Thanks to a lucky buy from another member, I upgraded my standard non-sport suspension in my sedan to a set from an 04 coupe, that's springs with shocks. The seller, who was the second owner, claimed it was removed from the original owner's car at very low mileage. He'd bought it from Ebay but never installed it himself before he sold his car. Of course, I can't confirm the low mileage (nor could he) but the parts looked very clean, for what that's worth. In any case, my car is now at 80,000 km's (50,000 miles) so even if it was more used than he claims, its still much newer than mine.

I have to give props to the awesome DIY instructions created by a member at the G35NYC.com site. I read it over at least a dozen times before I got around to doing it and it helped immensely. Overall, the whole thing took about 6 hours to do by myself. I think I could probably do it in half the time now. Toolwise, my electric impact driver was key, especially for removing all the tough nuts and bolts that connected the shock to the arms. I highly recommend getting or borrowing one for the job. To retighten everything to factory specs, a torque wrench is highly recommended. Last tip, make sure you have all your tools accounted for before taking a test drive. Let's just say I made a few silly mistakes that thankfully didn't not result in anything bad. But count your tools and make sure every screw is reused.

As for the handling improvements, I definitely feel the difference. Especially coming from a stock, non-sport setup. I feel the body roll is even less than before and the rebound, which I found too floaty before, pretty much resolved. Ride quality is not affected much. I think bumps feel a little sharper but no worse than any other sporty vehicle from factory such as a Corvette or a BMW 3 series with sport suspension. I'm also on 19s so if you're on higher profile tires the ride would not be of any issue.

The drop was as expected, and at half an inch, its about as far as I would want to go, especially with coupe wheels that stick out flush with the body. Any lower and I'd probably need to roll my fenders which I didn't want. I was concerned at that the fronts would look to high but the car is level and while its great to have an equal gap above each wheel, in actuality, I think the fronts need more gap for the tire deflection that occurs when you turn. My thinking is that they are designed that way for a reason. I'm also not keen on the car looking like its slanted down towards the front, but that's just me. It achieved what I was going for, more aggressive but a factory look vs a slammed tuner look.

Overall I'm very happy with this mod. I think its dead simple to do for the moderately mechanically inclined and if you can still find a low mileage set, its worth doing because it just brings us sedan folk that much closer to the coupe performance while still having two extra doors. The price of used coupe suspension is certainly cheap so I would categorize this mod right up with there with the Z-tube as far as bang for buck, perhaps even more so since it makes a much bigger improvement.

I might post some pics up later but I think most people have seen what a 0.5 inch drop looks like.

 

Pics please.....now.....dammit.....not up yet?.........

J/K I'm looking at this issue as well. So the car is level? What made you go straight coupe instead of the Z/G combo that's so popular here?

Thanks for your report on the swap. It has helped me move closer to a decision on what I want to do.

 

One reason I stuck with a purely G coupe setup is because its easy to buy a set. I didn't want to buy two sets of suspensions and then have one set sitting in my garage for all eternity. So that's a practical consideration and may not be a problem for some. Also, yes, I didn't want a car that's sloped lower in the front, though you only really notice it from the side. You can see in some of the pics of cars with a Z/G set up that its not level. Again not a big deal and its personal preference. I also think that 1" drop might look too slammed especially when I have my stock 17s back on in the winter time. I find lowered cars with stock rims odd looking. I won't know until this winter when I put my 17s back on if my drop looks okay.

 

Cool.......

 

There's two kinds of level/even, one if the car is level, the other if the tire gap is the same. Coupe springs gets you a level car, Z/Coupe gets you an even tire gap. We're in the same boat, I've got a set of Coupe springs in my garage, and I run the stock 17's in the winter.

Did you have any camber issues with the Coupe springs? If not, I'm considering a double swap every 6 months or so, Coupe springs/Coupe 18's in the spring and stock springs/stock 17's in the fall.

BTW, Vancouver, CA or Vancouver, USA?

 

If you decide to put those Coupe springs in with your Coupe 18's, let me know. I'm interested to see how it looks, especially on an X. If I do any drop at all, it will be either Coupe/Coupe or Z/Coupe.

 

I know the camber is a bit more negative than stock, as in the tops of the wheels tip inwards a bit. Its not much and I'm contemplating whether I should bother with an alignment or not. The fronts seem to be less affected than the rear but I'm only guessing with my eye. I don't have any way to measure it to be sure. My tires are on their last legs anyways, so perhaps I'll let them run their course for the next few months and see how they do through the summer/fall season. I will likely have to get new tires next spring and wouldn't want my new tires to get worn down prematurely.

While I think it swap out the suspension pretty quick next time around, I don't know if I would want to do twice a year. Personally I find swapping the tires a pain in the butt and that's with an impact driver to help me. I think the only time I might swap back is if the next owner wants to return it to stock. I don't think half an inch more clearance in the snow is gonna make that much difference without proper snow tires.

