Whether you’re on the track or off, suspension upgrades dramatically transform your driving experience. Most performance enthusiasts turn towards coilovers over lowering springs and regular shocks because of the added tunability.
They’re a key piece of suspension kit that most modified Infiniti owners simply can’t look past.
In this guide, we’ll cover some of the best G35 coilovers you can buy, and help you choose the right one.
Tip: You will find that the Infiniti G35 and Nissan 350z have many compatible parts and that’s because both cars were built on the same platform.
They share a very similar chassis and the same 3.5 litre Nissan VQ V6 engine, though from factory they handle differently as they are built for different driving styles. Most Infiniti G35 Coupe coilovers also fit the Nissan 350z.
Why Coilovers?
Picture your car as a table with four wobbly legs. If only you could adjust each corner such that the table stood solid. In a nutshell, that’s what coilovers do.
They make the car’s sprung weight sit perfectly on a level, making sure it drives the same through every turn with even load, with much better handling.
They’re called coilovers because it’s a coil spring wound over a shock absorber. It is an integrated unit which lets you adjust the rebound and compression, unlike the OEM setup or lowering springs.
And because it is an integrated unit, the spring comes perfectly matched with the damper, right out of the box. Lower ride height and stiffer springs are their two main advantages.
The lower your car, the lower it’s center of gravity. This in turn reduces weight transfer, ensuring ensures that all tyres are evenly loaded, giving you the most possible traction.
Stiffer springs contribute to this added traction by dialing down the body roll and maintaining a flat tyre contact patch.
Oh, and your car will ‘sit’ a lot nicer. Say goodbye to those fender gaps. One of the most common things that G35 owners dislike about the car is the stock suspension.
It’s a little too stiff and bumpy for the kind of car it is designed to be. This is often the first thing that sees an upgrade.
Choosing The Right Coilovers For Your G35
Yes, there are lots of options and most of them are great! But If you’re confused and don’t know which coilovers will best suit your Infiniti G35, ask yourself these questions to filter the list:
- How much do I want to spend?
- What am I building my G35 for? Shows? Street performance? Track days?
- Is warranty something I value?
Knowing what you expect from the upgrade before putting your money down is a good way to avoid being stuck with the wrong setup. The idea is to get something suited to your driving style.
For example, if your G35 going to spend most of its life on the streets, then you can make do with limited adjustability. Having adjustable lower mounts will help too since you can adjust your ride height without affecting the actual compression.
If you intend on taking your G35 to the track every week, then it’d be a good idea to spend a little more and get coilovers that are built using high-quality materials, stiffer springs, with multiple levels of damping adjustments.
If you want to drift your G35, then a softer spring in the front paired with a strong damper would be a good setup to start with.
Taking the actual usage into consideration will help narrow down your options making the selection easier.
The list gets even narrower once you check if the coilovers you selected will actually fit your G35, or not.
Coilover Compatibility
Car Type
The G35 comes as either a four-door sedan or two-door coupe. There’s also the AWD variant but that comes only on the G35x AWD sedan. The Infiniti G35 coupe and sedan require a different set of coilovers while the RWD sedan and AWD sedan need different ones again.
If you’re looking for the best g35 coilovers online, make sure to enter your vehicle details (Year, Sedan/Coupe, RWD/AWD) correctly to check if the product actually fits your car.
Example: If you’re looking for coilovers for the G35 sedan specifically, then it’s required to mention that before making the purchase.
Spring Rate
Think of spring rate as a unit that measures how soft or stiff your spring is. Here’s how it’s calculated:
For every 1 mm of compression, the spring requires x kilograms of force. ‘X’ is the spring rate.
10K spring rate means 10 kg of force is needed for 1 mm of compression.
When researching online, you’ll come across spring rates denoted as kilograms per millimetre (‘10K’) or pounds per inch (‘560’). Here’s the conversion formula: Kg/mm * 56 = lb*in
Example: 10 kg/mm * 56 = 560 lb/in
A softer rate may feel comfortable but at the cost of handling as it increases weight transfer. A stiffer rate will give you better handling but the ride may feel harsh.
It is difficult to pinpoint what spring rate works best as it is often a personal choice and depends on variables like road conditions and even vehicle type.
For example, your front engine G35 will be heavier in the front end compared to a mid-engine Lotus Elise due to the engine’s placement. The latter would have most of its weight concentrated in the center and this will impact/dictate what spring rates are the most suitable.
