Hey guys,

I'm looking for specifics. Not frills.

What will 'factually' help stabilise my car when driving at extreme speeds??
I'm trying to avoid the 'bobbing around' feeling. She's good when the road has no swells, but she gets a 'floaty feeling' very easily.
I'm running a 95GXE with 98SE Rims (215/55-16), stock car for the most part, including suspension.


Thanks muchly!!
dave

Front struts and rear shcoks, KYB GR2's or the AGX's if you want adjustability is a good start.

Add a front strut tower brace to firm up the body.

Add a rear stabalizer bar to stop body roll.

You definitely need to lower the car and get stiffer springs. The fairly loosely sprung GXE will "float" when you hit small bumps. The lower the car's center of gravity, the better. This will happen when you get a better sping/strut combo.

The other aspect is aerodynamic. This is the one instance where a wing will actually be functional and not just an ugly styling mod. A funtional spoiler will push the rear of your car down to the ground as you go faster. This combined with the lowered suspension will cause air to flow faster underneath the car sucking it down to the road. To maximise this effect, you'd want to make the bottom of the car as flat as possible, however, this adds weight, especially if you use heavy and rigid materials.

at those speeds definately aerodynamics.. a functional wing in the back and front body kit so that u'll get a reverse lift to plant the car to the road... not sure which body kits are functional though...

I'm hesitant to lower the car... but I might...
Would just putting in an FSTB and RSB make any difference at high speeds, or just when diving around in the city, etc...??????

Thanks again...

FSTB/RSB work great everywhere and at any speed! Get that!

Don't be. I'm not talking slamming the car, I'm talking a little drop like 1.5 in the front and 1.4 in the back. It makes your wheels "fit" better in the wheel well (makes the wells look concentric to the wheels so you don't have that Subaru Outback look to it).

Of course, if you are really against lowering the car, you can get springs with less of a drop.

The FSTB makes a pretty big difference. My cousin noticed a big difference between his SE and my GLE and we both have stock suspensions. Mine is cushier, but it is a bit more responsive because of the added stiffness in the front. The RSB will help to reduce body roll.

Anyone know if the stock spoiler is actually functional at high speeds, or is it just for show? I have nothing atm but am thinking of going with the OEM, or just leaving it off.

Its really just for show. A real spoiler will have an airfoil shape to it (kind of like an airplane wing, but with a more pronounced curve that is designed for lower airspeeds) and then flipped upside down to produce negative lift. The Maxima's stock spoiler really has zero negative lift. If it does anything, it might smooth out the trailing airfoil, but I doubt it.

is there a write up for this?

Before you do all the expensive stuff, try these little things first:

Keep your rear tire pressure low, 30-32 lbs. I don't know what that is in Kpa
Increase your front tire pressure to 35-36 lbs.
Get an RSB.
Maybe add an SE wing to the trunk.

Doing all this will cost $120 (well, plus the cost of the wing if you want it) and I bet you'll love the high speed stabilty that you'll feel.

DW

I just picked up an FSTB, I poseted this question in the 4th gen site, but I'll ask here to...

Should I put some pressure going outward or inward on the FSTB??

Thanks for all the input sofar! Very helpful!

dave

Best thing to do is install the FSTB when your car is on flat, level ground. I wouldn't encourage pushing outwards or inwards because those bolts may experience undue strain and break. Even the standard install puts alot of pressure on the bolts becasue the FSTB is trandsferring some of the sideways load (for lack of a better description) of one of your front wheels to the other.

DW

Thanks.

Unless my mind is tricking me, I felt more front downforce on the front end at speeds over 70mph once I put my stillen skirts on . The front feels a lot more sucked to the ground, when before I'd almost feel the frontend lift somewhat at high speeds. I'm pretty sure most of it is due just to the front lip.

Too bad there isn't a way to stick some type of scale between the lip and the front area where it holds on to the front bumper to possibly measure downforce.

Also, when attaching a rear spoiler to your car, remember that your trunk isn't very strong and if you wing generated any downforce at all, it would probably just dent it in. Real performance cars have their spoilers bolted to the frame, not the bodywork

Also some companies make front fins that attach to the front corners of your car that look like they are meant to add front downforce. Maybe you might want to look into those.

Do you have an SE?

I drove to Lauglin on back roads last week in my 97 SE. Car squatted just right and stuck like glue at 110-120mph, so I kept speed up there there as long and often as I could. Straight as an arrow at high speeds, and no bobbing or weaving boat-like feeling.

