# Looking to drop my 96 200sx on the ground with coilovers. WHATS NEEDED??



## Lotus2843 (Nov 1, 2003)

I bought cheap-o coilovers and KYB GR2 shocks for my 96 200sx SE. I want to drop it to the max. I assume i will need camber kit(s). Can you tell me whats required?


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## SneakyMilo (Jun 27, 2004)

Lotus2843 said:


> I bought cheap-o coilovers and KYB GR2 shocks for my 96 200sx SE. I want to drop it to the max. I assume i will need camber kit(s). Can you tell me whats required?



I highly recommend that you don't do this if you want to enjoy driving your car. Search this forum or sr20forum.com for the reasons why slamming our cars is a bad idea. Amongst the drivability issues our car have when lowered extremely I have also heard that the axles wear out very quickly so you might need to invest in some performance axles if you do this.


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## Lotus2843 (Nov 1, 2003)

SneakyMilo said:


> I highly recommend that you don't do this if you want to enjoy driving your car. Search this forum or sr20forum.com for the reasons why slamming our cars is a bad idea. Amongst the drivability issues our car have when lowered extremely I have also heard that the axles wear out very quickly so you might need to invest in some performance axles if you do this.


Thats funny you say that because i had planned to change both front axles while i was doing the suspention. I drive on good roads and am really looking to set the wheels into the wheel wells, i love the look of a clean drop and i think the car would handle alot better with that much lower of center of gravity.

What will i need to adjust camber?


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## AZ_TURBOSE (Oct 22, 2002)

Lotus2843 said:


> Thats funny you say that because i had planned to change both front axles while i was doing the suspention. I drive on good roads and am really looking to set the wheels into the wheel wells, i love the look of a clean drop and i think the car would handle alot better with that much lower of center of gravity.
> 
> What will i need to adjust camber?


If your looking to "dump" the car, then i highly suggest a shorted strut or it will bounce all the way down the road, regardless of how smooth the streets are. But its your choice.... you are going to need camber plates to correct the alignment or camber bolts... i would suggest the camber plates by Ground Control.


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## Lotus2843 (Nov 1, 2003)

AZ_TURBOSE said:


> If your looking to "dump" the car, then i highly suggest a shorted strut or it will bounce all the way down the road, regardless of how smooth the streets are. But its your choice.... you are going to need camber plates to correct the alignment or camber bolts... i would suggest the camber plates by Ground Control.



How about those cheap-o ebay "camber kits" ????


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## psuLemon (Apr 23, 2003)

haha, dude, go to the suspension section, look at the sticky on cheap o coilovers.. and read that section..



ps- your car will be soo out of line and fucked up you wont be able to drive.. the ONLY way to drop it excessively is to get the motivational shorten struts and a good set of coilovers..


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## AZ_TURBOSE (Oct 22, 2002)

Lotus2843 said:


> How about those cheap-o ebay "camber kits" ????


All i got to say is... Its your life... however when you drive on the streets with these cheap-o-ebay parts, especially, those camber bolts or crap suspension you are putting yourself and others at risk. The factory bolts that are holding the strut to the spindle are large from a reason, those bolts are small and probably made of inferior material that is no way stronger than factory bolts.

I would seriously consider doing some research prior to modding your suspension components. Do what you want, its your car, however people are just looking out and trying to give you some good advice.

I have been modding vehicles for 10 years now and own a tuning shop. I would never sacrifice price for safety. just my .02$.


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## Lotus2843 (Nov 1, 2003)

AZ_TURBOSE said:


> All i got to say is... Its your life... however when you drive on the streets with these cheap-o-ebay parts, especially, those camber bolts or crap suspension you are putting yourself and others at risk. The factory bolts that are holding the strut to the spindle are large from a reason, those bolts are small and probably made of inferior material that is no way stronger than factory bolts.
> 
> I would seriously consider doing some research prior to modding your suspension components. Do what you want, its your car, however people are just looking out and trying to give you some good advice.
> 
> I have been modding vehicles for 10 years now and own a tuning shop. I would never sacrifice price for safety. just my .02$.


i see lowering springs for 1.5 inchs, i dont see why i cant lower my car another half inch on top of that


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## AZ_TURBOSE (Oct 22, 2002)

Lotus2843 said:


> i see lowering springs for 1.5 inchs, i dont see why i cant lower my car another half inch on top of that


I believe in your original post you stated "drop it to the max."

