fbiphil

Be VERY careful dealing with those guys on strut bags- I've heard a lot of horror stories about getting sets that don't go low, don't hold up, etc... I don't have any personal experience, though, so I'll leave this as a warning to do your homework! Good luck!! -Phil at FBI

Not open on Saturdays yet, because everyone here hits shows on the weekends! We'll be doing weekend hours next year at some point, but I can't say when. I'll keep you guys posted! -Phil

I gotta make one for the Comet when I have some time- I can't believe it's been a YEAR since I sold the Box!

What compressor and tank are you running? A lot of people make the mistake of running a little peashooter pump with a giant tank, and they end up either hitting the thermal cutoff or ruining their compressors prematurely... let me know what kind of compressor you have and we can figure out what size tank you should be running. -Phil at FBI

That's OK- we've been telling everyone to visit Steve Mead Designs.com for months now!! I guess this makes us even! -Phil

Nobody I'm aware of makes a direct bolt-on kit for the Maxima, and it's a MacPherson strut car, so you're in for some fun! Universal Air Suspension makes a universal front strut bag kit that uses your stock strut- it just replaces the coil spring with a bag. This kit works pretty well on everything I've seen it installed on, but the limitation is your stock front struts- the car will only go as low as they allow. To find out how low you'll get, you can take your coils off the strut, reinstall the struts and let the jack down- if that's low enough for you, then this kit's good to go! For a complete setup using the Universal Air kit, along with a 5 gallon chrome tank, front back side to side, with a good compressor to fill it back up, you're going to be looking at around $1300-1500, depending on how many bells and whistles you'd like. This system will be completely 1/2", with electric valves and DOT lines and fittings. Let me know what you think, and we'll take it from there! -Phil at FBI

Honestly, if your plan is to sell it when you're done, don't bother with the drop. Most folks that would be interested in your ride when the interior is done up won't care too much about how low it is! If anything, go with that 1" front kit, and combine it with a 1" or 2" drop block in the rear to level it out. If you want to lower the front much more than that you're going to run into MAJOR expenses, and the alignment will never be right again. Energy Suspension makes upper and lower bushing kits, and a new set of shocks will cure your shock bushing woes. Check the balljoints up front while you're at it- it's cheaper to do it all at the same time, and that will be a good selling feature for prospective buyers as well! As for cheap rims, I'd check craigslist.org or ebay for some 16s. Heck, if you can find a set of eXtreme wheels from a newer S10, they should tuck nicely, and they're a 16" wheel... To remove your transfer case, you'd have to run a 2wd transmission. This would mean (at the very least- I may be missing other steps!) having your driveshaft shortened, making a new transmission crossmember, removing your front driveshaft, and possibly reworking your exhaust. In short, it's probably not worth doing!!! Just get a new transfer case from the junkyard and swap it in, or live with it being stuck in gear. Good luck with the project- it sounds like you've got your work cut out for you! -Phil at FBI

You could run smaller line (down to 1/8") to make it slower, but the main problem would be finding room for the air cylinder! Those gas struts that come with the lambo kits have a lot of pressure in them to lift that door. An air cylinder with a 1" bore would be easy to mount, but I don't know if it would be strong enough at 150 psi to lift the door properly. And going bigger on the cylinder diameter will probably give you clearance issues... I think a linear actuator would be a smarter, more efficient way to go. Good luck either way! -Phil at FBI

Steve, Thanks for inviting us on here! I look forward to helping out with any questions you guys have. Our phone number is (877) 324-6464, (not "800")- I think the 800 number is a porno line or something! Feel free to call it, but asking about pumps and bags will probably get you hung up on! -Phil at FBI