Lowering and ride quality
 

Yes, I've searched the forum, but there's too much information and not enough information

I have 2012 370 roadster
I have cor forma wheels 9x20 front and 11x20 rear

I don't plan on tracking the car, but I do like carving corners, with comfort?

I would like to lower the car so that there is less gap on the fenders
But I don't want a stiffer ride, and I don't want to bottom out.

How can I lower the car (springs, which ones) so that it's lower on average 10mm to 12mm?

I also,realize tat the slightly smaller sidewall from going from a 19 to 20 rim will provide some degree of a harder ride.
I've studied the rates, the progressive vs linear, the various rates of lower front or rear, etc etc.

So, with all that in consideration,
What springs can achieve these objectives? (land speeder smooth, but corners on rails)

I've looked at Swift, tanabe, hk, tein, nismo kit, eIbach, etc etc

Lost in sea of information

Help, help

Thank you in advance
J

Swifts have a great ride for a lowering spring. They will give you roughly an inch of lowering. If you lower your car, it will scrape once in a while. If you want better handling. I would purchase some sway bars and keep the stock springs. If you want to lower the car, you will compromise.

dang it!
You're probably right. I was just hoping for some magic elixer to do this.

Is there a compromised solution? Maybe lowering it .5in or 11mm that would preserve the way it handles but keep it from bottoming out?


I used to have a 2010 370z coupe and had it 6 months before I put einback springs in it, however on a few occasions, just with a passenger in the car and normal road undulations when traveling over 60mph, it would do the bottoming out. Removed the springs, aligned it back and the problem went away. This time I've gone to great lengths to get better wheels, tires, exhaust, etc, and I'm faced again with that gap on the fender I visually loathe so much.

Maybe a compromise, what can be done with just lowering it just over 1cm and not bottom out, but also not be as stiff a ride as a nismo?


I know I ask in a complicated way, but there must be a way to lower it 11mm without incurring other compromises.


Jay

PS severe OCD

swift, tanabe, eibach will be good choices for what you're looking for. BUt like cptspeed said, some sway bars would be a great addition. They'll improve the car's handling without comprimising the ride quality.

I think you would be happy with some swifts..

Swifts ride well, but they drop the car about 25mm or 1 inch. If you don't want to go that low, I don't think there's any way to lower the car.

I have rear camber arms, coilovers and stillen sway bars.

I lowered the car .5" and i barely ever bottom out. The ride is still good even with 20" wheels and it also handles really well and is balanced nicely.

I even keep my coilovers on a relatively soft setting.

So its possible, but your not looking at a one shot, cheap solution.

IMO, you should go for swifts based on the feel you are looking for. The drop may be more than you want, but it's not aggressive at all.

You could also look into the springs from the Nismo which drops it about 1/2" and pops up in the for sale section every once in a while. Personally, I'm gonna go with the Swifts or coil-overs.

You want Swifts bro. They are one of the lower drops available with springs. Mine are great, I love them. They are fine for daily driving but really handle the twisties well when asked to perform. Well worth the few extra bucks they cost. I personally wouldnt run any other spring. I can wait to install my Koni Yellows with my Swifts on them. Its gonna be a match made in heaven. SWIFTS FTW

OP, i've run a couple of setup. The first one are Swifts, they performs great and the meet the hypes all our members here said, simply put it's an amazing spring. However, due to fact thay it's too stiff for our roads here so i sold it off to one of my friend. My current setup is H&R and mind you this is by far the LOWEST spring for 370Z! They def feels a lil softer and much more comfortable and less bouncy for our roads here in Brunei. However, i can still attack the corners at will with comfort:tup:

Take a look at my thread if you'd like to take a peak of what my setups are :tiphat:

Nismo springs do NOT lower the car at all.

Get Tein H Tech springs they lower less than 1" Or RS*R from Japan. All others lower over an inch, Swift included. (1.2")

I'm lowered with Tanabe springs, approx 1" in front and 0.75" in back. The only thing I scape is the nose of my car pulling out of avery steep driveway. I've never scraped on anything on the streets in Houston. Speed bumps aren't a problem.

I think the ride is great, and the stance of the car is awesome.

I'm lowered on Swifts. After about 7k miles I have yet to bottom out. I scrape the little flimsy chin spoiler once in a while though.

You'll be fine unless your area has a lot of asphalt roads with buckling in the middle of the lane. I've learned where these few spots are in my area and avoid them at all costs.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, its where the asphalt is raised up 3-5 inches only in the center of the lane (think tectonic uplift) so your back wheels are unable to lift the exhaust, rear braces and stuff up over the bump. They're actually pretty scary and dangerous. I've tried to get my city's street repair dept. to take care of these things without success :rolleyes:

Thank you
Thank you all

While I truly did not get a singular answer, I was able, from the vast knowledge of the forum members to ascertain very selective choices. I have also learned that I should be ok with most of the recommendations.

It only proves the greatness of the 370z and the forum members.

Thank you

J

You're most welcome J. Yeah i agree with you, personally sometimes i felt lost too in this vast amount of knowledge lol and i did what you've done.

Good luck with your decision, either way, i'm sure you'll not regret it since all of the springs mentioned here is so damn good:tup:

Iwan

Look, I haven't dropped my Z so take this for what it's worth:

Why couldn't you do adjustable coil overs and just adjust the drop to suit your taste? Seems like you could get that 15-20mm drop that you are after with a minimum of grief.

Considering what the OP said, he doesnt look like spending that sum of money for just a 15-20mm drop. plus he's not tracking his car so spring is just enough imo :)

plus, the oem shocks are included in what we paid for so for me i'll just change the springs first till the shocks are unusable. then i'll go for coils :tup:

YES they do. Like I said, it's only about 1/2 an inch, which isn't really a lot. Personally, I don't think it's worth the trouble since you won't really notice a difference in appearance. The Nismo springs also have a different spring rate though, so I would take that into consideration.

Do aftermarket sway bars like Tanabe really help more than stock sways? I hear that they are perfect for the street compared to stock, to stop body roll, and without changing ride quality.

yes indeed they do. mostly people goes with Hotchkis or Whiteline sways as they are adjustable. Stillen are also an option.

the reason why stock sways are not that good is because Nissan's trying to cut costs for the Z for it to be affordable, or else if all the parts are made with max quality i bet they'll probably charge as much as GT-Rs lol