T_Behr904

I have been looking at numerous spring/damper combo's to do on my 2000 Max SE 5-speed. Cost is a big factor. I came across Vogtland on Custommaxima.com and it seems to be just what i'm looking for in my price range. The progressive rate spring and 35mm drop is suited for my daily driving and still gives me good ground clearance and to soak up the bumps with all the road construction and broken pavement here where I live. Custommaxima.com has the kit listed for under $500. I've talked to a few friends who are into VW/Audi's and they say that Vogtland is a very good brand to go with. Before I commit to purchasing the suspension kit, is anyone running this setup on their car, currently or in the past? What do you like/dislike about it? Any feedbacks and of course, pics would be greatly appreciated!

Mr. Brett

iTrader: (7)

Try browsing the Suspension forum?

There's a huge thread on dropping your ride, and the results.

It doesn't matter what spring you run, the ride isn't going to be as smooth as stock because you're losing suspension travel. If you want low and smooth, buy coilovers.

My Ksports are actually more comfortable than the stock SE suspension was.

T_Behr904

I have searched the suspension forum, and I haven't found anything about the Vogtland Kit itself, which also includes their dampers (shocks)
As far as the ride quality goes, I am looking to firm that up without it riding like a dump truck. In my line of work, i have driven and ridden in many cars with aftermarket suspension setups of all types, so I'm familiar with what works well with the street, and what doesn't. However I'm not an expert. I'm steering away from coilovers due to cost and also the added cost of having them properly corner balanced.

quickhuh

iTrader: (18)

I have ridden in a audi a3 with vogtland coilovers and with 4 adults in the car it rode like a champ, my buddy is a dealer for vogtland, if you are interested send me a pm and ill get you more info.

I think i will be doing their coilover kit in the future, unless i hit the lottery and get k sports

Mr. Brett

iTrader: (7)

I've not heard anything about Vogtland personally (I know of them, but I've never heard a written review). I actually considered their springs, but decided I wanted more of a drop and went with Progress springs before my coilovers.

All I can say is, the factory struts on the Maxima do a good job of becoming very dump-truck like with very minimal height drops. Now Progress provides a pretty aggressive drop, so I'm kind of biased in my review when I say the ride was harsh and unforgiving. But I've even heard that same response from a few guys running H&Rs and Eibachs, some of the mildest drops available.

Honestly, for investment's sake, the return on coilovers is three-fold compared to any lowering springs on our cars. After riding around on struts and springs for a year or two in the Maxima, when I switched to my Ksports, I felt a huge difference in ride comfort and vehicle response.

Bump steer was cut way back, and all the little bumps and bruises in the road went from "BANG, BOOM" kind of hits to nice little thuds. And as far as corner balancing...well. It's a daily driver, not a race car, right? I've got my front end pretty low, and my back end raised up ever so slightly (too lazy to adjust them down), and I've had no issues with feedback from the car, even at highway speeds.

Take it for what it's worth, though. At the end of the day, it's what you want. Not me. I'm just trying to give you some insight.

You're comparing an Audi to a Nissan.

quickhuh

iTrader: (18)

LOL, hey after owning vws and audis for 12 years before getting my maxima its all i have ever been around

Trust me i like my maxima a whole lot more than my vws, audi its a close one

Mr. Brett

iTrader: (7)

I wouldn't mind an Audi...

Maybe an S4...or an R8. You know.

But if working on them is anything like trying to work on my sister's Bimmer, count me out.

T_Behr904

Audi's are good cars, I've owned 2 of them. Not gonna knock em, except parts are freakin' expensive!
The previous owner of my Max put Monroe Sensa Trac struts on it, and I don't think they're SE specific, cause they're kinda on the mushy side compared to other Max's i've ridden in with the factory stuff. I have ridden in a Max with Progress springs, and they are on the harsh side. I rode in a GT3 and it wasn't as harsh as that car! I'm still undecided on what I'm gonna go with, but I'm still leaning towards the Vogtland kit due to the price and the not too aggressive drop. I'll be traveling from where I live here in Florida up to Kentucky and Ohio to visit family, so I still need decent ground clearance for getting around up there in those hilly areas that have steeper entry and departure angles compared to here where I live. And my dad lives in central Florida on a dirt road so that sucks too.

nelledge

iTrader: (6)

I've worked on both Audis and BMWs. BMW is cake compared to Audi. BMW is straightforward for the most part. Maybe I'm biased. I like Audi, but they over-engineer everything. E-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g. (But I still own an A6.)

