Leaf suspension options

My Nissan Leaf Forum

Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
thehelix112 said:
Duncan,
Marcucci,

There is always a balance to be struck between sway bars and springs for handling, and it makes sense that everyone is different. But the stiffer the sway bar the less independent the suspension becomes. That being said, it'd be great to have an adjustable setup so one can tune to what they like.

I just got my leaf two days ago, but I might rip the wheels off this weekend and take a look at the front sway bar.

Obviously the rear is going to be much harder to increase roll stiffness without changing the springs, and it will definitely alter the characteristics of the car to change one end in isolation. Ie, if you make the front end stiffer and leave the back end alone the car will want to push, which might be great for some people that it's not my idea of a good time. ;)

Dave

Agreed, for most people. I've never actually changed out a sway bar on one of my own cars- I just never felt I needed to. I can usually achieve what I am looking for with springs. Of course, I usually favor a much stiffer suspension than most do, which effectively eliminates body roll on its own. I will have to see, I am planning on going softer with this setup than I have in the past, this is a daily drive for me and with 3 blown discs I probably should stay away from a stiff suspension.
 
Yeah a bad back could make things unpleasant. I'd be very curious to hear what you end up doing spring/damper-wise, and any driving impressions. :)
Thanks,

Dave
 
Also, for what it's worth, the OE shock in the rear measures 1.75" wide at the base (widest part, barring the boot up top) and has just over 5/8" of clearance at the closest point to the body. That gives us a max diameter of just a hair under 3.0" for the OD of a coilover, mounted in place of the rear shock.

The fronts, from all the images I can find, appear identical (struts and springs). If there are any size/shape differences they have to be minor.
 
Great info. I will need to detach the rear damper at the top and assess the re-inforcing the tower has before I consider going coil-overs on the back. I've seen too many Datsun 510s where people convert the rear to coil-over, and proceed to punch out the top of the damper tower on the first big pothole they come across.

Dave
 
thehelix112 said:
Great info. I will need to detach the rear damper at the top and assess the re-inforcing the tower has before I consider going coil-overs on the back. I've seen too many Datsun 510s where people convert the rear to coil-over, and proceed to punch out the top of the damper tower on the first big pothole they come across.

Dave

I was contemplating that. How about you take all that apart, and take pictures, and I will get spring rates for the OE springs? :)
 
Looks like there is another option coming soon from Megan Racing:

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=12431" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'm not sure of spring rates but I am betting they will be similar to their other offerings, which will be similar to other stuff that's available for the LEAF or Versa. Should be comparable to what I was looking for in the first place.
 
So no one has tried a cheap set of b16 sentra lowering springs yet? The poster that compared sentra struts to leaf and found differences was using the b15 , an older sentra not the newest b16 sentra

The op did pretty thorough research showing that the same year leaf and sentra share front shock and spring design and that the leaf rear shock is similar to the Altima.
I feel inclined to just order some springs and test them.
These look worth a try , cheap enough.
http://m.ebay.com/itm?itemId=181495063846" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Unless someone has already tried this. Speak now or forever hold your peace....
 
Just ordered these cheap b16 lowering springs
http://www.ebay.com/itm/201075948069?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
MrElectric - I like your style and am interested in the results. I've done a fair amount of suspension tinkering on my 2000 Honda Insight and am looking into the Leaf for my next car and will probably do the same if I get one. The Insight has virtually no parts shared with other Hondas so upgrades tend to be very difficult and require lots of trial and error. As an example, many Insight owners wishing to reduce the rear suspension bottoming out went with Daewoo Matiz rear springs sourced overseas. My Insight is running custom-built adjustable GAZ rear shocks and one-of-a-kind adjustable coilover front struts also built by GAZ. Considering the availability of the Tein and other coilover options already for the Leaf, things look relatively hopeful.

One thing I haven't found yet for the Leaf is a stiffer/supplemental rear sway bar. I made my own for my Insight, stiffening it by 60% over stock and the resulting improvement to turn in and reduced understeer made it well worth the effort.

Joel
 
With a few forum members willing to do some trial and error based research we will most likely find some suspension parts from other vehicles that can be used to upgrade the Leaf. Looking forward to hearing if you make the plunge and buy a Leaf. Having owned a hybrid before my leaf I can say that I really enjoy the full ev driving experience.
 
I received the Nissan Sentra lowering springs but have racked up the Leaf to inspect / install yet. At first glance it is clear that two of the four Sentra springs will probably fit and two will not. The leaf has a relatively large diameter spring coil front and back - about 6 inches diameter coils. The 2012 Sentra spring set has one large dia spring that looks good and one very small dia spring that is about 3 inch dia coils. Looks like the Sentra spring set yields one set of usable springs. I have to look more closely to see if the large dia Sentra springs are best suited to the leaf front or back.
 
Well the sentra springs are still sitting there in the box. I decided to buy airbag suspension. When installing the air bags I will quickly check how the sentra springs fit and report back.
 
Did you ever get to check the Sentra spring fit? Has anyone reached a final verdict yet on the suspension parts interchange between the Leaf and other Nissans?
 
Pretty sure its been mentioned somewhere else in this thread but Megan racing (http://www.meganracing.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) sells a Nissan Leaf coilover kit. 32 way dampening adjustability and height adjustable from stock to about 2-3/4" lower than stock. I have it installed on my Leaf if you want any other details.
 
I've owned performance cars for years so I'm used to having a much wider selection of aftermarket performance parts available than are marketed for the Leaf. Given that many Nissans are autocrossed and tracked, I'd really like to know if there are any off-the-shelf shocks from Bilstein or Koni (etc.) that would work on a Leaf.

Do you still have your stock suspension parts around? Documenting the stock Leaf spring rates and dimensions would be helpful too so that we have a baseline for experimenting with aftermarket springs.
 
Does anyone have any leads for a North American retailer of the Blitz Coilovers? I have been searching for some time, but have only come across FR-S that sells them
 
LeafyTesla said:
Does anyone have any leads for a North American retailer of the Blitz Coilovers? I have been searching for some time, but have only come across FR-S that sells them

Might want to call up their distributors: http://www.blitzpowerusa.com/dealers/dealers.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
Hello,
It seems the last post here is circa- 2015.

Anyways, does anyone know if Bilstein has any gas shocks which are suitable for the Leaf?
In particular, I need to replace the rear shocks.

I am not too keen on coilover kits, as they are likely to be expensive.
NOTE: I did read up about this from the thread about Juke coilovers: http://mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=23510&hilit=coilovers

Thanks for any info...
 
If I have read this thread correctly I think the problem would be the combo of kits (front Sentra and rear Altima) you would have to buy to try it and seems not worth messing with different shocks to get the correct dampening in the rear. I’m looking into the Megan Coils in the future and play with that dampening setting 😎
 
Back
Top