Is there a way to tighten or firm up the steering on 95-99 max's? I just some times feel that there is alot of slop in the steering wheel, like it kind of wanders on the highway. It's very suttle but I am used to German cars that have very precise steering response and feel really stable at speed. My car is lowered with agx, progress combo. Nice combo by the way! Do the energy suspension bushings in the steering rack help? Thanx for the input.

 

are you on stock wheels/tires?

 

Yep, I thought that might have a major part to play as far as loosness goes. They are 15's with 205 65 rubber, ****ty rubber in fact. I am planning on purchasing 18's with 235 40 rubber soon, will simply replacing the wheels and tires improve my steering responsiveness? Thanx

 

The ES bushings on the swaybars and endlinks will help.

If you are serious about better steering replace your steering rack with one from a 97-99 SE. (95-99 GXE/GLE and 95-96 SE uses the same rack).

 

What is the difference in the steering racks between the GXE and the SE? Do they really have different racks? That seems like an un necessary cost to have diff racks, but you never know what Nissan is thinking.

 

Moving up to 18's will be the most noticeable improvement in handling & steering response. There's a HUGE amount of slop in that 65 series sidewall you're running now. That translates directly to delayed steering response: you make the steering input and the wheel deflects independent of the sidewall, then the sidewall reacts and moves the tread to the new steering angle. We're talking fractions of a second here, but it's definitely enough to feel.

With a lower profile tire, 50, 45, 35, the sidewall is shorter & constructed more rigidly, so the translation from steering input to steering response is MUCH quicker.

Do look into the Energy Suspension polypropylene endlink bushings and front anti-swaybar bushings.* Relatively cheap improvement and not too much of a hassle to install. These will definitely net you some improvement on steering response.

(Btw, the control-arm bushings on the other hand, are a biotch 2 install by several accounts). Besides, they alone won't really improve steering response.


*(Try to get the black, graphite impregnated models, as they are less likely to squeak after installation. If you use the red ones, apply a waterproof grease liberally to all the metal-on-bushing surfaces).

 

when i got a front strut tower bar, i felt that my steering tightened up a bit