Tanabe springs - do they hurt in the long run?

[tl1284494730]

just bought some tanabe gf210 springs, and asked a local shop veteran about installing them and he said he thought they wouldn't be good for the car. he said it would be hard to get alligned properly, could tear up axles, all kinds of negative things. is there any truth to this? anyone with lowering springs also please leave your comments on problems you have had or any suggestions. thanks guys.

[christian370z]

The only points he has that are correct is that:

-If the springs lower the car past an inch, you will hit the limit of the stock camber adjustments built into the car and will need camber arms at least in the rear.

-It might decrease the OEM shock's lifespan but it is nothing huge as many drive on lowering springs and stock shocks for tens of thousands of miles.

The rest like CV issues are BS.

[Stealth_Z]

You should be fine. GF aren't made to slam the car. More on the handling... It doesn't drop over an inch too.
Tanabe USA Inc. - GF210 Grip Feeling Springs

I don't know how it would tear up your axles and what not though... that's pretty BS. Stock struts are going to die some day... putting springs is like smoking it'll kill you eventually/it'll shorten the life of your struts. I've had and used springs in the past years.. and struts are still good even after 50k+ miles.

You're good withte GF!! Get them and tell us how you like them!

[JollyGoodChap]

did you take it to a general mechanic's shop? he makes it seem like the car will explode if you put the springs on. lol

[fuct]

Originally Posted by christian370z

The only points he has that are correct is that:

-If the springs lower the car past an inch, you will hit the limit of the stock camber adjustments built into the car and will need camber arms at least in the rear.

-It might decrease the OEM shock's lifespan but it is nothing huge as many drive on lowering springs and stock shocks for tens of thousands of miles.

The rest like CV issues are BS.

[toxik]

Originally Posted by JollyGoodChap

did you take it to a general mechanic's shop? he makes it seem like the car will explode if you put the springs on. lol

lol really... some of these mechanics talk **** on any mod just to make themselves look smarter/experienced.

[CBRich]

Pretty obvious this guy just doesn't like to modify cars. Find a new shop.

[kenchan]

tanabe's have that boat look. if lowering springs get something else.

im done doing just lowering springs many yrs ago. too many compromises to be considered. do it right.

leave it alone or get spring + damper & camper set (at the moment i think only coilovers are available) and many trials to get the alignment correct to your driving inputs. it's a lot of work to do it right.

[CFZ]

actually technically it can hurt your axles. It all depends on the make and model of the vehicle. For example I had an S2000 and its pretty low. but because of the angle of the axles it can wear. that is why they have axle spacers and stuff to put the wear spot on a different part of the cups.

It is kind of hard to explain but what he's saying is not bs. I'm sure he works on all kinds of different cars, and not all problems apply to all cars.

Im sure it wont be a problem on the Z

[worldfamousz]

Every car and suspension setup geometry will be different. These issues are largely "generic" at best.

What you need to consider mainly is alignment IMHO. Your OEM shocks on the Tanabe springs will be fine, (of course depending on how you drive, but under normal conditions, the shocks will hold up just fine).
Alignment is not going to be TOO out of whack, some adjustments can be made with your oem setup without needing arms etc.. If it's a concern, you can always buy the camber arms etc later on down the road.

You have no need to worry about your axles with this setup. Although that comment is true, it's generic, and is a concern for some cars and not for others. I've worked on and owned Z's, G's etc and never once was the axle issue a concern at all.

(also if you need pricing on camber arms or have questions on them, let me know!)

[s30z]

It might bottom out the shocks and blow them with Tanabe's extremely soft spring rate. It will also hurt the performance aspect of it with the spring rate extremely softer than stock.

[corner3garage]

Tanabe makes their springs to be able to work with the stock shocks. All you need to worry about is big bumps and as long as you dont do anything crazy like slam dips or jump the car it would be fine. We have had many use stock shocks with lowering springs and it works fine. If they were wanting a little more out of performance thats when i recommend coilovers.

[VaGntlmn]

so tl, have you put the springs on and what do you think of them?
I'm thinking of putting them on my Z

[CFZ]

Originally Posted by s30z

Just called Eibach to find out what the spring rates are for the Nismo. And I'm not going to lie. The car looks good but Im going to pass on this.

The 370z is already well balanced out of the box I do not need it to induce understeer.
The stock Nismo rates are
F- 8.6 R- 9.3

The Eibach rates for the normal Z
F- 8.6 F- 9.5

The Eibach Nismo Rates are
F- 9.8kg R- 9.5 which is a 14% increase in the front and 2% increase in the rear.

I dont see why they would set this car up like this. They completely switched up the spring rate bias from front to rear. And a front heavy spring like that will not only induce understeer, but the valving range of the shock is also slightly altered, the rear rates being extremely close to stock, and then the front rates are more sprung. Even though it is within the valving range of the shocks, if Nismo really did a good job fine tuning their shocks then these springs will throw off the original feel Nismo was going for.

Just to show you the rest of the spring rates
Tein s-tech -
F- 8.5 R- 9.4

Tanabe NF
F- 5.9 R- 6.8

Tanabe GF
F- 8.8 R- 9.1

Swift Spec R
F- 10 R-10.5

So just about every spring manufacturer out there pretty much decreases the rates of our nismo which pretty much completely dtunes our upgraded shocks.

Eibach although stiffer, went in a weird direction with their spring rates, and will alter the handling characteristics of the Z

Swift is the only one by numbers is a performance option for our Nismo shocks.

these are all converted to kg/mm if you guys want me to post it up in pounds per inch I can do that later.

This shows the problem with the the Tanabe springs. They're just too damn soft. Your ride will probably be more comfortable but it will sacrifice performance from stock.

[kenchan]

Originally Posted by CFZ

This shows the problem with the the Tanabe springs. They're just too damn soft. Your ride will probably be more comfortable but it will sacrifice performance from stock.

yep, which means now you have to get swaybars to eliminate the slop during initial turn-in and have to fiddle with that. then this then that then this then that then something breaks.