Sup Fellas,
Finished installing these bad boys today. Will start the review with the initial thoughts on packaging and workmanship. Driveability thoughts to come later once I have some time to really push them on the twisties. More info can be found at tanabe's website:
Tanabe Sustec Z40 Coilover
Packaging: As you can see the coilovers were very well packaged. Every individual part was wrapped tight and secure.
Finish: Love the red and black contrast as this is much to my cars theme. The bottom locking collar is polished which is very easy on the eyes and great for showing off at events.
Fit: Coilovers bolted on with no issues whatsoever. I appreciated that the fronts had the brake line clips welded onto the bottom of the strut. This is very convenient when making adjustments. My old BC BR setup had a removable collar that I had to loosen in order to make the front adjustment either up or down.
Driving impressions: Wow is the word. I was expecting a small difference from my BC setup but boy was I surprised. My car feels like a different animal now from a suspension aspect. Here are my side by side comparisons.
Tanabe vs Nismo stock: Definitely a step up. The adjustability for both height and dampening is enough reason to switch to coilovers in general.
Tanabe vs BC Racing BR series: I felt an immediate difference with the Tanabes. Driving on the freeway and local streets the car felt more "solid" like a well tuned race setup but without the hard bumpy ride. My dampening settings are very similar for both setups. Fronts are at max setting 40 (Bc's max front at 30) and the rears are set in the middle at 20 clicks hard ( BC's max rear at 30). The twisties on the Tanabes feel more tight and planted vs the BC's which felt more loose around the corners.
Final thoughts: I am very pleased with my decision to go with these Z40 coils. Fit and finish are top notch and ride quality at the right settings are exactly the way my Nismo should have came from the factory.