Am I choosing the right coilovers, and what supporting mods do I need?
 

So let me start off by saying that I have read through a ton of threads on here, and I have a pretty good idea of things (for a newbie), but there was some contradicting recommendations as far as supporting mods go.

I don't intend on tracking my car, primarily because there is no longer a racetrack on island (Oahu). Strictly street use/spirited driving. My goal in buying coilovers is to acheive a more aggresive stance and eliminate some (most) of the wheel gap from stock. If this triggers you because I'm "ruining the car" blah blah blah "Nissan engineered it better than you can", sorry but I'm not sorry.

I looked at Swift springs, but I would like to have the adjustability of coilovers, and I don't mind spending a bit more money for that. I've kinda narrowed it down to a few different sets of coilovers that fall into my price range.

1. BC Racing BR's ($995, more affordable option)
2. Stance XR1's ($1255)
3. Fortune Auto 500's ($1330)

Any recommendations between these three for my purposes?

One of the things I like about the Stance/Fortune Auto coilovers is that both companies make an Air Cup kit for their coilovers. Seems it would be a cheaper/more practical alternative to full airbag suspension that I could save up for and purchase down the road. Ride around at a (relatively, compared to stock) lower ride height, air up the cup kit for help getting up steep curbs/hills/speedbumps.

Anyway, I know that after installing any of these coilovers, I'll need an alignment. In order to get closer to factory alignment spec, I will probably need some supporting parts. And here's where I get a bit confused. The Stance and Fortune Auto's are offered in OEM-style (divorced spring/shock) and True-style (coil-over) rears, and there are different supporting mods necessary for these options to get back into alignment spec.

So, here are my questions:

• Which of these coilovers is recommended?
• OEM-style rears or True-style rears?
• Which supporting mods are recommended? (Camber arms, control arms, toe links, toe bolts, etc)
• Which supporting mods are necessary?

I want to do this right the first time, and I'm trying to avoid having to replace my tires more often than necessary.

I run the XR1s with the true-style rear setup, found it was much easier to setup preload/ride height and everything. That being said it's still very doable with the oem style. You'll probably need camber arms (spl being the most sturdy and no bs option, not to mention easiest to adjust for the alignment tech. spc usually being the cheap alternative) and you can go with toe bolts to help get rear toe in check. Some people get toe arms instead of the dumb bolts (my opinion) as its less likely to slip. You can get a toe link with a spring bucket for OEM style rears or a simple (cheaper) toe link if you go with true style rear, as the toe arm wont need to have a bucket for the spring anymore as you've relocated the spring. I run the simple toe arm from SPL. Front camber/caster is not adjustable from factory so to get front camber in check, which a lot of folks dont, you'll need a front camber arm (A-shaped thing). Again SPL vs SPC vs Z1. Your pick. Most guys run SPL.

To answer your question, or TL;DR
The most necessary mods you'd need are rear toe bolts and rear camber arms no matter what coils you get. My recommendation? Get aftermarket toe and camber arms and skip the toe/eccentric bolts.

So assuming I go with true-rears, it would be wise to buy Rear camber arms, simple Rear toe links, and front camber arms?

Is there a difference between toe arms and toe links? And what about for the front, is there a difference between control arms and camber arms?

Sorry if stupid questions.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have Stance 500 on my daily (IS300). Very happy with ride quality, they offer lots of options, and yes, they have the Air Piston Lift system as an option. You need to get it when you order - it uses different pistons than the non ALP equipped version.

It sounds like you want aggressive fitment and stance. This is good. Here's what you need.

Go here: Performance Automotive Suspension by SPL Parts - Adjustable / Lightweight / Low Friction / Precision

Order:
- Front Upper Control Arms
- Rear Camber Arms
- Rear Traction Arm
- EITHER rear mid links (for OEM type) or rear toe arms (for true type)
- eccentric lockout kit

Optional order:
- Adjustable front tie rod ends
- Swift Thrust Washers (one pack). These are HIGHLY recommended bc they will eliminate the squeaking from coilover springs on compression

With these you will have full camber/caster/toe adjustability.

