softer ride
 

I have a 2010 nismo ,and I would like to make it a little less of a punishing ride. Im looking to do this without sacrificing to much performance. I love my Z alot and I dont want to get something else to get a better ridding car.

"sometimes" different tire setups will soften the ride. Look into that. Also different types of suspensions could make a huge difference.

Never actually being in a nismo but every reviewer everywhere says one thing about the nismo z, harsh ride. The cheapest route is probably different dampers since the spring rates aren't all that high I assume it is the nismo shock valving that gives them the harsh ride character.

Other than changing springs/shocks,most effective way to "soften" the ride is a change of tires. I previously owned a 350z.
I found that the change from OEM Bridestones to Hankook V-12's greatly increased the comfort in the ride along with better handling for a daily driver.
And,went from 17's to 19's at that.

The valving on the stock dampeners is what causes the Nismo to be so stiff. Upgrade your suspension, myself and many members on here have upgraded to KW coilovers. Soaks up bumps very well while maintaining a the Nismo's performance oriented feel when you need to get aggressive.

Thanks, great advice here as usual!

If you drive faster the downforce that is created makes the ride more bearable... LOL 80mph seems to be the sweep spot on a bumpy interstate.

I'm sure there's someone out there that would swap springs and dampeners from a base or sport with you.

Get you a set of Swift or Tein lowering springs. I did Tein's before I went full stupid on my suspension and the ride was very much improved. Also, as mentioned above tires can make a big difference.

I'd probably do Swift over Tein

Have you checked your front springs for the shipping retention clip? It is possible that the shipping clips and were never removed by the dealer.

See http://www.the370z.com/nismo-370z/12...ere-first.html

It just depends on what you want, both are good products. I wanted a lower drop than Swifts provided so that was yhe reason for my choice at that time.

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Interesting. I guess you would know since you have a nismo but this sounds odd since the nismo rates aren't that much firmer than sports and many people run much stiffer rates than the nismo on full suspension setups (like us) and still claim a smoother ride than the oem nismo, which would lead to only one variable as the issue and that would be the shock valving.

This. I have a full set of Sport suspension I am willing to trade you for. Mine is off the car, so I could send it to you to swap yours out.

You are correct on all counts...I believe the ride is improved even though the lowering springs have higher spring rates because they match up better with the Nismo dampers. I forgot I did a review thread on tien's a few years ago if anyone is interested lol.

http://www.the370z.com/nismo-370z/64...=Swift+springs

Ah this makes more sense as them being overly damped for the rate kinda like how we firm ours up for track. It rides like crap on street. So increasing the rate actually makes it as if the shock is set softer. So I guess Op has two options firm but supple ride with new springs or soft and supple with softer shocks.

Spot on!

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Also, it would seem to defeats the purpose of going to softer shocks when the Nismo suspension comes with other suspension upgrades to minimize body roll. Softer shocks or dampers will increase body roll and impact driving performance negatively imo.

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Well it really only has stiffer sway bars and not by much and would still complement the sport setup. I think he could easily go to sport shocks with nismo springs since the sport shocks can be matched with swift springs which are 10k/10.5k so in theory should be compatible with the nismo 8.1/9.1?. Really just depends what the op is after, multiple options to fix the issue just that if he goes the spring route he will have to go lower which then may need camber kits etc etc. going to a lighter valved shock would get the ride comfort there yet still not be a total dog (the oem sport is fine for street and probably not pushed untill auto x or track) will retain stock height so no camber issues or added costs.

Or just be like us and get some powertrix/fortune/by etc and can do whatever you want heights and damper wise.

I agree, I am very performance oriented and my comfort level or tolerance is very wide. I agree the best option is coil overs if he has the money to invest in them.

continental DW tires or DWS06 if u run ur car in colder weather too (No snow).

It is a 2010 ,im sure they arent there since it gets checked while in service. Just for ***** and giggles I will look for myself.

Yea, I dont want that , no sacrificing performance.:driving:

I have a 2013 Nismo ...same situation.
Not interested in the spring route, changed mine myself on my G37 and its a pain, its also a pain when you undo them if your going to sell it, plus like mentioned they typically come with a drop which I don't want for the Z nismo.

Interested in the coilover route ....anyone care to give suggestions on some good alternatives that do not drop the car any...and yet make the car feel less like riding a horse...:icon14:

I just upgraded to coilovers for my Nismo. The ride is way better. It is firm but not bone jarring going over bumps. Powertrix has a nice setup. I would suggest Swift 12k front spring upgrade and 11k rear Swift with his coilovers. You will enjoy the car much better. If you can afford more, then buy get them. JRZ, Moton, etc. You won't regret it. My Aragasta's are very nice. The Swift spring upgrade for them was more costly due to the rear spring size. I upgraded to SPL Midlinks to accomplish that.

