The Low Down: On Lowering Springs Y34

[jadeM45]

This car is much more complicated than others. The rears are a snap, you just loosen a plate on the bottom and pull the spring out and replace. The fronts are a pain, you need to drop the entire front end suspension. You cant just take the nuts off the top of the strut and the control arm and tilt out like you do on most cars. The suspension is a complete unit and you can't separate the bottom to tilt it out.

It took my guy about 3-4 hours with a lift. I paid $180.

I'd be willing to bet he can knock it out in the same time. This is the guy who dropped an auto trans and put a manual on in four hours...in a garage.

[xxNite]

Okay.... Got the TEIN S-Tech springs installed Monday and the car aligned... They shop found that the rear right adjustment bolt was seized inside the tow arm, so I took the car to the Infiniti dealership and they are replacing the back assembly under warranty. (whipping around right now in a loaner G35x. Damn I miss my M's ballsy motor)

Install Shop charged $445 and rebalanced two of my tires.

Have to go back to them after the dealership finishes installing the rear assembly.

For the sake of the alignment I tossed a 100+Lbs of audio equipment in the trunk (none of which is yet installed)

The car feels.... "DIFFERENT". Since it sits lower, their is noticibly less body roll in taking sharp corners, but I'm afraid what ClutchKick said before is true. Immediatley after you install these springs, your suspension feels "mushy". I have hit a few bumps in the road that bottomed out the suspension like never before and made the car (and me) feel bad.

Remember, I am using these springs with factory wheels, not upgraded 19's or 20's. I am still waiting for the front to settle down to it's proposed normal level 1-inch drop. right now it's still sitting high. the rears are tucked a little too low for my taste... especially once I really install all of the audio equipment.

Here is the before picture:

here is immediately after the install:

I'll be posting another picture once the car settles completely down.To be honest, I should have left well-enough alone since I wasn't planning on installing aftermarket rims... I'll see how I feel about the new look once it's completely even all around.

Modified by xxNite at 8:55 PM 9/9/2008
Modified by xxNite at 8:58 PM 9/9/2008

[CakeDaddy]

Good deal.. and yes, the rear does sit lower than the fronts and I’d curious to see how it settles. It’s funny, but my car settled immediately after the car was dropped with eibachs. I was under the impression that it would settle, but…….. it looks the same as it did fresh out the Infiniti garage. As fro the bottoming out.. what, where and when is it bottoming?

[xxNite]

hitting rough pavement is painful now that the car is dropped. It seems that I am always hitting the full-compression of a strut and getting a loud thud/thump/or "bonk" when I hit a deep manhole cover. It is only slightly more noticeable than before, without the springs. it just feels like I am bottoming out on potholes? The jumpiness of the car on rough pavement is a bit more noticeable than before as well. With factory springs, the M felt "tight", with these S-Techs, the car feels "mushy" and "nervous". Sorry to say... Perhaps it'll settle out after a few days of greater than 80 degree weather.

I have been driving a G35x loaner for the past two days and am on my way to pick-up my baby since they finished replacing the rear assembly. I'll let you know if anything I stated before has changed. I have really missed the roar of the V8 while driving this G sedan...

Also... My other car has KYB struts and HKS competition racing springs, so I am not being "paranoid" just for the sake of being paranoid

[THT]

Now I'm starting to rethink installing these...

[xxNite]

okay... here i am a week & 2 days later and the car is settling into the springs better than I thought. The ride is still a bit mushy, but more predictable and less nervous. Oddly, my rear passenger side seems lower than the rest of the drops? When I look at the car from all angles, it's a bit low in that one wheel well (car unloaded, of course). I'll measure later and add a new picture of the car.

[saeedakobiakov]

MUSHY IS NOT GOOD.THIS IS MUSHY TO BEGIN WITH.THAT IS THE REASON I DID NOT PUT MY NAME ON THE LIST.

HEY JADE M45,HOW IS YOUR EPILER DOING , DO YOU STILL LIKE THEM?CAUG.

[xxNite]

alright... here we go...It's been three weeks after the drop and the car alignment. here are two pics of the passenger side of the car:



the drivers side is uneven and goofy. While I don't have a picture to share right now, the drop is too aggressive ONLY on the rear, drivers-side wheel?!?!?

It doesn't look good at all. It looks like it is sagging too low. Did anyone else get an extremely low rear drivers side when they put their springs on. It didn't drop even? Every other wheel came down 1 inch while the drivers rear sunk in very deep... I gotta get this thing looked at.seriously did anyone else experience this?
Modified by xxNite at 11:41 AM 9/10/2008

[auditech10]

Wow Im somewhat surprised to see that some of you are really unhappy so far. But then again, it is the chance you take when you go to the aftermarket side....Cheers

[jadeM45]

So far I still love the drop and the feel of the car. It is "rougher" but that is expected when you lower a car and then go to a rim with less tire. I have been driving lowered and harsh suspension sports cars for a long time now.

The car does not feel mushy at all. It feels tighter and more responsive. I have nothing but good things to say about the springs.

