Does anyone know the effects on lowering this particular vehicle (G35 coupe/sedan)? What I mean is, besides inducing more negative camber, how do we affect the rest of the geometry on the vehicle. Are we going to induce more wear on pivot points by lowering it as far as the Eibachs do? How do they affect our roll center/axis as well as roll migration? What about inducing more bump steer? I do not know how much room (in the geometry of the vehicle) there is for lowering the G, and I was wondering if anyone else has done the research with this. In many vehicles, lowering the car can induce unwanted effects, but the driver *thinks* that it feels better because he has increased the spring rates, and it feels stiffer. Mustangs are a perfect example. Lowering the car will put the front roll center through the ground, and this throws off the roll axis to a terrible angle. This in turn produces too much understeer, and the car plows through everything. How do the shocks/struts work with the eibachs? Are the Sport package shocks/struts more capable? Is there going to be enough dampening for the higher spring rates? How do they effect the VDC/yaw sensor? These are just a few of the many questions I was wondering before I even THINK of putting them on my car. Thanks in advance, if anyone knows the answers.

'03.5 Brilliant Silver Sedan
Premium, Aero Kit/Package, Sport, Winter
Stillen Air Box, Clear Corners, Alum Pedals

 

this is what i have learned by having them on my old car...
(keep in mind it was a t-bird not a sports car)
here are the negatives.
1. my stock shocks only lasted about a year then they started to float and feel bouncy, then i installed heavy duty bilstein shocks.
2. bent my rear stabalizer bar supports, had to replace them with ones that were a inch shorter to compensate the height difference.
3. the feel of better handling was all in my head because i spent over $250 on them!
4. drove like a tank.
5. bottomed out when more then 2 people were in the car.
6. you think are coupes had rattles and other noises, after a year of driving on the eibachs if i would hit a bump it would feel like the dash was going crack in half.
7. tierod ends wore prematurely (having 255/45 on the front did help that as well).
8. rear tires wore on the inside due to camber.
9. keep in mind our cars were designed to be at the height we purchased them at. so i am sure it screwed up some more things i do not know about.
ok i know most of you that have lowered there g's will either disagree with me or say it was a POS ford, but hey it is your decision if you get them or not!
ok as for the positive...
1. it looked good!

 

Well you're right about the POS Ford part. Nothing that drastic will happen to imports unless you really slam it to the ground and drive it hard. I have a 91 Integra 1 in. drop w/ 17" rims I can fit 4 people in the car with no problem. Rattle and hum is a part of it though can't prevent that with lower profile tires.

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If you have all these concerns about dropping your car then don't do it. It will never drive like a stock setup once you drop it.

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Gee, thanks for the help...I think. I was asking to see if someone could tell me if they have done any of the research on this. I WANT to put them on my car, but I do not know enough about this particular car's geometry. Some cars have some leeway in lowering them. Maybe someone who is an Infiniti mechanic here would know if the G is one of them. Also, I don't understand how a foreign car can be any different than an American vehicle. Obviously parts and design are different, but all of the concepts are the same i.e. roll center/axis, bump steer, etc. If you lower a vehicle too low, beond its limits, you can cause premature wear and also decrease the handling capabilities. I am wondering if the Eibach kit is too low. Anyone?

'03.5 Brilliant Silver Sedan
Premium, Aero Kit/Package, Sport, Winter
Stillen Air Box, Clear Corners, Alum Pedals

 

well, obviously the engineers designed this car to be at the height that it is, with the springs that it comes with.
They spend hundred of thousands of dollars testing and designing these things thoroughly.

I seriously doubt any technician, engineer, or designer that works for Infiniti is going to advise you to put an aftermarket spring set on your car.

It sounds like if you are concerned about the long term ramifications of the springs before you put them on, they probably aren't for you.

03 6MT coupe, red/willow, premium, aero, splash guards, alum pedals, clear corners, 15% tint

 

Geez. I didn't say that anyone who worked for Infiniti would suggest to put them on. I am only trying to find someone who has a little more experience with the suspension systems of the G. I do alot of suspension work on Mustangs (especially IRS cobras), so I understand how the suspension works, I just don't know what the specifics are to the G. I am not looking for people to tell me that lowering the G is not for me. I am looking for some technical help. I thought this forum was designed to share experiences and help with other people. I am not trying to flame, I just don't understand why people are just telling me that if I'm worried, then I shouldn't do it. If that was the mind set about everything on these cars, then nobody would have any mods on their G's! I'm not going to just give up just because I am worried about the negative effects of lowering. I want to get to the bottom of this so I can help other people who are curious about the same things. Why would you want to do something that hurts performance and long term longevity, when there may be other options (i.e. bump steer kits, extended ball joints, etc.) to correct the down sides of simply dropping the car?

