i have a 1993 maxima se 5spd and i took out my mom's 96 maxima tonight to see how it handles compared to mine, and hers is stock...mine has 215/60/15 yoko avid H4's. why is it that her car can literally pin you up against the door but mine seems to slide more and have a lot more body roll? is it because of the rear ind. susp? any ideas?

 

Different spring rates, suspension designs, etc.
invest in a Front Strut Tower Bar (FSTB), Front and Rear Sway Bars (FSB and RSB respectivily), and some Warp Speed Performance (WSP) SubFrame Connectors (SFC's).

More info can be found by searching, but these will stiffen up your car abit and give you alot more control.

 

Also list in some new shocks & springs.

Plus, having lower-profile tires (45- or 50-series tires) on lighter rims ought to improve that as well.

 

i thought that the 3rd gen out handled the 4th gen ? weve got independent, they have that huge ugly looking bar thing. oh wait that was stolen from a minivan....hehe

 

The 4th gen handles better than a 3rd gen period. The only time it won't is if both cars on driving on very, very uneven road. Matter of fact there was a video that nissan made that has a 3rd gen with a multi-link beam and how it offers better handling than the stock IRS.

 

it won't outhandle a modded 3rd gen.


as for the stock-for-stock compar above, there's probably a lot of other factors involved. newer tires, newer shocks, etc etc on the 4th gen. how's the old suspension holding up on the 10 yr old car?

 

How about a modded 4th gen vs. a modded 3rd gen? Does 3rd still outhandle it?

 

maybe. I have yet to ride in 4th gen with as much suspension mods as I have though.