Magnetic Black + H&R Springs + 20mm / 25mm Ichiba spacers
 

Got the car last weekend and installed some H&R springs and 25mm rear / 20mm front Ichiba spacers yesterday. I was worried about the 25mm in the rear, but it came out great! The drop with the H&R springs couldn't be any more perfect either.

Still debating on what to do next... Exhaust or High flow cats. Im leaning towards exhaust. I also have Euro rear fog on the way.

Enjoy!
1.
http://i486.photobucket.com/albums/r...2/DSC02517.jpg

2.
http://i486.photobucket.com/albums/r...2/DSC02506.jpg

3.
http://i486.photobucket.com/albums/r...2/DSC02511.jpg

pure sex, what exhaust you looking at?

I was thinking F.I. but i think it might hang too low. Then i was thinking of going with Invidia because it was priced well, but heard that it's really raspy.

Probably will end up going Stillen exhaust. Not sure yet.

Noob questions:

1. Does lowering make the tires wear out quicker than normal ?

2. Do you need to re-align after lowering ?

1. only if you run crazy alignment settings to fit a wheel when lowered

2. yes, you usually wait 2 weeks after the installation to get an alignment so the springs fully settle

oh and that looks sick, its the same route i plan on going :)

Looks awesome. Can u post new pics in 2 weeks after it settles. I really like the drop on the springs but just wish the rear was a little lower. I'm going to run aggressive offsets and stretched tires so I want an aggressive drop. And if the rear settles a little more than it's a winner.

Sure thing. I can't see it settling too much more. It's already way lower than what it was, but ill definitely post new pics in 2 weeks to see if there's a difference.

Lowering, because of the geometry, causes more negative camber. This is why many add a camber kit to the Z, since you can't adjust camber on our cars.

That looks great.

Another question did u cut or remove the rear bumpstops? And can anyone chime in and let me know if it makes a difference in height? Thanks

No i didn't cut the bump stops. And there is no way cutting them would make the car lower. Only time i think you would have to cut the bumpstops is if you where going to lower your car on coils like 2 to 3 inches.

If you can do it again, would you get the H&R springs again? Too low?

No i wouldn't change a thing. To me, H&R springs are a perfect drop. Gives the car an awesome stance.

Very nice!

man I love the HR drop - sits so damn mean!

Spacers are perfect also:tup:

looks sick!

wow man that stance is perfect. nice job. are you running a camber kit as well, or is that just with the drop and spacers?

Nice setup!

Drop and spacers only :tup:

Thanks for all the positive feedback!

cool, looks great. any plans to get a camber kit to bring it back to stock allignment? it doesn't really look like the camber has changed much from stock based on your pics.

You are right, the camber doesn't appear to be too far off from before i put the springs on. So no camber kit, for now.

Looks great

Any issues with scrubbing the front bumper on driveways, inclines, etc?

I agree that it looks great, but man, I'd be worried about scraping on everything with that. I'm worried enough as it is with the Stock Sport Package height.

I have a fairly steep decline at the end of my driveway and yes, the plastic "lip" on the bottom of the bumper scrapes. If i back out at an angle, its not a problem. I've never scraped it anywhere else.

Although, im used to driving lowered cars. My R32 was like 3 inches off the ground. I had a skid plate installed and would throw sparks when i go over bumps on the freeway...

http://i486.photobucket.com/albums/r...DSC_0075-1.jpg

How much did the install cost?

Okay, good to hear. I had a lowered Speed 3 that sat very low and I never scraped, but I was extremely careful with it on driveways, inclines, etc. There were countless times I was sure I couldn't clear something, but I did.

Also, I never put on the plastic spoiler the front bumper when I took delivery on the car. Does it help protect the bottom part of the bumper at all or am I better just leaving it off?

does a camber kit effect the height? im asking because i have the same setup except 20mm-15mm but my rear seems to sit higher than yours i think.

Nothing... i did it all myself. With the exception of taking the front struts to a shop to have the springs swapped out which cost me a $20 tip. :tup:

The plastic spoiler doesn't protect anything. It's mainly asthetic. (i think)

I don't think a camber kit would affect the height at all... with the minor adjustments that are done on the 370's that have them. (i dont have a camber kit, btw)

yeah thats why i asked because you dont have one. will be interesting to see how your rear tires will wear. with my camber kit they wear on the outside a little more

nice!! im actually going with the 20mm front and 25mm ichiba spacers with H&R springs as well! nice to see how it is going to turn out!

wow those h&r's really sit low.

:iagree:
Same conclusion I came to on the exhaust "Stillen CBE" , for me it was just substances and function over from and style!

Yes I do think the F.I. are great looking and sexy, but they hang too low for my taste, with 18" wheels the minute I go over some road kill my exhaust system will be done, driving on back mountain roads in the Poconos, Northeastern PA that low design can be a liability.

I also think Stillen did his homework on the design and function of the “Y” pipe configuration, good gains and great sound!

Just my two cents
Alex

wheels are perfect with the spacers

can you post some more pics please. i still dont know if i want to go 20 or 25 in the rear. im doing 20 front but i have seen other rear photos that look like the 25 put the wheel outside the qtr panel and i want mine to be flush. how much negative camber are you running in the rear?

Noice drop, I would have waited for the H&R springs BUT did not want spend the extra $$ on control arms. Had this set up on both of the Z33's but had to shell out the $$ for control arms to get camber back in spec. The same will apply for the Z34. Tires will wear out with the negeative camber. Rule of thumb is (was) anything over .75" drop will need camber. Eibachs with a .09 drop fr & rr I was able to get the negative dialed, not back to spec but within a sweet spot for better handeling and now with over 5k miles I see no wear at all.

Taking the drop to 1.3 like with the H&R will make the negative camber a bit more and I feel the control arms will be needed to bring back in spec. Now if the alignment can keep it an acceptable range and most important is no excessive wear, then I would have been all over the H&R's. Do not get wrong I loved my H&R's on the Z33 (a little harshed thou, but still awesome) and would have waited for them to come out for the Z34, but pulled the trigger on Eibachs and that is where they will stay until enough $$ for KW coilovers.

Cutting the rear rubber spring mount WILL lower the car in the rear. It was proven effective on the Z33 as I did it to both Z33's. The only draw back is the rear struts may wear out sooner.

Spacers: 20 mm fr and 25 mm rr look the best. If you want the flush look go with 20/20. With 25 mm rr the car looks like something is happening out back, a mean agressive look as opposed to the flush 20 mm (you mean you widened the rear? It still looks stock...haha)

Be interested to see alignment data sheets from the OP. Overall very noice stance. :tup:

I just got an alignment last week and trashed the sheet.... OOPS.

The area of alignment that was out of wack the most was the rear tow.

Everything is back to factory spec with the exception of the camber. He said the camber in the front was still close to stock. In the back, somehow he managed to get a couple degrees of camber out of it with no control arms, but if i remember correctly... the rear camber is now at -2.3?

Let me know if that sounds off, but i think thats what i remember.

When you installed your spacers, how much of the wheel stud was left?

Did your spaces have the studs on them?

25mm is pretty thick... I'm just concerned about having to run extended wheel studs.

Looks great though!