I recently purchased my G35 and am looking to lower the car. It's an '03 with 60k miles. After extensive reading on these forums (which are great, btw) I am rather undecided on which route to go. I am currently considering a set of tein h-tech springs for the 350z with some tokico d-spec shocks or the hks hipermax rs coilover kit. There is a considerable difference in cost between the two, which leads me to the following questions.

1) If I go with the h-tech springs/tokico shocks, what other OEM parts should be re-used or replaced given the current year/mileage with the car?

2) If I go with the hks hipermax coilovers, again what other OEM parts should be re-used or replaced given the current year/mileage with the car?

3) If I decided to purchase just the springs by themselves, how wise would this be? I have access to all the tools to do the install myself, so labor costs do not need to be considered with the exception of alignment. However, I do not know typically how long the OEM shocks last and if it would be better to replace them while doing the springs. Cost isn't a huge factor, but I am looking to purchase some wheels soon, so if the OEM shocks should typically last another 2 years or 25k miles I would probably like to just keep 'em and save that money to put towards rims/tires.

4) This car is currently my daily driver, so ride quality is definitely a factor. Additionally, I don't have any future plans of doing any sort of road racing/auto-cross/etc with the car, so would a complete coil-over set be over kill? Plans could change though, and I do like the option to adjust the ride height, although I don't have any intentions on showing the car at shows.

Other springs I am considering are the hotchkis ones and the tanabe nf210, so if anyone has those and would like to comment that would be great too. I know other coilover options are available also and it seems that most people here are running teins; however, my experience with the tein type-ha coilovers for my supra has led me to discount them as an option.

I know there are many knowledgeable people on these forums, so any thoughts/input/suggestions/etc would be great. Thanks.

 

1) You'll want to buy two new cotter pins for the front upper A arms to replace the ones you are going to pull out when uninstalling the OE suspension. You could possibly reuse the original ones if you don't damage them too much upon removal but they are so cheap you might as well replace them. You'll have to reuse your OE upper mounts for the shocks. They should be just fine but inspect them to be sure.

2) Just the cotter pins. Most coilovers including the HKS RS comes with upper pillowball mounts. The Tein Basics are the only ones I know that have to reuse the OE rubber upper mounts.

3) This really all depends on what you have now. Sedan or Coupe? Sport or non-sport suspension?

4) If your really worried about ride quality there are a few coilovers meant for comfort like the Tein CS or the HKS Hipermax LS that are valved less agressively. I've read good reviews on those setups from owners with comfort as a priority. Track setups like the JIC FLT-A2s, Tein FLEX, Zeal V6, etc. are the ones you'll want to exclude from your list. If performance and better handling isn't on your mind then yes, I think coilovers are a bit overkill. I think your original idea of going with D-Specs and 350Z H-Techs are a great idea. You'll maintain ride quality with the adjustability of the D-Specs and the somewhat stiffer springs of the H-Techs will also give you better handling

 

Forgot to include in the original post, it's a coupe with the sport suspension. Also, anyone familar with the tokico hts shocks? Seems like most people have gone with the d-specs, but just thought I would ask. Thanks

 

i started reading...but it was just too long...

 

I agree...

 

too long? lol. just figured it would be better to make one post with a few questions than several different posts with one question each...

 

Since you have the coupe sport suspension you'd probably be okay for sometime throwing the 350Z H-Techs on there. Not sure if and/or when the stock shocks would blow with the added spring rate and reduced suspension travel. But you'd be doing yourself a huge favor by going with the D-Specs.

 

i saw online that tokico offers a d-spec kit with the shocks & springs - anyone familiar with them? here is a link to 'em:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...MEWA%3AIT&rd=1

Just not sure what their spring rate is. Based on further readings here, it seems that the Tanabe NF210 for the 350z has a similar spring rate:

Tanabe NF210 Series 350Z (progressive)
314/353 F+0 R+3%
Transfers +3% roll stiffness to rear

Can any comment on how the Tanabe's listed above might compare to the H-techs for the 350? Thanks

 

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