ThisMaxIsTight

iTrader: (23)

well, after months of reading through strut and spring threads, ive decided to go with coilovers.. it only makes sense because after getting all the suspension pieces-bumpstops, dustboots, springs and struts, its gonna cost about $500 or $600..so why not just pay a little more and get the coilovers, plus I can adjust the height to my liking whenever I want..

now that im gonna go with coilovers, I think its a given that we cross D2's off the list, do to all the noise problems that people have with the D2's...so that leaves it to Ksport and tein basics, (jics are way to much) .. the teins are a good name and have a good reputation from what I know .. I dont know much about the KSports except what I read in Mr.ducks post.. I know that you cant adjust the dampening for the teins as compared to the Ksports .. im just looking to know if one one is better than the other...I dont race, I just like driving fast and taking a nice turn here and there...I would appreciate the input .. Rick

ThisMaxIsTight

iTrader: (23)

bumpin it .. yes there are coilover threads but nothing that compares the 2

maxgtr2000

iTrader: (29)

I would go with anything adjustable. K sport might be the better choice if this is so. If Tein made the EDFC system for our cars I would go with that.

RockfordMax

iTrader: (2)

alright new challenge. where is the lowest price on ksports?

Kevlo911

iTrader: (36)

GD Forum....

BEJAY1

iTrader: (19)

I thought I read Cattman was about to announce another GD on his CO's for like $1000-1100 or something. Maybe a good choice for street drivers looking for better drop & turns.

nismology

iTrader: (8)

What can they do that the ksports can't?

ThisMaxIsTight

iTrader: (23)

whats the EDFC system ?

chillin014

iTrader: (67)

i just came to the coilover decision (over spring/struts combo) last week but somebody said the ride is stiff. Id like to know the truth behind the quality of the ride, and how the adjustments go with the ride comfort and all of that.
my main goal is a decent drop, a nice comfortable ride and easy turns.

Mr.Duck

iTrader: (8)

i am on ksports, and i can EASILY compare them to tein h-tech spring ride comfort. a friend has GR2's and tein h-techs, and my car rides as nicely as his does, and the tein h-techs are very comparable to the H&R's. So far i love the ksports.

Maximus_95

iTrader: (8)

tein coilovers will give you good handling and great comfort.
dont know much about ksports, but teins have a better name.
whatever you decide, good luck, coilovers is the way to go!

Y2KSESteve

iTrader: (22)

http://www.sportcompactonly.com/prod...2056&c=170&l=2

Mr.Duck

iTrader: (8)

i wish you lived closer so we could do a comparison!

JSutter

iTrader: (46)

teins are not a compleat replacement, you need to reuse some stock parts unless you opt for the PB mounts.

Spaniard

iTrader: (1)

Whats the verdict on the Cattman coilovers? Im thinking about 'em for serious track use...

Edit: but I would also like to be able to keep the car drivable on the commute...

ThisMaxIsTight

iTrader: (23)

B U M P ing it .. .. ..

ImmaSquashYou

iTrader: (7)

tein and k-sport. i have d2's and yes i have noise issues, leave me alone!! heh

anyways, k-sport adjusts height from the bottom and also have adjustable dampening. for the 4th gen, tein only makes basic. tein SS is the one with 16 point adjustable dampening. Tein Flex is the tein SS with adjustable height from the bottom mount. reason for this is full shock travel. when you adjust height from where the coilovers sit, you will loose shock travel therefore shortening the life of the shock meaning you will need to re-valve them faster than adjusting from the bottom mount giving full shock travel. you might want to get different springs if ordering from k-sport since 9/7 for e on the d2's are very bumpy and rough. i'd say at LEAST go with 7/5. Tein doesn't let you pick the spring rate is because the have chosen the best one that is for the car compared to everything such as ride comfort and for the shocks to last the longest. Tein is able to do this since everything that they make, they actually put a lot of tesing into it.

