One of the things I loved most about my '98 Maxima SE when I bought it was the almost Cadillac-like feel of the ride; it's much less stiff than Accords and Camrys. I need to replace my struts (150k miles!) and want to keep as much of that smooth, gentle ride feel as possible; I'll worry about handling and all that sporty stuff on my Porsche (yeah, right) when I get one, but as far as this car is concerned, I like the stock feel. Any suggestions? Which brand/model of struts will keep that smooth, gentle ride?

thanks,

jimmy

 

Sure your current struts aren't blown? It shouldn't ride 'like a Cadillac', especially for the SE suspension.

 

I think that stock replacement is tokico hp

 

call your local dealer maybe?
My SE sure as heck doesnt feel like a caddy... unless you compare it to my roomate's car and its 500 pound spring rates

 

Maybe the struts do give you a caddy like ride after 150K.

 

I've had the car since 69k, and I doubt the first owner replaced them. Weird. Perhaps "Cadillac-like" feel was overstating it a little; all I know is the ride is less rough and bumpy than it would be in a Camry or Accord of the same year. Or am I wrong? I'm totally open to being full of sh*t on this one.

 

I had an old *** Camry and when I went over speed bumps at a decent speed, it floated over em like butter. Couldn't even barely feel the bastards. It was great. Caddy like ride indeed. But yeah, they probably had about 170k on em. Sounds like you have old soft squishy ones. Might be tough finding a similar feeling strut, but I hear the Tokico Blues give stock comfort and most likely better performance than you already have.

 

What about struts in the GLE--do they differ from those found in the SE? Are they a little more "luxury," a little less "sporty"?

 

Struts should be the same if they're stock. I think it's the spring rates that may differ with the SE springs being firmer than the GLE's. Not so much the differing struts.

 

hey ive heard that myself with my 99 se.. when i was stock i used to give my boss a ride to his wifes car cuz she would drive his mercedes to her job n theyd go home together.. n he would always tell me that my car felt better than his mercedes.. i always thought he was suckin up cuz i was giving him a ride but iono my friends say it did feel real nice way back

 

KYB - GR-2's.

 

Tokico Blue HP's or Monroe SensaTrac's will give you back that new car ride on the stock suspension setup.

KYB GR2's are very firm and will give you a bit better handling.

 

+1 for KYB gr-2

 

I had KYB GR-2 on my 2nd gen. They rode really nice.

S