I have read about suspension upgrade compare to OEM suspension. I’m not sure of how it really feels. I want to upgrade it like a BMW. Want do I need to buy? Thanks.

 

on a maxima any firmer suspension you get will result in similar performance to a BMW, but the ride quality will be worse and bumpier

 

A completely suspension-tweaked Maxima can hang with/outhandle a completely stock BMW (non-M). A suspension-tweaked BMW... not a chance.
-Cyrus

 

Unless you do away with the rear beam, it will never equal a bimmer...

 

i agree with mish, plus the fact that we're fwd we will never have the same handling as bmw, we may take curves faster bc of suspension mods, but will in no way equal a bmw's rwd handling, rwd owns

 

You can come close though to BMW characteristics...you'll need to mod the car to achieve greater oversteer to neutralize the bias. For example:
Stiff change in Rear springs relative to front springs
Thicker/stiffer change in rear sway bar relative to front
Higher front tire pressure
Lower rear tire pressure
Larger front tire section
Smaller rear tire section
More negative front camber
More positive rear camber
More rearward weight distribution

So what's practical in modding the suspension for a better handling FWD with a 40/60 weight distribution?
1) Get a front strut tower bar.
2) Definitely get a rear sway bar...especially since we don't have one stock.
3) Increase the front tire pressure slightly.
4) Leave or decrease the rear tire pressure slightly.
5) Add some weight to the rear (add a subwoofer box or something).

Do each of these one at a time and drive around a few hundred miles in between. You're Maxima will behave a little differently and you want to test it out before you're in a bad situation. With these mods, it should set you back no more than $160...and it should give you a more BMW-like handling Maxima-on-a-budget.

If you want to go to stage 2:
Add Warpspeed's Sub-Frame Connectors. They come stock on performance cars such as BMW's, Corvettes, Vipers, Mustangs, Camaros, Mercedes, and many other convertible models. They make the car more solid, absorb a lot of the road harshness, and really plant the car on road imperfections and turns. I'd suggest both stage 1 and stage 2. Keep in mind, if you want to do any exhaust work, or short throw shifter work, do that first. The SFC stage 2 will be in the way of removing the exhaust, and you'll have to unbolt the stage 2 SFC's.

If this is still not enough for you (it really should be at this point) go on to stage 3:
Coilovers...JIC Magic, Cattman/Progress, and Tein (will be making soon). These are $1000 and up, but are for the performance craving enthusiasts out there. These will allow you to retain your full suspension travel, increase the piston diameter, adjust your ride height, camber, and some allow you to change the damper settings. I would suggest that you just get the non-adjustables if you're not sure how to tune them. The non-adjustables will be perfect for beginner-intermediate drivers...adjustables are for the crazy guys.

If $1000+ is not in your budget, I'd suggest Tokico Illumina's, Progress springs, and Motivational Rear mounts. Like the coilover systems, the Motivational rear mounts will retain your stock suspension travel when you lower the car.

Hope this is helpfull, and enjoy...this took me forever to type.

 

thanks Kevin Wong

 

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