I see lots of lowering kits. Sort of defeats the purpose of AWD. I'm in snow country and would like some extra ground clearance without spending all that much money ($1K or less). Is there anything out there for raising the car, not lowering it?
Also have a rumble in the rear of the car somewhere. Its not there all the time, but sometimes it gets bad and then smooths out and disappears. But when its there, its pretty bad. Any ideas? Wheel bearings? Differential? The weird thing is it's not constant. I can drive all day and never feel or hear that low rumble. But it generally happens at least once every time I take the car out. When its rumbling, changing gears and playing with traction options makes little or no difference.
Want to raise M35X for higher ground clearance
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frapjap
- Posts: 13175
- Joined: Thu Jul 01, 2004 2:46 pm
- Car: '99 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am
'07 Subaru Legacy - Location: South Coast Massachusetts
Re: Want to raise M35X for higher ground clearance
Welcome to Nico!
I'm no M35/45 expert, but other may chime in to help out here.
As for raising your car, I think the need isn't very common, but wanting ground clearance is understandable. You may have to research, but it might be possible to swap and retrofit FX or EX shocks and springs into the M since they're on a similar chassis. However, this may throw off suspension geometry, induce tire wear, or a slew of other negative effects. Or, it might work out. Check out some research, look at some differences and post them up. Some of the guys who are better at math will be able to help more.
As for the rumble, you'll have to be more descriptive. How loud? Do you really have to listen for it? Can you hear it over the radio? Is it a howl, or a growl? Do you notice it on turns or straights at varying speeds or after traveling a constant speed? What type of roads do you drive on, what part of the country are you from? Make more notes of when it happens, under what condition, and how often it happens so we might be able to assist you more. It may be that one of your wheels is slightly out of balance, a dying (or cold) shock, or could be awd binding up briefly. Again, I'm not an M guy, but those are some basic mechanical theories I can come up with.
I'm no M35/45 expert, but other may chime in to help out here.
As for raising your car, I think the need isn't very common, but wanting ground clearance is understandable. You may have to research, but it might be possible to swap and retrofit FX or EX shocks and springs into the M since they're on a similar chassis. However, this may throw off suspension geometry, induce tire wear, or a slew of other negative effects. Or, it might work out. Check out some research, look at some differences and post them up. Some of the guys who are better at math will be able to help more.
As for the rumble, you'll have to be more descriptive. How loud? Do you really have to listen for it? Can you hear it over the radio? Is it a howl, or a growl? Do you notice it on turns or straights at varying speeds or after traveling a constant speed? What type of roads do you drive on, what part of the country are you from? Make more notes of when it happens, under what condition, and how often it happens so we might be able to assist you more. It may be that one of your wheels is slightly out of balance, a dying (or cold) shock, or could be awd binding up briefly. Again, I'm not an M guy, but those are some basic mechanical theories I can come up with.
Re: Want to raise M35X for higher ground clearance
Love the idea of checking the EX|FX springs. Might work out and is relatively low cost.
The rumble is never loud as in drown out the radio. But its audible even with the radio on. Its sort of a low growl. And you can tell its from the rear of the car. Noticed the brake pads are almost wore out on the rear (125K miles). Will start there and will probably pull the hubs when I change them. While I have it up on a lift, will check the driveshaft and differential. All fluids were replaced after I bought the car. The noise started around 5k miles ago. Its steadily getting worse and more frequent to the point I don't want to drive anywhere too far away.
Was checking to see if there were frequent driveline issues with the M35X (2006).
The rumble is never loud as in drown out the radio. But its audible even with the radio on. Its sort of a low growl. And you can tell its from the rear of the car. Noticed the brake pads are almost wore out on the rear (125K miles). Will start there and will probably pull the hubs when I change them. While I have it up on a lift, will check the driveshaft and differential. All fluids were replaced after I bought the car. The noise started around 5k miles ago. Its steadily getting worse and more frequent to the point I don't want to drive anywhere too far away.
Was checking to see if there were frequent driveline issues with the M35X (2006).
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frapjap
- Posts: 13175
- Joined: Thu Jul 01, 2004 2:46 pm
- Car: '99 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am
'07 Subaru Legacy - Location: South Coast Massachusetts
Re: Want to raise M35X for higher ground clearance
I helped a guy a bit ago who had a rear caliper that failed. Have you noticed any unusual smoking from the rear wheels at all? Couldn't hurt to do some preventative maintenance (pads/rotors, if needed) to see if that solves the problem.
You can check for wheel bearing play by jacking up the car to get the wheel in the air and wiggling the wheels into and out of the body to check for any play. If that isn't very clear, my apologies. Check a youtube video to understand that to look for.
If the spring situation does work, definitely document your progress and findings in this thread or another one. It'd be some excellent knowledge to have in the community!
You can check for wheel bearing play by jacking up the car to get the wheel in the air and wiggling the wheels into and out of the body to check for any play. If that isn't very clear, my apologies. Check a youtube video to understand that to look for.
If the spring situation does work, definitely document your progress and findings in this thread or another one. It'd be some excellent knowledge to have in the community!
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EniGmA1987
- Posts: 2258
- Joined: Tue Apr 28, 2009 5:13 am
- Car: '06 Infiniti M35 Sport
Re: Want to raise M35X for higher ground clearance
Be sure and check out the other thread started recently about people wanting a metal under engine cover. Since you want to go through snow adding that might help protect your engine area and get through snow easier. That will at least help a bit since your car has low clearance.
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svard75
- Posts: 1564
- Joined: Mon May 11, 2009 3:26 am
- Car: 06 M35x
- Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Re: Want to raise M35X for higher ground clearance
I used these in the past. http://www.pepboys.com/mobile/products/ ... 8915/01036
You can easily get a 1" lift using this kit. Just make sure you tighten both bolts well. I suggest blue loctite.
You can easily get a 1" lift using this kit. Just make sure you tighten both bolts well. I suggest blue loctite.
Re: Want to raise M35X for higher ground clearance
The rumble/growl turned out to be a locked (frozen) rear brake caliper. Every now and then it would drag on the rotors. This happened to my Lexus LS400 after 200K+ miles. On that car, it generated enough heat to turn the rotors red. Popped the pistons with an air compressor and rebuilt the calipers. This time, just replacing them. Much easier and not much difference in cost. $70 a side. Money well spent !
Re: Want to raise M35X for higher ground clearance
Out of curiosity, is it the cold weather that did that? I would ask how you figured it out, but it happened to you before, so how did you troubleshoot/figure it out before?