Roll your fenders.

Now your Z can essentially limitless fitment options. The Z fenders are massive, people dont take full advantage but now you can

Just a heads up since you mentioned cup kits... they cost right around the same price as a full air suspension kit once everything is said and done. However, if you have a leak you won't be left on the ground so they are more practical in that sense.

Thanks for doing that before hand!

Also thanks for listing what your goals and intentions are, I hate when people just say "Hey what suspensions should I get?"

For posting a good question I'll do my best to give you a response that fits your intentions. So here goes.

First if your goal is to lower the car why do you need a new set of coil overs? A lowering spring kit will achieve your goal at a lower price point for a high quality kit.

With coil overs you get what you pay for. Most of the cheaper kits have no quality control and you will get the right front coil over that set to full hard behave like the left front set to full soft. Its like turning dials on a mystery box because that's exactly like how the dials on those coil overs will work.

IMO I'd go with:
1. Eibach lower kit
2. Hotchkiss anti roll bars, really only need to front
3. Front end links because the OEM ones are weak
4. Front and rear camber adjustable camber arms to correct the camber from the ride height change.

For links and arms I recommend SPL Parts but any manufacturer should be fine since you are just on the street.

If must get coil overs you should look in the 2-3k range. This is where you start getting something that isn't worse then OEM. KWv3, BILSTEIN B16, or MCS 1-WNR.

I wouldn't recommend a spring/shock set up - he said he wants to eliminate wheel gap and get an aggressive stance.

To do that right, its coilovers and SPL goodies

Dampers are not your main concern, all of these kits will give you a good damper. Your main concern is spring rates. If you only want to do this one time, then you need to sit down with a tuning shop and have all your measurements plotted out before you just toss on any kit. If you don't have a reputable/skilled suspension guru in your province then you'll need to do this your self.

First you'll want to find a way to measure how low you want to be and the potential wheel clearance with whatever wheel/tire you choose. So it's actually best to get whatever wheels you want and then lower accordingly. A taller tire is worse than slightly wider. If you increase width a lot, you may want to consider reducing diameter a small amount. You don't want to go smaller than 26" overall. This is an art within itself, but luckily the z has gigantic wheel arches.

Your new spring rate should be based off of your common daily weight (car+you+fuel+fat bitch passenger+luggage) relative to the NEW static ride height and total permitted wheel clearance at full lock.

Technically you can definitely achieve your target ride height without getting a pre-made coilover kit, but using an off the shelf "spring kit" will most likely be the worst option over time. It does however save you money which can go towards wheel/tires and other suspension parts as advised above. You'll definitely want a camber correction kit at minimum which cost just as much as coilovers all said and done. The lower you go, the worse your camber will be, necessitating a camber kit for proper alignment.


Rant over ✌️

Thank you guys for some awesome input, seriously. This is great info.

I do have one question: What is the difference between adjustable FUCA's and front camber arms? Which one is necessary/recommended for getting camber back into spec?

Adjustable Front Upper Camber / Caster Arms for 370Z and G37 | SPL Parts

BUY THESE

You can call them front camber arms or front upper control arms (the latter is correct). They adjust camber and caster.

There's really nothing else u need

Camber arms are multilink arms for the rear.

Ideally you'd want adjustable upper control arms on both front and rear, but no company seems to offer a rear UCA. Adjusting the rear is much more of a pain in the *** as it's a multilink setup. Which will require more individual parts. You do have the ability to adjust the eccentric bolts a bit, but it will cause toe issues. Necessitating a toe arm.......

or you could just read the list of parts i provided and be done with it

Lowering springs are meant to go with the stock dampers, true that they only typically give 1-1.5" lower. But you wont get much more even with a full coilover, you'd really need an air system. Also SPL is great but Titanium parts are not necessary for street driving. Remember the goal is appearance for street driving. Lowering kit + Camber Kit is all that is really needed.