Hi you know my 99 max. gxe drives great, but recently i went for a drive in a lexus es330 and a LS430, and the ride is much smoother, it feels like your driving on air. Is there any mods, that can make our cars smooth and luxurios like theirs?

 

thats because not only is the technology much newer, but the equipment is much newer and those cars range anywhere from 33-50k.

 

cut your springs and slam that max to the ground.

 

indeed. it's comparable to trying to make an old escort ride like a maxima gle.

 

Bushings, struts, springs, mounts, strut bearings, spring isolaters, tie-rods, LCAs... all those are deteriorating over time... replace all of those and your ride will be much improved. Also tires...

 

Hi,

I have 95 GXE and a 96 GLE and I noticed the GLE has a much smoother ride compared to the GXE. I did some research on this, and I remember reading that the stock suspension on the GLE is significantly enhanced over the GXE models providing a smoother ride.

I think you're stuck unless you want to go out and find a GLE.

I am a so I may very well be re-stating the obvious. If so, sorry.

Rob.

 

I have a 95SE with stock suspension which would provide a stiffer ride than either of your cars. You need a 95 or 96SE to round out your fleet, lol!

 

I know what you mean. my 99 SE is very rough over city streets. I might swap swap springs, bushings, etc for GLE parts. except I don't want the $$$ OEM GLE shocks - but I've heard all aftermarket (Koni, Tokico, KYB etc) are harder than the SE shocks, even on soft setting. hell, I just might go with Monroe if it will soften my ride. I don't race my max, so I don't care about handling too much. I'd like to ride in a GLE first just to see how much smoother it really is.

 

Lexus is a fine automobile. You want the ride of a Lexus?....... Buy one!!! Lexus " Precision Crafted Performance ".

 

got gxe struts/springs for sale if anyone wants em.

 

I thought GXE/GLE suspension was the same, except GLEs came with electronically controlled engine mounts which helped absorb some of the drivetrain/engine vibrations - thus giving a smoother overall ride. The SEs definitely came with stiffer suspension. Not sure if both the springs and the struts were different or if it was just one of those two components.. I'm sure this stuff is in the stickies..

 

The frame rigidity and body paneling of a Lexus is vastly higher than a 4th gen Maxima. That is why it feels so much more solid and comfortable.

 

I take it your car is an automatic and not a 5-speed. You shouldn't have bought an SE in the first place given what you are planning to do. You're a disgrace to all 4th Gen SE owners, lol!.

 

You get what you pay for.

 

you are right many of us don't race our maximas, we just want to get a luxurios comfy ride. there must be some type of comfort setup. lets try to put a list together.

 

well I bought it out in the 'burbs where the streets are perfect and smooth, so it felt like a really smooth ride when I test drove it. I did look for GLEs, but couldn't find any decent used ones. any yes, it is an auto - after fighting a stick shift in 30 mile traffic jams for the past 9 years, it was time for an auto. my knees are thanking me - and since I'm also an avid pole vaulter (yep just like the olympic sport) I need good knees.

btw - one of my previous cars was a '94 twin turbo RX-7 R1 (racing package - now talk about a rough friggin' ride!). I routinely drove that car at 165mph+, and blew corvettes off the road, so I'll take your "disgrace" comment with a grain of salt. I'm older now, and "real gangsta a** n**'s don't flex nuts"

 

sky - you might just have worn suspension components. I've heard that tokico blues give a nice soft ride (coupled with stock springs). You may also want to inspect/replace LCAs (or at least the bushings), swaybar bushings, endlink bushings and make sure the engine and tranny mounts are not worn out. Also the tires play a huge role in comfort - so just a new set of tires may help with ride quality.

 

What kind of tires and wheels are you running? Perhaps you should let some air out of the tires for city driving and re-inflate them when going out on the highway for any length of time. I suspect your car calls for 33 PSI front and 32 rear. Try running them at 30 all the way around. This will adversely affect your fuel economy and tread wear, but will provide a softer ride.

 

Or flex on line on a key board. I hear ya old man. I'm getting there myself.

 

To have worn suspension components on a 99SE the car would have to be a pretty high miler already or else have been driven over every pothole and manhole cover in the state at least once.

 

The LS430, in addition to being newer and having less miles, is in an entirely different class. It weighs a lot more, which usually makes things smoother. It's not a sporty car and is not designed for handling. The LS430 is rear wheel drive and a full size sedan. To compare such a car to the Maxima is definetly an apples-oranges thing.

