and time for the first mod

[MaximA32]

Next week, I shall be the proud owner of an Eibach Pro-Kit. I can finally get rid of that silly wheel gap I've been hating since the day i bought the car. 1.6" average drop FTW!!

[audtatious]

Good deal. If you are going to do the install yourself, pictures and a writeup would be great

[Beancooker]

When you have it all disassembled it is a good time to replace the struts too. I recommend Tokico Illumina struts, they have worked great for me.

[RSG]

Silly question: What will be the effect of:

1. Replacing Springs but not struts (drop only?)2. Replacing Structs but not springs other than better handeling

Of course doing both at once would be great but need to save up for it.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Unless the drop from the replacement springs is very minimal, your shocks will wear very quickly.

Replacing only shocks shouldn't cause any problems.

[Chris92SE]

I put Eibachs on my car and I am very happy with them. Much improved handling and not too stiff.

I also put in Tokico blue struts at the same time.

I am not sure if this rings true for 4th gens, but on 3rd gens you HAVE to upgrade struts. The OEM (or OEM replacement) struts can't handle a drop and they usually blow out within a few thousand miles. Even Tokicos and KYBs have given out on some people. Luckily, I did the labor myself and the Tokicos have a lifetime warranty.

[audtatious]

I had my stock struts on for 55k miles with my Eibachs (2k2). They will work but they do blow (I had one replace under warranty) and handling is not as good.

[RSG]

How do the Tokico blue struts compare to the Illumina Series?

Would you say the blue shock is a 3-4 setting in Illumina?

[Beancooker]

I'd say more like a 1 or 2. The price is worth every penny. RSG, ya know I-5 around Federal Way, set 'em on 1 and it's fine, hit 405 or any other road around Redmond and you can click 'em to 5 and run the car like it's on rails.

[RSG]

Lol with setting 1 on I-5 around Federal Way

How easy is it to adjust the Illumina? I assume you'll have to pop the hood and trunk everytime for the adjustment. Better to cut a hole in the trunk liner rite?

Besides pairing with Eibach, have you tried the Illumina with H&R or Tien H-Tech?

[RSG]

btw Noah, with your Illumina/Eibach setup, do yours bottomed out on steep hills like downtown Seattle going west?

[Beancooker]

Gotta pop the lids to adjust, I can do mine in less than 1 min. Never bottemed out on a steep hill yet. Been all over DT Seattle and no problems. Never used any other springs than Eibach.

[RSG]

Awesome Hate bottemed out.

I am planning to keep my stock wheel but will go for 225/50R17. In terms of order, do you think it is okay to: replace tires -> alignment (needed) -> structs/springs? If not, what would be the correct order?

[MaximA32]

i would go with struts/springs and then align it. a lot of places have warranties on thier alignments like the shop i work for. so if you buy the alignment and then do the tires within the warranty period, free alignment. you just have to make sure you have fully adjustable camber/caster so you dont wear the tires like crazy.

and im not going to be able to replace the struts right away because funds are limited but they will be done at some point in the near future.

and dont worry. work is getting done myself so there shall be a full write-up with pics.

[RSG]

Fully adjustable camber/caster is something you need to add? Please explain...

[Beancooker]

If you drive a 5th gen you don't need a camber kit if you use Eibach Pro Kit springs. You cannot adjust castor on a Maxima unless you buy coilovers.None the less, with a Pro Kit you'll be within factory spec's on both!

[LA02MAX]

+1 to beancooker. You may need an alignment, but even that's not 100% necessary as Eibachs are a pretty mild drop. I do, however, suggest that you replace your struts with something like Tokico Illuminas or KYB GR2's (Illuminas preferrably, but i'm biased ). Your stock struts will blow eventually, and when that happens, you would have to go through all that work again to replace your struts, and you would still have to buy them in the future. Just my .02

[MaximA32]

(pockets .02)

and its ok about the extra labor, because i work in a shop. all i have to do is write up a ticket and do em again so no big there. and just another point, anytime you replace front end parts its recomended you get an alignment because it changes the front end geometry. with removing the struts and springs, it'll throw off camber for sure. and my apologies for the caster comment in my last post because i was mistaken. but anyway, i'd definitely recomend an alignment, but what do i know? i just do about 10 of them a day. (haha sorry, couldnt resist that last little barb there)

[LA02MAX]

^^ yeah i agree. There are several people who don't get alignments after their drops (i wasn't one of them) so i was just throwing it out there Uneven tire wear FTL IMO....If you want to get springs for now, i'm sure they'll satisfy you for the time being (they definitely make a difference) but the spring rates will be a little stiff for your stock struts, so you won't get the full potential out of your eibachs and it might be a tad bouncy....that being said, you will still LOVE having them on your car and it still will make a dramatic difference on the handling characteristics.

[RSG]

Thanks all for the tips and recommendations.

I will get the spring and struts together after replacing the tires cuz rain season is on its way and is too much $ to do all three + alignment at the same time.

Sightly off topic, out of these all season tires which one you like best?

Toyo Proxes 4Avon Tech M550 A/SYokohama AVID V4S

Noah, I know you are a Falken guy, but with 360-A-A rating I'm a bit worry.

[LA02MAX]

Proxes 4's IMO...I would have gone with those over my falkens, but they don't come in the stock size....I'll get the 235/45/17 next time...

[MaximA32]

out of those three, i've only had experience with 2 of them, the avids and the proxes. i've heard both good and bad things about both of them. you also have to take into consideration how much wet road surface driving you plan on doing. living in ohio, ive had a lot of people praise the proxes for its durability and its wet surface traction. that being said, go with the toyo FTW!

[RSG]

Being at western washigton where it rains more than 7 months of the year, wet traction is very important, right Noah?

NSRCAV, could you share some experiences with the avids? Not alot of people are talking about these but they seem to be good tires too.