Tein will make ou re-use the stock parts or you have to buy the upper mounts and alot of other stuff in order for you to be able to install your coilovers. re-using ur stock part means you have to get a spring compressor or have a pretty hefty person stand on the spring and shock since the bolt will shoot out. getting the top mount back onto the stock suspension when or if you decide to put back the stock system will require much more labor than needed. K-sport comes with everything including the front camber kit which is usually another $100 depeding on what brand you go with. k-sport is by FAR the cheapest and best set-up since if you compare tein felx and tein basic prices, they're usually about a good $400 difference.

GO WITH K-SPORT!!!!

ThisMaxIsTight

iTrader: (23)

^^^^^^^^^^^^ damn thats some good shyt .. thank you

oigs

I just installed the Tein Basic's 2 weeks ago, and I'm very happy with them. The performance is excellent, you can immediately feel an incredible difference over stock.

The ride is stiff, but comfortable. The adjustment range is 3.6", I have mine 2" higher than minimum (1.6" down), and the CD player skips over highway bumps (the kind you might encounter 10 times on a 500 mile trip).

I just took 2 trips, each a week apart, and installed the Tein's in the middle. All told, the later trip was much more fun, and I didn't notice the slightest decrease in comfort (though the I30 does have pretty good leather seats). This doesn't mean I didn't feel more bumps in the road, or didn't lose the "riding on air" feeling of new stock springs - there is a huge difference. I felt just as comfortable, and enjoyed the ride much more.

Now, on to performance... amazing! I have stock 15" infiniti wheels with all purpose tires (until Thursday when my new 18's w/ Proxes 4 arrive!!!), and I was taking some really tough 20MPH ramps at 50... and the car took them with ease... trouble was the tires wouldn't grip! I don't get the sense that the suspension was coming close to the limit, it was all the tires holding me back. I'll report more with real tires, but suffice to say that the coilovers are damn good...

Installation of the Tein's is very straight forward, however you will want to note the following:

- Need to re-use existing (or purchase new) strut mounts
- Need to drill to open up the mounting holes a bit on the fronts (stock holes on Tein's are smaller than Nissan bolts). I suppose you could use smaller bolts, but I opted to go this route.

Installation took about 3 hours, and was a good excuse to replace some other worn components on the front end - ball joints, sway link bars, strut mounts/bearing, etc.

All said and done, I'd recommend the Tein's, and given the opportunity, would buy them again. The ride is great, so is the performance - you can't go wrong!

Mr.Duck

iTrader: (8)

the ksports are nice, i still have some more adjusting to do, and that is really the only hard part, is the adjusting. Gotta get the ride height just right, the dampening just right, the springs just right, ect ect, the install is very easy, take out the old, pop in the ksports. not hard at all, only the adjusting is the problem. so if you want a harder install, but no aftermath go with the teins, if you want a very straightforward install, but having to do a bit more aftermath go with the ksports, i would really like to ride in a car with teins so i could compare, but no one around here has them. and Immasquashyou's post was very nice.

DAVE Sz

iTrader: (2)

I can't see any reason to pick tein basics over the Ksports or D2S. The cattmans will be crap, I'm sure the previous ones were.

ImmaSquashYou

iTrader: (7)

only reason i would pick tein over k-sport is probably the service????? i know that tein isn't that much to re-valve them, i think about $200? and customer service for tein is great since i called them like 5 times when installing them on my accord and they were very helpful. also tein is a known company and are made AND DESIGNED in japan. k-sport says that they are made in japan, but i dunno where they were designed. as we all know, there are crazy drifters in japan, and they basically only use the best stuff out there.

Cattman coilovers???? people sometimes think that lowering is just for looks. well it is, but safety comes to an issue also. its like saying if you were to paint your rotors, they would look good, but then you wouldn't be able to stop. would you do it? you wouldn't want to be turning and then suddenly BAM!!!!! you no longer have 4 wheels but only 3. how fun can that be?? One of my favorite quotes, "If you're gonna do it, do it right the first time and stop being cheap!!!!!!"

