scott_91tt

I have just ordered these and wondered if anyone had feedback from personal experience. I am going to have these installed along with a complete Energy Suspension kit and am hopeful that these improvements will help with the mediocre handling I am experiencing. Understand that my definition of "mediocre" is comparing apples-to-apples, my high mileage car still handles better than my Toyota Tundra did

My car has 100,000 plus miles and I am sure the factory bushings, etc. are worn out - in fact, I just had the tension rod bushings replaced because they were completely wiped out.

I am also planning on a Tein Coilover setup later this year, just have to save a few $ to do it!

ZLover4Life

... so let me get this straight... you ordered them... and then do your research? Seems a little backwards to me.

I mean, what if I told you that I had Stillen Sway Bars and they made my car handle worse because they're hollow, unlike the stock bars?

Lucky for you, that isn't the case. Stillen Sway Bars are great - you'll notice a difference and the adjustability is very nice.

CanyonCarver

Sway Bars are one of the most significant suspension mods that you can make to the car. Stickier tires would be another one. All of the other mods will make incremental changes.

Coil-overs are over-rated for a street car.

scott_91tt

I have researched various sway bars and trust that Stillen are very good. I was merely asking for firsthand knowledge as I have no basis for comparison... nonetheless, thanks for the feedback.

scott_91tt

I have been wondering about this too... I was originally thinking Eibach springs and KYB adjustable struts, but have heard from various sources that the Tein coilovers are the way to go. One thing that appeals to be about the SS coilovers is the optional electronic adjustability.

Goofyz

I don't think the SS Teins have EDFC capability. Secondly, adjustable sway-bars can change the complete feel and handling characteristics of the car. Remember you are probably shooting for a neutral feeling and it will take some adjustments to get the car to act the way you want it to. There are some great write-ups on tuning suspension in here and TT.net

scott_91tt

These are the Teins I am considering w/EDFC:

http://www.z1motorsports.com/product...oducts_id=1630

They may in fact be "overkill" for a street driven car. I certainly do NOT want a full blown race suspension and the inevitable rough ride that creates on the freeway. The adjustability of the EDFC system is pretty intriguing though.

91zxtt

You'll love the sway bars. I have 'em and you'll hear no complaints from me. I agree that coil overs are an overkill. You'd be very happy with the Eibach springs and the KYB's. Plus you'll have $ left over for other mods.

Goofyz

well, if they are Tein SS you can get them for about 800$ brand new. the EDFC cost 329$ if you add those up you get 1129 + say 50$ shipping for a grand total of 1180$, makes you wonder why they are charging 1325$ for the same thing.

I was under the impression that Tein Super Sports were not compatible with the EDFC. The bottom line Tein that is compatible is the Flex model which is about 4-5 hundred more than the SS. I'd love to hear from someone who installed them on their car to know for sure, that or talk to an actual Tein Sales Rep.

As far as overkill, I don't think so, Coil overs give you height adjustability, with EDFC on the fly dampener control (which is great if you hit a long rough patch of highway or the streets where you live are particularly rough but once you get on the highway its smooth. If you take your car autocrossing, or to the track with your car club on the weekends it would come in handy too.

Think of it this way, how many people were so unhappy with their coil-overs they took them off and put on KYBs with Eibach springs?

snwbrderphat540

i know of a couple, just because coilovers can be VERY rough due to the stiffness of the spring rate, not so much the struts

ZLover4Life

If you want coilovers without sacrificing ride quality, check out Ground Control. You can get the struts of your choice, then tell GC what spring rate you want (or that you want it to feel close to stock or a little stiffer, or whatever) and what shock you're using and they'll send you a kit with adjustable ride height up to a 3" drop (IIRC). For something like $400 + the cost of whatever shocks you go with, it's a great alternative to getting an already-assembled system. (By the way, they use Eibach springs in their kits.)

And electronically-adjustable systems are honestly overrated. How often do you really think you'll need to change it? I only adjust my shocks when I go to the track, and I consider that to be a necessary preparation routine.

CanyonCarver

They're overkill. If you lower your car more than an inch, you start hitting things that you normally wouldn't hit. Then you have to baby your car when you drive it around to keep from damaging it. ....... but it does look oh so cool tho. And then, even with all of the other suspension mods that you need, to be able to maintain the proper camber angles, why would you want to further adjust your ride heights and throw out the correct settings.