MUSHY IS NOT GOOD.THIS IS MUSHY TO BEGIN WITH.THAT IS THE REASON I DID NOT PUT MY NAME ON THE LIST.

HEY JADE M45,HOW IS YOUR EPILER DOING , DO YOU STILL LIKE THEM?CAUG.

[xxNite]

after 3 weeks, things have tightened-up, but can you look to see if your drivers rear wheel is sunk-in to the tire well more than the others? It might just be my set-up, but I as you can see, I am still running the factory chrome wheels.

Let me know.

Thanks

[CakeDaddy]

So far I still love the drop and the feel of the car. It is "rougher" but that is expected when you lower a car and then go to a rim with less tire. I have been driving lowered and harsh suspension sports cars for a long time now.

The car does not feel mushy at all. It feels tighter and more responsive. I have nothing but good things to say about the springs.

I'm sorry to hear this. So, is it possible that the struts/stut components are bad and/or worn?

[saeedakobiakov]

that's a good new.sounds like i will be ordering them soon.thanks for the good new.Later,caug.

[xxNite]

I'm sorry to hear this. So, is it possible that the struts/stut components are bad and/or worn?

at only 48K miles and a perfect ride & ride height before putting on these springs, i am purely disgusted at the outcome. I should have left well-enough-alone... The $650 total investment (springs plus alignment) has been a total waste since I didn't plan on running 20's... I just HAD to be different, since there are so many '03 & '04s in

Philly. Now I am paying the price. Lesson learned...

Realistically where i went wrong was in not adding my audio system prior to getting springs. I forgot how much 100+ Lbs of audio can squat the rear end of the car. My old Bimmer sat just right with that audio system with 20's and without lowering the car...

I had no point of reference for my M45. I just knew I should get all of the warranty stuff out of the way before I went hacking-up my car, so I waited.

When I went to get the springs put on, I put the 100+lbs of audio stuff in the trunk so I could get an accurate alignment after the install. You can see the stance of the car with full audio in my "before" picture featured earlier in the thread. I didn't think ahead to fully outfit the car before that day. Had I looked prior to, I might not have gone through with the install. Now, i am stuck with this squatty drivers side.

I am going to check on the factory strut to see what's what next week...

I'll let you know the outcome.
Modified by xxNite at 7:26 AM 9/15/2008

[szh]

I'm sorry to hear this. So, is it possible that the struts/stut components are bad and/or worn?

Hmmm ... worn or bad struts should not cause the car to sit incorrectly - this is a static position problem, I would think.

Struts are there to dampen the dynamic motion of the car on the springs.

Z

[xxNite]

okay... Here we go. as you can see from the pictures below, my M is F*#ked-up after the lowering spring install. I'll even make the first picture you see the specific wheel before the drop that is now tucked into the wheel well way too much...

BEFORE S-Tech install:

AFTER S-Tech install:

here is the PASSENGER SIDE picture showing a Normal drop

to further illustrate my uneven drop, here is the car from both sides, dead-on:DRIVERS SIDE - Dead-on:

PASSENGERS SIDE - Dead-on:

DRIVERS SIDE - whole car showing sagging rear:



lastly here is a normal, non-dropped Y34 that was at my dealership:

So i think even Stevie Wonder could see my spring install didn't go well. The shop cut no bump stops, nor ground anything down.CLUTCHKICK, I have a sagging rear Spring and need a replacement.How do we make this happen?
Modified by xxNite at 7:26 AM 9/15/2008

[auditech10]

I dont even notice the difference. Show a picture from the rear looking dead center forward

[xxNite]

I dont even notice the difference. Show a picture from the rear looking dead center forward

open up the two pictures in separate windows from "DRIVERS SIDE - Dead-on" & "PASSENGERS SIDE - Dead-on" You can clearly see an inch difference in the tires tucked into the wheel well. looking at them in seperate windows simultaneously will illustrate my pointan be mindful of the shadows, as direct sunlight was not on the passenger side tire, so the height is somewhat hidden.

[saeedakobiakov]

looks fine to me.i will bet you that everybody with lowering springs ,if they go mesure their hights will be very surprised, that all of them will be off a bit.did you mesure it from the top of the fender to the ground and compare it?Caug.

[xxNite]

looks fine to me.i will bet you that everybody with lowering springs ,if they go mesure their hights will be very surprised, that all of them will be off a bit.did you mesure it from the top of the fender to the ground and compare it?Caug.

Yes 7/8ths of an inch difference between the two wheels on level ground. When parking the car on unlevel ground 1&1/8th off leaning towards drivers side.Both rear wheels dead-even when leaning to the passengers side (hence, the car sits "normal" when leaning to the right)...

[auditech10]

I guess it is just me, I still dont notice it.You should measure from the top center of the fender to the exact center of the wheels. This will tell you spring difference.Cheers and good luck

[regtwelve]

I put the photo's side by side and can't figure which one is lower?

The bottom tire looks to have quite a bit more tread left. Maybe that creates some sort of illusion??

Maybe take a couple photos with the trunk empty making sure to spin the car so the photos have the same lighting.

