Silver Mine Motors? Any have an experience with them?

[akre28]

So this will be my first post on here.

But my dad has a 77 280z, with a terrible ride, and were looking at replacing the suspension.

After doing some searching, looking at eibach, tokico, etc etc. and after looking all over the internet, i stumbled across these awesome deal.

Tokico - ILK Suspension Kit - Silver Mine Motors

$650 for the Tokico ILK setup, seems really, really cheap, suspiciously cheap (hens why im here)

My question is, has anyone had any experience with them, im going to call them, see if i can ease my concerns that way, but just looking for a little more reassurance.

Thanks

(sorry if this is in the wrong section)

-Kyle

[Darrel]

shox.com

[olzed]

Describe a terrible ride.

[akre28]

Shox.com looks good, little more expensive, but a reputable company, thanks for the suggestion.

Its the type of ride that you get from what i assume are cut springs, original 174,00 mile old shocks that lug around, two alpine type R 12 inch sub woofers. (not my doing I promise)

Just wondering if anyone has dealt with these guys, they have cheap big brake kits as well.

Thanks for the info though.

EDIT: What do i do with the Shock mounts (front and rear)? I know its probably recommended to replace them, i take it just hit up a dealer, or courtesy Nissan? (For OEM?)

Sorry for the ignorance, still getting use to working on the Z verses my Pathfinder or some of the other "modern" cars, this Z has a couple of pieces that are throwing me off and i just dont want to go back in there if i dont have to (who doesn't really, )

I've been doing a lot of searching and im collecting info, little by little. so bare with me,

Edited February 6, 2013 by akre28

[Zed Head]

Silvermine seems to have a good reputation from what I've seen here and on other forums. They get good reviews for quality and response time.

The kit you linked to is a lowering kit. You don't have to assume, you can measure and/or look. If it's lower than stock, it might already have Tokico springs or another brand. The shock mounts are also called "insulators" and quite often are in fine shape. Motorsport Auto sells them, for one.

Harshness of the ride can be more affected by the shocks and tires than the springs. I would figure out what I had before buying anything.

[John Coffey]

Silvermine has a good reputation.

[akre28]

Silvermine seems to have a good reputation from what I've seen here and on other forums. They get good reviews for quality and response time.

The kit you linked to is a lowering kit. You don't have to assume, you can measure and/or look. If it's lower than stock, it might already have Tokico springs or another brand. The shock mounts are also called "insulators" and quite often are in fine shape. Motorsport Auto sells them, for one.

Harshness of the ride can be more affected by the shocks and tires than the springs. I would figure out what I had before buying anything.

Its really bad, like Racing coil over bad,

The previous owner fitted some kind of spring kit to the rear only and im trying to get it leveled out. its sits really low, like the tire sir maybe an inch (if that) off the outer fender.

Yes while it is a lowering kit, it will most likely lift the rear, and lower the front, which is what im looking for, but my dad wants a better ride, so this is my best combo i could find, i was thinking about doing the eibach's and KYB's, but i've heard the KYB's dont really work all that well on lowered cars and go out very quickly in some cases, so i looked into the Tokico HP's and illumia's, and found they run a little bit harder, but from where we are now, anything is going to be better.

Am i on the right track?

-Kyle

[Zed Head]

Looks like it, depending on how much hurry you're in.

Some people think that the Tokico shocks have a harsh ride. They seem to be designed more for performance, not plushness. There are some pretty in-depth conversations on this forum, somewhere, about the options. Many are using KYB's with lowering springs and recommend them. Apparently, one potential problem is running lowered springs without the bump stops. It can damage the shock. Maybe that's the issue with KYB's.

Note - I am repeating much of what John Coffey has said over numerous posts from the past, about tires, shocks, and bump stops. You could probably search those words and get a lot of good reading. Everything that you want to know is on this forum, from insulators to bump stops to Tokico to Eibach to progressive vs straight rate springs, all discussed within the last few years. It's a popular topic.