You ask about who switches back to stock or eibachs? Once the bling factor wears off with the high $ parts, who actually goes back and adjusts their suspension for any actual application, like going to the track? I'd bet that 99% of the people with truly adjustable suspension never make use of it. But it is cool to have.

Spend your money as you wish.

CanyonCarver

... stupid internet

Goofyz

If you usually ride your Z on the road and hardly ever take it to the track, I mean SERIOUSLY take it to the track i.e. Put on racing rims/tires, then no, you do not need Coil-overs. But if you are serious about track time and still pull double duty with your car on the streets cause after all, it is a bunch of fun to drive on the road especially when someone in a mustang pulls up and thinks just cause he spent 30k on a new GT he owns the road...but I digress, Coil overs gives you the ability to change not only wheels but overall wheel diameter and they also (with EDFC or equivalent) give you on the fly adjustment around a track cause I don't know about you guys but I only get 3 twenty minutes sessions per visit and I don't want to waste much time dialing in my suspension. But if you like the ability to change dampener rates why not just go with the stock adjustable suspension sub-frame spacers and Stillen sway-bars, along with stickier tires and a HICAS eliminator you should be all set. Just an option

CanyonCarver

That's good, you might fall into the 1% category.

Goofyz

what front is that on your car? is that a 90 front painted black (stripe)with smoked corners? it looks really good especially with your white car.

CanyonCarver

Stillen Type III spoiler with tinted side markers and some slotted lexan foglight covers that I made. I like the looks of the solid stripe myself.

Thanks

91zxtt

Hey CC - why don't try to not hi-jack other member's threads.... j/k.


Getting back on topic.....you may want to look into purchasing the adjustable end links for your swaybars. Check out www.splparts.com.

Strut bars are another item to look into. Carbing or bust IMHO.

CanyonCarver

scott_91tt

I ordered the Carbing already :-)

I'm trying to decide in what sequence to do the installs for these suspension parts. I have the ES bushing kit in transit too, and I'm thinking that I want to drop the car off and have Z1 install all of the suspension components at once - full ES bushing kit, struts (coilovers? haven't decided yet), Carbing strut bar and Stillen sway bars. Following all of that, I'm going to take the car to yet another shop that does high end suspension tuning and 4 wheel alignments. I just have to decided a) how long i'm willing to be without the car & b) how much I can afford to spend in a short amount of time on labor.

snwbrderphat540

did you remove the HICAS yet? i would... save some weight and its most likely going to go bad on you and is just expensive... also helps handling IMO unless you do alot of highway lane changes lol

ZLover4Life

AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HH!

If you're not a professional racecar driver, removing the HICAS will NOT help you.

And by the way Eric... the only way to completely remove HICAS is to get an NA rear end. Guess what... those don't handle power as well as the TT rear end. Most "HICAS elimination kits" simply disable the unit and leave it there, which does not save any weight. And, no offense, but didn't you have a Z32 that didn't have HICAS by virtue of being non-turbo? In which case, your input on it handling better is likely not experienced. My HICAS is disabled at the moment due to a speed sensor issue... but I f*cking miss it.



And btw, Carbing strut bars are ridiculously overpriced for what they are. Get a $15 rear strut bar from eBay, it'll work the same. Forget about front strut bars though... there's only 1 or 2 on the market that fit without problems, and they'll make little difference in handling for the $200+ that you spend to get the ones that don't tear up your fuel hardlines.

Goofyz

Is when you put on bigger stickier tires, stiffer suspension, and beef up your sway bars along with increased power, in mid speed transition steering like going through a slalom you will fee the effects of the HICAS "fighting" your steering inputs. Kinda like motorcycle head shake and it is a little unnerving. People who are unaccustomed to it have a tendency to overcorrect the perceived drift causing bad things to happen. Either learn to go with the flow or take it out. But you aren't going to save much weight (10-17 lbs.) but its from the wrong side, the Z is slightly front heavy anyway. If you want to save weight on the Z, the cheapest way is to switch to diet soda

ZLover4Life

Very good point that I neglected to mention.

scott_91tt

Hey guys, my $0.02 worth - which is mightly limited - I would not eliminate the HICAS system on my car - this is a technology point that I'm not willing to sacrifice - sure, it may be problematic, but how many "mainstream" cars actually have 4WS? Prelude, Chevy truck... I honestly do not care what it costs to keep this system intact - I will do so as I think it is a worthwhile (however limited) design element that lends some "uniqueness" to the Z32.