I have to say that the more that I drive my 2002 SE, the more disappointed I am in the suspension. This is my 4th Maxima SE ('94, '97, '00 and '02) and it is by far the softest and least sporty. I think they really screwed up the suspension on the more current model. I know it is a mid-size sedan, but it now handles like a Cadillac Sedan Deville. And that is with FSB and Pilot A/S tires...

I wish I would have bought the 330i this time...

 

You and me both pal.

Some 4th gen guys that drove my car at the drag strip always talk about how floaty it was stock. I watched them go one time and when they shifted gears the back looked like it dropped two feet!

 

My lower vertibrae beg to differ, Ed. your car was stiff... I mean, like wagon train through a river bed. Like the Texas Giant. It was planted.. Feh! My friend just unloaded his future for a 330, its not *that* much better.

 

Was that when you drove it in LR? I had aftermarket suspension by that time. Oh yeah, that was when my fronts were on 3 out of four and the left rear was 8 out of 8 and the right rear was 4 out of 8........yeah...not good.

 

I also have an 02 SE, and I felt the same way about the floaty suspension. Not too impressed. That all changed when I swapped the stock springs for some H&Rs. The handling improved significantly, to the point where I'm quite happy with it.

 

Save me some time with doing a huge search... how much would these H&R's set me back? My car is a lease so I am obviously not willing to drop a grand into special springs. Especially since it wasn't necessary on my previous Max's.

And as for the 330i... I autocrossed one with the sport suspension... it IS THAT MUCH BETTER. The car is amazing. Why else would everyone consider it the sport sedan benchmark...? *sigh*

 

A grand? Try $250 or so........
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....hreadid=138778

 

This is my first Maxima and I'm having a hard time believing how poor the suspension is on my 02 GLE. It bottoms out in places none of my other cars would. Unless the pavement is perfectly smooth and there's no crosswind it's a real chore keeping the car centered in the lane.

I've been listening to a clunking sound from the front of the car when pulling into driveways or over speed bumps for months. The dealer has had the car several times but can't fix it.

The car is going in for the transverse link recall on Friday. I'm hoping that they'll find something during the recall to provide some improvement in the handling but I'm not counting on it.

Slo-Ryde

 

BMW's are impressive as far as handling goes. Just about the only two FWD cars i've drove that can even be remotely said to have the same driving characteristics is the Prelude w/ ATTS and a Protege (In fact the 6 is considered to handle just as well).

slo-ryde, you can attribute the soft ride to you owning a GLE. the ride is very different between that and the SE. You might have been more satisfied with the SE.

and as far as the recall goes, i noticed a big difference. hopefully you will too.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by soundmike
[B]BMW's are impressive as far as handling goes. Just about the only two FWD cars i've drove that can even be remotely said to have the same driving characteristics is the Prelude w/ ATTS and a Protege (In fact the 6 is considered to handle just as well).

I can vouch for the Prelude Type SHs noteworthy handling. Oh, how I miss the......

 

there, there...

 

The main gripe I have w/my stock 02 SE suspension is when going over those small speedbumps. You know those little yellow ones that are about a foot wide but several inches high? Unless I take it at under 5mph, my backend totally bottoms out on it. It's so loud it almost sounds like I hit the curb with my undercarriage or something!

 

I love my 2k2 max, but I miss the ride quality I had on my 2000 Altima...much stiffer on the Altima, can't compare the two.

 

It seems to me that this happens more frequently when the suspension makes a slow, long movement as in a speed bump or a rounded, small sinkhole. I hear a sound that I think you've described. I think it is the suspension hitting the stops. It can be quite noisey. Ironically, at speed I have no complaints. When the suspension has to move quickly I have no sounds. I have pushed this car hard at times (2k2 Sterling Mist SE 6spd stock) and I love the way it feels when driven quickly. This car can feel kind of ordinary at times at 30 mph but the faster you drive it, to me, the better it feels. Did 110 coming home last night and felt real solid. Went out to the local high school parking lot last Sunday and set up a short twisty course with cones. Car felt awesome in and out of tight corners in second and third gear. ---FRank

 

I agree 100%. I previously owned a '99 SE and later installed Apex springs. Even when the suspension was stock I still think it was much firmer and less bouncy than my 2k2 SE. After going from Apex springs to the stock 2k2's, it feels like I'm driving a boat. When going over bridges the entire car jumps up, the feeling you get on some rollercoasters. On on/off ramps the car feels like it's gonna fly off the road unlike my '99. I guess it could be because of the extra weight but I think Nissan did something really screwy with the 2k2's.

 

Hey man, I had the same problem, took it to the dealer, and they fixed it up - not sure what they did but I haven't had any problems with the clunking noise *yet*....They might have changed the suspension.....not sure though

Later man....

 

I would suggest you to get some struts as well...seems the 2k2 struts are kinda soft.

 

I just passed the break in point on mine and I've been going a little harder on it (but not too hard....getting old man). I too have noticed it being a little "floaty". I didn't notice this on the test drive and I did take it fairly hard. I'm coming from driving a 4x4 truck, and on one offramp the Max seemed almost as "floaty" just flatter in the turn? May have to look at some springs down the road. But overall...it does ride good, and has been good in it's 1st couple of months.

 

One thing i noticed, as the days get hotter over here the suspension seems to feel tighter and tighter each day.

 

Interesting to see that there are 02 SE owners complaining about mushy handling, noises when driving on rough pavement or speed bumps in this thread. I test drove the 02 SE and couldn't really feel that much difference.

 

After i drove my friend GLE i glad i brought the SE in agree in lane to lane traffic on the highway the GLE does feel floaty. I friend switched up to feel the ride of both cars and i my opinion i didnt feel confident in pushing his car as i would do in my SE.

