Mortgage1

I am curious if anyone has seen or done a leveling kit for our cars. I like the was my car sits in the rear, but the front has way too much tire to fender gap. From what I've read on here, if you do a spring kit you need to do strut replacement as well.

I bought a leveling kit for my 05 Titan KC 4WD. Was not even $200, and it raised to front up 2 inches to match the rear.

Any ideas?

Glude

iTrader: (5)

You can install just the front Eibach springs and it would be best to replace the front struts at the same time.

jsmithsole

iTrader: (5)

Agreed it would be best to replace the front struts, but when I lowered mine there was nothing to replace them with. I ran them for almost a year and a half with no problems, not to say it was the best idea. Some guys have blown their struts 3 days after installing the springs....

DeusExMaxima

iTrader: (1)

My advice is not to drop only the front.

ShowMe

iTrader: (1)

I only dropped the front....no problems so far

Mortgage1

Did you do springs and struts?

CanadianMoFo

I installed my Progress lowering springs on stock struts. With the stock struts you do get a bouncy ride. It feels uncontrolled over bumps and in corners. I'd really reccomend getting aftermarket struts.

I installed KYB GR2's. The ride is more controlled and to be honest they give a pretty smooth ride too. Better than my 3 year old worn OEM struts for sure! I was pleasantly suprised actually.

CM

ShowMe

iTrader: (1)

I only did the springs (Eibach) If I would had done the rear it would still have the funny look.....now it sits pretty level.

UnMaTcHeD

iTrader: (2)

I dropped my car with cattman springs. After I upgraded to 19 inch wheels my rear tires started to rub, so I went back to the stock springs in the back. The look is great and the ride is pretty good. I did not change the struts.

CanadianMoFo

You went with the 19" Infiniti G35 rims though. They are wider in the rear so rubbing may be an issue with those specifically. Had you gotten a 8" width with a proper offset you might not have had rubbing issues.

Good lookin rims tho.

CM

Glude

iTrader: (5)

You got PM.

chernmax

iTrader: (15)

I vote for the entire drop, with Eibach the rear drop is only .08" and it's not just the drop but the quality of the springs now on your ride and how well they work together.

Sorry I never understood the reasoning behind buying a whole kit but only installing half of it. The rears are also the easiest to install!!! Your ride, your call...

UnMaTcHeD

iTrader: (2)

You are right, about the size of the rear wheels.
I feel that it looks alot better with the stock springs in the back, seems more even with the front than when the cattman springs were in.

Thanks for the compliment...in addition to the looks, I love how the car handles now too.

kamski

iTrader: (9)

Y not just get your rear fenders rolled??

I have Nismo 19" rims 8.5 wide and the rear rubs a touch on the sides but once they get rolled....... the side of the fender will have like 1/2 inch of clearance to the tire.

Kam

Glude

iTrader: (5)

What size tires are u guys running? Shouldnt be any rubbing unless u went larger than oem.

ShowMe

iTrader: (1)

If the front was more than the 2" drop then I would have put the rears on.....I was going to put the rears on but when the front was installed it looked perfect......and for the ride quality it is good/better than stock

chernmax

iTrader: (15)

Mine looks level with the front and back done. My point is the Eibach/Progressive are better and more firm than OEM. When you take off, the rear dip is lessoned just like when you brake you get less nose dip. But hey is half the job works for some of you, do your thing...

Glude

iTrader: (5)

Sorry but the front is still noticeably higher and I believe thats the reason people don't wanna install the rear springs. Our cars should have came with a more even stance from the factory.

chernmax

iTrader: (15)

That's because your judging height based on wheel gap differences, verse the horizontal line of the car to the ground which is pretty much straight across...

Again, I'm not a half kit guy...

ShowMe

iTrader: (1)

That was the purpose of MY lowering springs.....Wheel gap difference not performance

chernmax

iTrader: (15)

I'm about performance, so it's all good...

Mortgage1

To me it's about a middle of the road option. I think the after market should step up and say..ok..lets offer a 1 inch or a 1.5 inch drop, that still may work fine with the stock struts. For some of us, any help with the stance would be welcome.

I know some of you are thinking the same way I am. Some cars look SLAMMED, especially in the rear. It would be nice to get a spring to work in the front that will give some drop, w/o the WOW that Maxima is on air bags. LOL

logik05se

i did the progress drop and was contemplating only the front because i kind of like the way it sits with the back very slightly raised, gives it an agressive look. Either way i did the whole setup instead and now after having it on a few months the car sits on a slight slant, the front is only looks tenths of an inch lower but i really love how it looks. As far as the ride quality thats a whole other story.

KUBLKMAX

iTrader: (3)

I too did the progress springs and only did the front. I chose not to put the rears on for two reasons. 1. with front only it looks pretty much even. I am also build a system out of fiberglass and metal so I did not want it to sag after that was in. or even now if you put luggage or groceries in the car. It rides great to me. I bet if I add the rsb it will really tighten things up.

UnMaTcHeD

iTrader: (2)

You better believe it would.

NismoMax80

iTrader: (6)

What we really need is a set with a nice drop in the front and no drop for the rear, just stiffer.
I would not feel comfortable with stiffer fronts and oem softer rear.

but of course the adjustable option is still available, just more $$ - coilovers.

DRod

I agree with using the whole setup as well. We had this same problem with Grand Prixs. Eibach and a couple of other vendor reworked their springs to adjust the height to look more even (with regard to gap). But alot of guy went with front-only setups.

My question is...for you guys using front-only springs, do you feel alot of pogo in the front?