ThisMaxIsTight

iTrader: (23)

thats some good stuff guys...thanks for all the input .... yeah I definitely agree with that Japan stuff, everything made by Japan is usually pretty damn good-nissans, hondas, acuras, etc..., panasonic, kenwood, ...all the Jap stuff is great ...

GoalieKeg

iTrader: (4)

We've gone over this many many MANY times, but I will give my two cents.

Tein basics are tested, proven coilovers. The price is right, the performance is great. There is no dampening adjustment, but the springs are 7/6, and that is perfect for the shocks that they come with. I personally reccomend a camber kit if you want to drop it over 2" (I have mine somewhere at about 2.2"+ and have ingalls camber bolts), but it is not necessary if you have someone who can align your car the RIGHT way (yes, there is a wrong way). Reusing the stock mounts is NOT a big deal at all, repeat, NOT a big deal. From what you posted, you won't need dampening adjustment, or pillow ball mounts. I reused my stock mounts and rubber, and my car had around 190,000 miles at the time. I had no problems, and still have no problems. I've put almost 20,000 miles on my coilovers already. The ride is stiff over bumpy surfaces, and extremely smooth over smooth surfaces, in fact, it's alot smoother than I expected. I like the coilovers on smooth surfaces better than stock personally. As mentioned, the holes need to be drilled slightly larger. This wasn't a big deal for me at all. You also need a spring compressor. I found that the spring compressor is something that I needed in my garage anyways.

Overall I am extremely happy with my purchase decision. The car handles incredibly, and I have yet to take it to it's limits (extremely sharp offramps at 70+mph is scary with stock seats, and I barely hear the tires slipping at all). Body roll has been eliminated on the highway as well. The car is easier to control when braking hard, even if the car locks up. It's much more predictable. I currently don't have a RSB and still have superb handling.


As far as the K-Sports go:

Mr. Duck is happy with them thus far. They are a true coilover, and have all the features of the high priced ones (JIC, etc). The only beef I have with them is that they have not been proven to be reliable yet. If I ever get another 4th gen in a few years and decide not to transfer my teins over to it, then I would consider the K-Sports before the teins, as long as the KS's prove themselves. If not, I would probably go with my coilovers again (or consider other possible products that come out in the future).

At the price that the KS's are at, I don't know why one wouldn't go for them. It's an incredible deal. Either way, you really can't lose.


So to sum it all up:

The reason I went with tein was because they are proven. The other coilover that I considered was the D2, but decided against it because it wasn't proven, and they turned out to be full of noise issues. I made the right decision.


Dan

ImmaSquashYou

iTrader: (7)

i totally agree with you, if the k-sport was at the normal price of about $1,100, i would go with tein's. but $740 shipped is an amazing price and shouldn't be passed without having second thoughts. Spring compressor can be rented, but you have to be careful. if you are a clutz, dont use it and go to a shop. it can be very dangerous if you do'nt know what you're doing. i'm sure you don't want something in your thigh if all you're doing is wanting to lower the car. hence, this is why some people can do all the modding themselves, and others have to pay others to help with the install. compressing the spring with the compressor is NOT hard, but can be dangeous as while you're lowering your car can be very dangerious as well

d00df00d

iTrader: (4)

Ride Quality

The ride with any coilovers will be bumpy. Period. Now, that doesn't say anything about how *nice* it will feel, because while it feels bumpy, the car doesn't have any of the bounce and wallowing that it would have with springs and shocks. This is why some people say they're comfier than stock -- you feel the bumps more, but the car is much more controlled and doesn't bounce nearly as much.

If your idea of a nice ride is controlled and planted, you need coilovers. Period. If your idea of a nice ride is one that irons out the bumps, don't get coilovers.


Tein vs. K-Sport

It's looking more and more likely that K-Sport coilovers are really just touched up and revised D2s. The D2s had some big problems when they were starting out, but they are a good, solid design. The K-Sports are a slight improvement with none of the problems.