'03.5 Brilliant Silver Sedan
Premium, Aero Kit/Package, Sport, Winter
Stillen Air Box, Clear Corners, Alum Pedals

 

khsonic03,
just give it time, wate a few months when people have had their g's lowered for close to a year and then i am sure you can get better feedback.

 

I think we are just saying that if you are aware enough to be concerned about the ramifications of this mod before you do it. You are clearly concerned about the damage it may do to you car and it may not be for you.

I think most people would agree there are some negative effects associated with lowering a car.

For the exact technical answers your looking for, i doubt anyone but the infiniti engineers/designers are going to have the level of expertise to answer specific technical questions about physics, engineering, and design issues of this car.
Not to say there aren't some very technically oriented people here, with extensive car knowledge. But none of them designed the car, as far as i know.

And I doubt even if you could pick their brain, they would not speculate on what an aftermarket, 3rd party spring set, not tested to their standards, might do to their (your) car. Not after they spent massive manhours and money developing and testing the springs that are on it to work with the other components and systems.

Why don't you call infiniti or send them a letter, ask them and find out?


03 6MT coupe, red/willow, premium, aero, splash guards, alum pedals, clear corners, 15% tint

 

I guess I probably will. I think I will call other suspension manufacturers as well (tein, JIC, etc), to see what they have to say. Of course trying to speak to a "tech" at one of those places always seems like a hard thing to do. But if anyone has some imput in the meantime, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks

'03.5 Brilliant Silver Sedan
Premium, Aero Kit/Package, Sport, Winter
Stillen Air Box, Clear Corners, Alum Pedals

 

I will be installing my Tein springs on Monday. I will give you the effects or changes that I will feel on the car, but I won't be able to get to technical about it. A 1" drop won't make that much of a diff, but I will still need to get it aligned. I can ask for readings on what they find as far as the camber is concerned. What that does for you I don't know? I will post the results as soon as I get it done.

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my opinion on this subject, if it even matters, is if your worried about how all these suspension manufacturers have kit for a car that they didnt even build and they're unsure about the dynamics of a vehicle why not get the Nismo kit, it comes with springs and shocks and you can get Nismo sway bars on top of that if you want...all built by the same company who built the car, if anyone who knows anything about the exact dynamics of this machine it would be Nismo aka Nissan Motorsports...remember just putting on lowering springs on a car doesnt make it a better handling car...our dampers weren't designed for Eibachs they were designed for the stock springs...besides you get what you pay for, good luck

John H.
2003 Infiniti G35 Coupe 5AT-Ivory Pearl-Premium Pkg-Performance Pkg.

 

btw i dont wanna sound like Eibach doesnt know what they're doing, they're a very good high quality company, they dont just throw a set of springs out there without some research and development...and i've heard nothin but good stuff with the pro-kit set for the coupe so far...on other cars it may be different when it comes to performance but the coupe so far has had some good feedback...now if Eibach came out with a Pro-Damper set for the coupe that would be a nice compliment to the springs

John H.
2003 Infiniti G35 Coupe 5AT-Ivory Pearl-Premium Pkg-Performance Pkg.

 

Thanks guys for the imput. Actually, knowing what sort of camber changes there were would help. The only problem is I would need before and after figures, unless anyone with the manual might know what the stock caster/camber settings are. This would give some insight as to how much suspension geometry is being affected. Unfortunately, it would not tell us too much about the rest of the vehicle suspension dynamics. But it would be a start. That is a good point about Nismo, I didn't realize that they had a suspension kit for our vehicle yet. Thanks

'03.5 Brilliant Silver Sedan
Premium, Aero Kit/Package, Sport, Winter
Stillen Air Box, Clear Corners, Alum Pedals

 

One other thing to ponder... from what I've read, the Eibach kit is also one of the more conservative spring sets out there. Their drop is not as aggressive as some others.

Nismoboy makes some good points about the Nismo product however.