After reading forum member CFZ's review of the Swift Springs, I knew that I had to give them a shot. I have not seen anyone with a Nismo post about the Swifts so I decided to kick things off.
As a little background, I have spent a lot of time lurking the forums trying to find a set of springs that would provide a moderate drop while at the same time actually improving the performance of the Nismo suspension. From what CFZ had posted, there are only two sets of springs out there that can improve upon the Nismo suspension and maintain the front and rear balance. I decided to go with the Swifts thinking that they would provide a slighter stiffer spring rate, give a sexy drop, and still maintain the balance of the Nismo suspension overall.
Lou at Amplified Motorsports set me up with the springs and did a great job installing them. His team does top notch work, they answer every question their customers have, and they always have great prices.
First Impression: The springs are definitely beefier than the stock springs and look like they can do the job right out of the box. Every image I have seen of them online shows a blue color, but they were actually a flat black. No real surprises here.
Driving Impression: I was really looking forward to putting the car through its paces after having the springs put on. CFZ said that the springs provided a softer ride even though they were stiffer, and he definitely hit the nail on the head. It seems counter intuitive, but once you start maneuvering the car and getting on the gas, everything just feels dialed in.
One of the things I noticed with the Nismo suspension is that the car recoils fairly hard when when going over bumps or ripples in the road. If you hit a series of bumps, the suspension stays taught, but the car rebounds with a lot of force. The Swift springs absorb this recoil more effectively, thus providing a smoother ride even though they are actually stiffer. You can compare it to someone wake boarding or snowboarding. The car feels like a person who is squatting and absorbing the bumps with bent knees, rather than going over the bumps with straight legs and bouncing all over the place.
I took the car through some back roads and noticed that the springs provide less body roll and the car stays planted going into turns. When going aggressively into and out of corners (especially off-camber turns) the motion of the car was more predictable and less prone to steering issues. Overall, the springs feel great and the car is more enjoyable to drive. They definitely tighten everything up and smooth out the ride at the same time.
Visual Impressions: Check out the pictures below to see for yourself! IMO the drop is perfect. The car isn't slammed and is lowered evenly from front to back, providing a nice, balanced look. The only issue I have is that I am now unable to get up my driveway! I had to go out last night to The Home Depot and buy enough lumber to build a wooden ramp
Well worth it.
Thanks to Lou and Amplified for all the help. More photos to follow once everything settles and I will also update everyone when I have my alignment done in a week or so; hopefully, a camber kit wont be necessary.