Replacing 2003 sport-tuned suspensions

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wowotoe

Member
Location
Los Angeles, CA
I got a 2003 FX with sport package. However, I do not like the stiffness of its sport suspensions. I had couple close calls while the car swayed into other lane and almost hit another car when drive through those rough roads.

Is it possible to order the non sport-tuned suspensions from Infiniti and have them or the shop does the installation? or is there any aftermarket suspension that'll make the FX rides like BMW or Lexus?

I found one made by Bose which looks really good, but too bad I don't think they can be installed on FX
 
wowotoe said:
I got a 2003 FX with sport package. However, I do not like the stiffness of its sport suspensions. I had couple close calls while the car swayed into other lane and almost hit another car when drive through those rough roads.

Is it possible to order the non sport-tuned suspensions from Infiniti and have them or the shop does the installation? or is there any aftermarket suspension that'll make the FX rides like BMW or Lexus?

I found one made by Bose which looks really good, but too bad I don't think they can be installed on FX
Click to expand...

Most of us on here install the H&R springs. Personnaly I feel that they give a better ride than the sport suspension. I'm sure others can verify.
 
That BOSE suspension is an active system. It actually lifts the wheel up and over an obstacle when it sees one coming. That system probably cost about 10K and weighs like 1500 pounds.
 
Since when does a softer suspension give you better control?
The FX is no lexus, & is an active driver type vehicle. You always need to pay attention when driving it. I think you should have driven the car before making the purchase. Best thing at this point is to do a spring swap to H&R or eibach for better control.

What tires are you running?

BTW, welcome to the site
 
Eibachs will not help this situation, I can guarantee that :tongue:

Good luck wowotoe, but I don't think this situation can be remedied. You do have the stiffest of OEM FX suspensions though being that '03 Sport package was notoriously stiff.

I would try ordering '05 non-sport springs from an Infiniti parts store like infinitipartsusa.com
 
I disagree buddy. While the Eibachs are stiffer, control is enhanced. Changing the springs to a later year isnt gonna help the twitchy old FX.

I suggest you live with it a little bit, & see if it grows on you . . or you could roll up to a dealer & drive an '08 before you start ordering parts. Could be your individual car that doesnt handle the way you want it to. Tires also make a big difference. If you have the RSA's, get rid of them.

Or, maybe you're SOL, & you bought the wrong car . . . shouldve bought an RX :cry:
 
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What do you mean by control being enhanced? The way I see it, the Eibachs did not help one bit in what is called "hunting." The car follows cracks and/or uneven surfaces, wherever they may take you.

If I let go of the steering wheel, chances are I'll eventually run into a crack or raised section that will send me into another lane. It was like this before and after Eibachs...
 
Dunno . . . my ride hunted with & w/out Eibachs. The FX just hunts, & that's the way it is & will be.
Tire change is what made the biggest difference. When it comes to the panic situations, I'd stick with my Eibachs any day.
 
I installed a non sport set of shocks and struts onto a 03 sport and the owner liked the ride much more.

How many miles are on the FX. Stiffer does not always equal better handling. If the vehicle is hopping or losing contact with the ground or rebounding harshly for such a high profile vehicle it can feel very scary.

New shocks struts, and or springs can help. Not sure what the expectation is but day to day driving vs a test drive shows a lot in a vehicles characteristics. How many test drives are taken into rough roads or less than nice roads?
 
IMO, the main thing that will be enhanced with the non-sport springs is bounce, & lots of it.
Do yourself a favor, & do an extended test drive of a non-sport, as you should have before you made the purchase of your '03. You may like the difference. Then go from there.
 
yeah, my fx is really starting to ride like crap & really it's 'cause the struts/shocks are just plain dead... I'm planing on swapping out to KYB's too, just waiting for my local wholesaler to have a listing on them... they are available now through some channels but haven't trckled down to local automotive suppliers yet, or so I'm told at least...

