I've owned my '98 Q45 for 6 years now and I really love it and am planning on keeping it as long as I can. It has 110k miles and the only problem I have with it is the front suspension. I've had both a dealer and a private mechanic I trust take a look at it and they both said that the parts were very expensive.
The mechanic said the parts were in the $350-400 range per side. I looked online and could only find OEM front suspension parts for the '98 Q45.
Are there just no parts 3rd party parts available or am I just looking wrong? Is the $400/side cost reasonable?
I see myself keeping the car for awhile (the engine is great and I have no other issues) but spending $2k for parts and service has made me rethink how much keeping the car working in the future will cost me.
Thanks for any advice.
1998 Q45 Suspension
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SeyelentEco
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- Car: 1998 Infiniti Q45
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BadQ45t
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'84 Nissan 300ZX (Original Owner)
'16 Mercedes Benz S550e V8 Power & 35 MPG - Location: Half Moon Bay, CA
Re: 1998 Q45 Suspension
Post #1, welcome. So your mechanic is correct, there are no aftermarket options for you out there available in the US. If you do a search on this site it is a pretty well documented issue. I would say that if you like to drive at "normal" speeds and felt like the car handled well enough, get the stock OEM parts and have them installed (two new front struts and trust me the rears are shot too so might as well do those at the same time). For me with my 97' I always felt like the Q was a little softer ride then was my taste so I sourced a set of KYB SR Specials from Japan. KYB is the OEM vendor that builts the struts(Front)/shocks(rear) for the 2nd Gen Q to begin with so you get a perfect fit. In Japan they offer an upgraded product called the SR Specials which are a more high performance product that has a significantly stiffer ride, but also makes the car handle far better...far better, huge improvement.
The other options are called "coilovers" which is a full spring and shock together. These will provide lowering effect and a very harsh/stiff ride. But the payoff is a much better handling car. Some guys on the board have used "Insurance" and "Megan" brands with very good results. I opted for Japan import SR Specials with some lowering springs and put the car down by 2". The handling is night and day from stock, my car can go around some sweeper turns 10-15 miles per hour faster with very flat cornering, but it for sure is alot stiffer. I love it!!
If you want to get the KYB SR Specials there is a company called MemoryFab that sells them. go to their website www.memoryfab.com and call them. They don't adverstise them but sell the SR Specials set for around $500 which frankly is a steal. I have an X-Terra so I don't take my Q into harms way anymore (rough roads, bad weather etc) cause having it 2" lower with 19" wide rims makes it handle great but makes it much harder to get around bad roads.
Here is what 2" lower looks like
http://s1089.photobucket.com/albums/i34 ... llview.jpg
My suggestion, if your down with a little more stiffeness to get better handling but don't want to go lower, replace the full set of springs with some stock touring ones and source the SR Specials from memoryfab. If you want to make the Q a handling machine you can either do the coilovers or find some Espelir lowering springs (people on this board can help you find those) and the SR. If you just happy with the way she runs and want to freshen it up, go OEM...call the guys at everythinginfiniti.com and see what their price is, that is Infiniti of Scottsdale so you will get OEM quality for less than your local dealer. They are probably not giving you spring prices, most mechanics think they last forever...which is sorta true, but if you plan to keep it for awhile then I'd do the whole thing in one shot.
Good luck, we're here to help if you need it.
The other options are called "coilovers" which is a full spring and shock together. These will provide lowering effect and a very harsh/stiff ride. But the payoff is a much better handling car. Some guys on the board have used "Insurance" and "Megan" brands with very good results. I opted for Japan import SR Specials with some lowering springs and put the car down by 2". The handling is night and day from stock, my car can go around some sweeper turns 10-15 miles per hour faster with very flat cornering, but it for sure is alot stiffer. I love it!!
If you want to get the KYB SR Specials there is a company called MemoryFab that sells them. go to their website www.memoryfab.com and call them. They don't adverstise them but sell the SR Specials set for around $500 which frankly is a steal. I have an X-Terra so I don't take my Q into harms way anymore (rough roads, bad weather etc) cause having it 2" lower with 19" wide rims makes it handle great but makes it much harder to get around bad roads.
Here is what 2" lower looks like
http://s1089.photobucket.com/albums/i34 ... llview.jpg
My suggestion, if your down with a little more stiffeness to get better handling but don't want to go lower, replace the full set of springs with some stock touring ones and source the SR Specials from memoryfab. If you want to make the Q a handling machine you can either do the coilovers or find some Espelir lowering springs (people on this board can help you find those) and the SR. If you just happy with the way she runs and want to freshen it up, go OEM...call the guys at everythinginfiniti.com and see what their price is, that is Infiniti of Scottsdale so you will get OEM quality for less than your local dealer. They are probably not giving you spring prices, most mechanics think they last forever...which is sorta true, but if you plan to keep it for awhile then I'd do the whole thing in one shot.
Good luck, we're here to help if you need it.
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SeyelentEco
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Mon Apr 02, 2012 9:41 pm
- Car: 1998 Infiniti Q45
Re: 1998 Q45 Suspension
Wow! Thanks for the great response. I've driven it with s*** shocks for 6 years now so I'm sure getting the OEM ones will feel great.
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BadQ45t
- Posts: 3255
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- Car: '21 Nissan Leaf SL Plus (wife's car)
'05 Nissan X-Terra S 4x4
'97 Infiniti Q45t SOLD! Miss the old girl
'84 Nissan 300ZX (Original Owner)
'16 Mercedes Benz S550e V8 Power & 35 MPG - Location: Half Moon Bay, CA
Re: 1998 Q45 Suspension
For sure with that much mileage you will think anything refreshed will work very well. But make sure to do the rears, mine were leaking hard by 70k when I did my upgrade.
You might run the parts order past everythinginfiniti to see their price. You also might need new strut mounts for the fronts, those are pretty common to replace when you do the work...I would also do it with your local guy if he's cheaper, the suspensions is very common so don't believe the dealership's bull that they know the car better.
You might run the parts order past everythinginfiniti to see their price. You also might need new strut mounts for the fronts, those are pretty common to replace when you do the work...I would also do it with your local guy if he's cheaper, the suspensions is very common so don't believe the dealership's bull that they know the car better.