I'm actually getting a set of Z Tokico HPs & Z Tein S-Techs installed this Sat.
I was told that there would be no diff in height between the Z and G Tokicos.
So I figured I'd match up aftermarket Z parts.
I'll be doing a write up after the install comparing ride height/quality from my
current Z h-tech & oem shock setup.

 

^ sounds great, I was hoping of changing my shocks and springs in a few weeks so ill wait till your write up before I place my order

 

You have to change the shocks and springs, but what's the rubber parts called that are worned out?

 

yes please let us know!!!

i need to change my springs and shocks too, so let me know how it feels....and if you can measure from the floor to the edge of the bumper to see how far you actually are from the floor.....

by the way i saw some adjustable Tokicos shocks has anyone have seen those or tested them?

 

Tokico D-spec. I havent heard anything bad about them as far as quality goes.
But After purchasing them and springs, you are in the neighborhood of coilovers so it's kinda a wash...

+1 on the write-up.

 

Great thread! I was also in the market for some Tokico HP Blues for my 04' G35 Coupe at 74K. I also bought my car used so I was never fortunate enough to see how a new g35 coupe suspension would feel.

For the people who just went with the G35 Tokico Blue Struts. What springs did you get to keep the car on the stock stance? OR did you guys lower the car?

I live in Boston... and Ive scraped my car plenty driving on my stock height....

Any help is appreciated.

Lotteman what strut and spring setup did you end up getting?

 

I know this a bit of a older thread, but when they say it is a bit stiffer than OEM, are they referring to the base sedan, or the sedan with sport suspension? I have the 03 with the Sports suspension, and would like to keep or improve the performance, and not sure if the Blue's would do that or not.

I wasn't full clear, but is the 350z Tokico Blues the same length as the G35 version? Would they work with the stock G35 sport springs? Or would the slightly extra weight of the G35 cause any issues?

 

Anyone please?

 

I've got an 07 Coupe on Z H-tech and G Blues and ride was definitely a bit stiffer over bumps. Not crazy stiff but it was noticeable. It could be that my OEM shocks were going since they had 120k km (or 75k miles) on them.

 

Pretty sure we were referring to the to the coupe OEM shocks not the sedan shocks. Either way, the Tokico HP shocks are a better improvement and stiff over bother regular and sport tuned sedan shocks.

From what I've read, the 350z HP shocks are a bit shorter in length than the g35 HP shocks and but will still work on a g35. However, I've heard many people complain that the 350z HP socks are too stiff on the G35, so many have gone with the G35 hp shocks.

Shocks are not keeping your car up, it's springs that raise or lower car height. Shocks simply dampen the bouncing motion caused by springs, so there shouldn't be any extra weight problems

 

That is good to know. Guy are performance Nissan told me over the phone the extra weight may cause a bit of an early wear issue going with the HP's for Z. As for the HPs for the G are they then referring to the coupe with base suspension or one with the sport suspension?

Now a bit of a related question. If my fronts are bad should I just take the preventative measure to replace the rears also?

 

Yes you should replace your rears...it'll save you from paying for another alignment when you're going to have to replace them soon anyways

We were talking about 04 coupes, which never came with sport suspension....they came with sport tuned suspension which is basically the same thing as basic stock suspension

 

So, then I take it the sport tuned was pretty much just the larger 18s on summer tires vs the 17s on base coupe?

 

Reviving an old thread because I'm considering which Tokico HP's to get between these two, and wanted to clarify a couple things for other who stumble upon this in the future in search of answers:

- The damping rate (force required to move the dampers, as a function of speed) is going to be higher on the 350Z version than on the G35 version, period. This will result in what people typically refer to as a 'stiffer' ride, and some people will even say that it has a worse 'ride quality.' Opinions aside, the reason the damping rate is higher on the Z version is because the spring rates for 350Z and also the intended damping ratio (more on this later) is supposed to be higher, therefore the damping rate needs to be higher.
- The overall travel length of the Z dampers are going to be shorter, yes. This is because the total suspension travel on the Z is lower than the G, therefore there was no need to make the total travel as great. This has no consequence in normal conditions unless your suspension reaches the end of its extension travel. This should not affect the amount of drop, although there is anecdotal evidence from some members here that suggests otherwise.

Also another random thing I wanted to clear up. When lowering your car, the lowering itself does not require new dampers. It's the accompanying spring rate increase that calls for an increasing damping rate (stiffness of the shocks). The reason for this can be explained quantitatively by the equation for damping ratio of a simple spring-mass-damper system:
Z = c / (2*sqrt(km))
Z: damping ratio (how "bouncy" the car is; 1 = critically damped, normal is in the 0.3-0.5 range)
c: damping rate (how stiff the shock is)
m: mass of the car

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damping_ratio
As you may see, if you increase spring rate (k) without changing anything else, damping ratio (Z) will decrease, leading to a more "bouncy" ride. Increasing the damping rate (ie. getting stiffer shocks) while increasing spring rates will help keep Z around where you want it (no more bouncing all over the road). People who prioritize driving dynamics over comfort will prefer a higher Z (formula cars are ~0.8, fantastic for smooth roads but terribly uncomfortable in the real world), while those who prefer comfort lean towards the lower end of the spectrum.

I guess this was a long-winded way of saying what many of you already know - if you are changing your springs to something with a higher spring rate (independent of amount of drop), then you will probably also want to change your dampers accordingly. For me, this means that I will be getting the 350Z version of the Tokico's to better match the higher spring rates of the 350Z h-tech's that I'm picking up. I'll try to remember to report back on my opinions of the setup.

Hope that helps someone!