Avant Garde M368 Wheels Installed

[tdawson]

I picked these wheels up a few months ago and finally got some tires put on them. When I first considered them, I scoured the internet for pictures of them on a coupe, but came up empty handed (though there are a few sedans with them). Anyways, I figured I'd do some public service and post a few pics and information. I'm still a bit on the fence about them, but they've grown on me over the past week. I ordered some new slim-profile black lugs since the stock ones are just jammed in there. I want Nissan center caps, but I don't think they make them for this bore so I may have to get creative and make my own.

Wheel Specs
Front: 19x8.5 +35
Rear: 19x9.5 +40
Tires: 245/50/19 all around
Bore: 73.1mm (so you need a hub centering ring 73.1 to 66.1)

The car rides on D2 coilovers installed about 3 weeks ago. The drop is on the conservative side, I was more or less correcting for the awful ride-height of the stock suspension (sporty over slammed). The ride quality on the D2s for anyone wondering (full soft) is a little less bad than the stock SR suspension. They certainly take bumps better, but can be a little bouncy on uneven pavement.

With factory lift-kit (why Nissan???):


Lowered:


New wheels:

[stm37s]

looks good man, keep them pics coming

[seldomseen]

The wheels and set-up looks tight. Did you roll your fenders, and are you experiencing any rubbing?

[tdawson]

Thanks guys!

The wheels and set-up looks tight. Did you roll your fenders, and are you experiencing any rubbing?

I haven't rolled the fenders yet, though I'm seriously considering it. There isn't a whole lot of clearance right now in the rear, even with the tires being a bit stretched. If I ever wanted to take it lower, the fenders would absolutely need to be rolled. No rubbing so far.

[seldomseen]

Do you experience any noise with your coilovers? I've always been leary of coilovers due to the noises that 99% of people with them experience and due to the reliability of coilovers when a person lives in a area that gets snow.

[tdawson]

Do you experience any noise with your coilovers? I've always been leary of coilovers due to the noises that 99% of people with them experience and due to the reliability of coilovers when a person lives in a area that gets snow.

Since I installed them I've pretty much exclusively driven around with my radio off so that I can listen for any weird noises and other than some intermittent creaking, I haven't noticed anything. The creaking has also pretty much gone away now that they've settled. I noticed a bit more road noise, but that could just be because the chassis is closer to the ground and there's less room in the wheel wells for tire noise to escape (IDK). The ride at first was really bouncy, but once I turned the dampers all the way to soft the ride is almost the same as oem, and in some respects better. When they were close to full hard the car cornered really well and the front end stayed down under hard acceleration, but it was just too rough to live with on bumpy city streets. At some point I'll start incriminating up the stiffness to find a sweet spot.

[tdawson]

correction: tires are actually 245/40/19

[tdawson]

Washed the car yesterday and got a few more angles to complete the picture.

[seldomseen]

The coupe looks tight. But the neighborhood looks better. Does your coupe have the premium package? What's next on the list for upgrades?

[tdawson]

Thanks man! I think it has the premium package,it has heated leather and the bose system with the LCD screen (no nav), backup cam and a few other extras. I'm not really sure if I'll do anything else to be honest.

[seldomseen]

Is your coupe a CVT or 5spd?

[tdawson]

Is your coupe a CVT or 5spd?

It's a 6-speed.

So I swapped out the coilovers for eibach springs today. The ride on the d2 coilovers wasn't bad, but it didn't feel as sporty as I would have liked. There was also a lot of road noise and some bouncyness I didn't like. The eibach springs feel amazing, not rough at all and corner very nicely. It was an expensive lesson, but I'll get some of the money back when I sell them.

I installed them by myself and for the most part it was easy enough, but getting those freakin spring compressors on right was awful, especially in heat and humidity of Tennessee.

The ride height is only slightly higher than where my coilovers were set, and when they settle it should be about the same.

[seldomseen]

What's the spring rate on the Eibachs? I wonder how long your oem dampers will last with the Eibachs. If you become dissatisified with the Eibachs you could also consider an air suspension.

[4EST]

Is your coupe a CVT or 5spd?

It's a 6-speed.

So I swapped out the coilovers for eibach springs today. The ride on the d2 coilovers wasn't bad, but it didn't feel as sporty as I would have liked. There was also a lot of road noise and some bouncyness I didn't like. The eibach springs feel amazing, not rough at all and corner very nicely. It was an expensive lesson, but I'll get some of the money back when I sell them.

I installed them by myself and for the most part it was easy enough, but getting those freakin spring compressors on right was awful, especially in heat and humidity of Tennessee.

The ride height is only slightly higher than where my coilovers were set, and when they settle it should be about the same.

Hey TDawson - In those pics on the D2's, do you know how much lower you could have went? If they do go much lower, I would like to call "1st dibs" on those D2's. Whenever you are ready to sell them, let me know!!

I can relate to that heat and humidity in Tennessee...It's a little on the warm side here in Knoxville.

[tdawson]

Hey TDawson - In those pics on the D2's, do you know how much lower you could have went? If they do go much lower, I would like to call "1st dibs" on those D2's. Whenever you are ready to sell them, let me know!!

I can relate to that heat and humidity in Tennessee...It's a little on the warm side here in Knoxville.

Oh, they could have gone much lower. That's part of the reason I took them off, I was going with such a conservative drop that they were just overkill. I was going to put me up on eBay soon for around $750 since I basically just broke them in before taking them off (they were 1k new). Toss me a PM if you wanna make a deal.

[4EST]

PM Sent.

[Javi_3.5SR]

hey tdawson i can't really pm yet since im fairly new...but contact me by email at [email protected] im also interested xD