Since we’re talking about the Infiniti G35 specifically, here are some ballpark figures that’ll help put things into perspective:
- 10K Front 8K Rear: Comfortable for daily driving
- 12K Front 10K Rear: For aggressive street use
- 14K Front 12K Rear: Suitable for track use
Pre-Purchase Essentials
It may seem fun to slam on a pair of coilovers, drop your car as low as possible and adjust the camber angle to maximum negative.
You might feel like you’re now ready for the track, but that’s not how it works. It can take some trial and error but this can be helped by getting the right product to begin with.
Coilovers come with different features. Selecting the right ones will ensure a good experience. Generally, the more you pay, the more of these you’ll have.
Bump Stops
Bump stops are rubber-like blocks placed on top of the piston to avoid metal to metal contact in case you max it out under full compression.
Without bump stops, you’ll experience a jarring effect – not comfortable at all. Of course, this only becomes a concern if your roads are absolutely terrible, or you’re driving on the complete limit, regularly.
Adjustable Damping
Damping adjustment lets you adjust how effectively your piston absorbs the shock and gives you the freedom to change how your suspension ‘feels’.
You may not know exactly what dampening level will suit your needs, based on the spring rate and weight of the car.
It comes down to personal choice, some like the dampening rate rather stiff and some like it softer so the car rolls over and puts a little more weight on the lead tire.
Dust Guards
Dust guards are rubber boots that cover your piston, protecting it from dust and debris.
It may not seem like much but you’ll be surprised how much damage these seemingly uninteresting dust guards can prevent.
Pillow Ball vs Rubber Top Mounts
Most coilovers include top mounts, unlike the Tein Street Basis Z that requires the reuse of OEM top mounts.
Coilovers usually come with pillowball top mounts where a spherical bearing is used as the joint between the strut assembly and the top-hat. This will give you sharper handling but will also transmit the vibrations and harshness into the cabin.
Rubber top mounts help dissipate some of that harshness making the coilovers more street-friendly.
This is also a good time to check how much adjustment the supplied mounts give. The best top mounts give you the ability to change your:
Truetype vs OEM Style
We see a lot of debate as to which one’s better but it really comes down to personal preference. True type coilovers are integrated and include the spring, shock and mounts as one unit whereas OEM style coilovers come with separate components.
Here’s a photo that shows the difference:
The Best Coilovers For Your Infiniti G35
The “best” G35 coilovers range from $500 to over $4000 and more. What works well for one person is different to the next.
To keep things simple, we’ll be dividing 9 of what we consider the best coilovers into three categories based on price and intended usage.
Entry Level Coilovers for Daily Driven Infiniti G35s
Entry-level coilovers are great to get a feel of what you’re in for. They’ll help make your car perform, look and sit better than stock. You can improve your G35’s stance, lower the ride height and add some serious personality to your car.
These are perfect for some spirited driving along the backroads and especially if your car is going to spend most of its life on the street and off the track.
Ksport Kontrol Pro
Manufacturer: Ksport
Construction Type: Mono-Tube High Pressure Design
Damper Adjustment: 36 Levels
Upper Mounts: Pillowball | Included
Warranty: 1 Year
Suits: 03 – 06 Coupe and Sedan
Buy From: Amazon | Enjuku Racing
If you’re looking for budget coilovers for your G35 coupe / G35 sedan, make sure to put these on the list. Complete with 36 levels of damping, these coilovers do a great job at maintaining the manufacturer’s recommended suspension geometry and ride height. This will ensure that the handling stays familiar and stock like, but with more control and safety.
The lower mounts are adjustable, meaning, you can change the ride height without changing the compression level. This comes in handy if you want to lower your car without compromising on comfort.
The shock body is coated with zinc (galvanized) which makes these great if you live in a city where rust is a problem. Your can of WD40 is going to last a little longer. Plus, you get solid 6061 billet aluminium alloy upper mounts, all for less than $900! These are a total steal.
BC Racing BR Series
Manufacturer: BC Racing
Construction Type: Mono Tube
Damper Adjustment: 30 Levels
Spring Type: Linear
Upper Mounts: Pillowball | Included
Warranty: 1 Year
Suits: 03 – 06 Coupe & Sedan
Buy From: Amazon | Enjuku Racing
‘BR Series’ by BC Racing is a highly recommended line up of coilovers, known for their reliability. The come with options that allow you to customize them just a notch over the ‘entry level’ territory. Options like Swift springs, different valving, and Truetype / OEM Style.
