BC ER, SPL Install and Adjust

sandersd

As mentioned I was very disappointed with the workmanship at EVS Motors. On a positive note the car was aligned which is what I brought it in for. But...

When I dropped the car off I took extra time to go over all the adjustments that needed to be made and how to properly do them. I gave the tech written instructions from the service manual, SPL, and BC for each of their respective products. I highlighted things to watch out for. Still the work was not performed acceptably.

When I arrived home after picking up the car I put it up on stands and took off the tires to inspect the work. This is what I found:

The tech sprayed oil or some type of lubricant all over the shock body and reservoir canister. I assume he thought it would make it easier to adjust the shock length. The issue is he didn't wipe it off and the oil would act as a dirt magnet covering the threads and body with a layer of grime. Sloppy. A better alternative is simply to take a damp shop towel and wipe the threads clean above the adjuster since this will actually remove all the grit that tends to bind the threads.

The canisters must be loosened to adjust the shock length but when the adjustment is complete they must be centered and tightened. One side was completely loose and the other was partially tightened but misaligned so it rode against the side of the slot.

They charged me extra to make a small adjustment to the preload but were 5mm off the correct setting. If one is charging extra one should ensure the adjustment is correct.

The tech damaged the lock nuts and the SPL wrenches by beating on them with a hammer. This angered me the most. The nuts were only hand tight. He beat on them so hard the nuts are rounded and the wrenches have gouges on the faces from the nut and hammer marks on the ends from a checkered face hammer. Perhaps he didn't know which way to turn the nut to loosen it but this can be ascertained by simply looking at the direction of the threads and turning the nut appropriately - no hammer required. Even if a hammer was required one doesn't use a checkered face hammer but a deadblow rubber mallet. One sharp tap should be all that's required to securely seat the jam nut.

Compounding this folly the heim joint (spherical rod end) was left canted over in direct violation of the instruction sheet that I gave him that had pictures of proper and incorrect alignments. The locking sleeve for the rod end was also rotated 180 degrees so it could not be accessed by a wrench. I had to loosen the jam nut and rotate the adjusting nut just so I could access the sleeve to loosen it and rotate it to its proper position.

Last, but not least, the side skirts were damaged by running over something, bottoming out, and deforming the plastic at the attachment points so severely the plastic dragged the ground in three places. I had to remove the bolts and heat the plastic with a heat gun to reform it to its original shape and position. The locking tabs were sheared off so I used tape to hold the pieces in alignment so they will not catch on anything and be further damaged.

I expected this place, given how they placed themselves in the market, working on high end cars, celebrity endorsements, etc, to do exceptional work. They did not. The work was barely adequate and certainly not worth the price I paid or damage to my car. I told the manager when I discussed this with him that there is no way I could ever recommend his shop to anyone.

One only gets one chance to make a first impression.

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2014 370Z NISMO -- HKS Hi-Power Exhaust -- Swift Springs -- BC ER Coilovers -- SPL Suspension Components -- Nismo R-Tune Intake -- Seibon BD CF Hood

Rusty

Think I would be draggin' someone over the counter.

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Robert Yuras

Ride height will still not get it close. What if the chassis is twisted slightly? What about if suspension components are bound during ride height setting and become unbound after roll out? What about spring settle?

I was also a crew chief of two C5R teams. I can assure you that my cars wouldn't just get the ride height set and "go".

Additionally, if your bushings are in good shape, they will give a consistent response. This consistency allows for proper chassis tuning. I do agree there is a variable that exists with rubber bushings, but it is minimal. You can corner weight a car with rubber/poly bushings.

Formula D cars need basic adjustments compared to RR cars. Often times drift cars compete on parking lots or small circle tracks. Their speeds are low and the steering input often just goes from one input to the near (extreme) opposite, additionally the track conditions are poor compared to what many of the RR guys run.

Fwiw: everyone has their perspective on setting up a car. I enjoy discussing it, heck even arguing about it, I normally learn something in the end.

GSS138

Me too, I'm at heart a math nerd/software nerd, ex rubiks cube kinda kid lol.

