I am thinking about picking up a Maxima that I have recently seen. It is a 99 GXE and has KYB AGX shocks as well as H&R springs.

I had driven it and the ride was way too stiff (my wife felt like vomiting after the test-drive ). It is definitely a nice car, but I def. need to soften the drive. Must I replace both the shocks and springs or is there an easier way around this?

Gotta keep the wifey happy.

Replace the struts with Tokico Illuminas. The H&R springs are awesome.

Maybe try to adjust the AGX to the softest setting?

That might help.

First try replacing the sturts with Illuminas as mentioned. The AGX's are very firm, combined with a sport spring like H&R and you have your harsh ride. The Illuminas will ride much better, but be cautioned, large bumps will still throw the car around with the H&R springs. They are a progressive wound sport spring. If you still don't like the ride, grab a set of OEM springs off a 4th gen SE 5 speed and put them on the Illuminas.
That setup rides absolutely fantastic.

But stock SE springs suck for handling... They suck less than GXE/GLE springs, but they still suck.

i'll trade u my stockies for ur strut n shock combo....that way you'll be as smooth as anything and she won't barf on you....-= )

or you can do what i did, if you want the car JUST lowered w/ a good ride

get the tein H-techs....the ride is SMOOOTH AS GLASS....and i live in the DC AREA..pothole city....

ps get them from redline, tell him MAXIMOUS SENT YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I agree!!

+1 for Illuminas/H&R

Haha thanks ImmaSquash, I will let you know how things turn out if I am need of a softer ride.

It is all about not being barfed on.

Thanks guys for the input! It is very helpful.

It seems like Illuminas are the way to go by popular recommendation.

I am wondering if I can do a clean trade for the illuminas. They are slightly more than the agx, but by not much.

Would anyone be intrested in trading the KYB AGX struts for Tokico Illumans?

This does not help much. I see Illuminas in my future.

What do you guys think of the Tokico Illumina suspension kits?

**** when i was agx my rded sucked lik ehell, but it worked for having a grilfriend cause she hated it and that means we always took her car.

ahhh, check tire pressure?

illuminas are excellent and so are h&r dont know about agx though

mahmoodu, are u the guy that was at autozone who wanted to swap for a 96 nissan maxima in watertown mass??

i love my agx's

are illuminas on stock springs softer than tokico blues? which will provide the best ride comfort w/ SE springs?

also, is there a diff bet 5sp and auto springs?

nope, I live in Cali.

Sell the suspension for 400 and buy stock suspension for 100.

I guess everyone's definition of stiff is different. I have Eibach Prokit springs with KYB AGX set on 4F/6R and it's just fine for me, but theres still too much body roll. I'm thinking of going to coilovers soon to stiffen it up more.

i have h&r with agx adjustables. rides not too stiff, but nice and sporty. i love the way it rides and corners. if you want a softer ride, try adjusting the dampness on the shocks or go with stock suspension. but then ur a 4x4 imo.

i loved mine.........if u want soft go stock

the shocks r prolly toast

I think that it was my brothers car that you looked at. If it was, I'm pretty sure he had it on a stiff setting since these are adjustables. Ill take a look at it for ya tommorow and make sure it is on the harsh setting. If so it will take less then a minute to make it ride MUCH smoother!

Do let me know. I can't really ask my wife to get another ride somewhere.

I mean, I can ask her, but that prob wouldn't be nice :-).

He mentioned that it was on the middle for front (2/4) and back (4/8). Would changing the dampeners to the softest position make a dramatic affect?

Illuminas are 5 way adjustable, from soft, similar to if not softer then the blues up to very firm.
Yes, the front springs on the 5 speed SE have one less winding and are slightly shorter then the front SE springs from an auto tranny equipped car. If you put the 5 speed springs on the front of an auto tranny car, it brings the front end down about 1/3 of an inch. That slight drop makes the front and rear fender gaps sit perfectly even. Thats just enough to make the car look better, even with 17" wheels on it.

yea the AGX's are fairly well known for bein stiff. ive never driven a car with them so i cant say from personal experience but, yea what i said before

hey maximous, that avatar looks quite familiar

hi new guy from uk, sorry to put this slightly off topic but ive been on ebay and seen the kyb shocks and a few more diffrent varietys for the maxima and was wondering if there would be any fitment issues to fit on a UKDM A32 maxima with a VQ20DE

the trouble is over here in the uk the standard shocks are £80 a corner which would work out to £320!

cheers

Love it! Ever since I rode in Dubbya's car last year at Maxus it was on my mind when I got my 4th gen that they were going to be on it. I should be receiving my set from UPS today. Looking forward to the install. Still gives you performance a nice stance and comfort.

Update:

So I finally got a Max!

I ran the car on the softest dampening levels with the AGXs for both front and rears, and suprising enough it was actually quite doable.

Previously, the front was set to 2/4 and rears to 4/8, and that was way too stiff. I am thinking I am going to run with the softest levels for a while as my wife doesn't feel anything near nauseous, and so it has past the test!

If there is a problem, I may just get the stock suspension from a manual se (as it is suppose to be one rung shorter) and run with that only b/c I don't wanna throw down more money than I need.

Thanks for the advice guys!

Sweeeeeet, excellent knowledge there.

Now where's the cheapest/best place to get manual front springs?