It takes some tweaking to dial these in perfectly. Once you hit the tuning sweet spot, you can use its concave lower locking ring to keep all your adjustments locked in and ready for predictable performance in any scenario.
BC Racing use very high quality of oil with their coilovers, which is important due to their large 53mm diameter damper body.
This means the BC BR’s suspension performance tends to stay consistent even in extreme temperatures (too hot or too cold), whether that is due to climate or aggressive use.
Tein Street Basis Z
Manufacturer: Tein
Construction Type: Twin tube
Damper Adjustment: Not Adjustable
Upper Mounts: Not Included. Requires reuse of OEM upper mounts
Warranty: 1 Year
Suits: Coupe & V 35 Sedan | RWD Only
Even though we usually associate quality with price, the Tein Street Basis Z are among the most popular low-price coilovers out there. It is strictly a ride height adjustable kit – there is no other adjustability.
Tein coilovers manage to strike the right balance between quality and affordability, unlike some other brands.
This is mainly because they rely on your car’s stock top mounts. The Street Basis Z coilovers do not come with top mounts and that’s where they cut costs, which is fine for most purposes.
Damping adjustment is not available either but you won’t really miss that as the spring rates and the factory damping adjustment go very well together, straight out of the box. This is the perfect alternative to lowering springs.
Experience wise, your car will feel very similar to its stock setup minus the bumpy feeling over rough patches. It is only a little still stiffer than standard. Much better handling for a couple of hundred bucks sounds like a great deal. Although, we wouldn’t recommend these for track use.
Mid Tier Coilovers for G35s That See Occasional Track Time
If you put performance before comfort and track your car say, once or twice in a month, these mid tier coilovers are a good choice.
They perform significantly better than entry level coilovers while still being tolerable for street use.
Your passengers probably won’t complain and you’ll still be able to get great handling performance out of your G35.
Apexi N1 ExV
Manufacturer: APEXi
Construction Type: 44mm Monotube
Damper Adjustment: 32 Levels
Upper Mounts: Pillowball upper mounts included
Warranty: 1 Year
Suits: Coupe & Sedan | RWD Only
Buy From: Enjuku Racing
Japanese tuning giant, Apexi, brings you the N1 ExV or ‘Expert Type V’. These coilovers feature 32-way dampening adjustments, and are designed with a focus on street use but are also track worthy.
Because they’re focused more on street, its components have been specifically engineered to withstand harsh road conditions and increased wear due to daily use.
These are some of the best value-for-money coilovers you can buy for your G35. They also come with a threaded base for accurate ride height adjustment without altering the spring or damper compression.
Stance XR1
Manufacturer: Stance
Construction Type: Inverted Monotube
Damper Adjustment: 16 Levels
Upper Mounts: Not Included
Warranty: 2 Years
Suits: Coupe & Sedan
Buy From: AWD: Amazon | Enjuku Racing | RWD: Enjuku Racing
Whether you’re a drifter, time attack competitor, or street tuner, you must’ve heard of Stance and its quality, track-proven coilovers.
The Stance XR1 is a no-nonsense, performance focused coilover with some of the most sophisticated quality touches, usually unheard of in this price range.
Even small things like the heavy duty adjustment knob, with a very reassuring click, makes it easy to adjust the damping. One of its many noteworthy features include an inverted monotube, designed for motorsport and refined for street use.
The 45mm strut shaft offers increased lateral rigidity which makes the handling significantly sharper than what upright dampers provide.
The inverted design of the damper allows for a larger piston size and reduced unsprung weight, helping you to keep control on bad roads at high speeds. This design also helps the cool the oil faster due to the chamber’s placement. Cooler oil equals consistent performance.
Thanks to their heat treated, chromoly steel piston rods, the dampers provide solid feedback, all the time, and are less prone to failure, even with time.
The shock body is so protected against corrosion that it can withstand a 1000+ hour salt spray test. Looks like these XR1s can even give the top shelf coilovers a run for their money!
Fortune Auto 500 Series
Manufacturer: Fortune Auto
Construction Type: Mono Tube
Damper Adjustment: 24 Levels
Upper Mounts: Included
Warranty: 5 Years
Suits: Coupe & Sedan | RWD & AWD
Buy From: Enjuku Racing | Coupe | Sedan
Amazon | Coupe
The 500 series coilovers by Fortune Auto are completely hand-built and is probably the nicest looking set of coilovers on this list.
But it’s not all show and no go; these things perform even better than they look. Built with a focus on rebuildability, the 500 series offers a lot of customization options right out of the box.
