Nissan Z Lowered Suspension Questions

[FSUZ33]

My opinion, good choice.
I don't know the spring rate of the RSR's, but I assume this setup is going to give you everything you're looking for. My move after your current decisions would be a performance shock replacement before going coilover. If it was a track or autoX car and you were trying to dial in dynamics that can only be utilized/felt there, then MAYBE coilovers.

 

[kevinbonds]

My opinion, good choice.
I don't know the spring rate of the RSR's, but I assume this setup is going to give you everything you're looking for. My move after your current decisions would be a performance shock replacement before going coilover. If it was a track or autoX car and you were trying to dial in dynamics that can only be utilized/felt there, then MAYBE coilovers.

The RSR are designed to work with the stock shock valving, fronts are 10 rears are 8.

 

[jc604]

yup im on swift springs + sway bars rear n front, totally changed the dynamics of the car

 

[Maze]

I got the following quote from a Bay Area shop. Man labor is expensive here, the labor almost costs as much as the parts. Is this reasonable in terms of hours of labor?:

Our labor rate is $160.00 per hour here at Speed Element.
Here's the breakdown for pricing:
Front & Rear Sway Bars - 1.5 to 2 Hours $240 - $320 (Exhaust Needs to Be Removed for Access)
Lowering Springs - 4 Hours $640
Alignment - $150

$1170 would be the estimate for this service.

 

[kevinbonds]

I got the following quote from a Bay Area shop. Man labor is expensive here, the labor almost costs as much as the parts. Is this reasonable in terms of hours of labor?:

Our labor rate is $160.00 per hour here at Speed Element.
Here's the breakdown for pricing:
Front & Rear Sway Bars - 1.5 to 2 Hours $240 - $320 (Exhaust Needs to Be Removed for Access)
Lowering Springs - 4 Hours $640
Alignment - $150

$1170 would be the estimate for this service.

Yea, sounds about right for Bay Area.

 

[ljpetraska]

I haven’t done lowering springs on the Z so I can’t tell you if they’re better or worse than the ones I’ve done but that would be a good candidate to do yourself if you have the tools. 4 hours seems accurate but if you are comfortable with it, that’d save you $640.

 

[DrChancho]

I got the following quote from a Bay Area shop. Man labor is expensive here, the labor almost costs as much as the parts. Is this reasonable in terms of hours of labor?:

Our labor rate is $160.00 per hour here at Speed Element.
Here's the breakdown for pricing:
Front & Rear Sway Bars - 1.5 to 2 Hours $240 - $320 (Exhaust Needs to Be Removed for Access)
Lowering Springs - 4 Hours $640
Alignment - $150

$1170 would be the estimate for this service.

I am in the Bay Area as well and plan to go this route. I would love to stay in touch and hear about your journey.
FWIW, I was able to get my Air Intakes put on by the dealer for $60 in labor. They said it took almost 2 hours but they charged based on the allotted labor duration in the BOM.
I am going to get them to quote out the springs and sways....

 

[trackratZ]

My recommendation would be to do things in steps. I would go with the Stillen Sways, the Z1's are really stiff, and not really necessary. Also, maybe try some RSR springs they have a great spring rate and moderate drop. This alone will eliminate the body roll issues and still give a high-quality stock like ride. If you go this route, you should not really need any adjustable suspension components. This will be much less expensive and give you the results you want. If later you decide you need coilovers for hard core track work, just sell the springs and not much of a loss.

What about Stillen sways vs Nismo sways? RSR springs I heard are ideal for non-coilover setups with stock shocks.

 

[kevinbonds]

What about Stillen sways vs Nismo sways? RSR springs I heard are ideal for non-coilover setups with stock shocks.

I would not buy anything Nismo, simply because they are just rebranded parts from other vendor. Stillen has a long history of making quality sways I have them all the way back to my Z32. They are all made in California and Stillen sways can use the stock end links.

 

[FSUZ33]

I believe Bilstein makes the majority of NISMO suspension parts.

If you own a black rifle there’s a pretty good chance that the the upper and lower weren’t forged or machined by the company whose name/brand is stamped into it. There are only about 5 companies that do that, rebrand for many others, and it’s not uncommon for them to make many more rebranded parts than they do for themselves. Doesn’t make it bad or wrong, unless the manufacturer itself is crap or you flat out don’t like their stuff. Bilstein has made OEM suspension for Corvettes for decades.

I mean, Apple has never manufactured an iphone. They pay companies like Foxconn to do that, because Apple is good at designing, not manufacturing electronics. And Foxconn is good at manufacturing electronics.

Not sure if they’re still connected, but about a decade ago NISMO partnered with Williams (as in ‘Williams F1’) to develop performance components and packages. I don’t think Williams-developed components branded as NISMO would be something to scoff at.

Not disagreeing with you, but i think a lot of people would be surprised if they knew how much of the stuff they own that wasn’t actually manufactured by company on the logo.

 

[trackratZ]

I would not buy anything Nismo, simply because they are just rebranded parts from other vendor. Stillen has a long history of making quality sways I have them all the way back to my Z32. They are all made in California and Stillen sways can use the stock end links.

is there proof Nismo suspension parts are inferior? They certainly work well on the Nismo Z on track situations based on various testing. Did I read somewhere that sway bars and/or endlinks broke?

 

[jc604]

is there proof Nismo suspension parts are inferior? They certainly work well on the Nismo Z on track situations based on various testing. Did I read somewhere that sway bars and/or endlinks broke?

Plenty of people have reported the nismos have very bad qc issues to the point where the bar just snaps. Reported on fb and here

 

[trackratZ]

Plenty of people have reported the nismos have very bad qc issues to the point where the bar just snaps. Reported on fb and here

Looks like bad news! I’ll look at the other options, Stillen, Swift, Eibach?

 

[jc604]

Looks like bad news! I’ll look at the other options, Stillen, Swift, Eibach?

solid options. im on cusco

 

[Maze]

I am in the Bay Area as well and plan to go this route. I would love to stay in touch and hear about your journey.
FWIW, I was able to get my Air Intakes put on by the dealer for $60 in labor. They said it took almost 2 hours but they charged based on the allotted labor duration in the BOM.
I am going to get them to quote out the springs and sways....

Wow that's a great price to get an intake installed for especially in the bay area. Would the dealer install non OEM/Nismo parts? I'm out of town for a couple of weeks but I'll keep the thread posted on how the install goes.

I've heard mixed things about the nismo parts by themselves but seems like the Nismo Z is a hell of a car.