zagato27

Actually installed them yesterday. The following was posted in an earlier thread I started with some questions on the install. Thought I'd repost in a separate thread with pictures.

Yesterday was the day. I had earlier asked my local Nissan dealer if they would install my new shocks and springs and they said "no problem". That was bout 2 months ago. Checked back with them last week when I had everything ready and they told me that they no longer installed "after market" parts. A bit steamed bout that. Went to the Napa garage that is around the corner and asked the manager if he would install them and he hemmmed and hawwed bout finally/reluctantly agreed. I was meeting so much resistance that I finally decided to do it myself, with my son. So, after checking the forums and the VQ site and armed with my trusty Haynes manual it was off to the auto craft shop. Got there at 1200 to find that they didn't open until 1300.. So, we killed som time. Shop opened and we signed in and got a bay. Things were rolling. Then found out that the shop would close from 1400 to 1500. Well, we got Max up in the air and pulled out the front struts and made a start at getting the new ones set. Took a break for an hour and then it was back to work. Fortunately the shop had a spring compressor and that went well. Also the availability of air tools was an absolute blessing! After a few hours we got everything in and torqued to specs.

Lessons learned.

Don't buy ANYTHING from the "stealership". I went to them to check prices and when I checked on the net they were at least double. Course everyone here knows that. I purchased the H&R's from Tire Rack, the Illuminas on Ebay, the KYB boots and bearings from the Group Deals.

Put on the boots at home before you go to the shop. If your shop charges by the hour it'll save you money. Also bring an extra twist tie or two. I had one slip off the boot and fortunately the guys at the shop had an extra.

I didn't need new mounts but did buy the new bearings and boots. I DID NOT buy new isolators. I would recommend that you buy new ones. Mine were just barely serviceable....dry and cracked. Spend the extra money and buy new ones.

Write down all your torque specs, front and rear before you start. Avoids having to find them later.

Have someone to help you. My son helped me as he has a vested interest in the car. He'll be getting it within the next 12 months. The extra hands and eyes help a bunch.

Have a full set of metric wrenches, sockets and deep wall sockets. Again, air tools are terriffic.

If you haven't done this before I'd recommend that you do one corner at a time. That way if you have a question you can look at the "other" side to check setup.

This mod can be done by anyone. Hey, I just proved it . Get your ducks in line and gather your materials and do it. I took some pics before but I need to take some after shots. I'll try and get those up. I can tell a difference in look. Lower, better. Ride is firm, no wallowing, no bounce. More later.

Ok, b4 and after pics. Have to apologize. The measuring tape didn't come out too good in the after pics. We took the b4 pics using a tripod and were a bit closer than the after pics. Suffice to say that the drop after 1 day is 1". I expect the springs to settle a bit to get down to the standard 1.3".

B4:

zagato27

Sorry I couldn't seem to get the after pics on the first post. Here's the after pics. Again apologies as we didn't get good "tape" pictures but it's a 1" drop after day one. Looking for 1.3" after the settling.

After/Illuminas and H&Rs:







Hope this inspires others to make the change. I'll be happy to answer any questions. Cheers

kcryan

iTrader: (1)

looks sick, whyd you go H&R over Eibach?

zagato27

Well, I'm assuming that this is not a compliment. So, each to his own.

They were recommended by others over the Eibachs. Sportier ride but a bit closer to oem.

Maxima-4DSC

iTrader: (1)

very nice !! i just put my teins and GR2s on today check it out !

sorry for the crappy pic ill get a better one in the morning with my digicam

owais

iTrader: (20)

lol..by saying looks sick, he's complementing the car. How's the car ride compared to stock after being dropped?

