Axewielder

Alot of guys have mentioned that the rear end on the 06 Z is a bit on the high side and this mod is actually credited to Gsedan35. I am just expounding on it a bit so others may utilize and understand it better....
What I've done is merely removed a little over a 1/2 inch from the rear upper spring seat snubber perch to bring the rear of the Z down and make it sit level and also close up some of the rear wheel gap that has bothered some of the 06 owners....
We all know that the Z is already a low car and hopefully by using this mod, you wont have to lower your car any further and in my opinion, the front is already low enough but to each his own so here's what to do...:

Jack up your rear end and loosen the bolts on the subframe side of your control arms, just a couple of turns(don't worry, you won't screw anything up)
Now remove the control arm bolts completely from the hub side of your control arm at the spindle. Make sure that you also have a jack underneath the control arm to keep tension on it so that the bolt will come out more freely and the spring will be supported so that you may lower it down after, with the jack....
Once the springs are out you'll notice the upper seat snubbers will fall out also, these are what you're going to want to trim...
This is Gsedan35's pic of a trimmed upper seat and a whole one(untrimmed)


Now you'll want to break out a hack saw and a can of WD40 spray to help ease the blade through the rubber....Basically, you want to trim of the rubber as close to the low valley of the nibs, as you can, as shown in the above pic.

Here are some more pics that I took today, including measurements...
In the photobucket slideshow you'll see various pictures. The full car shots are taken right after the lowering
The Left hand quarter panel shots are the lowered pics and the right hand quarter panel shots are stock (un lowered)
You will get 0.5-0.6 inches out of this mod as shown in the measurements which almost makes the car sit perfectly level with maybe a slight rake still but in my opinion, it makes the 06 look alot nicer...
It's amazing what just a little bit lower in the rear, can do.....
Have fun...
Your bro, The Hercster...

Here's the photobucket slideshow link..
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v2...rue&interval=3

Mr_Drifter

iTrader: (4)

If I have lowering springs on my 06 Z already, can I still get this other 1/2" drop?

Axewielder

Yes, you sure can....

Axewielder

Excellent, Let me know how it turns out, G35 and yes you may reference this thread

tommykung

iTrader: (11)

Does 05 has that thing too?

fahrenheit350

iTrader: (15)

Yes, they do. I have also performed this mod a couple months ago since 05's sits relatively high. Same process as Axewielder stated.

Before it was cut... (OEM)


After the upper seats cut... (OEM)

Axewielder

This mod would also work great for those guys who have aftermarket springs and wheels and who feel that their front is plenty low but still wanna squeeze out a bit more in the back...

BhashaZ

iTrader: (18)

Interesting...

buzzardmountain

iTrader: (17)

hmmmmmm.......

BhashaZ

iTrader: (18)

So can I do this on my 2004? What are the negative consequences of performing this?

Are both these things the same? (one looks grey vs. black)

fahrenheit350

iTrader: (15)

So I am assuming on the 'negative consequences' but I believe that it would slighty reduce the life of the shock like what happens when you put lowering springs and not replacing the shock but, of course, since it's only 0.5" inch taken off from the upper seats that impact is minimal.

I was told that cutting the upper seats make the rears noisier.... my car has always been noisey and I didn't hear any difference after the mod.

Either way I don't think it's all that bad.

Both are same, Nissan possibly changed manufactures or used different dies when they produced it.

BhashaZ

iTrader: (18)

Cool...thanks Albert. That means I'll go ahead and get this done in the next couple of weeks! My only concern was that I'm already lowered on Hotckis, so I'm not sure if that changes anything. But another 1/4 - 1/2" in the rear is all I really wanted to begin with.

What would be the better choice: trimming the upper seat or trimming one of the "dead coils" on a LINEAR spring (no, I would NOT trim/cut a progressive spring).

BhashaZ

iTrader: (18)

BTW, if I do go ahead and do this, will it mess up my aligment specs? I know it will camber in more because the car will be lower (and hence change the camber/alignement), but is one of those adjustments that requires a re-alignment? (eh...hopefully that makes sense...)

BhashaZ

iTrader: (18)

bump for more info...I really want to do this, but I just need more input!

fahrenheit350

iTrader: (15)

Opps, didn't see that this thread was updated.

Anything under 1.4-1.5" can still be adjusted within OEM specs. I read before that anything more then you would need adj arms, etc. My alignment and chamber was still within specs after the upper seat mod and no ajustments were needed.

Hope this helps.

BhashaZ

iTrader: (18)

Thanks for the help. I guess my question is basically would I have to get a re-alignment again after doing this mod? The reason I ask is because I heard that if you remove and reinstall the suspension components, you'll likely have to get an alignment even if you didn't actually change anything (I guess by removing pieces, you won't be able to get back into the same specs).

So for this mod, I know that camber would be affected since I am technically going lower (hence more negative camber), but will it also affect other specs simply because I have to remove the springs? If it doesn't affect my suspension settings, then I won't have to really get another alignment since I am already maxed out for camber adjustment, and I am already aware that lowering it more will create additional negative camber...

Zincognito

iTrader: (2)

My only worry with this mod is that with time and wear, the rear could end up actually lower than the front. i dunno if i want to take that risk. Good find though

G

SponGer

iTrader: (1)

Anyone?

Nano

iTrader: (1)

in theory yes..

Gsedan35

iTrader: (10)

The mod can be done on all FM platform vehicles regardless of build year, meaing Z, G, FX, RWD or AWD since the rear suspension design in the same on all of them.

In the picture above, the cut down seat is sitting on spacers that I made to back fill what I cut off. I wanted to see if I removed that much soft rubber if I would kill off any suspension bounce. Really it didn't do anything, but I did discover a way to adjust rear ride height, I found that by using a drem to shave all the little valley's off the cut part that I ended up with a .8" drop. I've gone on to discover that you can go the other way, by adding spacers above the oem upper seat to raise the rear which has been great on certain drop springs that were too low in the rear. I'm currently running a .6" spacer stack in the rear even things out better.