Mr. Brett

iTrader: (7)

I'm all over Kentucky and Tennessee. I have my car lowered to the point where the front wheels are just barely tucked and only scrape if I blast into driveways. Part of that is a result of having a front lip, though.

There's plenty of clearance on the Max, surprisingly. Even dropped pretty aggressively on coilovers.

I was actually pretty bummed when I put my Progress springs on. They gave the car a good stance, but it wasn't as low as I'd hoped.

T_Behr904

Mr. Brett

iTrader: (7)

Well yeah. The BMW was straightforward to work on. But everything was jammed into the engine bay so tightly it was frustrating to work on.

Me?

Sorry.

T_Behr904

that's a good thing to know I like low, but I also like ground clearance too!

T_Behr904

It's cool, no prob

Mr. Brett

iTrader: (7)

I'll take a tape measure and see what my ground-clearance is tomorrow. I've honestly never managed to bottom the Max out. Even over the massive speedbumps my town likes to plant everywhere.

The worst that's happened is riding everywhere on the bumpstops when me and three friends were jammed in the car. But that was when I was on the Progress springs.

Not the most pleasant ride of my life.

T_Behr904

yeah i know what you mean about those speedbumps! they're everywhere here now too, and they're huge! they all have massive gouge marks on them. And to make things worse, speed "humps" are springing up everywhere too. I've seen slammed short wheelbase cars (civics) get high centered on them! Usually if there's more than 2 people in the car. They have to get out so the car can raise up enough to get over it! So long as I can safely clear the man made obstacles around here, I'll be happy with that. I don't want to be "that guy" in the Civic, ya know?

Rods03Max619

iTrader: (5)

For that price thats pretty good and if people are saying they are good give them a shot!!

T_Behr904

Yup my thoughts exactly. Whatever suspension I get, I gotta talk to a few mechanically inclined friends of mine to do the install and alignment for me. BTW, I've seen ur exhaust vids on the Tube before

Prophecy99

iTrader: (1)

my only thought against c/os where their questionable longevity... especially the low cost ones.

Mr. Brett

iTrader: (7)

One of my friends has a Civic that gets high-centered occasionally. He's also managed to dent up his muffler and side skirts pretty well, too.

Yeah, we have the speed "humps," too now. Unfortunately. I've actually caught air off of those things when I decided I wasn't going to slow down.

The fact that we have such a long wheelbase compared to those other cars really helps us out, though. I was going to buy coilovers for my Z, but decided against it. I can't imagine trying to squeeze a lowered Z around half of the obstacles we have in Nashville.
Really? They say the average life of a coilover strut is around 20-25k miles. But when I got the replacement struts for my Ksports in the mail, they felt like they had a lot more life in them than that. They just felt really well-built.

When you think about it, though...lowering springs can greatly limit the life of struts too, because you're losing suspension travel and forcing the strut to work outside of its normal/expected operating condtions that it was engineered for.

nismopc

iTrader: (3)

Vogtlands ride super nice. I had them on my 2002 6speed with GR2's and loved the ride. The issue I had with them was they lowered the front and rear exactly the same amount, so the front still sat higher than the rear just as it does with OEM springs. Bleh!

If it wasnt for that issue I would still be running them. They are a quality product and the rise was super nice.

T_Behr904

Yeah I noticed that my car's nose does sit a bit higher in the front. Not sure what Nissan's reasoning was behind this with that design Maybe they were going for the rear tire tucked in look of a BMW? Maybe I'll add a lip spoiler to make it look lower... hmmm...

T_Behr904

And... bump!

Sterling

I have a higher drop in the front as well with B&G red springs - I'd like to drop the front as nice as the back - Does anyone have any suggestions on where I can find front only springs? I guess progressives were supposed to have a good drop? Eibach maybe?

phatboislim

iTrader: (27)

ill have my dropzone springs and illuminas for sale here real soon, i loved em as my spring/strut setup 2" drop very nice on the corners. riding on stock wheels cant really tell a difference in comfort

shaks

iTrader: (15)

here is the link for comparison of all common drops
http://shiftice.com/spring_strut_decision.html

i have tein s-tech setup by my own and car looks great with it
as for a ride - i need to slow down for speed bumps because of the lip

T_Behr904

Thread bump... Phatboislim, is your dropzone/illuminas ever come up for sale?

zenjia 03merlot

yeah, i love the ride of the vogtlands and illuminas. but kinda regret getting the vogtlands b/c of rear illumina's and rear vogtland springs dont fit. the springs are too short, the rear strut mount don't go down far enough to have contact with springs. can't find anyone else with this issue, but kinda wishing i went with eibachs/progressive springs route now.