Everyone always complains about the torque steer of our (2k2) Max's. But personally, I kinda like it. It gives more of a challenge. I mean, what's the fun in just driving in a straight line. My favorite part of a driving trip is going through some twisties. They are more of a challenge, and more fun to go fast through (staying close to the speed limit of course, and not out of control). As opposed to just going fast on a straight away (higher speed limit on a freeway, e.g. 70mph as opposed to a 55mph highway). I do enjoy my car being able to go in the direction that I point it, but I also like a challenge sometimes!

 

Hello,

I guess cars have improved A LOT in the past 9 years. :-)

My 93 Mazda 626 ES (V6) has torque steer. I got used to it and is not really a problem.

Test drove a whole bunch of 03 cars with v6 engines (Accord, Camry, Altima and of course Maxima). These cars have virtually no torque steer or at least lack thereof at WOT. I hear lots of people talk about torque steer on the Maxima, Altima compared to other cars in the same price range. Beats me, I don't really feel it.

James

 

Torque steer is so bad on mine I feel the car is almost unsafe in first gear. I hold on with both hands when I punch it in first. If I go into a turn with much throttle it is really a dangerous situation.

 

I'm glad I got the HLSD, the only time I have torque steer problems is in first gear on wavy pavement. Any other gear, or on smooth pavement, no problem.

 

This car is mainly my commuter, so I won't be running it hard in the twisties...I have a bike for that

You think twisties are fun at 10 over??? Take a nice sweeper at 80+ on a bike. Now THAT is real fun.

 

I second that...wavy or bumpy roads make acceleration a challenge, even with my HLSD. Scared the sh*t out of me the first time I punched it on a bumpy road!! And yeah, no problems at all on smooth roads.

 

I may have just put that in there so that some of the haters wouldn't get on me for speeding. Although, I have no doubt that they would be much more fun on a bike...I just can't afford one right now. Some day...

 

I have H&r's on my car and there is not a hint of tq steer anymore. I would recommend this to someone who can't stand the tq steer

 

Yup...leaned over...leg/knee scuffing the ground....ground wizzing by. Forget illegal drugs..I am an adrenaline junky!

Plus...its cheaper to operate!

 

You know, I've had a number of FWD cars. (Now, a 2k3 6-spd Max.) The Maxima has less torque steer than, for example, my old 1995 Passat, which had only 172 hp.

But one thing that you will definitely feel is if the front tires are not equally inflated in a FWD car with a limited slip differential. A few weeks ago I had a puncture that resulted in a slow leak in the right front tire. The tire was low, down to around 17 psi, but it wasn't flat. I didn't notice it and drove off. I could really feel a pull to the right whenever I stepped on the gas.

Unlike true FWD torque steer, however, this got *worse* at higher speeds in higher gears.

It makes sense. What the LSD does is to shift torque to the axle that is rotating slower. Therefore the fully-inflated left tire - bigger diameter, slower rotation - was getting more torque than the underinflated right tire, pushing the car toward the right. The torque shift gets worse at high speeds because the amount of torque transfer depends on the absolute difference in wheel speed, not the ratio.

The message? Make sure your front tires are inflated equally! (Oh yes, *inflated* equally, not *underinflated* equally.) Especially if you have the limited slip diff.