Nissan 350Z Suspension - Suspended Animation

Judging from all the cars I see out there it's apparent that many people think a nice-looking ride is a slammed vehicle with oversized wheels tucked under the fenderwell and an ungodly amount of negative camber. Granted, these cars usually look tight when parked, but you can bet that you probably wouldn't want to be caught dead riding in it. You'd bounce so much that your double espresso would turn into a Frapuccino and your girl would need to whip out her jogging bra just to roll with you. Now don't get me wrong, it is perfectly alright to lower a vehicle--we all know it looks damn good to ride with a low profile--just as long as it's done properly with the right parts and tuning equipment. Like the revolutionaries have preached, knowledge is power so 2NR is here to give you the power to make the right decisions when lowering your ride. Although a set of lowering springs might attain the look you're after, there is more to lowering than adding springs and calling it a day. Situations like camber and toeing come into play when the stock suspension is altered.

For Projekt Z not only were we after the look, but we also wanted the Nissan to handle and ride as well. As you may already know, Nissan's flagship is no slouch at the track. Our track model Z came factory equipped with 18-inch Rays aluminums wrapped with sticky Bridgestone RE 040 rubber. Now equipped with the 19-inch Racing Hart C4 wheels with Pirelli P Zero tires, the Nissan amazingly still handled as well compared to the smaller diameter factory wheels. After installing the C4 wheels, the gap between the tires and the fenderwell was ungodly. The Z looked as if it was ready to cross a river. OK, it wasn't that bad, but it did need help.

We turned to the guys over at Tein in Downey, Calif., to increase the road-holding abilities of the Z. We were surprised to find out Tein offered two different coil over suspensions for the 350Z. The company offered both the Basic Damper kit and Flex Damper kit. The Basic Damper kit is Tein's entry-level coil over system that offers ride height adjustability. However it does not offer shock adjustability. The Flex Damper kit we were more interested in was the Ferrari's coil over kits. Not only does the Flex system offer ride-height adjustability, but also 16-way adjustable shock dampening and an adjustable twin tube shell case for adjustable shock length. The Flex kit also comes with new upper aluminum pillow-ball mounts. We also added the Tein EDFC (Electronic Damping Force Controller), giving us the ability to adjust the 16-way adjustable shock from the driver's seat with the push of a button. Not only is the EDFC valuable for cockpit shock adjustability, but by decreasing the rotation angle of the EDFC, it's capable of making the 16-way adjustable shock a 32-way adjustable unit. Installation of the front and rear shocks were very straightforward with the Tein unit going in place of the factory shock. The Tein suspension came preassembled and did not need any of the factory components (i.e. upper mount) to be installed. The only thing that needed to be addressed was tightening the top bolt that holds the shock together. We preadjusted the Tein shock to identical heights using a measuring tape before installing the units in the Z. However we did have to readjust the ride height after a couple of days of driving to allow the spring to settle. On the rear we found the lowest setting to be most ideal to attain the look we were after and the front we adjusted the ride height accordingly to the rear.

To help decrease the Z's sway, our search lead us to Naps USA in Mattoon, Ill., the official distributor of Cusco Japan in the U.S. We opted to install a set of heavy-duty solid sway bars on the front and rear of the Nissan. The front sway bar is 1mm thicker (stock 34mm to Cusco 35mm) than the stock unit and is also significantly heavier. Another key feature of the Cusco front sway bar is there are two different mounting points for the links, allowing adjustability of the sway bars. In the rear the factory bar measures in 21mm and the Cusco unit is 22mm. We should also mention that the stock rear sway bar is hollow and the Cusco is a solid unit. Both the front and rear sway bars installed with ease and still utilized the factory bushing and brackets.

The most important part of any suspension modification is having the vehicle corner balanced and aligned. Without proper alignment and corner balancing, not only can you quickly wear out expensive tires but faulty alignment can also decrease the road holding abilities of your ride. A severely misaligned suspension can cause the car to pull to one side of the road, which is hazardous to you and other drivers. By performing a wheel alignment, a technician can adjust the toe-in and toe-out and sometimes the camber and caster on your vehicle. The modification can not only save tire life but also increase contact with the road. An alignment should be performed every year or two depending on driving habits. Our Z was sent to West End Alignment in Los Angeles, Calif., for corner balancing and alignment. The process takes about 2 to 3 hours and runs about $200, but let me tell you it's worth every penny. Considering the tires on the Z run about $1000 for a set, you want to make it last. Darren Nishimura, owner of West End Alignment, can properly setup your suspension for any driving style you prefer. From the typical street guy to the hard core track fiend, Darren is the guy for you.

Times have changed and racers and enthusiasts alike have acknowledged the importance of suspension tuning. Look at the big picture, weigh the consequences and make sure you take the correct steps when lowering your ride. Remember, not only can you have the look you are going after, but also a big improvement in performance to go along with it.