Swift springs review!!!!!
 

So just a little background on me I have owned several cars and I am a track junkie. I have always put coilovers on my vehicles though but its come to a point in my life now, where I feel like I shouldn't make my daily driver so uncomfortable. So I decided to look for the most quality spring I can find. I have always put the Swift coilover spring on my coilovers and then I found that they are making lowering springs for my vehicle. That was when I was already ready to buy.

Anyways I have had several lowering springs, I mean they are just springs so I do not expect much from them. They lower the car generally without any performance gains, and most likely the manufacturer gets the stock springs increases the spring rates a little, and then chops the springs and then mass produces them. I have spoken to Swift several times throughout the long wait and they would explain to me the R&D process they go through in Japan as well as the race teams in japan that are sponsored by Swift to help design the spring.

So as for the review.
So I received these springs friday of last week and then installed them immediately after I came home. Got the car aligned at the local alignment shop and went straight to the Willow Springs the local racetrack the next morning.

For Swift, lowering the car was secondary, their priority was to get the best performance out of the springs maximizing what they can out of the stock shocks. This suspension mod is truly the cheaper alternative to coilovers.

When I first drove on them I immediately noticed that the car felt much smoother than stock. You will notice that the uneven surfaces of the road are completely soaked up. It was exactly the opposite of what I was expecting. I know, seeing that the spring rates are so high, it's hard to believe. It wasn't until I first cranked the steering wheel from side to side that I actually noticed that the spring rates were stiffer. There is almost no body roll.
It's interesting that they are able to make a lowering springs like this.

Now on the track the car felt extremely stable and goes around the corners really well. In fact they did an incredible job making the car neutral. There is almost no body roll, and the car does everything that I ask it to. The steering response was also a very noticeable difference. Through the high speed corners the car was easily adjusted through the control of the throttle. There was no understeer nor oversteer through the high speed course. It was just very controlled.

Over all I have no complaints about the springs at all.

here is what the car looks like. The rubber tophats still need to settle in still and sits a tad bit lower now. This is the perfect amount of drop Im looking for.
http://i957.photobucket.com/albums/a...Z/P1020300.jpg
http://i957.photobucket.com/albums/a...Z/P1020296.jpg
http://i957.photobucket.com/albums/a...Z/P1020297.jpg
considering they were more than I imagined the springs to be I would rate these a solid 9.5/10
I docked the .5 out of there for the people that want to slam their cars.

Just updating pics. WORK VS FX wheels

http://i957.photobucket.com/albums/a...J/IMG_5440.jpg

http://i957.photobucket.com/albums/a...J/IMG_5447.jpg

http://i957.photobucket.com/albums/a...J/IMG_5404.jpg

http://i957.photobucket.com/albums/a...J/IMG_5426.jpg

http://i957.photobucket.com/albums/a...J/IMG_5399.jpg

nice! how much does it lower the car? how comfortable is the ride compared to stock?

1.25 fr/1 rr

Spring Review
 

Nice review--informative and readable. Thanks. :tiphat:

Thanks for the review bubba, A+

nice review, i bet tjlazer is gonna be up in here soon!

I get mine tomorrow, hope to get them installed soon!

Looking forward to more reviews! These sound like what I'm looking for.

So do they give u new bumpstops or do u cut the stockers?

not that i plan to lower my Z, just wondering.

I did not cut the bump stops. The springs are made by Swift figuring out the useable stroke of the shock. Also I would assume that the rates are stiff enough to minimize the large movements the stock springs would have had.

No cutting is needed.

CFZ, did you install camber kits yet? Whats the camber looking like? I'm sure they are needed to be 100% in spec, but I don't mind some neg camber.

If tjlazer has similar results, I think I will jump on these. OP: do you have any other suspension modifications?

none. and no I do not have camber kits. That was one of my mistakes. Because I got it aligned as soon as I installed them and so I did not let the rubbers sit in. LOL.... yeah I prob have to get it aligned again.
But at the same time I'm not looking to do factory alignment specs, because I go to the track rather frequently. So negative camber is something I do not have a problem with.

Was the included instructions in Japanese? Can u read Japanese?

A spring install is very basic so there are no need for instructions. You just swap the springs on the fronts. Rears are extremely easy as you do not even touch the shock.

Basic idea on a 350Z:

i'm wondering this too:tiphat:

awesome review! Z is look great with the drop!

:icon14: so do you OD on prescription drugs often? a pill is easy to swallow. just put in mouth and swallow with water. no need for instruction.

no you aho, im asking whether the instructions said to cut the bumpstops or not. :icon17:

Looks like you are the one being an aho. No, re-watch the video and you will see there is no need to cut any bump stops. :facepalm:

You simply swap the springs and put them back on. The only time I've had to mess with bump stops was when I slammed my Isuzu pickup in 1991...

hey, im not the one that failed on a spring install and re-looking to do it again. :icon17: btw, im just kidding around.

