Lowered my 2015 N17 Sedan

36085 Views 43 Replies 19 Participants Last post by djzubia94, May 3, 2021

dude baker

Discussion Starter · Sep 28, 2014 (Edited)

That's right, less than 1k miles and I've already modified my suspension. I purchased a set of used (barely) 2014 sedan springs to modify. I ended up cutting about two full coils out of the front for roughly 2" of drop, and one coil out of the rear for about 1.75" of drop. With a full tank of gas, it sits like this.

Now I know some of you will flame me for running cut springs, but honestly, the stock springs and struts on this car have way more height and travel than they need. The ride and handling are actually improved now, in my opinion, and the car feels much more planted on the road. Highway driving is much easier with the lowered ride height, cornering is better, and the struts/shocks do not bottom out. Until there are coilovers more readily available in the USA, this will have to do.

In the process of modifying my suspension, I also discovered that 1st gen (c11) rear springs can be modified to fit the N17 sedan. I had a spare set of Megan springs I used to experiment with. Cutting the bottom dead coil out of the spring will allow it to fit in the rear perch of the N17. The top coil is the same as the stock spring, and it does not need to be modified.
While the ride and handling were perfectly fine, the drop was just a touch too low (about 2.25") and I ended up with reverse rake. Here's a picture of the Megan spring I modified to fit my car, installed.

Unfortunately the front springs on the C11 have a much larger diameter, and they cannot be modified to fit the N17. I don't think you can transfer struts from the C11 either. The space in the fender well only allows for a very narrow spring and strut.

If anybody has any suspension questions about the second gen sedan, let me know. I have been under my car measuring, researching, and test fitting, so I have a pretty good handle on what's going on under there!

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dude baker

Discussion Starter · #2 · Sep 30, 2014

Here are a few more pics for research purposes. I took close ups to show the fender gap after the drop.
Front:

Rear:

And here's a couple of what the rear spring perches look like.
Upper perch (The spring is dropped down to show the profile of the perch) :

Lower perch:

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Grizzly_v2

· #3 · Oct 1, 2014 (Edited)

Looks good man, fist time seen the n17 2015 sedans dropped.

JoshG

· #4 · Oct 2, 2014

Looks good, much better than factory. :thumbsup:

dude baker

Discussion Starter · #5 · Oct 3, 2014

Grizzly_v2 said:
Looks good man, fist time seen the n17 2015 sedans dropped.

Thanks Grizz - I was contemplating purchasing coilovers from a new company called Gecko Racing, but ultimately decided to start building an air ride setup for this car instead. The cut springs get me a more acceptable ride height in the meantime. :wink

JoshG said:
Looks good, much better than factory. :thumbsup:

Thanks Josh - I responded to your PM.

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versaswagg

· #6 · Oct 8, 2014

it's sitting so nice.. I love it!

Johnnynizmo

· #7 · Oct 9, 2014

Looks awesome! Must be great working under a brand spanking new car. No rust to fall into your eyes and mouth

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14nismoversa

· #8 · Dec 28, 2014

Grizzly_v2 said:
Looks good man, fist time seen the n17 2015 sedans dropped.

Hey Grizzly,
How are you liking your megan coilovers? I'm thinking of buying those? Do you see a huge improvement in handling and ride height? do you feel every bump when you lower the car all the way 2 inches in the front and 1.75 rear? I just don't want to waste my time if its not a huge improvement in handling. I absolutely hate hate hate the stock handling of the car. Thanks

Grizzly_v2

· #9 · Dec 29, 2014

14nismoversa said:
Hey Grizzly,
How are you liking your megan coilovers? I'm thinking of buying those? Do you see a huge improvement in handling and ride height? do you feel every bump when you lower the car all the way 2 inches in the front and 1.75 rear? I just don't want to waste my time if its not a huge improvement in handling. I absolutely hate hate hate the stock handling of the car. Thanks

yeah man, with the (MeganRacing) MR coilovers, it has 32 adjustable
so you can run supper stiff, or hella soft. one this is the springs are soft, don't know the spring rate or anything of it. i run semi stiff in front and semi stiff in the rear.

i have dropped it all the way in the front and i'm 3-4 inches off the floor from my bumber. and the rear i can go another 2-3 inches, so basically i can slam the rear.

but i'm on stock wheels/tires. so if i were to changes wheels and get smaller profile tires, i would be an inch off the floor.

this year im planing to get wheels and other things done to the versa to get my car the way i want.