 

I'd be getting about an inch drop since I have and X, but my only concern is the camber problem. I don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on camber kits so I can install a used set of $60 Coupe springs. If I have to spend that much, I'll go a bit further and really upgrade the suspension. And the drop and re-lift was for the snow so I'm not plowing through the heavy stuff so much. I do have excellent winter tires.

So, USA or Canada? Just curious, I've been to both. Actually lived in the Rose City for quite a while (Portland, Orygun).

 

Sorry forgot to answer your question last time but its Vancouver, Canada.

As for your camber concerns, when I first started researching the swap, I contacted a few local shops to spec out how much the swap would cost. One place I talked to was a racing prep shop that I'd used before. I mentioned to him that the drop would only be 0.5" and he said that was pretty nominal and probably wouldn't even need a realignment. Camber kits come into play probably at 1" or more drops. I know some of the other aftermarket springs are even more aggressive and drop about 1.5" or 2". In those cases the camber would be severely affected and require a camber kit to allow enough adjustment and compensation to bring the wheel alignment back to spec. Aside from the G coupe springs I don't think you can find any aftermarket parts that would offer such a small drop. But if you car is aligned for your extra height and the total drop is 1" then you will likely need a realignment. In any case, swapping your suspension out is not so trivial that you'd want to be doing it twice a year. I don't think it was ever intended that those nuts and bolts be touched that frequently. If you require the ride height for winter I wouldn't bother with the drop, especially since each setup would require its own wheel alignment. The costs could more than its worth. Also I'm not that informed about the X's suspension but would your shocks work well with the high spring rates of the coupe springs? They might not be able to damp their rebound. Finally, it just occurred to me that for the fronts, the springs are part of the strut itself and if you had to swap out the spring and not the whole strut with spring, its more work because you'll need to disassemble the top of the strut to replace the spring. In my case I just swapped the entire strut with the coupe one, no modification. If you are going to do this make sure you get an entire suspension set and not just the springs.

 

I'm very unlikely to do the seasonal suspension change, expecially after I do it the first time. As for the shocks, it's not so much the spring rate as it is the spring height. The shock/strut will be in a more loaded position all the time, and this is what wears them out, but I get your meaning. The rear springs on an X are actually stiffer than the Coupe or Sedan springs (342 vs. 355). I was at least going to swap out the rear shocks, unfortunately, there really isn't an alternative to the front strut on an X other than new OEM. I might leave those alone until they start to fail and get them replaced under warranty (after putting the stock parts back in).

Another option I'm considering is either Sedan Sport springs all around, giving me about a ½ inch drop and probably not needing an alignment or new shocks, or Coupe front, Sedan Sport rear, giving me a more even tire gap, but this may require a camber kit up front. Argh!!! This is why there's a sticky dedicated to lowered X's!!

 

When ever you change your struts or springs you WILL need a alignment after it settles.

 

If you know what you're doing, and the drop is small, you won't need it. It's recommended, but not always necessary.

 

on my X, i just did a full Z drop. So its 1 inch compared to your .5 but results were very similiar. Except i didn't have any missing tools =) I'm sitting flush on Z wheels as well. You went G and i went Z for the same reasons. I didn't want to buy 2 sets and i figured i might as well go lower and i found a SWEET deal.

my install took about 3.5 hours from playing around. the rears took about 45 mins each side, by far very easily and quick. the fronts took my a longer time one because i had to stop when i saw the brake line bolt bracket was bending, but it will have to, to get it off. I had to re-install the spring about 5 times because i couldn't for the life of me get it lined up the 3 bolts on top the one lower on the bottom.

The rears can be done by ANYONE who can do an oil change. the fronts can be done as well just need spring compressors and a little time.

The car corners a lot better. Stance in nice. Very planted. Overall you cant tell from much that its dropped, very smooth ride. Much like a BMW/Audi with the sports package. Thats what i had in mind when i did it, its like a OEM offered sports package for use sedans.

Camber is obviously need for the rears and i wont know about the front till i get it on the machine. The rear camber link is cake to install from pictures. I'll see from there whats the deal.

Buckeye, i know for a fact you will need to swap out rear springs every 6 months. the fronts you MIGHT be able to get away with in the winter, not 100% sure.

 

/\ What do you mean by will need to swap out rear springs every 6 months?

 

My drop will be an inch in the back (X down to Coupe) and either an inch or inch and a half in the front (X to Coupe or X to Z). And I've decided not to do any kind of bi-annual lift and drop. Too much hassle. I'll wait for the mythical front coilovers for our X's to adjust height for winter. And I'm not going to drop at all until I at least get a camber kit.

BTW Turtle, I'm very envious of your wheel and tire setup. It's really the ideal 18" setup for the AWD. I didn't know the Z Tracks were 8.5" in the rear or I would have saved up for those instead of buying the Coupe 18's I have now. I'm either going to do 235/45-18's all around or 225/45 Front, 255/40 Rear. But your setup is better since it's all stock diameter. What tires are you running? I saw they were Michelins, but Michelin doesn't make a tire that comes in both 235/45 and 265/40.