Um I never failed. I installed an S-Tune kit and now will be adding lowering springs to it... Not my fault it lifted my front .5" when it was supposed to drop it .4". And yes I installed it correctly. LOL

Look I was just trying to be helpful....

hahahahaha. :icon17: hope the spring work out for you to get it back to stock. be kinda funny if it got even taller. :bowrofl:

so back to my question OP, did the swift springs come with instructions on what to do with the bumpstop? also, coilovers do not have to be stiff, you just need to find the right spring rates to start with and adjustable dampers.

for this car i think i'd look for something aroung 8-9kg to start with (425-500lbs/in) for street use.

Thanks for the review, I'm looking forward to mine tomorrow. Might install sunday evening depending on time

I'm :happydance: right now. Thanks for the review dude :tup: rep points for you

The instructions are in English.
The lowering springs are 10 kg in the front and 10.5 in the rear.
And also the instructions said nothing about cutting bumpstops.

Coilovers are not necessarily stiff because of the spring rates. A lot of them are stiff simply because they are valved much stiffer than what OE shocks are valved at. On top of that a lot of them uses a pillow ball top mount with a solid machined aluminum bottom bracket. The rubber bushings, and the rubber spring mounts that the OEM struts have is what makes the ride comfortable.
I retain all of that with these springs.

Again how do you want me to explain it? There is no physical data or comfort level meter that I have that can do it. The only that I can tell you is wait for a buddy or someone to buy these springs around you and then take it for a spin. Like I said its noticeable amount of difference. I wish I can break down for you mathematically but I'm not sure how I would go about doing that.

cool thanks.

and yep, im aware of coilovers and pillow mounts, alignment, amoungst other things that affect handling. ive done a lot of them in current and past cars. :hello:

So many spring choices which is better. Is tein or h&r any good

Well it seems to me that is is normal for the Nismo 370Z. The fronts sit a little higher than the regular Z. So my hope is the 1.25" drop will even it out. If you look at the RED NISMO you can see the front sits a little higher. I am worried about that. I wonder if the regular shocks will do the same? I do not want the front to sit a tad higher than the rears. I actually like the rear to be a little higher. If this happens to me I am just going to get a rear spring spacer and call it a day. Tired of effing around!!!

I do not want to spend $1000 on coils to fix this problem... :facepalm:

As far as cutting coils. I have dropped a 300ZX, a Infiniti G35 and there was no need to cut bump stops at all. The stiffer springs will prevent the shock from bottoming out.

And as a side note, my Swift springs were attempted to be delivered but nobody was home to sign, so now I have to wait! UGH!!!! I know I know, I should of taken the day off for this EPIC MOMENT! ;)

I purchased H&R springs with 15mm/20mm spacers and a camber kit, but these may be the way to go. I havn't installed the H&R's yet either. The front of the car doesn't seem to rake down as severely as the H&R's and the rear drop appears to be about the same.

yah, ive noticed the nismo does seem to ride taller in the front. did you try comparing the perch location between your s-tune and stock?

i did my G35C's suspension a few times 5-6yrs ago and i cant remember if i replaced or re-used or cut the bumpstops when i did the d-specs + eibachs. this is why i asked.

anyway the bumpstop is a pretty major part of the suspension when you're putting heavy loads while cornering. some manufactures give you new bumpstops for some of their kits, some tell you to cut it, some forget to tell you to cut it and you later find out you definitely need more stroke. :icon17:

Lol@tjlaser. The same thing happened to me except I was home and they didn't want to come in the gate...hope they retry on Saturday...

Got mine today :)

where do u order these

KamiSpeed.

Here you go bro, KamiSpeed. + rep me :)

Swift Spec-R Springs 370Z 08+

ooo 335 for them. money is tight so i might have to skip on these either tein s or h&r there only around 200

tein s tech on stillen is $268, and H&R are $259

Whatever floats your boat. It's weird that 50-60 dollars can sway your decision on lowering springs. Thats a tank of gas.

Especially when you know that its going to be on your car for prob the life of the car.

I agree. It's amazing how some people justify save a few extra bucks...

To me the extra $60 is worth knowing I am getting a top of the line spring that will not sag or bounce after a while. After visiting Swift's web site and reading up on their springs, I am impressed and will gladly throw away a tank of gas ;)

If all I wanted to do is drop my car, eBay has some dirt cheap springs for that! I see TEIN's on there for like $170, just be careful not to get the fake ones...