Maxima-4DSC

iTrader: (1)

i nkow you werent referring to me but it may help some out there....

compared to stock the teins are tight...great for corners bad for rough roads..

kcryan

iTrader: (1)

[QUOTE=zagato27]Well, I'm assuming that this is not a compliment. So, each to his own.[QUOTE]


Hahah sorry, little bit of an age difference between us, yes, by sick i defiently meant looks good, better yet looks amazing, you might have just sold me a set of springs seeing to the fact that i need shocks at some point anyway. like the way your whole car looks actually.

zagato27

Oh yeah, talked to my son and he told me that "sick" meant good. I'm so The generation gap strikes again. Anyway, the car rides firm, very firm. No wiggles, no bounce. Going over bumps is solid, no floating. The wheels just stay planted to the road. Cornering is very flat. I have found that I have to be carefull going up my driveway. I don't have a lip kit but even so my driveway is a bit inclined and has a bit of a lip at the street. Not too much clearance with the area just aft of the nose. So, I pretty much stop and crawl up the drive. No real change, as I did the same before. Also, I'm going to be very watchfull of speed bumps. I'm very pleased with the new look. If you know the car you can tell the difference. It looks lower and meaner. Actually it looks "right". If you don't own a Maxima and aren't into cars than you'd probably never notice the change. If you did, you'd probably just say that there was something different but might not be sure what it was. The Maxima has always been in the "Q ship" category.....the exterior has never been flashy nor does it tell others what lies beneath. This mod keeps true to that character.

Next to do's: new glass headlights (mine are the plastic and now faded yellow....yes, I've already done the sanding and buffing); rsb, new leather shift boot and parking brake boots; maybe even a new B&M short shifter. Cheers

BTW, anybody notice the Apple sticker on the passenger quarter window? Adds a good 10 bhp you know.

99grnmaxgxe

iTrader: (11)

The drop looks great! Love the color

zagato27

as well you should!

BlackCat

iTrader: (6)

Good job zagato27! I thought I was about to succumb to reinstalling my stock SE springs to regain a comfortable ride but your story has stopped me for the time being!

Hexon

iTrader: (1)

How much did you spend on the shocks and springs alltogether?

zagato27

Glad I could help . You know the ride now is definetly firm but the road holding and lack of float is just super. Lastly the "look". Low like it should be. BTW, BlackCat you have one "sweet" ride. Very nice. Cheers

zagato27

My wife and son bought me the H&Rs from Tire Rack, sorry I can't give you the price. Go to their website and check. The Illuminas I bought off eBay, $430 w/ shipping. I had to buy new boots front and rear along with new front bearings. If you're going to do it, I'd recommend that you also buy the spring isolators. As I said, I reused mine but they were all dried and cracked. They are just a plastic sleeve that fits on the spring. As I recall there are two per front spring and one per rear. They shouldn't be that expensive. If I did it again I'd buy new ones. Here's the prices:

2 x KYB front boots $27

2x KYB rear boots $27

2x KYB front shock mount bearing $27.58

I bought all the KYB stuff from a vendor in the group deals: IRP

here's their web site http://www.importrp.com/home.php

Good prices over the dealer and good service too.

Oh yes, because my son and I installed them ourselves at the craft shop: bay rental w/ lift was $23 Cheers

NCSU_MAX

iTrader: (36)

you will greatly enjoy the B&M I can tell you from first hand experience. I figured for a mod that I use prob the most, haha, I would buy the best; so I went w/ the B&M and paired it w/ the polyurethane bushing from Top Element Tuning. What an amazing difference - its the kinda setup you just want to shift for fun bc of how smooth it is.

zagato27

Have to lie low for now on the mods. Next up is relatively simple, new headlights. Mine are yellow. I did the sanding mod and it worked but the yellow came back. Enough of that, it's time for glass!

The B&M has been lurking about in my want list. Tell me where you bought yours and how much. Also, tell me more about this bushing and where you bought it. I'll check it out. Cheers

webking185

iTrader: (1)

looks great, good job.

lilaclucymaxima

iTrader: (16)

Nice job. Definitely looks 150% better than the stock look. I can't wait to lower mine soon, though I am still contemplating on whether I want a coilovers, or a good lowering spring/strut combo.

zagato27

Thanks! I couldn't have done it without the knowledge base here on the forum. My success is your success! Cheers

zagato27

Thanks. Whether it be coilovers or spring/strut you won't regret it. Can't help you with coilover experience but Eibachs, Teins, H&Rs and AGXs or Illuminas will do the trick. Sooner is better . Cheers

Gismo-T

iTrader: (38)

Car looks good! One of your isolators isn't on correctly around the spring in your after pics!

abci30

iTrader: (11)

would you or anyone else who has illumina struts mind taking pictures of the rear struts? I'm asking because i have illuminas but the caps fell of off the rear ones a long time ago and i wasn't able to find them. So i need a picture of the top of the strut with the cap on clear enough to make out a number or 2.

