Shocks, Struts & Coilovers

[olegos]

Hi all.

My 2007 Infiniti M35 got a "jumpy-soft" ride lately and I want to stiffen it to get a sporty feel out of it.

The problem is - I have no idea what is the difference between shocks, struts or coil overs

What do you suggest I need to buy for my vehicle if I want a good cornering and remove the "jumpiness" at high speeds? What brand would you recommend?

Thanks a bunch!
Alex.

[wideopn11]

It could be that your shocks are worn out and the springs are taking most of the load causing a "jumpy/bouncy" feel. There's lots of good options depending on your budget. I think a little more information about what you want to do would help us provide better advice. Do you want to keep the stock look, lower, be able to adjust the height and/or stiffness of the ride?

[olegos]

1. I definitely want a stiffer ride. The car drives 140mph at times as well as taking sharp mountain road cornering, so stiff ride is a must. I don't want a rocking cradle.

2. Lowering would be preferred, but just enough so I don't scratch the balls on the asphalt. If this isn't possible, then lowering is not a priority for me.

3. Adjustable height and stiffness would be a dream. I used to have an old VW Scirocco with KYB adjustable shocks, but that was so long ago, that I'm sure there are more modern technologies these days. That's why I came here for advise...

Thanks a lot!

[wideopn11]

http://www.tunerzstore.com/index.php?p=1_268

A lot of guys go with D2 or BC coilovers. Lower to where you are comfortable. Not too pricey.

[olegos]

So, as I understand, coilovers - are shocks and struts in one piece and that's what I need, correct?

Thanks.

[Wangtang408]

1. I definitely want a stiffer ride. The car drives 140mph at times as well as taking sharp mountain road cornering, so stiff ride is a must. I don't want a rocking cradle.

2. Lowering would be preferred, but just enough so I don't scratch the balls on the asphalt. If this isn't possible, then lowering is not a priority for me.

3. Adjustable height and stiffness would be a dream. I used to have an old VW Scirocco with KYB adjustable shocks, but that was so long ago, that I'm sure there are more modern technologies these days. That's why I came here for advise...

Thanks a lot!

I wished that KYB would make adjustable shocks for the M

[wideopn11]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8uEA50thsQ

This should help clarify.

[olegos]

Thanks a lot!

[olegos]

Just got a reply from KYB "Your vehicle uses struts on the front and shocks on the rear" - is this true?

[MOWellsinVA]

Yep.

[EniGmA1987]

1. I definitely want a stiffer ride. The car drives 140mph at times as well as taking sharp mountain road cornering, so stiff ride is a must. I don't want a rocking cradle.

2. Lowering would be preferred, but just enough so I don't scratch the balls on the asphalt. If this isn't possible, then lowering is not a priority for me.

3. Adjustable height and stiffness would be a dream. I used to have an old VW Scirocco with KYB adjustable shocks, but that was so long ago, that I'm sure there are more modern technologies these days. That's why I came here for advise...

Thanks a lot!

Coilovers would do all of that.

[psyopper]

So much to say, I don't even know where to start.

If you are playing in corners and want to eliminate body roll you do it with swaybars, not shocks/springs/coilovers. Sway bars are lateral springs that force one side of a car to adjust itself in relation to something happening on the other side of the car. When one wheel compresses it forces the other side to compress too. The stiffer the swaybar the more movement that gets translated laterally. Also - stiffer swaybars reduce the independence of independent suspensions and at a certain point you might as well have a beam axle (or drive a 1977 F150).

We have "collared shocks" on our cars, not struts. The front suspension is a double wishbone - the upper and lower wishbones control wheel placement relative to the body plus dynamic camber control - the shock/spring control vertical oscillation only. A strut suspension only has a lower control arm - the strut replaces all of the functionality of the upper control arm as well as controlling the vertical oscillation of the wheel and has a fixed camber angle. This is why we need a new upper control arm to reset camber, and Honda's need a camber plate to change theirs.

In a properly designed double wishbone the pivot bolts on the upper and lower control arms are eccentric and allow you to adjust camber with the turn of a wrench.

A coilover by definition is a shock with a collar that uses a COIL spring wrapped OVER the shock body, hence the name. Technically both a strut on a Civic and the collared shocks on an Infinity are coilovers because the coil is over the shock body. In reality and common language - a "real" coil-over has adjustable spring perches and often either combined or independent adjustments compression damping and rebound damping. I believe this is the "adjustable stiffness" you are looking for.

