I hate the way my car rides
 

So from my experience with my previous G35, I had Tein springs on my G35 for 70k miles and the shocks still felt fine. I weighed the options of going with springs/coilovers on my Z, and I went with H&R springs.

Since I'm a DIY kind of guy, I asked my friend to help me out so I could save the $200 or so on installation...hell, I've installed everything else on my car! He's had experience with installing springs/coilovers before, so I trusted him. Well, I should have just done it myself. He ended up blowing one of my front shocks by . The car rode like crap...had HORRIBLE "bounce" everytime I hit a bump.

I bought 2 used front shocks from VIP and replaced them myself. I know I did it correctly...BUT the car still rides like crap. It's not nearly as bad as before, but is very noticeable. So either A) the shocks I bought from VIP were blown, which I highly doubt or B) the springs are screwed.

Any ideas guys? I think I'm just going to get some coilovers now because everytime I drive my car, all I do is pay attention to the bounce and it's so damn frustrating:mad:

have you gotten an alignment yet?

leave it stock or get the right springs and dampers to match, then the proper rods/bolts for the alignment.

How did he blow the shocks? Not saying he didn't but I've installed coils/springs just as a personal favor on least 50 of my friends cars throughout the years and have never had that happen.

I think I've had hr springs for about 7k miles and the ride is not bouncy at all. It feels very comfortable, feels like stock to me. I had bc coilovers before and I had the dampening set too stiff and it was almost unbearable when I drove on rough roads.

He didn't hold the piston in place, while taking the top nut off the shock. So the piston spun with the nut, breaking the seal. Oil leaked out of the shock. I noticed a small pool of oil in my garage for the nxt few days. Then the car rode like crap. I knew it was blown.

This time I installed the shocks, I made the the piston was held in place. I never spun the piston. No oil ever leaked. So I'm not quite sure why the ride still sucks.

Go with coilovers...Tein Mono Flex or KW V3...matched shocks and springs. Owners of both are happy. :tup:

Coilovers are the best bang for your buck. Alot of issues wit BC racing so I wouldnt get those. I have the chance to try out HKS, KW V3 and Powertrix SS. All great coilovers

Keeping it simple.....Springs support the cars weight, the shocks "dampen" the bouncing. If the car is bouncing (like a pogo stick) then the car is under dampened. If the car is riding rough, then the springs are to strong. So it sounds like the car is under dampened.

The only issues with the BC coilovers were installer issues. As long as they are installed correctly and the correctly length rear springs are ordered they work great! You can't blame the manufacturer for mistakes made by an installer or reseller.

:iagree:

:iagree:

Mine have been great so far, but I have the ER ones that never seemed to be reported with issues...

Point taken.

if you don't get coils, your dog is gonna poop inside your car again!

I installed the Monoflex (changing out the H&R springs) last week.

Best money spent. :tup:

What I don't understand is how you are experiencing such poor handling and ride quality from the H&R springs when there are many people here running them that have not one bad thing to say about them.

I'm not sure what could have gone wrong as the install is pretty straightforward, but there is a disparity between your experience and others with the same springs.

I just installed my H&Rs last week. I have not gotten an alignment yet so that could make up some of the difference. I think the H&Rs are slightly bouncy when compared to stock. Nothing that drives me up the wall but it's noticeable.

I will be going coilover in the future.

I'm glad you finally had a chance to install them. I love the stance...that's why I find it hard to justify spending $1000 to cure the bounce. But it looks like that's the only way I'm going to be satisfied with the ride.

Hahahaha! Dogs is now dogS. I have 2 Boxers now. It's actually funny watching them try to get comfortable in the front seat....cruel, but funny.
I dont understand it either. Obviously, the first set of front shocks were ruined due to installer error. But I installed my shocks the second time around and know I did everything right...like you said, the install is straightforward. The only thing that makes sense is if the shocks I bought were blown I installed them???

are they leaking?

So the rear is ok, just the front feels bouncy? I don't know what else it could be other than the shocks having an issue, I guess it is possible both sets could have faults but I don't see how you can blow shocks during the installation.

When my friend installed them, YES, the fronts leaked.
That's true. The rears are fine. The fronts are the only ones they are having a problem. Like I said, I know I DID NOT blow the front shocks the second fine around. Maybe the springs are screwed?

There could have been an issue with your particular batch, maybe there are impurities in the metal or something small that was off in the manufacturing process. When you reassembled the strut assembly and tightened the top nut to hold the strut mount down, was the spring properly compressed in the front? That is, when you jack the car up and decompress the suspension, the spring is still tightly held in the strut assembly right?

Well guess what...my front/rear driver's side shocks are both blown. This is the 3rd time I've blown a front shock. I've wasted $280 on the springs, $150 on my first replacement set, $100 on my second replacement set, and I actually paid a shop to install them the second time around for $180. That's $710 total...I could have almost boughten a set of coilovers for the money I've wasted. I'm so damn frustrated! Ugh. Stupid shocks!

I have Tein springs on my G35 for 60k miles and the stock shocks were fine when I sold the car at 113k miles. Time for coilovers! I don't want to have a crappy ride at ZDayz.

Dude...just get a set of KW V3's and call it a day. They ride more comfortably than stock.

mods?
 

I'm trying to picture myself with a 40th anniversary Z...

OK

I probably keep it stock

but if I decided to improve it

I'd have the pros do the work