I need New Suspension

[BigL1975]

Ok Peoples.. i need your help..

I need to replace all the suspension on my car..

Springs, shocks etc..

in fact.. i need to re-build CV's, replace Rotors and brake pads, and Rims, as well

My baby's had a bit of a hard life and i'd like to show him i still care..



so i am starting with the Suspension..


I have 3 choices as far as i can see.

replace with lowered springs and new shocks.
price?????


replace with Coilovers
($2 - 3K)


replace with Airbag suspension
($2.5K - $5k)



Ok.. allowing for the fact that i am thinking 80% show 20% go..
what do you guys think / suggest i go for here..


I wanna be able to fit 18" rims on Biggles, but this is not possible with normal suspension.. my 16"'s are rubbing on the stocky suspension atm :(

What are the pro's and con's of each of these?


Please HELP me......... :eyerotate


Allie

[WantEXA]

I voted airbags, especially if you want it for show and not so much go!
You can get some legal ones too :D
WantEXA

[DIDZ]

Hey Allie,

I didn't see coilovers to be a viable option (nor after extensive searching find anyone that made them for the NX anywhere.

I ended up doing all the suspension with:
-KONI SPORTS shocks
-King Springs
-Rear Swaybar
-Camber Pins
-Castor Kit

This cost ~$1300-1400 ex labour for parts.
Add labour and wheel alignment costs and it would hit ~2K.

It's farken stiff as if the car has been given an overdose of viagra. :teeeth:
It's got 205/45/16 and if I rolled over a bee's dick I'd feel it.

With the larger wheels I have found my turning circle has dropped too.

Coilovers and 18's, my God how you would do it.

I don't know what it would be like with airbags, so I'm not qualified to state an opinion that would be quickly ridiculed.

Going for your show rather than go I'd investigate the airbags and coilovers :)

Hope I could help!

[Lonx]

I'd recommend KYB Gas or Koni Street struts with King springs... if u're after more show than go, then u don't want extra stiff suspension.... besides that you can always paint or have them powder coated to the colour you want, so there's no real problem with how they look. I have a setup very similar to DIDZ on my Exa, and it cost me around $1200 for the parts (fitted it myself), and a little for alignment.

Price for springs & struts? about $700 - $1000 roughly + fitting (depends on what you want obviously)... so around a grand or less including fitting if u gotta pay for labour.

Once you decide on what you want, send me a PM and I'll give you a solid price. I can also help with brake rotors and reseal kits for your calipers if you want to recondition them. As for the 18s idea, it would be possible, but you would need the guards to be flared, your tyres will be pretty expensive for something decent, and you'll need to get something with a slightly different offset to stop it rubbing against the strut.

[BigL1975]

hey guys..thanx for the input so far



Guards have already been done to fit the 18"'s under
The rims i am looking at are $1600inc good rubber (i cant remember what it was)

the big issue i have is the rubbing on the strut... i dont really wanna use spacers to move the wheel away from the strut.

as for the availablity of Coilovers.. I am told if i can find them.. there is a place that makes custom ones.. or something like that...

but i am concerned at the cost of custom coilovers.. i may as well just get airbags..


The car has to be drivable.. as it will still be my daily driver.. so i dont want a too rough or difficult ride. I know the 18's are going to make it bumpy anyways...


question is.. other than availability.. what other issues are there with each of the options?

Allie

[Lonx]

I think the B13 Sentra suspension from overseas is compatible? don't hold that one against me, but there's a fair chance it is. Which means you can order coilovers from the states or some euro country.

Like I said, the offest is going to be the most important thing if you go for your 18's.... using wheel spacers is also a bad idea because the wheel studs usually aren't long enough for a decent spacing, and along with the greater potential to snap the studs, I agree they're only a last resort option (if you can call it an option) for you.

Coilovers are typically just a matched strut & spring... not all of them give you height & other adjustable ranges. Keep that in mind if you start getting prices on them. Custom ones should only be about 1600 - 2000 but they probably won't be height adjustable, and won't really look any different to an assembled strut & spring combo anyway.

[WantEXA]

great thing about airbags is - height adjustable, really easy too :D
i'll be investing in them when i get car to put them in :P
WantEXA

[Lonx]

bad thing is, usually average to sloppy handling if u're not just driving around town, and expensive if something goes wrong :) as well the the legal/registration issue... but yeah.