They look remarkably alike, collared shocks and struts, with the major visual difference being that a strut has a bracket welded to the side that uses two (or more) bolts directly to the hub. A shock has a single tube welded to the bottom to bolt it to the lower control arm. Because of the extra duties performed by the strut the structure and size are generally about 20% larger than equivalent shock.

[olegos]

Wow, thanks a bunch Psyopper!

I will be back and ask more details about swaybars a little later

For now, I've decided to choose between these two coilovers below,
which one would you guys buy and why? (they are almost the same price)

http://www.bcracing-na.com/products/br-type/
"They are 30-click compression/rebound adjustable coilovers that are full height adjustable without loosing any piston/spring stroke. This means that no matter what ride height you choose, you're always going to have full stoke on the coilover, unlike a droop style system."

or

http://ksportusa.com/products/coilovers/kontrol-pro/
"It will allow you to adjust your ride height on all 4 corners independently and allow you to set the stiffness of the ride on all 4 corners independently by use of the 36 way damping knob"

Thank You!

[psyopper]

The photos on that KSport show what I was talking about as a difference between a shock and a strut. The one on the left is a strut with the side mounted bracket and adjustable camber plat at the top mount. The one on the right is a shock with the bottom bolt mount and no adjustable camber plate. Both are "coilovers."

[olegos]

Thanks a lot!

So which one would you take?
(quality & performance wise)

Both companies said it will match my car.

[psyopper]

Did they indicate what the spring rates are on each of those kits? I've never heard of either of them and have always stayed with industry stalwarts like KYB and Koni in the past.

[olegos]

They are approximately the same price of $1K.

[Ilya]

Did they indicate what the spring rates are on each of those kits? I've never heard of either of them and have always stayed with industry stalwarts like KYB and Koni in the past.

You've never heard of BC Racing?

Op,

As far as M's go, everyone goes either BC or D2 for coilovers. We only had one member use KSports (the kit was based on his car as he worked with the manufacturer). I myself am on BC's.

[olegos]

Thanks Ilya

[svard75]

You have the m35 not the awd version. Why even entertain bc, d2 or sport when for approximately the same price (msrp of 1250) you can get basic tein coilovers?

https://www.tein.com/srch/eng_search.ph ... hfrwd=PY50

[EniGmA1987]

You can find D2's as low as $850 at times, normal I guess is like $950. I consider $300+ extra Dollars to be a little more than "approximately the same"

[Ilya]

You can find D2's as low as $850 at times, normal I guess is like $950. I consider $300+ extra Dollars to be a little more than "approximately the same"

Agreed.

[svard75]

$300 more for a far superior product is worth it.

[06M4.5]

The most popular of all is Megan Racing ($845 shipped) which is made by BC Racing but they don't have the problems that BC Racing has, isn't that funny

Ksport is used more with air suspension but I heard good things about their coilover kits & customer service.

[Ilya]

Not sure what problems BC has...mine are fine other than they were a pain to install because I don't understand the concept of lowering/raising a car so I had to have a shop set the height for me (the actual install of the hardware was easy). Had em on for like 30kmi already and all I've done is occasionally wash them and spray lithium grease on the threads.

[06M4.5]

BC Racing has had problems with noise for a while now in all types of cars, not only the M.

BC is very popular on the Y51 with good results so far.

[axefire]

So I'm long overdue for struts/Suspention replacement. My M35x is a little wishy washy and I'd like to stiffen it up a bit, not all that interested in lowering or upgrading, just need new ones...I have no idea what to get or where to get them from. Literally just about to take my car to my man at STS and just get whatever they have. I now have 100k as I drive 100 miles a day to work.

so, can anyone point me to where I can buy everything that I need all around? If I can get performance parts for the same price I'd pay at STS then great... Again, I have no idea exactly what parts I need...

Thanks
M

[axefire]

Hey what do you guys think of this?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/330910368671

[06M4.5]

Another member asked me about those a few days ago so I called Megan. I can get them for $845 with shipping & paypal fees.

Good luck, Freddie

PS hope to see you at the M BBQ/meet this year

[axefire]

Yah man I hope to make it this year, let me know when and where!

I think I'm gonna pick these megan's up, they look and sound great...They're $899 on eBay, you can get them for a better price?