I'll bet that this is the issue your talking about more than anything else... dead struts & the car will hop around from lane to lane in the rough stuff for sure...
 
Yeah . . . I agree with all that. New struts maybe.
I was just under the impression that he doesnt like the ride, & that the car is not in need of maintenance.

If you jump on the hood, does it pop back up quickly, or is it sluggish to return level?
 
Thanks guys for all these inputs.

I own my 03 FX since 2003! I love everything except the stiff bounces. When I test drove the car back then, I didn't go thru those roads with cracks/holes nor railtracks. It was pretty much a smooth ride and I didn't expect the sport suspensions will make this much of difference on this car. Until the first maintenance service which they loaned me a non-sport FX and I started to regret to get the sport package.

After 5 yrs with 125,000+ miles, I pretty much drove thru all the potholes in LA. I also tried every year's FX (including the new 2009). The best one is 2009 and that really makes me want to do something with my suspensions now.

My parents own Lexus RX. Try to drive thru those roadbumps in parking lots really feels the differences. Sometimes the bounces/sounds are so loud on my FX I feel like my tires/rims were damaged.
 
gto-dave, I tried that and it poped back up quickly.

gto-dave said:
Yeah . . . I agree with all that. New struts maybe.
I was just under the impression that he doesnt like the ride, & that the car is not in need of maintenance.

If you jump on the hood, does it pop back up quickly, or is it sluggish to return level?
Click to expand...
 
wowotoe said:
Thanks guys for all these inputs.

I own my 03 FX since 2003! . . . . When I test drove the car back then, I didn't go thru those roads with cracks/holes nor railtracks. It was pretty much a smooth ride and I didn't expect the sport suspensions will make this much of difference on this car. Until the first maintenance service which they loaned me a non-sport FX and I started to regret to get the sport package.

After 5 yrs with 125,000+ miles, I pretty much drove thru all the potholes in LA. I also tried every year's FX (including the new 2009). The best one is 2009 and that really makes me want to do something with my suspensions now.

My parents own Lexus RX. Try to drive thru those roadbumps in parking lots really feels the differences. Sometimes the bounces/sounds are so loud on my FX I feel like my tires/rims were damaged.
Click to expand...

OK bud, now you lost me :confused: I have no idea what to tell ya
Well . . . here's a solution, Buy an '09 :top:
 
Turbocad6, I saw your fx mods in another thread. man! that's the best mod I've ever seen!

I'll definitely have my struts checked and see if I need to replace them. But I have the stiff bouncing since week 1 when I bought my car in 2003.

The only thing I'm sure is soon I'll spend some money to alleviate this problem. ha!


turbocad6 said:
yeah, my fx is really starting to ride like crap & really it's 'cause the struts/shocks are just plain dead... I'm planing on swapping out to KYB's too, just waiting for my local wholesaler to have a listing on them... they are available now through some channels but haven't trckled down to local automotive suppliers yet, or so I'm told at least...

I'll bet that this is the issue your talking about more than anything else... dead struts & the car will hop around from lane to lane in the rough stuff for sure...
Click to expand...
 
ha! that's one of my solutions too. But my 03 trade-in value is only $5000!!! I would prefer to spent few hundred or thousands to have the suspensions replaced than shell out $50k to get a '09 =)

gto-dave said:
OK bud, now you lost me :confused: I have no idea what to tell ya
Well . . . here's a solution, Buy an '09 :top:
Click to expand...
 
rookie, I have 125,000+ miles on the car already.

Did you install the original infiniti non sport set?

rookie said:
I installed a non sport set of shocks and struts onto a 03 sport and the owner liked the ride much more.

How many miles are on the FX. Stiffer does not always equal better handling. If the vehicle is hopping or losing contact with the ground or rebounding harshly for such a high profile vehicle it can feel very scary.

New shocks struts, and or springs can help. Not sure what the expectation is but day to day driving vs a test drive shows a lot in a vehicles characteristics. How many test drives are taken into rough roads or less than nice roads?
Click to expand...
 
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