[WantEXA]

True that, but theres a half spring half airbag system around somewhere, i saw it in a friend street commodore's mag.
its like ||()||()|| (where || is 2 coils and () is an airbag)
i spose these would be better for handling? i'm assuming also more expensive
WantEXA

[NXT51]

Looks like you're doing some good research! Me, I'm not qualified to give overall advice & wasn't really interested in doing really expensive stuff... but I'll tell you NXTSIs story.

Pretty basic really: Super low King Springs ($180 for 4), Monroe GT premium struts, new bump stops ($420). My bro put it all in for me. 17s (205/40).

The ride is hard - potholes are my enemy - but man she handles well!!! really low down to the ground, grips the road, no bouncing - a couple of people who've raced karts/cars reckon it handles like a race car a bit - good round corners.... but I reckon 18s would look awesome!!! Those big NX wheel arches were made for big wheels...

Good luck!

[NX-TC]

Pretty basic really: Super low King Springs ($180 for 4), Monroe GT premium struts, new bump stops ($420). My bro put it all in for me. 17s (205/40).

is all this possible without other major mods and the 17's fit sweet? would 18's fit also with these mods? :?2:

[NXT51]

Pretty basic really: Super low King Springs ($180 for 4), Monroe GT premium struts, new bump stops ($420). My bro put it all in for me. 17s (205/40).

is all this possible without other major mods and the 17's fit sweet? would 18's fit also with these mods? :?2:

Well it was really easy to do and the 17s fit perfectly as they're 4x100 and the right offset (40 or something from memory but I can check). Don't know bout 18s - probably fit diameter-wise but how wide to 18s have to be because I know that 17x7" fit on but 17x7.5" supposedly don't - that's only a .5" (about 1.5 cm) difference... And yes the wheel is very close to the suspension... talk to a wheel and tyre place maybe?

[Pretty White]

Get someone in the USA to get you some Hyperco GenII springs (300lb spring rate) and KYB AGX adjustable shocks. You will kiss them for it.

Check the SR20 Forum. PM Chriscar for the Hyperco's.
http://www.p-s-t.com/sport/sikyb.html#agx

[BigL1975]

Hmmm.. its a nice idea... but i dont want to import some springs and then find my 18's rub on them...

At the moment i am swaying towards coilovers, as they will give me the most room in the wheel arch for bigger brakes and rims..


Allie

[rob_n13]

if u'r mainly going for looks then i think u'll be wasting u'r money with coilovers, they are very high maintanence and are designed specificly for performance. you will also have to pull them out probably once a year to clean and service them because they fill up with dust and shit very quickly, in u'r case you may even have to do this twice a year considering the amount of driving u do. u would be far better off getting a good set of hydrolic shocks (as opposed to gas ones) and some good progresive rate springs for the results u are after. as for the wheels i have to agree with what has been siad above, talk to someone that knows their shit and make sure u'r offset is right.

[NXR20T]

You can get D2 coilovers from the states for about $1500-ish, I am getting a set of b14's for my n15, they also make them for the nx, ask GaryD I think it is on PGA, he is condsidering a g/b.

However I used the whiteline works kit for the n14 and it all fitted on my nx-r like a dream, sat nice and low AND handled like it was on rails, I did have 18's for a while with no issues, but went for 17's to save on tyre costs.

My mate does airbag installs and to keep it al legal in NSW, (no cutting of the car basically)- a full custom kit was about 5 grand at mates rates, worked out to be almost 8 before he sourced parts, you might have seen his truck sitting outside the front doors of autosalon, light blue beast

[KAMELEON]

if you wnat ure car to handle on the 20% you do drive it then dont go airbags or any form of hydraulics. as the amount of bump steer youll have will make for one weird feeling and handling ride!theres many coil over kits for your car. id go with one of these. such as the hotbits range.these so many spring choices for this style that tuning handling to the ninth degree is easy and the amount of lowering available for standstill shows is similar to airbags.

[NXR20T]

My mate airbags offer a great ride, its smoother than most things I have been in

here it is.

[KAMELEON]

wasnt talking about ride quality, meant handling and bumpsteer wise. it would be very supple beaing bags but handle shit house. but then again that thing wouldnt have handled like a champ from the start would it?