Good luck.

[xxNite]

I put the photo's side by side and can't figure which one is lower?

The bottom tire looks to have quite a bit more tread left. Maybe that creates some sort of illusion??

Maybe take a couple photos with the trunk empty making sure to spin the car so the photos have the same lighting.

Good luck.

no... the bottom tire has the same tread depth. it is the shadow from not being in direct sunlight that is creating the illusion. if you focus only on the ring around the edge of the tire where the treads start, you can clearly see a difference in height, other wise, brighten your monitor. I see it plain as day.

Of course the trunk is empty... no extra audio equipment... just the factory spare as it should be for all these photos...

i'll take more with a ruler attached to help you out... look for them tomorrow...

[CakeDaddy]

...

yeah... i can see it, but Im sure its more evident in person. We can sit here and say that it isnt a big deal or its only 7/8 of an inch, but as a car owner this can drive you crazy. Im anal about this sorta stuff as well.

XXNite-

There is a little rubber boot that sits at the bottom of the rear spring cups/seat... I wonder if those were put back in place during the install. I had to watch my guy that installed my springs to make sure that he put those back in. Im not sure of that'll make up the difference, but....

looks fine to me.i will bet you that everybody with lowering springs ,if they go mesure their hights will be very surprised, that all of them will be off a bit.did you mesure it from the top of the fender to the ground and compare it?Caug.

well... not in my case. I'm dead on. I can sit a quarter on the edge of my tire(s) both sides all around and it sit dead even
Modified by CakeDaddy at 11:03 AM 9/13/2008

[ronez82]

I agree with Cakedaddy. Make sure that all the bushings and perches are in fact installed and installed properly. Also make sure the spring is in right side up and not upside down. I am not familiar with the springs and such on this car yet but on my old Jetta that I lowered myself there were bushings that could be taken out to lower it more and the springs were progressive so they had to be installed right side up or the car would "sag" as yours is. Good luck.

p.s. 7/8's of an inch is almost an full inch. That is a big and noticable difference.

[xxNite]

Went to the shop that installed the springs, had them go over everything mentioned in earlier posts. Then, they put it up on a perfectly level rack and got only 1/2 inch overly low on the drivers rear side. (thank God that was all. any more than 1/2 " and I would still be screaming)

They looked at camber and other factors that make the low side appear ultra-low and said that camber was adjusted within a few degrees of one another, therefore that is not the problem. They admit that yes, the car sits 1/2 inch uneven after all the tweaking they could do to make sure the springs were properly seated.

Here were the resulting ride height JPG's from the car on the alignment rack:

This is how the car sits when my audio equipment is installed in the trunk.(130LBS of extra weight evenly distributed):

This is the cars ride height with no addition stuff other than fullsized spare:

These were all done with gas tank 1/2 full (whatever that would weigh)

So.... now my car isn't so way out of spec, but it's kinda sad how these TEIN S-Tech springs aren't an exacting science... They are a little too soft for my taste. So now I guess I have to stay a little "squatty" with a full audio system or just mildly "squatty" with no bass at all...

Lesson learned

If you want exact, go coilovers with ride height adjustment (JIC's) or leave the car the hell alone...

[CakeDaddy]

Maaaannn! I was really hoping for some good news. Your provided info is more than appreciated. I remember on my old Ack Legend Coupe I installed Eibachs and the drop was un-even one side and lower in the front.... a real pain in the a$$ to look at, so I know what you are going through; It was a complete mess, so I purchased some Ground Controls and Koni Red adjustable struts and all was good. I was a little reluctant to install Eibachs on this M due to that previous experience on my Ack Legend Cpe, but I did anyhow and all is well. Sorry for you mis-fortune with these springs. I wish Ground Control made a set for this ride. The price we pay for these rare gems

[stroked347]

just managed to snag myself a set of the eibach pro kit springs for my 03 M45, I've been looking for them for over a year now and they're obviously extremely rare, but, I can attest that there still must be some out there.

I will most likely be putting them on my car w/ new struts (car recently passed the 70k mark) and thought I'd see if anyone in the NoVA, DC area has had spring work done and knows of a good shop for this work (good, cheap work!..haha) I know some I could use but would like to go somewhere that someone has had a good experience with.

Thanks for any help w/ shops!

[CakeDaddy]

props to you on locating the eibachs. You wont be sorry!!! ____________________• Locomotion:Y34 ~ 4.5Liter V8 ~340HP~ 333lbs Torque• Construction: Blk'd Out Grill, Blk'd Out Side Marks • Coloration: Black Obsidian• Elevation:Eibachs • Rotation: f 20x8.5 245/35zr ~~ r 20x9.5 265/30zr• Rotation Specs: f 34mm offset ~~ r 40mm offset• Rotation Design: Foose Speedsters on G-Force T/A KDW 2 • Reflection: 5% Tint All Around• Vision: OEM 4300K HIDs w/ H3 Piaa Yellow Fogs • http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2690246

[saeedakobiakov]

is there one more set left?please let me know.caug.