I think ultimately his point to me was that corner balancing for me was kind of a waste of time and money. I have looked at buying my own scales, and I was asking him about it etc. he sort of suggested spending my money elsewhere-I told him if he made some friggin headers for our car I would buy them. He laughed.

The point I am trying to get across is that, 25 -50 lbs of weight diff per corner for someone that is not racing at a professional/very competitive level, is probably not worth the 500 bucks or so someone is going to charge you for corner balancing. If the left and right are dead on(with ballast), and you have a basic understanding of your car, then that is probably good enough for you.

With mushy bushings though, I can see why the otherwise terrible things that happen during a corner just get worse. I am not sure that 50 lbs of corner balancing makes it any better.

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Current Mods: Vorpal Weapon +5.

Robert Yuras

Yes - I agree with this.

Spooler

Are you my twin? Never thought I would find someone else with as much bad luck as me.

sandersd

(singing) ...If it weren't for bad luck I'd have no luck at all,
Gloom, despair, and agony on me...

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2014 370Z NISMO -- HKS Hi-Power Exhaust -- Swift Springs -- BC ER Coilovers -- SPL Suspension Components -- Nismo R-Tune Intake -- Seibon BD CF Hood

Bigfish888

I bought the same set up but didn't get custom spring rate. Which I should have done. I did get SPL rear camber kit and end links. My end links came a while after so I didn't install them. What do they do? Should I have them installed? I was going to wait until I buy after market sway bars. Anyways nice set up and good call on the spring rate.

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Pioneer/Hertz/Kicker/BC/Swift/SPL/Work Gnosis CV202/Stillen G3/Fast Intensions CBE/UPREV/Z1 Plenum/RJM Clutch pedal/Tuned at Specialty Z/Fly1

GSS138

Me personally , don't even use a rear sway bar atm so don't need rear end links. They are mainly intended to replace a broken or bent OEM end link, but I think some people also use them to use staggered holes on their sway bars so that they can run various/intermediate stiffness on their sway bars. I can't see much use for rear end links on our car. Fronts maybe.

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Current Mods: Vorpal Weapon +5.

sandersd

The end links are an upgrade over OEM. They are adjustable in length to eliminate preload after changing ride height (most important) and to fit bars with multiple stiffness settings. They have teflon lined spherical bearings for smooth action.

If you have them, install them. It only takes a few minutes and if you don't like them, remove them and sell.

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2014 370Z NISMO -- HKS Hi-Power Exhaust -- Swift Springs -- BC ER Coilovers -- SPL Suspension Components -- Nismo R-Tune Intake -- Seibon BD CF Hood

Bigfish888

Thanks

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Pioneer/Hertz/Kicker/BC/Swift/SPL/Work Gnosis CV202/Stillen G3/Fast Intensions CBE/UPREV/Z1 Plenum/RJM Clutch pedal/Tuned at Specialty Z/Fly1

Spooler

How is the ride? Do you get the jarring bumps on rough roads?

sandersd

Ride is better than the stock Nismo suspension, but it has its limits. You can't ride like a Cadillac and handle like a race car.

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2014 370Z NISMO -- HKS Hi-Power Exhaust -- Swift Springs -- BC ER Coilovers -- SPL Suspension Components -- Nismo R-Tune Intake -- Seibon BD CF Hood

jujubii

hey sandersd,

i had my spl end links installed by corner3 and my endlink orientation are similar to yours. i was initially bothered by the fact that it seemed like it was binded. I brought it back to the shop and the tech said that it ok at it's current state.
I haven't noticed any clunking or residual noise as a result so I never brought it back

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sandersd

Update:

Yes the end links still rattle. If I straighten them out they are quiet for a few blocks till action causes them to rotate off center again, then they rattle. I generally only hear it at low speeds like when I'm driving through the neighborhood or a parking lot.

I guess it's the nature of the beast.

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2014 370Z NISMO -- HKS Hi-Power Exhaust -- Swift Springs -- BC ER Coilovers -- SPL Suspension Components -- Nismo R-Tune Intake -- Seibon BD CF Hood