It would also be nice if it would shift like my Civic. I have a FSTB that I haven't installed yet and I plan on changing to trasmission fluid to Amsoil 2000. Will these take care of my issues?

 

the fstb would defintly add to the handling, the transmission fluid might help with shifting, what you should do it get a rsb,lower the car about 2 inches get some kyb agx's and some nice springs. Honda is kind of a bad car to compare a maxima too, i've driven a civic and the handling isn't "top notch" but its ok, only cuz its smaller and low to the ground stock. For shifting maybe get a sts stage 2 clutch or something. not sure.

 

You talking about a stock Civic, or aftermarket suspension?

Get some Koni shocks, Eibach springs, a rear sway bar, and...

TIRES!!!!

Seriously, don't cheap out on the tires, it's the one thing on your car that touches the road. If you want good handling and grip, you need some high performance tires. FYI I am on my second set of Bridgestone Potenza RE-730's and they're awesome.

 

the civics have something we never will...

rear multilink suspension.

good luck outhandling a suspension modified civic.

 

got some coilovers..

 

put a maxima badge on ur civic! j/k...

i dunno...my friends civic outhandles my max no prob....but hey thats what the straights are for

 

ur lookin @ a larger body car, dropped and RSB will defintely help handling but ur comparing with a civic here... come on =X

 

that's a really cute sig pic


I really agree w/ justmax, DO NOT cheap out on tires. U can do all the mods in the world, and the only thing keeping u from flying all ovr the place will be the rubber wrapped around ure rims. FSTB is a good start (funny me saying that considering i don't have one yet). good luck!

 

Get some 2" drop, fstb, rsb, wide rims, low profile tires, coil overs, and a quaife differential.

 

get a third gen- independent rear suspension

 

we do have multilink.... "multi-link BEAM suspension" that is...
at least nissan wised up and blessed the 6th gen with it...

But just do what everyone else said above and maybe add some SFCs (sub frame connectors?)

 

tank you..

 

There are many mods that will help out. However, a Civic is lighter, has a shorter wheelbase, and of course, superior suspension design.

Given these factors, I don't think a Maxima could ever equal a modified Civic. It could do pretty well on the highway, but not in Auto X.

 

Have you noticed the size difference?

|----------------| maxima
|----------| civic

Shorter wheelbase, different type of suspension...yeah okay.

 

I know my Civic is smaller. I just like the way the Civic handles and would like to try to get my Max setup to be similiar. Thanks everyone for the advice.

 

yea, i've never driven a aftermarket suspension civic but hooked up ones look low and i have basically everything you can have to get the best suspension on a maxima (fstb, rsb, 2" drop, kyb's and tires for 17" rims (michelin), and although my handling is pretty sweet, i dont think i'm close to all these other cars like BMW's and what not, and surprisingly not to a civic.

i looked at my friends legend (4 door) the other day (94) and his car is dropped to perfection on stock. So are BMW's...why do maxima's have to be the only cars that have the stacey kiebler body????

 

Why bother questioning the design. The thread is about how to improve your setup. Use performance springs and shocks/struts, get subframe connectors, get good tires, and call it a day. If you're rich, get JIC coilovers.

 

I concur

I would say some grippy tires would improve the suspension more than lowering the car. I would start out with the FSTB, RSB, and some good tires.

 

If you are rich get JIC FLT-A2s, Stillen RSB, fstb and rstb, really light wheels, really grippy tires and WSP Stage 1,2, and 3 subframe connectors. If you are not so rich replace the JICs with GCs and keep everything else the same.

That's as good as you are going to get.

 

Suspension is key. Strut and sway bars prevent chassis flex.
Tires are important. My sig lists what ive done with the car thus far.

good luck to ya.

 

Even with ALL those mods, it still isnt gonna happen. My car had darn near all the mods minus the SFCs and the coilovers and it still handled like poo. Not to mention the non-indep. rear and the ultra flex 2000 chassis. Lets not forget the maxima's weight distribution is in the neighborhood of 70 front and 30 in the rear. If you slam the car for lower center of gravity, you loose the already short wheel travel the car's got.

Not trying to sound like a d!ck head, but save your money and mod the next car that actually has potential of handling well.

 

like a vette?

 

Integra Type R is 63/37. Maxima is 62/38. Advantage of ITR is super stiff chassis. Tighten up the chassis on the Maxima, strut bars, sway bars, SFCs, then lower/stiffen the ride, springs/shocks or even better JIC FLT-A2. Most likely won't outhandle an equally equipped ITR or Civic, but it damn sure will handle well.

 

Dude you know how bad the civics handeling is. Are you kidding me man, I have tcs and Limited slip, those help in steering and handels, if you want downgraded handels go ahead take your maxes edge away that keeps it from loosing from superfast cars on a race track (not 1/4 mile track)

Shift_ To Get Away From The cops!

 

ummmm... yeah, what he said.

 

I'm still not convinced that LSD is needed for track driving (unless you spin out and get into the dirt!)

My friend has a 1998 Altime GXE auto. He has 17" Pilot sports on 17" ADR lightweight rims. He used to have a stillen fstb, but took it off when he put a chamber kit in with his Ground Controls (something like 400 front, 300 rear). That's all the mods he's got. He's an amazing driver and runs with faster cars, like 3series. The only cars that are faster than him are the ones with 250+ hp...and he's only got 150hp. If you're interested in seeing his car, come out to Buttonwillow on Feb 8th...we'll be there!

Anyways...learn how to drive your car, then start modding it. You could have a ferrari w/unbeliable handling, but if you dunno what you're doing, the suspension mods aren't gonna help.

Jae

 

Bullcrap. My car handles excellently, and now all I need is SFC's to cut the roll. I've driven and been in a LOT of cars; you just need to use the right setup. Perhaps your car wasn't set up properly, or, maybe, just maybe given the amount of broken stuff on your car, you didn't know how to drive it.

 

Yeah the max can do pretty well against most cars with handling mods. And dont forget that a civic is practically a go-kart.

 

I would like to say that the max is definitely NOT on the best-handling list, but you can make it handle decently for what it is, that's for sure.

Mmmmm...exige...handling...911t...handling.

 

mmmmm....

turbo charged '99 miata 6spd, 250hp at the crank, 1/2 the size and weight of the max, perfect 50/50 weight balance, rear wheel drive, michellin z rated tires, handling that makes go-carts look like SUVs, you do the math. that car is the most fun i have ever had behind the wheel.

^^^
my dad's car

 

50/50 doesnt mean that much, it just means one side isnt overly outweighed compared to the other, which means at the peak of the cars handling performance, it will mean better overall handling. considering the cars we drive will hardly ever get to that extent of modifications, 50/50 doesnt mean much. u could have 60/40 or 40/60 and with the right setup, u can handle just as well as a 50/50 car with equivalent amount in suspension work. if u want a maxima to be 50/50 just throw some dumbells in the trunk, until u get the 'almighty' 50/50 distribution, but now ur car just handles like crap. its the combination of weight distribution, overall weight of car, placement of engine, and what the drivewheels are that mean anything, not just weight distribution alone.

 

agreed