Mortgage1

To elaborate on that...I'm curious how much stiffer an SE package car needs to or is going to ride with an inch or two drop in the front. I think the ride is as stiff as I would want it now. Going to a stiffer lowering spring, and then trying to soften it up with a high end adjustable strut seems equally as silly as doing no rear drop or suspension upgrades in the rear when droping the front.

chernmax

iTrader: (15)

Adjusting the strut is more for leveling, not softening. Yes I agree the SE handles great, however you would be amazed at the potential with the right combo.

I'm a pretty spirited driver and my Max feels like it's on rails with my FULL Eibach drop, Front Upper, Rear Lower strut brace, endlinks and high performance tires. When I receive my adjustable KYB shocks for the rear I will be close to heaven when driving. Bottom line, we all have our own tolerance as to the feel we like. Trust me when I say, you have not felt the best an SE can feel (handling wise)...

Coilovers, bags, springs, shocks, struts, braces, endlinks etc, it's all good...

po8pimp

if you are looking for the best of all worlds..... get the Tein SS setup when it becomes available which should be soon according to their website... then you can add an EDFC to it and shazzzam you have it all in a bundle probably 2 grand less in your bank account but that will do it..... never leave your car to adjust for ride comfort..... if you wanna change ride height however you will have to get out I am waiting somewhat patiently for these to come out..... taking forever though.....

koyoki

I belive if eibach reformated their rear spring to the same stock height but just stiffer material and leave the front alone and Koni's(if the ever make them) would be the best with some camber correction plates. Camber has a big role in wheel gap too. A tilted wheel would have less wheel gap than a neutral wheel. An even -1 camber front and rear would give it the best stance and allow you to keep your tires for daily drive part time track driven car. just my 2cent

PENROSE2006

Haha...it's funny reading this thread. I just traded my Titan on a new Maxima SL a month ago.

With the Titans we were having the OPPOSITE problem. Many of us were buying leveling kits that raised only the front end 2 inches.

I too would like to lower my front end and leave the rear alone. I know some find that ridiculous.....but I am going for looks and not performance when it comes to this topic.

If I did buy a kit and only lower the front, what kind of aftermarket struts should I use, and why?? (I have an SL if that makes any difference).

This is my first post. I have been waiting a while to be activated (cough,cough)....and I still am not authorized to use the "search" function. Maybe the Mod's can help me out.

xorbitman

iTrader: (1)

I would like to lower my fronts too but I don't want to do it at the expense of performance. Later this year I was thinking of upgrading to 19" rims with 245/35/19's or what ever would be recommended. I have seperate winter tires on their own steel rims ( with hub caps) Up here in Montreal, our winters can be real harsh. Sometimes we can be driving in 2 to 4 inches of snow for weeks on end in the burbs! We are a big city of aprox 2.5 Million people and the roads here are notoriously rough. In fact it's a known fact that Montreal has a real bad pot hole problem in winter and mostly spring due to the thaw. Montreal has advanced automatic pot hole repair trucks and within one month most of the holes are repaired ( usually by May) I need something that lowers the ride but not substantially like some of the beautifull rides I've seen here! I am looking to lower the fronts about 1.5" maximum and not sure about the rears if I should lower or not. And I want to install new shocks/struts...what ever they are....but I'm looking to use height adjustble shocks. How adjustable are these shocks. Can I raise my ride height say 1/2 " to 1" in winter. My Winters are 225/55/17, I don't want to turn my car into a snow plow in the winter. What do you guys recommend? Also I was thinking of getting the G35 19" rims with the removable center hub logo. Sometimes they are sold by G35 owners wanting more Bling.


Thanks!

PENROSE2006

I just put on 20 inch wheels with 255/35 series tires and the front end wheel well gap is really bugging me (along with the fact that my steering wheel shakes at 55-60mph now )

xoomer.com

iTrader: (19)

Its "NORMAL" he he...see the shimmy posts

po8pimp

if you are looking to lower your car and be able to adjust it anyway possible and still maintain a high performance suspension go with coilovers.... by the time you buy springs and struts and shocks you are looking at over a grand.... yes you get what you want but adjustments are a pain when wanted and all of these pieces are pieced together as a process of elimination basically..... people have tried them to see what worked best.... go with a coilover system setup and call it a day.... Again this is just an opinion..... tein makes a basic kit that I know of..... about 950 shipped no cutting not welding no crap really.... just pull the crap out and put in the coilovers..... then adjust for height..... they have specs on their website.... www.tein.com.... I wrote tein once again asking for information on the release date for the Tein SS

madmik

iTrader: (1)

I concur. I drove in Mtl early April and had to slow down to 30-40 kmh often to make the ride bearable. It was like driving a Vette.

Since you ride on 17” in the winter (1/2” lower), the first piece of ice may cause havoc at the front if you lower it more. Not sure if they make coilover yet for the Max but those would allow you to raise the front for winter.

Best to Villeneuve on the 25th. But I think Alonso is unbeatable this year.

PENROSE2006

Trust me, I read the "Shimmy Post" cover to cover. I didn't have the shimmy with the stock wheels/tires though. I didn't get it until I put the new wheels/tires on.

I am using the hubcentric rings, did 4 remounts and balances (2 of them were road-force balanced). They all said that the wheels were fine (run-out was within specs). The steering wheel shook at 55-60mph....anything above or below 55-60 and it is smooth as $hit.

Tire-Rack.com sent me 2 new tires and I had these mounted yesterday. Now the steering wheel shimmy's at 60-65mph and my seat shakes now too....it's worse!

xoomer.com

iTrader: (19)

I read the whole thread about shimmy too because there is so many views/replies. I personally don't experience it. I am just lucky, hope it lasts.

silver10th

No shimmy here either...would like to lower the front down though.