Tein Basics give you height adjustment, and the shock is valved in such a way that you get pretty much the best damping for the springs, so that's good. They also let you adjust your height. K-Sports, on the other hand, let you adjust the damping, as well as the preload on the springs and the height. They're also valved incredibly well -- with 9/6 spring rates, they ride as smoothly as other coilover systems do with 7/5.

The K-Sports are just a higher end coilover system, and after May 31st, they will be priced accordingly. As of now, though, they're about as expensive as Tein Basics and they're better in every respect. Unless you absolutely need the assurance that you're riding on a tried-and-true product, there's no reason not to get the K-Sports.


Cattman Coilovers

Don't knock these. They are being developed in cooperation with Progress Technologies to be overall the best coilover system available in all respects, and they're being tested extensively on the Max. For most other coilover systems, when they make different sets for different vehicles, the sets are mostly just different combinations of the same range of parts and are sometimes not even thoroughly tested on most cars. A Maxima-specific design will always have an advantage in that department. That's why the Cattman coilovers are going to cost a lot more than the alternatives.

Mr.Duck

iTrader: (8)

i believe revalving of the ksports only cost 100 each strut, and the customer service has been extremely good, you can get ahold of them by phone during regular business hours, or by aim during all other times.

d00df00d

iTrader: (4)

You don't need spring compressors to install coilovers, since you don't even need to remove the stock springs from their mounts.

DAVE Sz

iTrader: (2)

I think you do with the TEINS. He said like 10 times you need to use some stock parts for the tein install.

Maximus_95

iTrader: (8)

couldn't have said it better Dan. I have decided to not give my input on things anymore. Just let them get whatever they want.
Shoot, Tein should pay us for giving a good word man! =)

d00df00d

iTrader: (4)

Also forgot to mention..... the previous Cattman coilovers were apparently used in a Cattman-sponsored 4th gen Max that, with relatively few other mods, beat everything else in its class at an autocross event a couple of years ago. And it was the 3.0L 6cyl class, so that means 300ZX, IS300, M3.....

I saw the page but I can't find it any more. If I do find it, i'll post a link.

BEJAY1

iTrader: (19)

Could be driver skill and not so much the suspension doing much of that.

GoalieKeg

iTrader: (4)

No doubt. Hey, think of it this way: We can still stop and turn faster than most people on this forum...Some of these folks are like a girl in a makeup shop (I have 3 sisters so I would know) contemplating what eyeshadow they should buy...

SiCkBLaCKMaX99

iTrader: (1)

i would like a susension setup that allowed me to drop the max 3" or more and raise to stock height are the teins capable of this?

Laly

iTrader: (1)

now im convinced, ksports it is. this is the last week to do this at 740 shipped. you other guys better make up your mind quick.

Spaniard

iTrader: (1)

I went with ksports

chillin014

iTrader: (67)

Are ksports rough?

Spaniard

iTrader: (1)

They are coilovers... Not going to be like a stock suspension... Thank goodness!

GoalieKeg

iTrader: (4)

With any coilover setup at 3" down, you are going to scrape (the frame), rub (tire to wheel well), and bottom out over every single bump unless you have some incredibly stiff springs, which would result in an unbearable ride. You really don't need to drop the maxima more than 2.3" to tuck the tires.

MAXIN

iTrader: (5)

Go for the Ksports... havent driven on them much yet (installed today) but they seem to be a better ride then the JICs...so far...havent given them a "road test" like I did with the JICs as of yet since its raining today... just regular normal driving with dampening set to 'full soft'. ...never rode on Tein Basics so can't comment.

I like the rubber spring seats on the Ksports... JICs doesnt have these (the rears used to clunk like I had a can of rocks in the back seat since the shocks were dead)....

IMO. Ksports tops them all in the "looks dept." not that that really matters when suspension shopping