I want to make my car handle a lot better.

I'm going to upgrade my 170K mile steering rack & pinion to a '99 SE from www.carsteering.com. Most of the other suspension components are new but do you guys think I should get ES poly bushings?

What else can I do to my suspension? Can I fit 18x8.5 265 or 255 40 18 series tires?

I drove my buddies 350z 6MT and man that thing handled like it was on rails makes my poor Maxima feel like weaksauce.

 

Front strut tower brace, rear strut brace, and stiffer springs. More effective than needlessly large wheels. Cheaper too.

 

Suggestions on which ones are good and where to get?

 

I would do suspension work if I wanted it to handle better. A spring/shock combo or even coilovers would change the way it handles completly.

Try looking in the group deal or even the classified section to see if anyone is selling them.

 

My current setup is H&R's with Tokico Illuminas, a Progress RSB, and a FSTB. That's it.

 

SFCs

/thread.

They can be found in the G/D forum and Ebay.

 

Go with suspension first, then bigger/wider wheels and tires if you need it.

I went with Eibach springs on Illuminas with an ebay strut tower brace....best money i spent on the car. But, the 235/45-17 sumitomos just slide....I could go faster on these country roads with some wider rubber.

 

Really? I'd say tires are the limiting factor for handling. Grippier tires (new wheels if necessary) first, imo. Nice tires also help w/braking. Well, ok, I see where handling comes in... blown struts don't do anybody good. Braking on blown struts is asking for disaster.
Jae

 

I agree, About the tires limiting performance

I would definetly say, strut bar, very noticable improvement. along with a rear sway bar. a rear strut bar didnt make too much difference for me

Illuminas are a good cheap strut/shock to put in. especially with the adjustibility feature... set the fronts softer than the rears..

but if youve ever seen a slow-motion video of a car taking a hard corner.. the tires litteraly look like they are gonna rip out of the rim because the angle so much. a owuld say 17's with low profile stires or smaller tires are the best.. 18's can be heavy and wont yeild much better handling

 

The wider/low profile tires did nothing for me until I upgraded the suspension. I didn't know it until I upgraded, but 3 out of 4 struts were blown. Thats why, in my case, I would go with suspension first.