Christian370Z's Progression Thread

[christian370z]

Or I could sell it outright and put that money towards revamping the brakes.... Too many choices, I am inclined to go for the brakes as I have always been more of a performance guy before adding pretty stuff anyway.

That is great to hear you are doing well, it is definitely a bummer that you are on the opposite coast now. How long do you think you will be in the Northeast?

[supercwf]

Cars looking sharp!

[christian370z]

Thanks Super! My Swift springs came in today, but the lady who works in the school mail room was not happy about the 40 pound box... Then again, neither was I since I had to carry it half a mile to my dorm haha. The springs look great and were well wrapped, the powder coating was even and unblemished and in general they have a much higher quality feel/look than the Koni springs I had for my Saab.

Install is slated for December 8th so I will update when that happens, I am also going to try and get away with the factory camber adjustment range.

[christian370z]

Today I drove over to my good friend Seb at SpecialtyZ (Canoga, CA) to have my Swift Spec R springs installed. I got there bright and early and work started right away, going smoothly and taking only a couple hours front and rear with no real surprises for once! These springs are supposedly the best performance springs available and yet have been reported to ride more comfortably than the stock springs while being called "junior coil overs." I had a hard time believing this initially, but they were worth every penny.

Quality of the Springs: I was honestly a bit disappointed that the springs came powder coated black rather than the beautiful metallic blue color that is advertised on their website but the coat is even and looks very durable. Compared to the stock springs, these look very beefy and much more substantial which I thought was a plus.

Lowering Observations: The kit is supposed to lower the car 1" in the rear and 1.2" in the front to give the car a nice, slightly more aggressive pose. Once the car was settled off the lift and received an alignment, the ride height was already at the marketed drop so I expect it to go a little lower as the springs settle. The drop is very even front and rear and is the perfect look in my opinion: not too low but not too conservative.

Driving Impressions: this was what interested me the most, I had a hard time understanding how this spring can perform so much better (increased spring rate) but be more comfortable than stock. It depends on your definition of comfortable, but it did improve ride quality in a few areas: large freeway bumps, undulations and overpass rises felt much better as the car just felt more planted and settled during and after the undulations. It also had less of a bounding motion. That said, the ride is firmer and was immediately noticeable as soon as I hit the road. It is not a harsh firmness, but it feels much more positive and controlled which is exactly what I was looking for.

I took it through Malibu canyon roads such as Mulholland on my way back from the shop and the car felt PERFECT. There was no noticeable body roll, and steering response as well as turn in felt much more precise and direct. The car was balanced perfectly between the Stillen sway bar set to the firmest setting in the rear and the spring rates, there was no hint of understeer and I felt like I could finally effectively control the car using throttle. Mid corner bumps did not unsettle the car or give a lurching sensation like the stock springs did and it felt suitably firm at higher speeds which kept the car feeling planted.

All in all, I am very very happy with these springs. Here are a whole bunch of pictures in case anyone is interested, both before and after.

Before:







On the lift:




Comparing the stock springs to the Swifts, check out the difference!




And lowered, all around shots: (sorry the car is a bit dirty)














A big thanks to Seb at SpecialtyZ, very quick high quality work at a super reasonable rate.

[Jamaica]

drops looks good my friend

[christian370z]

Next thing will probably be a set of 20mm spacers all around, being somewhat flush is starting to call my name lol. Thanks for the comment Andrew.

[Jamaica]

trying to be hella flush lol

[akoo]

The drop looks great!

It's nice to finally see a non-sport pack with these springs on... I've been waiting to see how swifts looked with the 18's.

[Boost_lee]

very good Christian, I told you that you would like them They should settle just a tad more, mine took about a week with little driving

[christian370z]

Originally Posted by akoo

The drop looks great!

It's nice to finally see a non-sport pack with these springs on... I've been waiting to see how swifts looked with the 18's.

Thanks Akoo, I was interested too as there aren't to many lowered Zs with the base 18s that I could find but it definitely helps them look a bit better on the car. I would still like the Sport Package Rays but I think the base 18s will look much better with some spacers and this drop.

Originally Posted by Boost_lee

very good Christian, I told you that you would like them They should settle just a tad more, mine took about a week with little driving

That's true, you deserve credit! They really do ride perfectly, I was shocked at how balanced the car felt since I had a fair amount of understeer with the same sway bar setting and stock springs. I am not sure how much the more aggressive alignment played a role but everything came to within factory spec.

How does your car feel in terms of balance?

[Boost_lee]

Originally Posted by christian370z

How does your car feel in terms of balance?

My car feels much better with the springs, but I think it's lacking in the tire dept. I really have to warm these up for them to grip (stock bridgestones with 14k on them)

Im thinking with a good 305 and maybe sway bar set, the car will handle perfect for my "fun" needs

[370Z JT]

Very nice. No camber kit required? Can you pm me the labor $. Thx

[RCZ]

Looks great man! Time to buy my BBK though

[christian370z]

Originally Posted by 370Z JT

Very nice. No camber kit required? Can you pm me the labor $. Thx

Nope, all parameters came in to the factory spec. The camber adjustment in the rear is maxed out and on the slightly aggressive side but still within the factory camber range. PM'ed.

Originally Posted by RCZ

Looks great man! Time to buy my BBK though

I am going to probably just go with Akebonos to be honest rather than do pads/fluid on the base brakes but I can't jump on your deal right now until the funds become available. Unless you want to do a monthly payment type deal haha.

[tbonesteak]

Damn Christian ur car is coming along nicely in the time that i've been gone. How does the car feel over potholes and bad roads? I'm assuming since the car is stiffer it'll ride a bit more harsh over those small imperfections?