Many enthusiasts agree that the ability to rebuild them eventually turns out to be one of the most important aspect of coilover ownership.
These coilovers can be rebuilt and revalved at the Fortune Auto facility at Richmond.
You may have noticed that with some suspension setups, going over a pothole at low speeds will hurt more than doing so at high speeds. Wouldn’t it be great if the damper had an idea of what speed we’re going at?
Something similar happens with Fortune Auto’s digressive flow piston technology. It allows the damper to produce higher shock force at low speeds and a softer shock force at high speeds.
On the street, this means consistent damping on undulating roads. And on the track, it helps you to stay glued flat in spite of the pitch and roll even under heavy braking or acceleration.
These are no-compromise, track oriented coilovers that can be driven on the road. Do be aware that many configurations require a 2 to 3 week lead time. That’s proof that when they say ‘hand-built’, they mean it.
High End Coilovers for Great All Round Performance
If money is no object, or you just want the very best, these are the ones to go for. They’ll take anything you throw at them without breaking a sweat.
These coilovers can handle a short drive to the shops with relative comfort, while also being able to perform during extended track day use. They are a great option for cars that need to do it all.
Apexi N1 Evolution
Manufacturer: APEXi
Construction Type: Mono Tube
Damper Adjustment: 20 Levels
Upper Mounts: Pillowball | Included
Warranty: 1 Year
Suits: Infiniti G35 Coupe
Ride quality and handling aren’t always mutually exclusive. Most track focused coilovers aren’t damped and sprung for street use, making your daily drives rather harsh and unenjoyable.
Luckily for us, the folks over at APEXi, have developed the perfect recipe of oil, valving and spring rates for high-performance street cars that double up as weekend track cars.
The N1 Evolution range by Apexi features a 45mm monotube damper and comes with a tool kit that you can use to easily install them by yourself.
With these coilovers, you won’t need a separate car for your daily commuting needs. They’re plush enough to give you comfort when you want it, and aggressive enough for your track day fixation.
KW Variant 3
Manufacturer: KW
Construction Type: Mono Tube
Damper Adjustment: 14 Levels
Upper Mounts: Included
Warranty: Limited Lifetime Warranty
Suits: Coupe & Sedan (RWD only)
Buy From: Amazon | Enjuku Racing
KW have been known to bring race technology to the streets, and doing it right. Their patented system has dual level valves that let you independently adjust the rebound and compression damping.
This makes it the perfect kit for custom setups and lets you really dial things in for your desired driving style.
The KW Variant 3 coilovers are better suited to the Infiniti G35 coupe than the sedan as it tends to drop the latter’s rear a little more than needed.
If you’re driving an Infiniti G35 sedan, do consider getting KW spring extenders along with the coilover kit. But if you’re specifically looking for G35 coupe coilovers, these G35 KW coilovers are the ones to go for.
Tanabe Sustech Z40
Manufacturer: Tanabe
Construction Type: Twin Tube
Damper Adjustment: 40 Levels
Upper Mounts: Included
Warranty: Limited Lifetime Warranty
Suits: Coupe & Sedan (RWD only)
These special order coilovers are sure to spice up track days by unlocking your car’s true handling potential.
Tanabe’s Sustech Z40 sports a twin tube construction paired with a low pressure gas system that gives you control over rough surfaces while still maintaining good compression. The Z40s come nickel plated and powder coated to reduce corrosion.
The Pro2010 springs came straight off Takata Dome Racing’s Honda NSX in the JGTC GT500 Class in Japan!
Mix that with 40 levels of damping and you’ve got one solid track set up. To our surprise, the Z40s are specially engineered to be quiet so that the spring noise doesn’t distract you. Something we didn’t expect from a track focused coilover kit.
The Best G35 Coilovers
There’s plenty of options to choose from and they’re all worth it, in their own way. Here are the ones that really got our attention.
For Daily Driving & Street Use: BC Racing BR Series
You can’t go wrong with proven reliability.
For Occasional Track Use: Stance XR1
Tough call between this and Fortune Auto 500, but if we had to choose one, XR1 would be the way to go. Very thoughtfully designed, durable build and ultra slammable.
For All-Round Performance: Tanabe Sustech Z40
Turn your G35 into a quiet, nimble track car that you can comfortably and use on the streets too.
Did we miss a set of coilovers that should be on this list? Let us know by leaving a comment below!
Feature image: Beach Set, adaptation by Low Offset, original by Yomar Lopez, CC BY 2.0