's like that . You'd get problems only if your car was really slammed, but the S-tune only lowers 0.8".