I believe the only places they are found are the two parking light bulbs, I am not 100% sure though however that is my informed guess.

Thanks!

Swift Lowering Springs: Installed
 

Today I drove over to my good friend Seb at SpecialtyZ (Canoga, CA) to have my Swift Spec R springs installed. I got there bright and early and work started right away, going smoothly and taking only a couple hours front and rear with no real surprises for once! These springs are supposedly the best performance springs available and yet have been reported to ride more comfortably than the stock springs while being called "junior coil overs." I had a hard time believing this initially, but they were worth every penny.

Quality of the Springs: I was honestly a bit disappointed that the springs came powder coated black rather than the beautiful metallic blue color that is advertised on their website but the coat is even and looks very durable. Compared to the stock springs, these look very beefy and much more substantial which I thought was a plus.

Lowering Observations: The kit is supposed to lower the car 1" in the rear and 1.2" in the front to give the car a nice, slightly more aggressive pose. Once the car was settled off the lift and received an alignment, the ride height was already at the marketed drop so I expect it to go a little lower as the springs settle. The drop is very even front and rear and is the perfect look in my opinion: not too low but not too conservative.

Driving Impressions: this was what interested me the most, I had a hard time understanding how this spring can perform so much better (increased spring rate) but be more comfortable than stock. It depends on your definition of comfortable, but it did improve ride quality in a few areas: large freeway bumps, undulations and overpass rises felt much better as the car just felt more planted and settled during and after the undulations. It also had less of a bounding motion. That said, the ride is firmer and was immediately noticeable as soon as I hit the road. It is not a harsh firmness, but it feels much more positive and controlled which is exactly what I was looking for.

I took it through Malibu canyon roads such as Mulholland on my way back from the shop and the car felt PERFECT. There was no noticeable body roll, and steering response as well as turn in felt much more precise and direct. The car was balanced perfectly between the Stillen sway bar set to the firmest setting in the rear and the spring rates, there was no hint of understeer and I felt like I could finally effectively control the car using throttle. Mid corner bumps did not unsettle the car or give a lurching sensation like the stock springs did and it felt suitably firm at higher speeds which kept the car feeling planted.

All in all, I am very very happy with these springs. Here are a whole bunch of pictures in case anyone is interested, both before and after.

Before:

http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u..._0017_1101.jpg
http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u..._0061_1243.jpg
http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u..._0062_1244.jpg
http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u..._0063_1245.jpg
http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u..._0064_1246.jpg

On the lift:

http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u..._0065_1247.jpg
http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u..._0068_1250.jpg

Comparing the stock springs to the Swifts, check out the difference!

http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u..._0066_1248.jpg
http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u..._0067_1249.jpg

And lowered, all around shots: (sorry the car is a bit dirty)

http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u..._0070_1252.jpg
http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u..._0071_1253.jpg
http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u..._0072_1254.jpg
http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u..._0073_1255.jpg
http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u..._0074_1256.jpg
http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u..._0076_1258.jpg
http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u..._0077_1259.jpg
http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u..._0069_1251.jpg
http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u..._0078_1260.jpg
http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u..._0079_1261.jpg
http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u..._0080_1262.jpg


A big thanks to Seb at SpecialtyZ, very quick high quality work at a super reasonable rate.

drops looks good my friend

Next thing will probably be a set of 20mm spacers all around, being somewhat flush is starting to call my name lol. Thanks for the comment Andrew.

trying to be hella flush lol

The drop looks great!

It's nice to finally see a non-sport pack with these springs on... I've been waiting to see how swifts looked with the 18's.

very good Christian, I told you that you would like them :) They should settle just a tad more, mine took about a week with little driving

Thanks Akoo, I was interested too as there aren't to many lowered Zs with the base 18s that I could find but it definitely helps them look a bit better on the car. I would still like the Sport Package Rays but I think the base 18s will look much better with some spacers and this drop.

That's true, you deserve credit! They really do ride perfectly, I was shocked at how balanced the car felt since I had a fair amount of understeer with the same sway bar setting and stock springs. I am not sure how much the more aggressive alignment played a role but everything came to within factory spec.

How does your car feel in terms of balance?

Very nice. No camber kit required? Can you pm me the labor $. Thx

Looks great man! Time to buy my BBK though ;)

Nope, all parameters came in to the factory spec. The camber adjustment in the rear is maxed out and on the slightly aggressive side but still within the factory camber range. PM'ed.

I am going to probably just go with Akebonos to be honest rather than do pads/fluid on the base brakes but I can't jump on your deal right now until the funds become available. Unless you want to do a monthly payment type deal haha.

Damn Christian ur car is coming along nicely in the time that i've been gone. How does the car feel over potholes and bad roads? I'm assuming since the car is stiffer it'll ride a bit more harsh over those small imperfections?

Tim, how's it going man?! Shockingly, the car actually feels better over large abrupt imperfections; this is mostly because it unsettles the car less making it feel more controlled and composed. There is definitely a little more vibration now and some of the smaller imperfections come through the suspension more clearly but I can live with that. :)

im doing good dude. im gonna be back in a couple of months so hopefully i can join the gang again.

Great to hear, it will be awesome to have you back man. Are you still looking to get back into another Z?

Tbh, I'm not sure. I'm kinda itching to get into another S2k, but gotta pay a premium since they're sorta becoming a collector's item. For a meticulous low mileage 08 models, i'll be looking at around 27-28 which is what I can get a brand new base 370 for. The sad thing is....there are no other enticing cars in the 25-30k range aside from these two. We'll see but at this point there is a pretty good chance i'll get into another Z.

