Hey everyone,

I've had a G35 coupe for about 2 years now and over the years I have slowly modded it on a broke high schooler's budget. It has been my dream to lower my G but when I do it, I want it done right. That being said, I have a few questions to ask before I go ahead and drop the car.

The car is on stock suspension. The rims are 18x9.5 all around with 225/45/18 in front and 245/45/18 in rear. I am also running 20mm spacers in the front and 25mm in the rear with no fender roll.

I'm mostly concerned with the tire setup. I have searched the web for a while now and I have never seen a G with this setup before. The reason for the tire size is because I live in NJ and this is my daily driver. Not looking for a slammed to the ground look, but I do want to go low enough to have zero wheel gap. I was planning on getting Tein Basic coilovers with a camber kit all around. Do you think I will rub if I lower 1.5-2 inches?


Here are picture for reference. (I was test fitting side skirts)

 

What's the final actual offset of the wheels including the spacers? I'm guessing around +5-+15 as the wheel lips actually seem to poke out of the fenders slightly. You'll need to most likely flatten the fenders, rolling might not be enough to avoid rubbing and run some negative camber. This will mean you need camber kits front and rear and rear toe bolts if you want to get your car back in alignment enough to not destroy tires quickly. If you buy them be aware that a lot of front kits offer very little positive camber adjustment, SPL and SPC both make great kits but they are pricey.

You can get what you want but to make a dependable, driveable and functional drop work for you it won't come cheaply. Keep us posted with your progress, car looks great so far (except for the headlights) but I digress.

 

If you don’t go to “zero”wheel gap, you won’t need to change out the front suspension, but you will need camber arms and toe bolts in the back, which are less pricey.

Let me please reccoment that you look at the Fortune Auto 500 coilovers as your go to option. If you buy them through Luke at TH Motorsports he will get you a great deal and because they are made in Richmond VA customer service, rebuilds, a al carte parts etc are easily obtainable—not so with other mfgs. And since I just got done “perfecting” my set up vs the vendor recommendation, I can share with you which spring rates I would suggest as optimal for what you are trying to get ride wise and save you some effort. Coilovers have been a process to get right and not something that is easy fast or cheap..

 

Those fortune ones are pretty cheap, but look solid!

 

Thanks for the quick reply!

Anyway, I have no idea about anything when it come to reliable parts that will get me great driving results. If anyone could give me a small list of things I would have to do that would amazing.

 

Personally I think rolled front fenders are fine, if you aren't comfortable doing it properly yourself then just have a body shop do it, the extra clearance is nice.

 

Ride quality is very important, Tein 350Z H-Tech springs will bring your G down just enough to close most of the gap over the top or your tires. You will need a camber kit, there's no getting around it unless you wish to buy tires once a year! If you have rubbing issues you have the option of removing the wheel spacers, not a fan of them anyway!
Good Luck, I like your coupe and tow covers are easily found on ebay...Gary

 

Thanks Gary, that was another one of my question as well. I was really looking into getting the Tein H-Techs springs but a lot of people say skip them and buy coilovers because of ride quality.

Anyone have an experience of thoughts about dropping the G on 350z Tein H-Techs?

 

The problem with doing the springs is that at this point you are going to want/need to do the shocks as well or your ride is going to be bouncy, a good set of shocks (like Tokico adjustables or Koni yellows) plus springs will run you the same price as the Fortunes and with the Fortunes you get full height adjustability, whereas with springs you’re at the mercy of what the drop ends up being.

The Fortunes are awesome coilovers—quality is great and you can order them with whatever spring rates you want and then they are custome valved for that rate. Not going to find that on many coilover sets. And through trial and error, I now know the perfect spring rates to get with the 500s—IMO, it’s NOT what they recommend on their site! Their rear suggested spring rate is too soft at 8kg.

 

There is very little more important than, "Ride Quality!" Tein springs and good shocks offer a factory ride that you could drive anywhere and be comfortable! If you intend to go with coil overs buying a set that offer great ride quality is imperative, I'd go with a tried and true set like BC! Do a search using the words "Coil Overs" from other members opinions over the past 14 years! Seriously doubt you find a company that no one has ever heard of!
Gary