Joedigity Posted April 30, 2005 Share Posted April 30, 2005 I was just curious if the new Legacy had the same limited suspension travel issues after being lowered that Nissans have? Currently I own a lowered Nissan Maxima and have suffered with a pretty damn harsh ride quality due to the very limited suspension travel available from the factory on those cars. I am considering the new Legacy as a replacement for my 99 Maxima, because I think the car is beautiful, and has tons of performance potential. But the lowering issue is deffinately something that I want to consider with this car because I would probably lower it if I bought one. Thanks in advance for any helpful info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted April 30, 2005 Share Posted April 30, 2005 I have only hit the bumpstops in the rear a little bit, not a big deal. The fronts are fine.. but then again, I run a lowered car with Zeals. I think I only have about 2.0" worth of active suspension travel (I haven't done the zip-tie test yet). My Cusco sway bars prevent the Zeals from fully extending when I am really cornering hard (as I can actually lift the inside tires). Here's a video of me autocrossing: http://www.moranbros.com/auto-x/2005/03-19-05/Keefe-Afternoon.wmv This should give you an idea that it takes a lot for the car to hit the bumpstops, but it wont blow the shock out (hence the bumpstops are there for that very reason so that you dont bottom out the shock, not just the car's chassis). Keefe Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boostjunkie Posted April 30, 2005 Share Posted April 30, 2005 My car is about as low as Xenonk's, on Tein coilovers. I'd say that suspension travel is ok, but not generous. It's not a Nissan compression travel short, but it isn't Honda long either. I think with a little tweaking you can lower the car enough for both performance and looks and still retain enough suspension travel for all but the most ridiculous roads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtguy Posted April 30, 2005 Share Posted April 30, 2005 It isn't as much that the car itself has limited suspension travel, as the struts, when the car is lowered, have limited suspension travel in that when you lower the car, you in effect take away ultimate suspension travel. In and of itself, the GT has plenty of suspension travel. But dependent upon how much you drop the car, said travel will become limited as a function of the struts having less of an operating range. Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franklin Posted April 30, 2005 Share Posted April 30, 2005 Where do you live? Maybe the trade off of lowering is not worth ride penality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted April 30, 2005 Share Posted April 30, 2005 I havent had an issue with the shorter travel.. the shocks are designed and adjusted to the range it can still function properly. Over-lowering any coilover can really kill the ride.. not to mention if the coilover is a 2-way adjustment, that means that the shock is probably in the dead zone before compression (when you really want the shock to be near active at rest, and fully active when the first slight compression movement). Lower the car all you want, it's the matter of how the shock was designed to handle an "X" amount of length of travel that dictates the actual EFFECTIVE ride height.. Function first, then comes Form, not the other way around. Keefe Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joedigity Posted May 7, 2005 Author Share Posted May 7, 2005 I live in Southern CA where the roads are less than ideal for lowered cars. Especially a lowered Maxima! Thanks alot for all the great info! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boostjunkie Posted May 7, 2005 Share Posted May 7, 2005 You are either kidding, or you haven't been outside of SoCal if you think that the roads here are less than ideal for lowered cars. I live in northern LA county and while the roads aren't perfect, they are much better than the vast majority of the roads in the rest of the country. If you can't live with the ride of your suspension out here, it would straight-up kill you in the midwestern and northeastern states. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaxx Posted May 8, 2005 Share Posted May 8, 2005 i agree southern cali roads are a picnic compared to where i live (6 out of every 10 cars is a truck) its not the pot holes but the way drive ways are designed ... my brand new exhaust scrapes every time i leave the gym Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtguy Posted May 8, 2005 Share Posted May 8, 2005 Keefe is right. I just don't think that lowering a Legacy GT on the stock struts is a suitable long-term answer. I tried the STi pink springs, one of the mildest options, and even that was, to me, unacceptable. It should be noted that ride quality didn't suffer all that much, but the way that the car dealt with bumps and road imperfections was quite unsettling. Essentially, what you are doing when you lower a car is, dependent upon the degree of lowering, significantly altering the strut's damping curve. Drop your Legacy GT an inch, and you have an inch less travel, and a much less linear damping curve. This, mind you, from a car that already has a low-ish ride height. Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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