5 Suspension Mods that can Ruin your Car - Engineering Explained
04-14-2016, 11:32 PM
#31
Yeah the stock shocks on the X are extremely soft and cause the car to bottom out quite easily. There were a few others on the forum who posted the same. If you were driving on the highway and hit a bump while going into a turn the car would almost feel out of control and just wasn't predictable. The ride just wasn't compliant as well.
What he is saying in the video is not as bad as he makes it out if you have stiffer shocks and do not drop your car much. Say 1 inch in the front because it looks like azz way up like that...the issues mentioned bottoming out,increased negative camber, shorter range in shock - all become minimal negative scenarios and the positives of better looks and better aerodynamics are worth it....Heck all mods are always a give and take scenario.
Last edited by G37sGraphite; 04-15-2016 at 12:02 AM.
04-15-2016, 07:01 PM
#33
Yeah the stock shocks on the X are extremely soft and cause the car to bottom out quite easily. There were a few others on the forum who posted the same. If you were driving on the highway and hit a bump while going into a turn the car would almost feel out of control and just wasn't predictable. The ride just wasn't compliant as well.
I don't want to lower my X sedan. I enjoy my grandpa ride, but a slightly sportier shock would be nice for handling at higher speeds. The X OEM shocks are super soft!
05-03-2016, 01:03 AM
#35
Yeah the stock shocks on the X are extremely soft and cause the car to bottom out quite easily. There were a few others on the forum who posted the same. If you were driving on the highway and hit a bump while going into a turn the car would almost feel out of control and just wasn't predictable. The ride just wasn't compliant as well.
To rule it out, I do have front and rear camber kits with alignment fully in spec. I also have Hotchkis sway bars. It's also not the tires as I have 245/40/19 PSS on all four corners.
I am waiting for the shocks to wear out so I can upgrade to a set of coilovers.
05-10-2016, 10:35 AM
#36
I've been researching for a lowering mod for my xS as well, and I've been intrigued by the night & day reports and recommendations coming from different people who have experienced the AWD sedan with Swift Springs.
I'm still not completely decided myself, but it seems like the level of satisfaction depends on a complicated stew of factors, including wear level of stock parts, (I can't help but think that if you're hitting bump stops routinely with a ~1" drop on stiffer springs, something is wrong) wheel size, (a bigger factor in ride harshness than many realize) other mods, (the AWD sedan will absolutely be less stable if you haven't already dealt with the flimsy stock swaybars) and alignment. (a little negative camber is ok, but it narrows your window of acceptability everywhere else - and cars will vary slightly)
And of course there are varying personal expectations. I suspect some people have put these on their car and didn't really want a particularly firm ride, while others have slammed previous cars and have a pretty high threshold for "too harsh."
I also wonder if there has been any mixing and matching of sets of springs across vehicle trims. As I understand it, it's the shock that requires a different design and you could put different springs than intended on the car. According to Swift's website, the springs for various G37 trims all have different rates and heights. You could end up with a set that isn't firm enough and it would definitely bottom out. Of course there's also a variable in what the local road conditions are like. (and if your local road conditions are very bad and you drive mostly low-speed, city miles, then your shocks may wear out by a much lower number)
I'm in a situation where my mileage is high enough that I should probably replace the shocks when I have it done anyway, just to save on labor having shocks replaced separately later. It puts the number a little closer to the cost of coilovers, although still about half.
I'm still not completely decided myself, but it seems like the level of satisfaction depends on a complicated stew of factors, including wear level of stock parts, (I can't help but think that if you're hitting bump stops routinely with a ~1" drop on stiffer springs, something is wrong) wheel size, (a bigger factor in ride harshness than many realize) other mods, (the AWD sedan will absolutely be less stable if you haven't already dealt with the flimsy stock swaybars) and alignment. (a little negative camber is ok, but it narrows your window of acceptability everywhere else - and cars will vary slightly)
And of course there are varying personal expectations. I suspect some people have put these on their car and didn't really want a particularly firm ride, while others have slammed previous cars and have a pretty high threshold for "too harsh."
I also wonder if there has been any mixing and matching of sets of springs across vehicle trims. As I understand it, it's the shock that requires a different design and you could put different springs than intended on the car. According to Swift's website, the springs for various G37 trims all have different rates and heights. You could end up with a set that isn't firm enough and it would definitely bottom out. Of course there's also a variable in what the local road conditions are like. (and if your local road conditions are very bad and you drive mostly low-speed, city miles, then your shocks may wear out by a much lower number)
I'm in a situation where my mileage is high enough that I should probably replace the shocks when I have it done anyway, just to save on labor having shocks replaced separately later. It puts the number a little closer to the cost of coilovers, although still about half.
05-10-2016, 01:07 PM
#37
I've been researching for a lowering mod for my xS as well, and I've been intrigued by the night & day reports and recommendations coming from different people who have experienced the AWD sedan with Swift Springs.
I'm still not completely decided myself, but it seems like the level of satisfaction depends on a complicated stew of factors, including wear level of stock parts, (I can't help but think that if you're hitting bump stops routinely with a ~1" drop on stiffer springs, something is wrong) wheel size, (a bigger factor in ride harshness than many realize) other mods, (the AWD sedan will absolutely be less stable if you haven't already dealt with the flimsy stock swaybars) and alignment. (a little negative camber is ok, but it narrows your window of acceptability everywhere else - and cars will vary slightly)
And of course there are varying personal expectations. I suspect some people have put these on their car and didn't really want a particularly firm ride, while others have slammed previous cars and have a pretty high threshold for "too harsh."
I also wonder if there has been any mixing and matching of sets of springs across vehicle trims. As I understand it, it's the shock that requires a different design and you could put different springs than intended on the car. According to Swift's website, the springs for various G37 trims all have different rates and heights. You could end up with a set that isn't firm enough and it would definitely bottom out. Of course there's also a variable in what the local road conditions are like. (and if your local road conditions are very bad and you drive mostly low-speed, city miles, then your shocks may wear out by a much lower number)
I'm in a situation where my mileage is high enough that I should probably replace the shocks when I have it done anyway, just to save on labor having shocks replaced separately later. It puts the number a little closer to the cost of coilovers, although still about half.
I'm still not completely decided myself, but it seems like the level of satisfaction depends on a complicated stew of factors, including wear level of stock parts, (I can't help but think that if you're hitting bump stops routinely with a ~1" drop on stiffer springs, something is wrong) wheel size, (a bigger factor in ride harshness than many realize) other mods, (the AWD sedan will absolutely be less stable if you haven't already dealt with the flimsy stock swaybars) and alignment. (a little negative camber is ok, but it narrows your window of acceptability everywhere else - and cars will vary slightly)
And of course there are varying personal expectations. I suspect some people have put these on their car and didn't really want a particularly firm ride, while others have slammed previous cars and have a pretty high threshold for "too harsh."
I also wonder if there has been any mixing and matching of sets of springs across vehicle trims. As I understand it, it's the shock that requires a different design and you could put different springs than intended on the car. According to Swift's website, the springs for various G37 trims all have different rates and heights. You could end up with a set that isn't firm enough and it would definitely bottom out. Of course there's also a variable in what the local road conditions are like. (and if your local road conditions are very bad and you drive mostly low-speed, city miles, then your shocks may wear out by a much lower number)
I'm in a situation where my mileage is high enough that I should probably replace the shocks when I have it done anyway, just to save on labor having shocks replaced separately later. It puts the number a little closer to the cost of coilovers, although still about half.
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