Hi, my family has two cars.

96 Maxima GXE,

handling mods are AGXs, stock springs, FSTB, Stillen RSB, Energy Suspension Control Arm Bushings, Front Swaybar bushings, and all endlink bushings, 15'' Stock SE wheels with very bald tires

other car is a 96 Maxima SE

handling mods are: H&R/AGX, FSB, Addco RSB, 17'' wheels with Potenza RE730s 235/45/17.

Simply put, my GXE steering feel is much better all around. It's stiffer and I feel more connected to the car. The steering is very taut. On the highway especially, it is super responsive. Not to the point where a tiny flick will send it into the next lane, but it's very controlled and more importantly, stiff (from left to right).

My SE, on the other hand, while having significantly reduced body roll, steering is very loose, and seems way overboosted (now I know what you guys are always complaining about). The steering wheels seems too light, and doesn't respond as well as my GXE.

My question is,

Do you guys think my GXE steering feels better because of the Energy Suspension upgrades? At first I was very disappointed by these cheap price mods, but I'm giving it a second thought now. Could those mods be the reason for a better steering feel? Because I love my 5-speed SE, but I'm loving the feel on the GXE auto.

A word of caution...I know that the ES busings made my ride much more stiff on uneven surfaces. It was probably becuase I replaced those giant Control arm bushings the size of a fist and half.

thanks for any help.

 

TIRES - They make a huge difference. Your running 2 totally different sizes and profiles. Alignment might be off in one car as well.

Your SE with that setup should feel much tighter on the road than your GXE. Do this, switch the wheels and tires and take them both for another spin. Then post back in this thread. I'm sure that would give you some very interesting results.

Earlier modles did have over boosted power steering systems. My 99 SE is very tight, to the point where if I make a 3 point U turn, you almost can't spin my steering wheel with just one finger. The other Max's I've driven, a 95-SE and 98-I30 have very lose steering feel.

I bet both cars ride excellent on the setups you've got on them. The unlowered GXE with AGX's must ride fierce. My SE while on stock springs with AGX's was so sweet to drive. It's even better now with H&R's.

 

My steering is damn near perfect, weight-wise, with Potenza RE950s. This was the most obvious improvement over the RE930s I used to have.

So, I agree with Tom, switch the wheels for a bit and then report back...

 

Yeah, my '97 SE has pretty loose steering. That is one thing I wish I could change about my car that I probably can't. It is slightly unaligned, but I don't see how that little bit of misalignment can change the steering feel and weight.

-Jon

 

yea man, get tires...

You'd feel so much more in control of ure car on the road and i love the way you can drive fast and not feel like ure floating in the air...

 

Yeah i agree, tires are a must, everything helps, lowering, wider rims, i love the way my car handels, defently worth the money

-ChRi§

 

I think you'd be surprised what a good alignment does for the steering feel of the car... especially on the highway.

I have a lifetime alignment which i highly recommend... if you ever have an issue with steering you can just go get it realigned for free.

 

I had a hidden suspicion my alignment might have been the culprit. I got my alignment fixed when I had my new shocks and springs installed, and then it got outta whack again so I took it back to the shop. The mechanic said that he had used the incorrect sized alignment screws so he replaced them and realigned it for free. Its not perfect now, maybe like 5-10% off, but I am too lazy to go back and get it changed again.

-Jon

 

Ok guys, 17x7.5 tires handle better than 15x16.5, correct?

All I'm saying is that the steering feel is better on the GXE. It doesn't seem as boosted as my SE.

The tires have nothing to do with it. My tires on the SE are top notch Potenza RE730s, they ride very stiff but its very bearable and I don't think I would get another brand of tire after these since they've treated me so well. I can take these on very sharp S turns all day long. It's just the steering feel is a little too powerful or "loose."

 

I'm not talking about ride quality or anything like that. I'm talking about steering feel. Wouldn't the 17'' feel better than the stock 15s?

It's not the handling I'm talking about. Of course, the SE feels better. Much better. But I'm just focusing on the steering feel itself. The alignement is pefect on the SE. On the GXE, the alignment is a little off...it steers to the right. Yet the GXE is tighter.

Here was my comparision test: I'm driving on the highway at 70, and if I twitch the wheel on the GXE at bit to the right and left, it will respond, and very instantly at that. If I drive the SE and do the same thing, it doesn't respond as much, yet it takes less effort to move it as much as I did with the GXE. So right now I'm saying that my SE has very light steering.

No one even mentioned the ES bushings. At first I was very skeptical abotu them, but the more I think about how I have them on my GXE, the more I feel that they do actualy improve steering feel.

Any help on determining why the SE is a bit lighter in steering would be appreciated. I know it's not the tires though, it just doesn't make sense. The 15'' respond better than the 17'' w/ ultra high performance tires?

 

My point is to not improve the GXE handling. I'm happy with it, and so is my family. I want to improve the SE's steering feel. I do feel more planted in my SE, the SE's handling is absolutely great. It's just steering feel I want to improve. I hope I've emphasized that and made it clear enough to understand now.

 

yeah I think so
but, whatever, the wheels/tires will affect the feel...

A wider tire has a greater contact patch
and will offer greater resistance.

If you run a bigger wheel you end up with a tire that with a stiffer sidewall and less cusion.

I also think it's possible that the slight misalignment on the gxe is what makes it feel better.
I don't know the actual whatfors, but adjusting caster and camber can really affect the handling.

 

Then why isn't the SE more resistant in the steering feel? That's exactly my point. It should feel more resistant, but it isn't.

 

bump,

help please?

 

Why dont you go switch the tires and see what happens? I know the footwear on the SE are "supposed" to feel better, but apparently they dont.

Sometimes cars with taller, narrower tires have better steering feel that shorter sidewall, wide tires. This is because a contact patch that is long and narrow provides better inherent stability than a contact patch the that, while larger, is shorter and wider.

 

Thanks for the information, I'll be working on my suspension soon, so this is good to know..