I have had the springs on for some time, now, and the sway bars were installed this morning. The springs provide a stiffer ride, but maintain an acceptable ride quality. They reduce roll, squat, and dive. They lowered the car about an inch both front and back. They induced uncorrectable slight negative camber all the way around, at about 1-1.5 degrees, which is OK with me. Cornering is much improved. After about 12,000 miles of travel, I have no visible uneven tire wear.

The sway bars have enhanced handling. Body roll is nearly non-existant. The transition from right to left cornering is very smooth. I have the bars adjusted to the outside holes on the front, and in the middle holes in the rear. So far, I am happy with that "state of tune" on the bars. That said, I have not really been able to push the car to its cornering limit today, as a light drizzle has been falling all day long. I am curious to see if the sways will cause the VDC to actuate more than usual, and/or intrude on the enthusiastic driving experience.

So far, so good.

'03 G35 5AT Sedan, Garnet Fire/Willow
18x8 SSR GT1/Bridgestone S03/Eibach

 

Thats a awfull lot from a 1" lowered center of gravity. Eibach sedan springs are actually softer than stock on the peak rates and few pounds stiffer in the rear on peak rates. But a portion of the suspension travel is going to be on the weaker initial rates

G35 sedan Eibach 259/334lbs front 359/413lbs rear

G35 sedan with sport: 357/407 Stock spring rates

"i, for one, am not a fan of glory hounds."

Dang straight, it's all about the glory of helping. Who have you helped today?

 

My car was equipped with the standard suspension. My daily impression is the Eibachs soak up minor bumps and so forth with aplomb, and yet, they reduce roll, squat, and dive better than stock. How do the Eibach spring rates compare against the standard set-up? Thanks for the information.

'03 G35 5AT Sedan, Garnet Fire/Willow
18x8 SSR GT1/Bridgestone S03 225/45/18Y
Eibach Pro-Kit Springs & Anti-Sway Kit

 

How do you think it would handle with just the sways? I have the sedan 6MT w/ sport springs, and just wanted a little less roll in hard cornering. Hollow or solid?

 

You would notice a difference with the aftermarket sway bars. The Eibach anti-sway bars are adjustable, so you can reduce body roll to your liking. In fact, you can stiffen-up the ride so much as to make it a little dangerous in the wet. The rear-end may try to come around on you in the stiffest setting mode. The installation sheet recommends the stiffest settings for dry track only.

Hollow or solid? Good question. I picked them up and hefted them quite a bit, and I guess they are both hollow. I could be wrong, but I don't think so. Anybody know for sure?

'03 G35 5AT Sedan, Garnet Fire/Willow
18x8 SSR GT1/Bridgestone S03 225/45/18Y
Eibach Pro-Kit Springs & Anti-Sway Kit

 

Nice! How much did you pay for the sways?

Thank you,
Discount Tire Direct
(888)459-4080 mention G35driver

 

So a little body roll, especially in the rear, helps to prevent losing the rear end in a hard turn? Does this have to do with tire contact, maybe the edge of the tire rolling over itself provides a different type of grip in a hard turn, where this would not happen with a stiff sway bar?

 

I paid $3XX+ frt from tirerack.com. The delivered price was around $350-ish. (I find it more difficult to remember prices when I "point & click" vs. having to pull/count money out of my wallet.) The kit shipped from Shreveport, LA to me in Memphis, TN: The freight charge was minimal. My garage installed the new sways in 55 minutes and charged $87. I wish I made $87/hour!

'03 G35 5AT Sedan, Garnet Fire/Willow
18x8 SSR GT1/Bridgestone S03 225/45/18Y
Eibach Pro-Kit Springs & Anti-Sway Kit

 

Oh, man! I'm really harking back to my high school physics class to recall a plausible explanation, here: With stiff springs and a stiff sway bar, the car body doesn't roll much, so more of the car's momentum in a turn is in a straight line pointing off of the road. In the wet, the car may break loose and head off the road.

With not-so-stiff springs and sways, some of the car's inertia in a turn is directed down toward the road, since the body can more easily roll. Inertia is transferred downward to the outside tires. The car may be less likely to break free.

I guess the better contact patch in the former example may not be enough to overcome the additional straght-line inertia resulting from a tight suspension... in the wet.

Does that sound right?

'03 G35 5AT Sedan, Garnet Fire/Willow
18x8 SSR GT1/Bridgestone S03 225/45/18Y
Eibach Pro-Kit Springs & Anti-Sway Kit

 

bullseye,

You are correct about your handling/body roll theory. On a dry road, with the stiffer setup, the tires absorb more of the inertia. And the traction you get is of utmost importance. And this traction comes from the "contact patch" and also from high performance "low profile" sidewalls of the tire that are stiff themselves not allowing the tire to roll onto itself.

J.


2004 G35 Coupe 6MT
NAV-less
Volk GT-7's
TEIN Basics
Falken 245/35/ZR19 & 285/35ZR19
Limo Tint, Clear Sides

 

Thanks for the feedback. Maybe I should petition my former high school physics teacher for a retroactive "A"? Take care.

'03 G35 5AT Sedan, Garnet Fire/Willow
18x8 SSR GT1/Bridgestone S03 225/45/18Y
Eibach Pro-Kit Springs & Anti-Sway Kit