Sounds like you are ahead of schedule in terms of coming back to Socal, good to hear. I hope to see you crawling back to a Z but an S2000 is a great car, but you are so right in saying it is becoming harder and harder to find nice examples for a reasonable price (especially the AP2).

I snapped a few pictures with my phone, the car seems to have settled a little lower since the installation and the handling is just sublime. It just feels so willing to dance and is so precise and responsive now:

http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u...2-10120705.jpg
http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u...2-10120714.jpg
http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u...2-10120727.jpg

Looking good, Christian. :tup::tup:

Thanks Paul, can we swap wheels now? You can have my 18s plus cash on your end for the Volks?

haha this guy. You can have my calipers if you want lol

^Plus cash from your end?

wait what you talking about my friend

I was just joking lol, I was joking that I will take your calipers plus cash from you to compensate me for taking them off your hands. You have sport calipers available?

Actually on that note, I don't think I will be upgrading my base brakes and will just wait to snag a set of Akebonos instead since they will be plenty and probably be better than upgraded base brakes.

My car feels much better with the springs, but I think it's lacking in the tire dept. I really have to warm these up for them to grip (stock bridgestones with 14k on them)

Im thinking with a good 305 and maybe sway bar set, the car will handle perfect for my "fun" needs

Same! I think my 18" rims with 225/245 tires are really holding me back right now although I can hang pretty well with the sport package guys. I am not sure if I should wait on tires until I just get a set of rims or throw 245/275 tires on my base rims.

305s will fill out the back really nicely, do you have an idea on which tire you are going to choose?

It's coming along nicely Chris :tup:

No idea yet, depends if I wait for wheels also...

By the way, I just did the ECU reset following the instructions in your thread. Took a few tried to get it right but it worked, thanks! Hopefully the car wont feel as sluggish tomorrow :confused:

Hmm, what's going on with your car feeling sluggish? It took me a few tries before I finally got the ECU reset procedure to work, I thought at first "ah well, just get the times roughly the same" but you really need to follow the times to the Tee.

my spacers will allow for a meaner stance... drop looks great...

the 20mm HR spacers should be on there way on monday...

Yea, it helped watching the track time on the radio while playing a CD :tup:

As for the sluggishness, I don't know. Car just doesn't have the pep that it used to have. I used to be able to roll in 3rd and tap the throttle and get a nice jump, but I've been getting the delayed, eased, response the last few weeks.

We'll see how it goes tomorrow, but Im really starting to consider a TechnoSquare tune, or a trip to the dyno :( Thats not where I wanted to go with this car :bowrofl:

I Need Your Help
 

I am at a cross road right now, I made it my goal to do one big thing this year as money and time allows. However, I cannot make up my mind about what I should do out of the following options:


-Set of wheels and tires (Forgestar F14, Enkei RPF1, RE-11 tires)

-Akebono sport package brakes

-Cat-back exhaust


I feel like my base tires are the biggest limiting factors of my setup at this point since I lose grip much more quickly that I think I should and am not getting the full benefits of my suspension mods. But then again, I don't want to have to worry about the base brakes on canyon runs since fade is always at the back of my mind and hurts confidence especially on downhill sections.


So what would you choose out of those options?

Wow - that's a tough call! In my build, I went with CBE, then wheels/tires, and brakes last. If looks play into your decision, I would have to say wheels/tires first. If it's strictly performance - you'll probably feel the exhaust gains most compared to the other mods. No matter what, you'll be happy...so don't sweat it too much. Just enjoy!!

all depends on your budget man.
The brakes can run you about 1k and for another 300 you can have it powder coated any color you want and you should up grade your rotors at the same time and maybe your brake lines.

Wheels and tires. Makes more of an appearance and will look good with your drop. You may want to get an alignment and camber arms to help out the tires.

Exhaust not to sure about. I know you have a y pipe already and HFC. You can always go with the AAM tips and call it a day. Or sell your y pipe and get a full catback.

It sounds like you think the car's good on power, but not as good on traction / driveability. Pick either between brakes and wheels. Leave the exhaust for later.

Thanks guys, this is helping me get my priorities straight! I am thinking the exhaust is at the bottom right now, I already have a decent amount of power but it doesn't matter since I can't really put that down coming out of corners with the 245 rear tires and the open differential. I am going to be keeping my eye out for a set of Nismo rims and tires or even S/P 19s as I think they look great with a drop and some spacers (plus point of entry money wise is better than new rims and tires).

Andrew: I got an alignment and all numbers came back within factory spec (albeit on the aggressive side) but the camber is certainly aggressive up front and not quite so aggressive in the rear. I am definitely watching tire wear, although these base Advan sports seem to be pretty resilient since I can't see any wear. In the long run, coilovers are the plan and camber arms will be in order then for sure.

so i guess wheels it is.

since you do canyon runs
1 - wheel/tires
2 - brakes
3 - CBE or AAM shorttail. I bet they would sound sweet on your setup

I have definitely made up my mind that wheels and tires are the first priority as my base wheels and tires are letting go far before they should. Now I need to decide on which wheels I should pursue!

-Forgestar F14
-Enkei RPF1
-Work Emotion 11R-RT
-S/P Rays w/ stock Bridgestones (obvious cost benefit here)