I actually went with 12k front and 10k rear. It is a tad soft. I may change to 13k front and 11k rear. That is the great thing about coilovers. You can fine tune it to what you prefer.

So the KW V3's what do you think of them? They are around 2k do any of your suggestions cost less? ;)

He mentioned powertrix as well - I think there is a set in the classifieds for less than 1k as we speak =)
:tup:

edit:
http://www.the370z.com/parts-sale-pr...r-mounted.html

I have Fortune Auto and really like them as well. I have the at the highest height level and there about .5 to 1" lower than stock. It more like stock to because there is a significant gap even with 19 x 305 on the rear and 265 up front!

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I have a set of Swift springs sitting in a box for them. 12k front and 11k rear.

You don't have any options for them. What you buy is what you get. With coilovers that use standard spring sizes you can customize them to your liking. That is not possible with KW's.

The upside to V3's is that they ride very smoothly. They have progressive rate springs to achieve this.

True, but I bought a Nismo for the handling. One thing for me was to not mess up that quality but improve it.

Hmm...reading great things about powertrix:
Couple of questions:
1. Why the swift spring upgrades over the ones that it comes with?
2. The Nismo rates are F-8.6, R-9.3...with the streets it states on their webpage F-8 and R-6 that is quite a drop in spring rate on the rear...Stock set up is stiffer in the rear then front seems odd to change that up .... Is this the reason for the swift springs...?
3. Looking to get my ride softer but not with a loss in handling ...do you guys think these are a good match for what I am looking for?

I don't plan on tracking the car, but hell I used to go all the time and who knows. I wanted something I could do both, get a decent ride when not tracking and stiffen it up for when and if I do...

Well there is the issue. There is no such thing as having comfort without losing some performance and when it truly gets down to the nitty gritty there is no one size fits all. This is why top level race suspensions of any kind still have dials. Not every course is the same, the rougher it is the softer the suspensions needs to be (to a point). In the off road bike world with conventional monotubes it's not uncommon for pro riders to show up without about 5-6 different valved shocks because they vary so widely. On road course they change springs rates and try to have a wide enough damper range to adjust.

So really without some adjustable damper you will always compromise in one area or another.

I would say wait for a powertrix sale on the SS w swift and pick up a set. At first I found them a little stiffer than I wanted but I have either adapted or they have settled in a little bit now I find them very nice on street (just did a nor cal to so cal trip & even better than last trip with oem) and awesome on track. Car will be very firm and "tight" but not harsh.

Also they go to oem height (can even go higher in front) and that was a big concern for me, done with scraping cars oem height is low enough to already worry about some driveways.

1.) Why Swift spring upgrade? Because they are more compliant at a higher spring rate which makes them more comfortable.

2.) Once you drive on a set of 12k/11k Swift springs you will wonder why factory was set the way it was. Don't forget a Hotchkis swaybar for the front only.

3.) The jury for me is still out on this one. So far so good. It is way better for comfort. I am dialing in the shocks and the handling appears to be better also. I will know more how I feel after Zdayz this year.

I've been on Powertrix with Swift springs for 2 years and still happy with the decision.

Even used powertrix + swifts were talking mid 1.5k...Plus the problem is will it actually be better? Because "better" is subjective so that makes reviews hard to gauge.
Honestly, If I am going to spend almost 2k on something I want concrete evidence it is going to be worth it....and this is impossible.
Problem is every thing I read it seems like court is still in session on some of these set ups.
Lots of reviews but hard to find any that meet my exact situation.. allot of people do it for the drop (dont care about that) , lots of reviews on non nismos ( so hard to grade if it would work for me) etc etc
Others have trouble getting it dialed in correctly, some love it, some don't......:confused:

So I drove my car today thinking about spending 1.5k + on a "maybe"...and the ride felt pretty damn good the way it is....screw it, softer rides are for babies....:inoutroflpuke:

Don't forget the $1800 for SPL parts to get the alignment back to good.
It is not cheap. So far so good with my setup. I would spend the money again and not think twice about it.

The SS won't be 1.5k+ if you get them during one of his sales that happen throughout the year. I think I got mine with swifts for 1475.

If you are not in a hurry Black Friday sales are the best time to pick up parts!