Sounds to me like someone bought the wrong car. The Maxima is Nissan's big Flagship sedan, but the 4th gen wasn't a cushy car at all...for its time, it was the practical, reliable sedan that could waste Taurus SHOs, Audi A6's, and a lot of other cool cars for a reasonable price. Sounds to me like you should have bought a used Infiniti Q45. The first gen Q-ship was a helluva car, and still is.

 

If the car has been in the Chicago (and suburban) area it's whole life, between the extreme temps and quality roads, you can definitely wear out suspension components in 6 years (age of his 99). It also depends on the type of miles the car has seen... (obviously smooth highway drives are easy on the car's engine and suspension) How many miles on your car sky?

 

everything on this car is bone stock. I mean the previous owner took it to the dealer for new wiper blades. tires are stock eagle RSAs. car has 70k mi. I think it just needs some softer shocks - and maybe a softer tire next time around. I see goodyear has a new comfortred tire that's supposed to be plush. and I'll look into the tokico blues - thanks nj.

 

if those are the original tires, just replacing those will change your drive dramatically (for the better)... I think bobo is still running his original tires on his 95... Personally, I think tires have a road life and a time life... and for me the time life is right around 4 years... so regardless of mileage, I like to replace the tires at that point... it may not make any sense - so I'd be curious to hear what others think about that.

 

the tires are only 2 yrs old w/ 15k miles. the guy put the stock RSAs on when he got new tires.

 

njmodi's right, I am still running the stock Goodyear Eagle RSAs and they are coming up to 60K on them. I haven't noticed any cracks in them. I suspect the quality of the RSAs is not what it was a few years back as a lot of the 6th Gen members don't like them at all. At only 15K on the tire, I would be inclined to go with them for awhile longer.

I am amazed when I hear how crappy the roads are in big cities like Chicago and New York. Greater Vancouver only has a population of 2.1 million and our roads are in excellent shape virtually everywhere you go. I guess our tax dollars go to infrastructure like roads and bridges because it certainly isn't the military, lol! You can thank that d!ckhead for a president you have for that!

 

I would also recommend getting your suspension checked for wearing parts. Mine was squeaking and turns out I need new bushings. Even though I'm lowered, I can tell the rides a good amount smoother.

 

For comparison, Manhattan has 1.5+ million people living on ~23 sq miles of land while Vancouver has 0.6 million people living on ~44 sq miles of land. Methinks there's a slight difference in traffic.

 

It would also appear that there is a slight difference in road maintenance programs in place. And with Vancouver hosting the Winter Olympics in 2010 the infrastructure dollars that are going to be spent in the next 4 years are astounding. For example, high-speed transit is coming to where I live as well as the airport which will reduce vehicular traffic appreciably.

 

if it was a '94 then it was an R2 not an R1 . Anyway the '94 doesn't really have that rough of a ride. I've had mine since '96. It was a daily driver for the first 3 years I had it and really couldn't complain about the ride and still can't. Now it's barely driven, I've only put about 4k miles on it over the past 4 years.

Fastest I ever had it up to was 145mph, about 3 weeks after I got it. Had plenty of pick up till then, definitely room for more, and plenty stable at very high speeds!

 

Wait 'til you visit Detroit & the suburbs. Then you'll see how bad the roads really are here

 

was the R2 the racing package? what was the R1? touring? it's been 9 years since I owned it so I can't remember. good for you for keeping yours. those things are going up in value quick. awesome cars.

 

Whoa whoa whoa. Hold the phone, guys.

The GLE doesn't have "enhanced" suspension over the GXE. It's got softer springs and shocks, and that's all (besides the mounts that were mentioned earlier).

Second of all, besides just going around and swapping out worn suspension bits, there are definitely a few things you can do to seriously improve ride quality. Here's my formula for the best-riding Max possible, without totally freakin' breaking the bank. The idea is to reduce unsprung weight, stiffen the chassis, and soften the suspension. So, in order of priority:

1. 15x7 inch Rota Slipstream wheels, 205/65/15 Falken Ziex ZE-512 tires (preferably V-rated). This will knock up to 13 lbs off your stock setup. That is massive. Do not underestimate this.

2. Warpspeed stage 2 subframe connectors, BlehmCo stage 2 lower tie bar, Stillen front strut tower brace.

3. Stock GLE springs, Monroe or stock Infiniti I30 shocks/struts.

I'd like to see anyone in a Lexus tell you his car rides better than yours if you do those things. If you need an explanation of exactly how those things will totally transform your car, just let me know.

 

R1 was the designation for the '93 and R2 for the '94 "racing" package. The '94 R2's were supposed to be a little less harsh of a ride than the '93 R1's. I really haven' seen them going up in value much, only low mileage, non-modded ones still go for a decent amount.

 

I trust you've been to Toronto. How do the roads there compare to Detroit & the suburbs?