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So I Went Shopping For My G...

4K views 20 replies 9 participants last post by  tekknikal 
#1 ·
Picked up the following:
-Volk LE37T 19x9.5 +22 / 19x10.5 +22 Gloss Black Wheels
-Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 255/35/19 & 275/35/19 Tires
-HKS Hipermax RS Coilovers
-Stillen Adjustible Swaybars
-Polyurethane Swaybar Bushings
-06 Headlights w/ white secondary bulbs & orange signals
-Philips Ultinon 6000k D2S Bulbs

on Monday the wheels, tires, suspension get done- assuming the installs arent that hard.
then sometime later in the month the lights get done.
i didnt want to do any of it... but i couldnt hold it off any longer lol
and at least this way i wont lose my mind waiting for the gt-r

well this is all for the rest of my G's life- under my ownership

im told the above mods will make a big difference... any ideas on what to expect? suggestions on initial settings or install?

:shiftdrive:
 
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#4 ·
Guess you had some spare change lying around?
yeah its been a really good year despite one particularly annoying mistake (short story: i should have had a nissan dealership)

anyway ive never really modded like this before so im hoping to learn a lot, have fun, and still have a sexy car.

my gf hates black wheels on a black car though. most people i know here wanted to see my G on chrome 19s/20s with 4"+ lip.. so i'm going against the grain on the home front lol.

ive never seen a significantly modded G before, at least not in real life.. so i feel kinda nervous.. dont know what to expect...never ridden on a non stock suspension in any car either... so that too will be new. monday will be a big day.
 
#5 ·
Sounds awesome, I'm sure you're gonna have fun with it. I hope you've got some twisties nearby to enjoy that suspension setup!
 
#7 ·
:thumbsup:

Great choice in suspension... but then again I'm biased.

After you get the suspension installed you may be tempted to adjust the struts to their most medium or firm (if you're trying to be hardcore) setting. I'd advise just the opposite. Set them for their softest setting front and rear. For whatever reason the HKS struts start off a little soft, then firm up in the first few hundred miles. So wait a few before making a final decision of where you want to set the struts.

Secondly alot of springs "settle" after a few thousand miles, the HKS appear not to do that (or at least very minimally) so what ever ride height you set is what you'll get. This is good because you'll have to get your alignment done once, and it should be good until the next time it needs to be done (yearly or so).

Good Luck,
Ronin Z
 
#8 ·
thanks for the tips Ronin, ill start out full soft on the coilovers.. ive been told that med/med (f/r) was a good setting for sways.. so i guess ill start there with those. if i can finish the install today ill probably play with the ride height and align tomorrow or the day after.. thanks for the heads up on the settling issue though- that was something i was wondering about.

i live on an island so actually twisties are in no short supply lol.. anyway im off to hopefully pick everything up. hmmm ive also got to buy a spring compressor and cotter pins for the install today. anyway i will post back later with pics :)
 
#9 ·
ok, today i installed the coilovers, swaybars+bushings and wheels.
its a little late but here are my initial thoughts post install and maybe 50mi of driving:

the whole thing took from about 1:30 - 6:30... so about 5hrs..with good help and taking our time. my cousins/friends were surprised at how easy the install was - we didnt even need a spring compressor.

im running on initial settings for the coilovers, which i believe to be about 40mm front drop and twenty something mm rear drop (ill confirm the actual #s in the morning). either way the drop isnt major and although i cannot confirm, i dont doubt that i could retain stock height if i wanted to.

comfort wise im surprised. im not sure what exactly i expected but i expected something. there's little drama. often times the car feels as smooth as stock. surprisingly though, when it doesnt feel as smooth as stock it feels smoother than stock. the car feels like its less likely to get upset. it tracks over irregular surfaces and bumps better. it also feels more willing to change direction. overall A+ on the comfort front. i know the spring rates of these coilovers are higher than stock, but it definitely feels moer comfortable, evenand especially on poor roads. although i know that's probably not the aim of the coilovers, they are surprisingly comfortable on initial settings (which i believe are full soft but again i will confirm). i should also note that where i live, road conditions can be very poor... so on the comfort front, i personally can't see how you could go wrong here..

as i started to mention, handling seems improved. the car feels flatter and more eager to turn. it feels more connected to the road more of the time on the street.. which makes you feel confident. i havent pushed the car so i can't really comment further here and im no expert but those are my initial reactions. i should note that because i also widened my tires and installed sways and bushings i will probably not be able to evaluate each component individually.. i can only really comment on my total setup.

anyway, about the wheels.. i really like them and have had positive comments. ill have pics tomorrow...
 
#11 ·
some random pics from the day. i tried to take pics of the process since i knew i could always take pics of the results. by the time we finished the sun was already down and i was pretty tired so i will take more pics today and tonight. for more (older) pics of my car, click here. Without further ado...