2" is not bad. Anything more and the ride will suck.


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## pete? (Jul 6, 2004)

Lotus2843 said:


> i see lowering springs for 1.5 inchs, i dont see why i cant lower my car another half inch on top of that


ok, after reading your posts in this thread i have every right to type the following.

YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO POST ANYTHING ELSE AT ALL WITHOUT READING THE FOLLOWING LINKS. DO NOT INSTALL ANYTHING ON YOUR CAR, DO NOT DROP TO THE MAX.

you ignorance is hilarious.
1. lowering the center of gravity wont help your car at all when you lower it with crappy spring t=rates you have no idea what they are and with stock shocks (yea! gr-2's are stock!) 
2. lowering to the max will detroy wheel bearings and axels.
3. your cars suspension is designed at the factory to be XXX inches from the ground....the rest is built around that. by lowering it 2+ inches lower you may get the look you want but i will be able to out handle you with stock suspension on my 91 sentra with blown shocks!
4. b14 cars have very little shock travle (some where in the 3 inch range) so if you lower your car 1 inch you have 2 inches that your shocks can travle untill they bottom out. now with stiff springs its less a problem but with ebay springs im sure you will have no idea what they are and they may be softer. lowering it 2 inches you wont be able to hit a pot hole without bottoming out your shocks. and dont give me the "i dont care" because when you bottom out your suspension at 40+ MPH and you feel the violence involved you will be very very scared (that is if your not already in some sort of spin or other bad manuver caused by it)
http://www.nissanforums.com/showthread.php?t=51256
http://www.nissanforums.com/showthread.php?t=91454
http://www.nissanforums.com/showthread.php?t=7948
http://www.nissanforums.com/showthread.php?t=63200
http://www.nissanforums.com/showthread.php?t=51254
http://www.nissanforums.com/showthread.php?t=4384
http://www.nissanforums.com/showthread.php?t=51259
www.sentra.net

also, pm me if you are interested in a set of coilovers with the correct spring rates that WILLLLLL improve your cars handling.


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## wes (Apr 30, 2002)

Lotus2843 said:


> i see lowering springs for 1.5 inchs, i dont see why i cant lower my car another half inch on top of that



You need to research the links provided to you. This has been done and covered before. I honestly don't care what you do but when you blow the struts out from them being permanently bottomed I DO NOT want to see a post about it. 

Please read and learn why NOT to do this.


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## DanTheMan (Jan 12, 2003)

*dropped*

Yeah, it'll handle better until you reach infinite resistance in the turn (bottoming out) and go into a nice tail-spin across the road, taking out whoever is next to you.
You're gonna need a stadium seating pad under your but too if you wanna avoid back surgery!
Definitely bone up on the suspension links provided.
I havn't drpped mine an inch. You can get the "wheel in the well" look by just going to bigger rims (which will at least improve traction) you may not wanna go too big but improving traction will actually improve the handling more in a turn.
Other than that, buy some strut tower braces f&r and that's about all you really need. Our cars don't adjust camber so yeah you need a camber kit to mess with it should you get 1-2" dropped shocks. You will need springs to match the rate, do the camber F&R and coilovers with bump pads in case they do bottom.
Where are you driving that's so smooth? The salt flats? Seriously, you will know how bad the road really is if you mess with the stock susp.
Reducing weight will also help the handling.

I don't wanna see a post on how you bumped your head going through an intersection. Seriously man, i've seen cars go through intersections dropped and it looks like the driver is bouncing off the seat!


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## slowsentra1 (Dec 20, 2004)

i have to agree with the guys in here... i have sprint 2" springs with gr2 and i have to admit the ride seems decent but the botoming out is ridiculous. I head into a good deep turn and i feel the car playin patty cake with the strut and the bump stop. It sucks. I would recamend a true coilover system for that slammed look or air ride suspension. But if your goin for performance i would listen to these guys they seem to have a little more knowledge on this.