By the way he as a 2k1 GLE and mine 2k SE.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Maximus1000
[B] Yes the Prelude SH is great and does rival BMW handling its fun in tight corners. A few years back it won C&D's best handling car under 30,000, now they are claiming the CLS is the best handling FWD car since it now has ATTS like the SH. I definately can tell that my 02SE is softer sprung than my 97SE. I drove them back to back yesterday and I asked my wife can you tell the difference and she said that it was softer as well. I guess Nisan is softening it up after the 3rd gen Se which was very stiff riding, they softened it up a bit with the 4th and early 5th gen and now with the 02 and 03 softer yet, but this time too soft especially for it to be the "SE".

 

'cause the fluid in the struts are warmed up so it responded to the springs quicker?

 

My 2K2 SE bottoms out all the time at 70mph on one particular bumpy road that I take home from work. In my 2K GXE it never bottomed out even at 80 or 90mph. I am now scared to let anyone sit in the back because I am sure it will bottom out even worse than it already does. I do like the slightly firmer feel of the SE suspension but I do miss my FSTB. Car handles like jello on high speed turns.

RSB on the way.
Considering Cattman FSTB
H&R springs end of this year (depending if the soon-to-be-wife lets me)

 

Sorry guys, but reading threads like this make me so happy to be a 4th gen owner!

KYB AGX's + H&R's = FUN FUN FUN!

Even the stock 4th gen SE suspension setup rode great!

 

Damn You

-previous '99 se owner

 

The engineers didn't spend a great deal of time sorting these suspensions. No rear sway bar, *** end all over the place in quick maneuvers. Shocks all floaty, no contact with road, Body panels vibrate at high velocity (needs more dampening).

Gotta love the engine though.
6 Speed shifter sucks, vague gating.

My last car was an A4 turbo and it was much more stable and solid, but it was also 12k more expensive..........

Good bang for the buck altogether.

 

I think there is no doubt that the stock 2k2 SE suspension sucks. However, this is an easy fix with some new springs and struts. Also, add in the FTSB and RSB, and your car will handle so much better.

 

I've slowly come to accept that I'll have to spend money on after-market suspension components to get the handling up to par. When I bought "Nissan's Flagship" the idea of having to make numerous modifications to the car never crossed my mind.

Or, I might go ahead and sell it and suffer the loss up front. I've owned cars that I spent a lot of time and money on trying to make up for design deficiencies. In the end I was never happy with the mods and was glad to finally get rid of the car.

Slo-Ryde

 

The NX2000 I had before my 2k2 SE was the best handling car I've ever owned, and I knew it was going to be a step down from the standpoint of handling when I bought the Max.

So far, I've been pleasantly surprised. The handling is nowhere near as bad as I was expecting, I think it's good for a car of that size and type. I would put it into the category of a 'sport touring' suspension, although obviously not a 'performance' suspension.

I do not have the feeling it is bottoming out, even with a full load of passengers, and most of the roads I drive have quite a few wavy spots where you can see Cadillacs and Lincolns floating all the way up and back down, as well as several rotomilled areas under construction, and the suspension seems nice and tight without being too tight. It doesn't float over the wavy areas, and doesn't chatter my teeth out on the rotomilled stuff.

I've had a few emergency lane changes at speeds ranging from 30mph to 80mph, and never felt out of control or floaty.

At the same time, I haven't pushed this car as far as I pushed my old one, just because I know it can't do the things the NX would do. I watch my speeds on all curved ramps, because one seam or bump will cause the rear to come loose, but that's the only nasty habit I've found so far and I expected it because of the rear beam suspension.

 

Guys guys guys... this is Nissan's Flagship "Sedan", a.k.a Sporty Sedan. You can't expect it to handle like a sports car.

If you think the SE trim is bad, try driving an Accord or Camry and tell me the MaxSE still handles bad.

 

My 02 GLE replaced a 1998 Honda Accord LX that had 100,000 miles on it. The Honda was much easier to drive fast, never bottomed out, no clunking noises, and trim was as good if not better than the "Flagship" I now own.

Slo-Ryde

 

SE.

 

I agree partially. My Dad has an '01 Accord EX sedan 4 banger and it is very stable at high speeds (poops out after 110mph) and inspires more confidence because it isn't as floaty. The steering is horribly light though. That takes some getting used to.

 

I don't have any problems with the suspension or anything else, its the damn loose steering that drives me nuts. I usually like to accelerate out of curves(especially living in Northern Cali) and the wheel feels so loose that I have to grip my steering wheel like a 80 year old women and tense my arms just to keep the wheel from flopping around. I know this sounds like sacrilege but Nissan needs to take ques from auto makers like Pontiac(Grand Ams) when it comes to handling. They're crappy cars, but their handling makes you feel like you're actually driving the car. But I digress, no car is perfect(except maybe for a '02 M3). I'm still a disciple.

 

I was alittle disspointed to look under my Maxima and see there was no sway bar. And the car is floaty on the hwy (especially if you're trying to keep up with your buddy's S2000) But considering it is a multi-link I-Beam suspension with no sway bar, the handling could be worse!

But keep in mind this car is competing Camry's and Taurus's. I mean if they made the suspension to the liking of the ORG members 97% of this country would be complaining about how harsh the ride is

For those complaining about the floating sensation you get on the hwy, just get a set of shocks like the KYBs. Shocks control spring movement (aka "float") and your ride won't be scraping the ground like some of the dropped Maxima's do.
Which bring me to my final though, isn't modification half the fun of owning?

Jesse