A sunny morning, this is what I was really hoping for :)
[attachment=18219:IMG_2597.JPG]


my G, my sentra, my sister's Altima. She has a new 07 on the way (guess what color it is lol) but its been sitting at the port in Fl since Dec 8 waiting on a boat. ALthough they sail every thursday at least, it goes on space available and although the boat is huge its the holiday season...so most space goes to cargo. I bought the 07 ALty in the states because prices here are crazy. Nissan here has informed me that the price range on the new Alty is $27k-37k (usd of course). They just sold an Infiniti FX35 for $52k. They just got a Z on the lot (2nd time in 4 years that they have a Z)... I don't want to know what they're asking for it. In light of this, anyone smart imports... but if you don't pay cash or know who to deal with when importing you'll get into more trouble than its worth, so a vast majority of people here buy locally. I can't wait till the GT-R comes out. I wonder if they'll ask six figures. I do know I'll laugh at them, not too hard though- I really hope I never need them for anything :(
[attachment=18220:IMG_2598.JPG]

Unloaded the wheels, unpacked them, and left them inside:
[attachment=18221:IMG_2604.JPG]

my cousin's exhaust, getting ready for installation:
[attachment=18222:IMG_2609.JPG]

His Altima SE-R:
[attachment=18223:IMG_2610.JPG]

His Old Exhaust:
[attachment=18224:IMG_2612.JPG]

Getting my car ready. BTW there are no scratches on it I guess the reflections make it look that way?
[attachment=18225:IMG_2616.JPG]

The good stuff:
[attachment=18226:IMG_2617.JPG]

Rear install, incomplete:
[attachment=18227:IMG_2623.JPG]

Front install, incomplete:
[attachment=18228:IMG_2631.JPG]

Tried to take a pic at the end of it all, excuse the crappy quality lol.
[attachment=18229:IMG_2635.JPG]
 

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#13 ·
:thumbsup:
Glad to hear the install went fairly well. If you're like me, you will enjoy this purchase for some time to come.

Nice write up on the coilovers, suprising about the ride quality.
He tells no lie. I have this same suspension, and ride quality for the most part is near stock. When the ride does get bad (rippled pavement) the car stays far more composed than it did in stock trim. Initial turn-in much improved, balance is superb.

Ronin Z
 
#17 ·
thanks for the compliments! :cheers:


Here's the latest:

>>When putting the car back together I left off the bottom panel that covers the engine, since in 5 days i expected to be installing lights and changing oil. This was a mistake. When i was driving on the highway last night someone let me know that they were seeing a lot of sparks coming from under my car. Looking under the car it wasnt obvious what had happened, but then i noticed that the front right 'fender protector' (as nissan calls it) was torn. This is the same piece as the front half of the inside wheel well cover- it goes all the way to the front lip. Apparently, it was being bent downward by airflow until the plastic wore out and a metal clip started contacting the road. luckily, no real damage was done otherwise. LESSON LEARNED. I reinstalled the cover today and will not be taking any further shortcuts like that of any kind. Although I lost a mounting point and there is now a small gap, everything is back in place and very secure. I will still patch up the hole (a couple inches long iirc) and may even take the opportunity to mod the bottom diffuser to redirect airflow more efficiently... one of my cousins has experience with composites with the USAF and I've made composite airfoils before so maybe we can construct a carbon diffuser for the front? The design seems simple enough- and airflow could even be improved over stock- but for some reason no one has done it. Only downside is, obviously, no one would see it. However, I would probably then be able to make my own secondary "oil change" panel within it that comes out via 4 bolts. And THAT would be worth it. lol. We'll see...

>>I read that the stock settings for ride height are 20mm front drop / 10mm rear drop. In imperial that's about -0.78" F / -0.39"R.. it looks like more than that though. If true I should be close to alignment spec and would be very pleased. I will be going in next week to get it looked it. I am dreading taking my newly fixed up baby to a dealer/service place though :(

>>I have also discovered that the stock settings for stiffness are about 10/30 with 1/30 being full soft and 30/30 being full stiff. This is interesting but at the same time makes me concerned. If that's really where I am now then these coilovers can make the car ride softer without a doubt. I hope that there's significantly more to be gained lol....and I have to laugh because this was something I never thought I'd say (because of the horrid roads here). I will be commenting more on this later on.

>> I think I'm still on track to be installing headlights and brake pads this weekend. Then once I give everything else another lookover I'll be doing some higher speed testing of the car.
 
#18 ·
I hate taking off that stupid plastic panel when changing my oil and filter, it takes me more time to unbolt that then to change the oil and filter itself. Then I have to put the stupid thing back on. I'm glad that nothing bad happened to you, but even though it's a pain, I guess I'll keep mine on.
 
#20 ·
Yeah, it is a really good looking G. It's really hard to keep my wife's black G dust-free here in NM.
 
#21 ·
thanks again for the compliments.

well here's the latest. i'm having a problem. the coilovers are squeaking on any setting between about 18-26 out of 30, with 30 being hardest. they squeak whenever i go over a bump. on 10, 15, and 30 the coilovers do not squeak. when i had them at 18, 20, 22, and 26 they did. they seem loudest from 20-25.

if anyone has any ideas id very very much appreciate it because right now im not sure what to do... maybe retighten everything? relube bushings? or are one/both of my front coilovers bad? (seems unlikely, but..?)
 
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