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I agonized between FI and Ark for quite awhile (as I know you did), but I am glad I chose FI for the fitment and looks. Just completes that OEM+ vibe I'm going for.
My car is at the dealer because my car is under CPO until end of March and under Elite under next year.
It's been quite the adventure while I'm still driving as an essential employee.
Monday: Starts snowing while I'm on summer tires; goes into fail-safe mode during my drive home and does not let me go WOT or past ~4000RPM after warming up from cold start. No codes or check engine lights. Car revs fine in Park and Neutral. Attempted idle relearn to no avail.
Tuesday: Dealer loses power from snow. Arrive to dealer that has no power. Gets loaner Q50 Luxe AWD with barely any rental paperwork. Gets call back saying they think it's a faulty manual shifter (because I have a left paddle that gets stuck once in a blue moon, but goes away indefinitely), but when I asked if they duplicated the issue, they said they did not so I sent them directions on how to duplicate it. They also asked I was tuned (if I was, I wouldn't come to them lol).
Wednesday: They have duplicated the issue but have no idea what's going on. No codes, no misfires. New battery installed (because I needed one anyway). Attempted idle relearn and checked throttle bodies. They do believe it's an electronic issue (why of course Sherlock). They're on Infiniti tech support for technicians
Thursday morning: Still waiting to hear back as the service advisor keeps telling me he'll have to add "another hour of diag" at $157/hr. I feel like since the ECU and TCU are failure modes, they should be obliged to replace those two and see if it simply goes away. Next thing would be the transmission since I doubt the solenoid is a separate assembly. We'll have to see though.
I miss my car. It's mechanically bulletproof, but when things go kaput, good luck without Consult and dealing with a service advisor that leaves voicemails to call back instead of just saying what's wrong in the voicemail.
Well..Bit of an embarrassing story. I uninstalled my coil overs quite a while ago due to the ride height being an issue where I commute; as well as the ride being really stiff for a 100 mile round trip everyday. I couldn't for the life of me grasp how people, at max ride height, were almost 2 inches higher when the ride settled; or why everyone raved about coil overs when the ride was not comfortable; despite the handling benefits.
Anyways..fast forward 4 months and I am absolutely hating the 4x4 look/ride height of the car; everyday being a reminder of why I got coil overs in the first place. I'm constantly reminding myself of the complaints I had when they were installed and the reason I took them off.
So, my dad is rebuilding his '69 Firebird and picked up coil overs for it and was asking me about ride height, preload, etc.. As I'm explaining pre-load to him, and the importance of making sure it's right (), I asked if his set came with instructions and that the pre load settings should be mentioned. At that time, I decided to look at the instructions for the coil overs I had, suddenly curious if the pre load was mentioned; as well as to check if there was any guidance on ride height.
You see, as an excited individual who couldn't wait to install his first set of coil overs, and reap the corner carving benefits I had always heard about, I didn't read the instructions during the install (relying on threads, pictures, videos, etc...); there go, I never actually verified what the minimum thread depth was, nor what the pre load was in the instructions for my specific set-up. I went off videos and other threads of installs (BC coil overs) and did not realize that the manual not only listed a minimum thread depth but also states that the pre load for the back is different than the front. You see, while the front is supposed to be set at 3/4'' pre load, the rear set is supposed to be just tight enough in the bucket that it won't jar loose, with the preload not to exceed 1/8''. At this point, you can probably guess where I made an error....
Of course, I realize this as I was talking to my dad and just had a feeling of "Oh no!" wash over me. So, I reinstalled my coilovers -- using the instructions this time and wouldn't you know it, I not only gained height at all four corners but the ride quality was dramatically better compared to before. I took my wife for a drive after they were on, as she is NVH sensitive, and she looked over and stated how much better they rode (we were in agreement that the ride quality sucked the first time).
So, to summarize, read your instructions...installing the coil overs, then OEM suspension and back to coil overs was not fun. I was actively trying to sell these and would've been furious with myself if I had seen the error I made after agreeing to a sale.
Most coilovers come with the preload already set for your application. Is there some reason yours were not pre-set? I had to set my preload on my stance since I switched to Swift springs, but I didn't have any issues.
My next setup will be a pretty baller Fortune Auto setup as well.
Got around to installing new fog light housing and Philips LED fog bulbs (bought from Amazon Japan and they got here in 4 days). The old fog lights were 10 years old and very cloudy. I realized the original fog bulbs were useless after driving through a few bad storms this winter in Vermont. The new bulbs give better clarity in the rain. Looking forward to the next really foggy day to test them out. The pictures don't do the bulbs justice!
Winter has made the car age, and more noticeably myself as well haha. Fought me every step of the way. Had to reinforce the bumper cover and rebuild the stiffeners. Bottom bolts got really rusty so drilled out every single one and replaced with rivnuts. Didn't get any photos of the underside, I was exhausted. Getting to the point, Z1 intakes went on. opened up the core support a little bit. Temporary ziptie support while I come up with a solid mount. Oh and replaced the rotors with Z1 slotted rotors.
Most coilovers come with the preload already set for your application. Is there some reason yours were not pre-set? I had to set my preload on my stance since I switched to Swift springs, but I didn't have any issues.
My next setup will be a pretty baller Fortune Auto setup as well.
They were not. There wasn't any slack but the springs were 7'' in length for the front and back when not compressed. The backs are also OEM style, not a true style so I had to set the preload once I had the springs in the buckets (my car is AWD, not sure if the RWD coilovers are different from FA). Also, I pulled mine apart and applied anti-seize to the threads and zip tied the boots around the metal rod; to minimize their movement and keep debris out of the cylinder assembly.
Now that they are on correctly, I'm really enjoying them. I haven't been able to really see what they're like on a 100 mile trip due to the virus but just zipping around back roads is enjoyable (OEM AWD suspension is awfullllll)and driving over imperfections doesn't make me tense up like before. Before, they were absolutely bone jarring when the rears were at 3/4''. Crazy how such a small increment results in the ride quality being complete garbage. Kicking myself for not reading the directions and going right to threads and videos on coil over installs. Would've saved myself a lot of time and frustration. Live and learn.
If you go with FA, Splurge to get the extensions for the rear adjustments. Popping out the rear seats to make adjustments is quick but can be aggravating until you dial them in. Before, I had them at 1/15 for the softest setting and they were still entirely too tight. Now, they're at 1/15 and definitely need to be pushed a few click towards the stiffer setting.
I finally finished my LCD screen upgrade / conversion. My goal was to be able to show the stock Infiniti display, OEM backup camera, and high-res HDMI input with touch for my Raspberry Pi running Android Auto. To switch back to the Infiniti interface there is a button in the center console. Also, it taps into the reverse signal so it will switch into the backup camera regardless of what input I am on.
I'm happy with the result
03-26-2020, 10:06 AM
I've had mine now for over 5 years, and I still appreciate the quality every time my eyes pass over them. 
), I asked if his set came with instructions and that the pre load settings should be mentioned. At that time, I decided to look at the instructions for the coil overs I had, suddenly curious if the pre load was mentioned; as well as to check if there was any guidance on ride height.