I have a rear sway bar, front strut brace, poly bushings in front, stock 97 SE wheels & tire size.
I don't particularly like the somewhat harsh ride (on poor or bumpy roads) at normal speeds in day to day driving, but sure like the stiffer SE springs/shocks and bars when I need them.

So, install a rear sway bar and front strut brace and you'll notice a big differnce. Parts will cost less than $150. Best bang for the buck for improving handling on a 4th gen.

While we're on the subject, I'm strongly considering cutting a coil on my front springs (Intrax). With the car angled slightly downwards in the front, would this give an aerodynamic advantage? I'm assuming it would.

It will make a difference, but not much. It's not worth it, IMO. The 5th gen is little more aerodynamic than the 4th gen, but the top speed difference/capability can be attributed more to the VIAS on the 5th gen than it's better aerodynamics. Just put an MEVI on a 4th gen and your top speed will soar.

DW

Well, I'd be doing it for looks mostly, anything else is just extra.

You don't need to lower a car to make it handle better. The floaty feel comes from the mild struts Nissan uses to make the car ride smooth. Put a high performance firm strut in, GR2's or AGX's and the car turns into a nice 4 door sports car.

Lowering it would be the next step, but be warned that it gets tricky to maintain ride quality with sport springs.

Playing with aerodynamics isn't as simple as adding a "wing" or any one of the 100 bolt-on body kits. Without downforce meters and a wind-tunnel you'll probably just screw it up. Def. do not get one of the ricer "adjustable" big wings for the back. Total cheese and probably dangerous at speed. So go with the stiffer shocks, lower springs, FSTB and RSB....

Also make sure you're clean of roof racks, etc....... Those can create a lot of drag....

-RMB

Struts are the most important thing to get rid of the floaty feeling. Far far far more important than a wing on the trunk. The RSB and the FSTB will help with any side to side bobbing around.

Where are you guys pricing these mods? I haven't seen a RSb for less than $120... let me in on the secret, here, if any.....

My site, cheapest listed prices for EVERY mod:
http://drewm.dyndns.org/~drew/maxfaq...aModifications

i read the wrong thing and asked the wrong question. is there a write up for the front bushing (not the brance) to tighten the springs that i read something about that at one time.

Well, if the stock spoiler isn't really functional, what do you think about the touring wing?

i don't think wings for maxima's are anything but aesthetic.

they are more used for high speed rear wheel drive cars, that need their drive wheels to be planted on the ground since the rear lacks weight. maxima's don't have this issue, so wings would just be for appearance mostly.

Geez...back and forth...but anyways, just so you know, I'm opposed to big aluminum wings

I meant specifically the touring wing that has a similar feel as the stock spoiler. Like, not flat, but it still LOOKS like part of the car and not just some big ugly thing bolted to the back of the car.

Different than I thought!!
I just added an FSTB on the weekend.
At first I didn't notice much... hard to tell if it was my imagination or reality...
But then when I started sliding around a few corners I NOTICED IT!!
I can stay in the lane better! (particularly when it's not smooth)
Where I feel it is when it's a bit bumpy on the conrers, she used to skip a bit if I was really flying (200% speed limit, etc.), but now the front end holds NOTICABLY better! The car doesn't seems to 'flex', it feels like I'm back in my 325e.

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY

Still looking into the RSB...

dave

Uh-Uh. The maxima has a top speed on the order of 140 mph (225 kph) and the weight distribution is 60/40 front/rear. The wing, RSB, etc, they all help and the Max does need every little bit. Does the wing push the rear down? Probably very little. But I'm sure the way it helps the airflow to leave the rear end in a very stable flow pattern does help keep the car stable. Especially at 130-140 mph.

By the way, Dave Harmes, if you appreciate the FSTB, then you'll appreciate the RSB alot more, especially in high speed sweeping turns. At high speed, I would suggest that the RSB is more beneficial than the FSTB, but they all help.

DW

Thanks for the information. I think the RSB be my next major mod. Has anyone notice increased tire-wear due to adding this mod??? That's about my last concern with it.

I've read that the 4th gen is rated at 239km/h. Though I'm sure an auto could not reach that. I know the speedo only reads up to 220... My 95 GXE (stick) tach sits exactly at 6240 when the speedo is at 240km/h. I'm still looking into removing my speed limiter so I can check it out for myself. I'm not sure of the best way to do that yet. At 180km/h she seems to be kicking-*** still, I'm just thinking of shifting to 5th at that point.

dave