Nismo VS Sport Package Springs, Struts and Shocks

tzwilliam

Thanks to all for their input, this is a great informational thread!

oscargarza88

I purchased a set of nismo shocks and springs and have the swift springs on their way right now.
I daily my car and occasional autox so want it to handle better yet with DD comfort still in mind.
I will post what my opinion is on these when i get them installed. probably in a week or so.

From what i have read i agree this is probably not going to be the best track/autox setup but if its a upgrade ill be happy, Specially for the price since i got a great deal on the nismo set.

Houston Z33

Coming from an HR 350Z, the 370Z feels soft and floaty (40th Anniversary aka Sport/Touring)

I heard the Nismos feels like a 350Z - I loved how that car handled, My favorite by far.

oscargarza88

So i installed the nismo shocks with the Swift springs this afternoon.
Installation:
Pretty straight forward no issues.
Picture of the difference from nismo shocks with springs and with the swift ones:

Quick tip on compressing springs:lol they dug into the ground and stayed quite in place.



Initial Impressions:
-They feel stiffer in a way that after bumps and imperfections in the road the suspension settles faster. I don't know if i can say it feels more comfortable until driven harder its just different. I like it though.

*im not going to get an alignment for a week to let the suspension settle so initial impressions might change*

Turn in is most definitely improved. Much more feedback at turn in and if front is settled it stays that way and sticks through the corner.
The rear is more loose and the back end slides out easier than before at low/medium speeds. Im guessing this is due to the increased negative camber more than the springs, at longer faster corners it feels more planted. Like i said these are initial impressions so most likely going to change.

As far as the drop I noticed it as soon as i left my driveway the plastic piece under the bumper scraped the driveway. That piece is not going to last long im sure.
These pictures are in a incline so the front looks higher than it is. i will post better pictures tomorrow.



This really makes me want to get spacers. Ive heard 15mm up front and 20mm in back is ideal right?

Ill drive it for a couple of days and post again with further impressions and pictures after it settles and from the rear to show the new negative camber.

Thanks

sandersd

FWIW I have a '14 Nismo and replaced the springs with Swift's, then went to coil overs. I like the stock Nismo springs better than the Swifts. While stiff I found them more responsive and predictable and less mushy than the Swifts. The coil overs are far and away a better ride if you're looking for performance - it's really no comparison.

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2014 370Z NISMO -- HKS Hi-Power Exhaust -- Swift Springs -- BC ER Coilovers -- SPL Suspension Components -- Nismo R-Tune Intake -- Seibon BD CF Hood

victorofhavoc

predictability is the name of the performance game!

__________________
Had a 2010 WRX- boy was it quick in a straight line, got a 2014 Z- man is she grippy in the corners-- then left the Z and later got a GTI, now back in an 09 racecar Z!

tjlazer

Don't waste your time installing the Nismo springs on your car. It was bone jarringly stiff and terrible. I'm sure it's great on the race track though! When I installed them on my base/sports it raised my front .5" to 28" (wheel arch to ground, was 27.5 before). I went with Swifts and have been extremely happy with them. They are softer when driving around town, but really stiffen up when you drive hard. You can see why in the coil design. The close coils for comfort, and the larger gap for performance. I wouldn't discount them for street/track use they are a great spring.

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2009 370Z Monterey Blue,Nismo Conversion,RE-11's, K&N Typhoon intakes,Blue Kickplates,Homelink,FI 18" CBE,ERZ HFCs,Hotchkis sways, Swift Spec-R, EVO-R Highwing, UPREV

Spooler

It's a pickle, yes it is. Swifts or coil overs????? If you price Koni yellows and swifts you can put 1000 or so with it and score some quality coil overs. HKS, Bilstein, or KWv3's. They are not top of the line but better than the knock off arama's.

Robert Yuras

Wow. The OP asked if there is a difference between to parts and this thread goes off on some wild suspension tangent.

OP: If you want to know what combo suits you best..tell us your goals and your skill set and we can guide you from there. Personally, I don't mod a car's suspension until I cannot squeeze another second out of its performance (if we're discussing driving). If you just want to change the look of the car, you have tons of options.

After 15 yrs in the road racing world, I've driven and instructed too many HPDE's that had cars over built for the skill set of the driver. This weekend is a prime example..I spent 3 or 4 laps with the nose of my Nismo BURIED under the tail of a fully prepared track Mustang (coil overs, cage, wing, etc). My car is bone stock. After getting him so nervous he couldn't hold a line, he let me by. The factory Nismo setup is really awesome. I just think people want to play with their cars too quickly. Go drive the crap out of it first.

Attached is a pic of me after passing the stang on the front stretch

Attached Images

057 - Copy.JPG (676.4 KB, 74 views)

Spooler

^^^^LOL, now that's how you are supposed to drive. I agree, the Nismo suspension is really good. The only downside to it on the street is on extremely bumpy roads. The bouncy rebound sucks. To me, that is an issue with the struts. I don't mind stiff, but the bounce is the ugly part.

Edit: I have noticed one thing, the faster you drive the better the suspension get's. I know the aero has something to do with it with
the increased down force. For me on the street though, I haven't even driven over 85 mph on the interstate. (Man I must be getting old or something. How did that happen??)

nis350

Very well said. There are many wannabe racers out there.

Robert Yuras

It's my opinion that the Nismo setup is rather sprung at lower speeds, so for common road use below 55 mph, it is harsh. However, that IS the reason the Nismo was made. The car doesn't need shock/spring modifications to run up against some of the most competitive cars on the road course. So when you buy a Nismo from the showroom floor and pay the extra premium, you're kind of accepting the fact that you're buying a "race version". There are trade offs to buying it. Unfortunately, I think some people consider the Nismo cause it looks amazing, but forget that they're getting a fairly prepped car. Lets face it: 75% of our competition made their highest tier cars with more horsepower, but failed to improve the suspension and braking components to create a well balanced car. The nismo has excellent balance in this area (even though the power curve is flat as hell and we'll ignore the clutch/fuel issue).

Side note: This weekend both the BRZ and Genesis clubs showed up at the track. We used to call the Miata's "moving slaloms"...this weekend it was a BRZ/Genesis moving slalom

nis350

This is a great unbiased post. Many simply add after-market parts to improve the performance of the car, but it is the drivers that need the improvements as many simply don't have the ability to reach the full potential of cars.

I personally feel that the Sport version is plenty good and a good compromise as DD.

carlitos_370z

completely

you can install the best coilovers and suspension parts on the market... but if you dont know how to drive the car you are not doing nothing with those parts!

victorofhavoc

I personally feel the sport version is rough as a DD...It's why I drive a Forester XT as my DD. Honestly though, the sport has the LSD and wheel width to handle pretty much anything. With a better set of dampeners and wheels the driver will definitely be the limiting factor. Out of the 2 autox races and one sprint I took my car to last year, I beat several people with aftermarket sway bars, spring setups, and even coilovers. Most people don't even know how to properly tune a coilover so they're often a waste. The only person that beat me had a set of Konis and better tires. He was only .5-1 second faster in autox though, which could be more tire than anything.

__________________
Had a 2010 WRX- boy was it quick in a straight line, got a 2014 Z- man is she grippy in the corners-- then left the Z and later got a GTI, now back in an 09 racecar Z!