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## TooDLeZ (Apr 28, 2005)

the words cheap and suspension do not mix. TRUST ME!!!


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## pete? (Jul 6, 2004)

TooDLeZ said:


> the words cheap and suspension do not mix. TRUST ME!!!


110% true......unless you find a good setup at a good price. but buying crap like sprint springs and GR-2 shocks is the completly wrong way to go.


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## 1CLNB14 (Apr 30, 2002)

You ask "what is needed?"

I'd say around $1300.00 for a quality coil-over set-up.

Even then, you won't want it "slammed to the ground" unless it's stationary, at like a show or something.


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## psuLemon (Apr 23, 2003)

i think mike young has one of the best setups for the b14, his is safely dropped at 2 1/2 do to the coilover setup with shorten struts and motivational rear shockmounts.. it doesn't bottom out or anything... if you really want to "slam it", then you need to fork out 1500+ to do it right. hell, my suspension was around 900.. i have the agx's, eibach prokit, koni bumpstops, and motivational rear moutns.. but its well worth it.


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## pete? (Jul 6, 2004)

in a few weeks i will let you know how the k-sport coilovers ride on PA pavement. im getting them for $740 shipped. and they can be lowerd as far as you want because the height dosent adjust at the spring perch but instead at the shock mount. and with the high spring rates it will be very hard to bottom them out.


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## thestunts200sx (Jul 11, 2005)

Yea, i have eibach sprotline springs....and stock shocks/struts...for the most part rides descent...but when going over bridge sections where it doesnt meet the true road well......well...it just hurts....slams every damn time...ive devolped a sense and knowledge of grooves and where to drive and where not drive....

Soon, I am getting KYB AGX shocks / struts , knoi bump stops and hopefully, the group buy on the motivational rear shock mounts will roll pretty soon.

And im done,.....and thatll be alot better setup....with much more comfortability....

So listen to anyone who says anything in here.....especially people here w/ experience in here...also.

LOOK at the top STICKY threads.....best info available...


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## psuLemon (Apr 23, 2003)

your shocks are prolly blown thats why it rides like crap.. you will drool once you get the agx's


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## DanTheMan (Jan 12, 2003)

*Slammed...*

Like I said, If you mess with the stock suspension, you will know how bad the road really is.
That is not a bump, that is a transition from one road to another section of road. Imagine if you actually hit a bump!
Coilovers preserve more shock travel (less bottoming out)
Even if you never bottom (because of high rate) you will feel everything
because the shock is just letting that energy go into the frame without
absorbing much of it.
The longer travel of coil-overs lets you use a lower rate (and absorb
more shock).
Not too familiar with air-ride susp. Would have to have them installed/tuned by a pro air-ride shop. This seems to be the trend at shows as people can put the car on the ground and then pssst.... air ride lifts the car to height and they drive away. (best low-rider solution to speed bumps ever!!!) Don't know about handling/cornering though I'm sure you could adjust it with pressure changes to the bladders.

Hey man! You're car has bladders!


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## urquidezj (Jul 4, 2005)

i got my b14 with the suspension worked on already. it has some red springs dont know what they are prolly ebay with kyb struts. i can fit a finger in the front fenders and squezee my finger in the back fenders. it rides good a little bumpy but that comes with every drop unless u dish out for the G and up setups ive been in cars with a lot of different setups, silvia with tein dampers, drives almost like stock but u catch a bump here and there. integra with type r suspension not very much of a drop but it handles like its on rails and rides like a caddy. then there is my civic with stiff ass ground controls and u can feel every bump on the road. if u dont have the money to buy the expencive setup i guess u can go with that but u will be pissed frustrated and hurt every time u hit a bump and bottom out. my friend had a 95 200sx and he had cheapo coilovers r1 i believe all the way down looked awesom but i hated riding on it felt like the shock was going to pop out through the hood so be wise about it also i would recommend if u get the cheapo coilover set, do not go inder 2 inches it will be a clean nice drop and u wont be ripping ur hair out everytime u ride on it.


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