86maxima96

iTrader: (10)

drop looks good and car overall looks great! i like that color! nice job. and i was a little intimidated when i did my install myself, but just take it slow and it really isn't tough at all. it all makes sense and is easily a DIY job.

vsamoylov

glad you like them man.

Apparition

iTrader: (5)

nice drop man, looks great.. I actually found it pretty cool that you and you're son did it, I remember back when me and my dad used to do stuff like that.

NCSU_MAX

iTrader: (36)

Got them both from the group deal forum. 40 for the bushing, and wellllll worth it. 125 for the shifter if i remember correctly.

White Shadow

iTrader: (11)

I'm really glad to hear that it went so easily and you are pleased with the outcome. I'm going to be using the same setup because I'm probably closer to your age than the average member here and I too want something that's sportier but everyday driveable. As far as the glass headlights go, I recently did that mod on my '96 which were already glass, but the cloudy ones. It's a pretty straightforward mod. I'd reccommend to upgrade your entire headlight wiring harness when doing the mod to get the most out of it. I also switched to 9007 bulbs and it made a world of difference. NTBK is a good ebay seller and his kit has everything you need: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/9007-...mZ220002624560 Pay no attention that it says it's for a different application, all of his 9007 harness are the exact same just some are priced higher. Good luck with your ride.

zagato27

Thanks.

Yes, my son informed of that too. Have to check it out. Might just have to remove the offending isolator. Just wish I had bought new ones. Live and learn.

zagato27

See what I can do. No promises and probably won't be until the weekend.

zagato27

Well, my son likes cars. Fast cars, muscle cars, imports etc. Guess it's something we both enjoy. He helps me change oil, mount tires and now install springs and struts. He's pretty much taken over the car washing department, at least for Max. He did wash my daughters 92 Legend Cpe until she scraped the fender on the baskeball pole backing out of the driveway. I have to work very hard to get him to wash my wife's Murano. He gets a bit cranky at the cars and their owners if they "muck up" a car. We have a "garage" cat that lives on top of the Murano and when it slides down leaves some scratches. My wife is ok with it. I live with it, hey it's my wife's car and she is fond of the cat. My son finds this infuriating. Anyway, I find that he "catches" things that I miss and I do the same for him. Works pretty well. He does have a vested interest in all this. Max will be his car soon. Yes, pretty cool to do this together. Building up his collection of stories I'd guess.

Projects: short shifter, new glass headlights, new leather shift boot and parking brake boot and one I almost forgot.....learning how to detail using compounds and a Porter Cable buffer

zagato27

You are absolutely correct! Preparation: 6 P's you know......prior preparation prevents **** poor performance. Take it slow. I'd also add, don't do it alone. The second set of eyes is priceless and what could it cost you????? A six pack???? Pretty cheap insurance. Cheers

zagato27

Thanks. I'll check it out.

zagato27

Thanks for the info. My original thought was to just replace the headlight assemblies with new glass ones. Not so sure bout rewiring......electricity and I just don't seem to get along. However, I appreciate the info and will think about it.

Closer to my age, eh? Don't see your age in the sig. It does seem that the majority of members are on the "youthfull" side. But hey, I won't hold that against them Cheers

konak85

iTrader: (10)

anyone know the part numbers for the spring isolators?

Dooley

Nice job and nice choice. What settings do you run on the Illimina's? I'm at 3F/2R...

Gismo-T

iTrader: (38)

Spring Isolators
part number:54034-85E10

eturnl

AAkh... you have my maxima... I wish i had an SE model. Didn't know there were such major differences untill later... oh well. Take care of her man!

konak85

iTrader: (10)

thanks

M.Overdrive

Drop is real nice man...