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Versa12

· #10 · Dec 31, 2014

Nice job modifying your vehicle with so few miles on it!

Though I personally wouldn't ever cut springs, I am glad you are happy with the handling difference. Are you planning on changing out the shocks as well? I have zero idea what is available in terms of "performance shocks" but in in my experience in the Honda world, the factory shocks/struts won't last long at all with such an extreme drop. Have you got it aligned to see how it affected the toe and camber? Just something to keep in mind. Good Luck!

dude baker

Discussion Starter · #11 · Jan 23, 2015

Versa12 said:
Nice job modifying your vehicle with so few miles on it!

Though I personally wouldn't ever cut springs, I am glad you are happy with the handling difference. Are you planning on changing out the shocks as well? I have zero idea what is available in terms of "performance shocks" but in in my experience in the Honda world, the factory shocks/struts won't last long at all with such an extreme drop. Have you got it aligned to see how it affected the toe and camber? Just something to keep in mind. Good Luck!

Alignment showed minimal change in toe and almost no change in camber. There isn't much available for this car stateside in terms of performance suspension. I did, however, receive these bad boys a few weeks ago. Just waiting for warmer weather to put them on. BR Racing BR Type Extreme Drop. >

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Nancelvr HR16

· #12 · Feb 15, 2015

What Product # are those Coilovers?? BR racing? HADNT heard of em with Versa Coilovers

Nancelvr HR16

· #13 · Feb 15, 2015

Also, has anyone known if the Versa Note and Sedan have the same suspension for coilsprings or Coilovers

dude baker

Discussion Starter · #14 · Feb 18, 2015

Nancelvr HR16 said:
Also, has anyone known if the Versa Note and Sedan have the same suspension for coilsprings or Coilovers

It depends on the generation. The stock springs from my N17 (2015) are the same size as those on the Note, but I don't know if the spring rates are the same. Coilovers for the Note will fit the 2015 sedans and vice-verse.

I contacted BC Racing to have these built because I wanted the "Extreme Low" option, which essentially gets you an additional 20mm of height adjustment on the front end. You can contact them through their website, tell them what you need, and they'll set you up with a distributor. I got mine built for the same price as the Megans.

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dude baker

Discussion Starter · #15 · Feb 18, 2015

Also, I had to negotiate pricing through a BC distributor here in the Midwest, but the coilovers actually shipped to me direct from the BC factory in Taiwan.

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Nancelvr HR16

· #16 · Mar 2, 2015

Nice! Good to know

Nancelvr HR16

· #17 · Mar 2, 2015

Has anyone tried the megan racing lowering springs for the Nissan Cube????

Nancelvr HR16

· #18 · Mar 5, 2015

Well good news. The Nissan Cube and 2015 Versa Sedan have the same coilspring product numbers. (Checked in Nissan USA parts) So that means I'm getting the Nissan Cube coilsprings from Megan Racing. I'll let ya'll know how it goes.

dude baker

Discussion Starter · #19 · Mar 16, 2015

Nancelvr HR16 said:
Well good news. The Nissan Cube and 2015 Versa Sedan have the same coilspring product numbers. (Checked in Nissan USA parts) So that means I'm getting the Nissan Cube coilsprings from Megan Racing. I'll let ya'll know how it goes.

Are you %100 sure about this? I thinkt he Cube springs are the same as the first gen Versa.

dude baker

Discussion Starter · #20 · Mar 16, 2015

BC's are installed. I'm still working out the ride height I want. A 3.5" drop front and rear makes the car appear to have reverse rake, even though the rear has more ground clearance than the front. I think this is due to how high the fenders are cut up front. I may actually have to take a couple locking collars out of the front to get it down low enough.
I have a few more big things in the works for the N17 as well. :smile
Here are some teaser shots.

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