Hey peeps.

So, I've had my '05 G35 for a couple years now. I still love the way it looks... and in general, I love the way it drives.

The thing is, the stock sports suspension is total garbage. My previous car was a '95 M3 which had the best handling of any car I've ever driven. The thing was a freaking slot car and while the suspension was certainly firm, it was still amazingly supple over less-than-optimum road surfaces.

My G35, on the other hand, rides like a brick. On perfectly smooth surfaces the car tracks solidly enough, but introduce the slightest bump or ripple and the handling goes to ****! Especially when cornering, the slightest bumps make the car "skate" across the road surface. I've had the alignment checked and she's spot-on. I suspect that the shocks simply have extremely poor high-speed damping characteristics... or they're just plain cheap junk.

So, the question I pose to you experts is this: is it worth slapping in an upgraded suspension? I'm seriously beginning to think of ditching this car while the resale value is still reasonable... the overall ride and handling of this car is really getting to me. I suspect I'd go with the usual combo of Z springs for the front and coupe springs for the rear, along with a set of shocks. (I'm guessing the shocks, probably D-specs, would make the biggest difference)

I guess the biggest thing I'm worried about is that the switch to an upgraded suspension will be a marginal or incremental improvement at best. It would be a shame to drop $1k+ into the suspension only to find that the end result isn't really all that much better. I've modded suspensions on other cars in the past with mixed results, so I'm curious what you all think about upgrades on this particular car... especially any of you who have experience driving a 95ish M3.

Jake

 

the sport shocks are tokico's so they're not cheap junk. i just don't think they're dialed in for high performance use. get the D-Specs or get some coilovers.

 

First things first, what's the cold psi of your tires? The tires should be no higher than 30 psi (per factory recommendations). I've noticed that if I have more 30 psi, the ride can get a rough and twitchy. With 35 psi cold, the ride be a punishing. I actually run with 28/29 cold.

I too have noticed that the Sports suspension is rather stiff and that's why I was surprised that the ride actually got slightly softer with the Z/coupe spring setup. Overall, I'd say the ride of my car is firm with a bit of impact harshness on pavement cuts. However, compared to my 96 Maxima on Koni yellows/H&Rs or my 94 Z28, the G35 rides quite well. It's definitely not a Camry ride. As for your old E36 M3, go ride in an E46 M3 and you'll find the ride to be very punishing. There's a huge difference between the E36 and E46. I do admit BMW, overall, knows how to make a good riding and handling suspension. The trick is soft springs, very stiff dampers, and a good bit of wheel travel. I wish other companies would pick up on this.

 

my tires are set to 35psi by the dealer... are you sure 30 is the factory spec?

 

30/30 is the factory recommended tire pressure. I usually ran 32/30 in my G35.

 

Interesting. I actually just checked the cold pressure in all four tires recently since my tire-pressure indicator had come on (likely the result of dying batteries in those stem-mounted pressure sensors) and I think I found that all four tires were at 33-34 PSI. Just for kicks, I'll try dropping them down to 29PSI for a week or two and see if I can notice any difference. Frankly, I'd be surprised if the change was terribly dramatic, though.

 

Funny that they say to run 30 when the tps warning comes on at 28psi. Seems like they would lower it a little.

 

As for the comparison of the E36 M3 to a G35 you need to realize one is a full up purpose built sports car and the other is a sports sedan made to be sporty but comfortable.

You are going to need to add either a good springs/strut combo or coilovers then better sway bars to even get what your M3 had. You can get some great results with the suspension options for the G.

I have a few friends with E36 and E46 M3’s, they are great cars and fun as hell to drive but my sedan keeps right up in the corners and walks them on the straights.

 

Well, to be clear, I'm not looking to equal the M3's cornering prowess. I am, however, looking to equal or exceed it's overall comfort and perhaps come close to its stability in the corners given a spirited but "streetable" pace. As it stands now, my G35 feels positively unstable and skittish during mid-corner bumps... even when obeying the speed limit.

In a way, it feels as if the G35 has all the harshness of the M3 (if not more) without any of the "suppleness" or stability.

 

Richie's front strut really helped with the squeamishness from the front, but it wasn't completely eliminated. As I just told Cheryl, that seems to be "baked" into the car. I also experience the harsh rebounds. My biggest complaint is when going over a straight segment in the interstate that has a diagonal expansion joint. The car feels like it it's going to break in two.

However, I must say that I can take the punishing ride, if the chassis and frame were a legit sports setup. All of the squeamishness, twisting, and shuddering makes the harsh ride hard to swallow. My best friend's SRT4 has a very stiff ride, and can be just as punishing over the same pavement. But the chassis is tough as nails, and hence very predictable.

It's a shame that a FWD sporty econobox has a sportier chassis/frame setup than an alleged sports sedan.

I'd hope so.

 

Exactly. A harsh ride is absolutely acceptable when the trade-off is precise handling and stability. Unfortunately, my G35 simply doesn't exhibit those traits despite the harshness of the ride quality. I seem to recall reading a post on these forums around ~6 months ago where someone mentioned that switching to d-spec's took out quite a bit of the sport suspension's harshness (especially during freeway driving) but I've been unable to find that thread again... hence why I'm thinking d-specs.

 

Well if you get them, please post a review. I'd like your feedback considering our impressions of the current suspension appear to be similar.

 

sways will help and strut bar as well but Ive come
to realize that the jumping effect is just a part of the
cars makeup

 

Got 'em. Installed 'em.

For reference, I installed 350z springs in the front and non-sport (also known as unrevised) coupe springs in the rear, along with d-specs.

The drop is just like those you've seen posted on these forums, roughly 1" drop all around and perfectly level. Not slammed, just planted. This is really how the car should have shipped from the factory.

I've been driving around for about a week so far (two turns on all d-specs and pre-alignment, mind you) and thankfully, the changes to the car's handling and ride are exactly what I expected. The car stays much more level under even mild cornering and it no longer feels as if it wants to "skate" over mid corner bumps, especially at high speeds. If anything, the car simply feels more predictable when pushed.

The overall ride quality is roughly the same as stock (which is to be expected, since the springs are the same rate all around), to the point that my gf didn't even notice the difference until I pointed it out to her. The car definitely feels more "firm" over bumps and road irregularities but somehow it seems lack the harshness that accompanied the stock sports suspension. The driving experience on the highway is much, much improved; the car feels absolutely planted and no longer wants to bounce and shudder over expansion joints... again, firm but lacking the harshness of the stock setup.

If there's any real increase in noise, I've yet to notice. Maybe a hair louder at highway speeds, but I'm running on balding OEM bridgestones, so those things are louder than heck to begin with.

I'm looking forward to pushing the limits of this car just a touch when I get some fresh rubber on and get an alignment in a week or so.

Overall, this upgrade was definitely worth it for me. The subtle visual drop is ideal and the improvement in "sporty" cornering ability and highway ride is worth every penny.

 

my 06 door jam says 33 f & r. does anyone know if this was a change for 06 or did it happen before. i am not trying to go off topic as i have experience the skiddishness (if that is a word) mainly right in the apex of a corner. ive gone with sways, fstb and z springs with some positive change. ive been running 35/34 in the tires and even though i am running a slightly wider and taller tire than stock, i may reduce it to see if a psi change may contribute that much more.