Ok I got my KYB GR2's with Vogtland Springs put on and after about 50 miles I have some initial impressions on them.

I bought this set up after much debate. I was looking for something that would lower my car about a 1.5", give some better handling but also retain a decent ride. If push came to shove I would chose ride over handling, my max is not a race car to me. On my Honda Prelude I had KYB AGX struts with H&R springs and most of my comparisons will be made to that as I have never been in another max that has aftermarket springs. I was extremely happy with the results I had on my prelude so I looked into the same thing for my max. Well KYB does not make the AGX's directly for a 5th gen but with some modification they will be able to fit them. I was surprised at how much this setup jumped since 2002 when I put this setup in my prelude when I paid a little over $425 for both. The cheapest I could find now was well over $550 and still had to mod the rear struts to work in my car. I started looking into the GR2's and found that they seemed to be one most well liked struts that are non-adjustable and since I would give the nod to ride over handling I went for those. I found a guy on eBay who sold these with a set of Vogtland springs for $472 shipped. I had planned on going with H&R but I looked into them. I didn't find much feedback for the maxima's but I did find that they both gave me a similar drop and both were German made. So I took the plunge and ordered them.

When they came
They came from California as most do and were packaged pretty well. They came with a CD but it�s mostly in German. I sleep through Spanish class in high school, let alone German so I have no idea what it says.

Front springs on the left, rear springs on the right

OEM vs. Vogtland

I forgot to take pictures before they were on and since I am too lazy if anyone wants to come over to my house and take them off and take pics, come on over. The rears were almost the exact same height though.

Everything on, front

Drop
Remember this is only after about 50 miles, the springs will most likely settle some in the next few hundred miles. I will update you on the results after I put some miles on.

Stock vs Drop

Drop Close up front, rear

On OEM struts my front height was 28" and rear was 27 1/4"
On Vogtland my front was 26 5/8" and my rear was 25 3/4"

Initial Driving Impressions
When I had finished up the fronts I went and got some lunch and then came back and got the rears done so I can tell the difference between the front and rears, with that said....

Pros:
It definitely handles better than before. Very minimal body lean and feel extremely tight. When you finish a hard turn and straighten the car out there is no sway at all. Feel free to through this car into the turns and power out of them all you want.

The ride has gotten stiffer but is not anywhere near as rough as it was in my prelude. The smaller bumps that went unnoticed before you know they are they now, but they are not going to spill you drink. The car feels like a sporty car not a teeth rattling one.

Cons:
I have only one and it may go away. The rears are much stiffer than the fronts, so the back end kind of "bucks" over bumps. When I first put them on it was REALLY noticeable, but I can already tell a fair amount difference in the 50 miles I have put on. They are mellowing out some but I would like the rears to soften more and I feel they could without losing any performance. This also may be to the struts being brand new also, so I will update you all in a few weeks.

Conclusions
For what I spent, $472 to my door, I feel I have an excellent package that is definitely comparable to more expensive setups. I have absolutely no complaints in the build quality of the springs and struts at all. Vogtland may be new to Maxima family, but do not be afraid to try them if they are close to what you are looking for.

Fat