Suspension Upgrade for DD
 

So before I get flamed for not searching -- I have done so and done a TON of reading on different suspension upgrade options for our cars.

Basically I am looking for the best option for my 2015 base Z which is my DD around Houston, TX. Don't have any intentions of tracking the car, but the occasional 'spirited' driving when allowed.

From what I have read, it seems that going with new struts and springs might be my best option over coilovers given I DD the car.

Option 1: about $1,400 shipped

Tokico struts
Eibach springs
SPC front and rear camber package

This lowers the car a bit more I would like for Houston street and getting out of my driveway, but is the most mild drop of any springs available.

Option 2:can be had for $1,350 shipped

KW Variant 1 Coilovers

KW seems to be very well spoken of for the Z. I like these as they are fixed on dampening rate which I don't care to control, and I would only lower the car the minimum these allow: which is .6" front and .4" rear. With this mild of a drop, I'd be hoping I could get away without the camber kit, and would likely be better around H-town.

Time for input and thoughts on these two setups. Appreciate your time and feedback!

If all you are looking for is handling and don't care about a drop id throw some sway bars on and call it a day.

Wisdom in this decision... :tup:

Thanks for the quick response -- and I had thought about this as well. Not to say I don't care about drop as it definitely makes our cars look better, and I have after market wheels that could benefit from it.

I just want the drop to be as mild as possible -- hence those two options I was considering.

Sway bars would definitely be an even less expensive option. What are the most recommend ones for our cars?

Suspension Upgrade for DD
 

Personally for a daily driver, I'd throw on some Swift springs and sway bars. That's what I did and I love the way my Z handles. The Swift springs make the car handle and ride better than the OEM springs while also dropping it about an inch.

Dragon -- so you put swifts on with the factory struts and no camber package? That seems like a lot of drop to go without both of those...

just get a stiffer front swaybar and call it a day.

Seems to be the resounding tenor of this thread thus far. What's the preferred sway bars to use for the Z?

Hotchkis or whiteline.

I would go with Eibach over kangaroo bar lol.

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or the stillen bar but just use the front bar in the middle setting.
i run the kangaroo bar on my ride (whiteline) but the bushing is a pos.

i have a brand new stillen set in my parts bin though..

I haven't had any problems with my whitelines but I have seen some complaints on them so maybe I am lucky?

mine is working fine too, but i only street my car... people tracking them had issues with the bushing popping out the bracket (including their revised bushings). lol :ugh:

I only use the front bar set to full stiff, cause that's the way she like it and my stock Nismo bar in the rear.

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Seems that the general consensus is to run a front sway bar only. Would a Whiteline bar set on stiffest setting be good enough for a street car?

That's what I am running and it made a huge difference

do u run aftermarket endlinks on the front?

or do u run aftermarket endlinks on the front? :icon17:

Yup...SPL

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Are those recommended as well on that specific setup?

Holy smokes that took off quick -- so, if I may, why the recommendations against struts/springs/coilovers? Just interested to understand the motivation in recommending them over the two options I'm considering?

cool, thanks.


yah, the factory ones can only handle so much. no issue on my kangaroo bar in the softer setting though (approx 30%+ stiffer vs stock)

for me the car drives fine. it just needed a stiffer front stabilizer. rest of my sus is stock, besides the nismo wheels and RE11's. nismo wheels fit the base body perfectly with no lowering or spacers needed.

my dress up car (G35C) runs lowering springs/adjustable dampers/swaybar/endlink/camber arms, works, etc. but she is more for show since she is the prettier of the two.

whiteline's softer setting is perfectly fine imo if u dont want to get endlinks. datz my current setup. so much better than stock for sure.

I prefer to keep it as stock as possible and if replacing just the front sway bar, is more than enough, I rather go that route. Thanks for your input.

More bang for your buck.

yah, if u do decide to go the kangaroo bar, make sure you place the metal lock collars perfectly even left/right and no more than 0.5mm between the collar and bushing on both sides. anything more, it can push the bushing out farther and farther until thing slides off.

dont even bother with the bonehead rubber with hose clamp type collars. those dont work at all. i speak from experience. :shakes head:

or just get the stillen set and run just the front. it has welded collars which is how it shouldve come from the factory.

Great, thanks again. I'd probably take the car to Specialty Z to get this done.

It just depends on what you want, but once you start down the road of springs and coils you may need camber arms and other supporting mods. It's all about how much you want to spend and the outcome you are looking for.

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I agree with TerribleONe, more bang for your buck. IMO, I think the more elements you add, it gets more complicated to fine tune.

Yep. I have about 30k miles on them like that too and they are still good.

I also have whiteline sway bars. I have the front and rear. My fronts are on the soft setting with OEM end links.

Thanks man -- this is what I figured. I was prepared to do the first option of struts and springs -- which included the cost for a full camber kit for front and rear.

Given the price of a front sway bar -- I might still do the first option and add a the front sway bar to the mix.

Is the no need for the rear sway on our cars?

There again it depends on you and your driving style. As a general rule our cars need more front bar to counter the under steering our push...adding more rear bar will make the rear end more happy. I initially installed the rear bar and had my front set to full soft. I got a snap under steer a couple of times and that is some scary ****. After reading about other experiences I decided to go full stiff and put my Nismo rear bar back on and she handles pretty good now. Also, the Nismo rear bar is stiffer than the base or sport bar, but not as stiff as the after market bars discussed.

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yep, plus with the stiff rear bar during off-throttle, the tail will slide out causing yawn control (aka yaw control) to prematurely activate making ur car drive like shitt.. problem with yawn control is dat u gotta keep applying throttle to not activate it which makes it even more difficult to control the car at times. just leave the rear bar alone.

Ive had my car on H&R springs for about 20k miles with no camber arms. What exactly do the camber arms do?

Allow you to get your camber back to stock #s and prevent getting camber wear on your tires

Also yaw control will apply a rear brake to straighten out the Z if the rear is drifting alittle too. :eek:

That is another scary deal when you have already made the correction!

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Had a trackday instructor jump all over my **** on my second track day for applying the brake mid turn. Told him it isn't me that did that. It was the car that did it. Had to show him the video from the session to prove my point. Make sure to turn off the traction control.