I have a stock 2002 Maxima SE with 5100 miles on it.
When I look at the car from the side, it looks
like the rear of the car is sagging just a tad.

The space between top of the front tire and the
fender is about TWICE the space that shows
up between the top of the rear tire and the
rear fender.

Can those of you with 2002 Maxima SE 's take a
look at your car from the side (check from drivers
and then from passengers side) and tell me if there
is a difference in fender/tire space between the
front and rear?
Thanks!

 

I've got a 2k3 and it's the same thing. Originally I thought it was my stereo stuff (amps and bandpass box) but even with it out it was the same thing. I actually like the gap in the rear, just wish the front had the same thing

I saw a pic of a lowered max here and both before and after it was an uneven gap.

 

I have a 2000 SE and the rear of my Maxima only sags when I have 2 adult male passengers in the back. Otherwise it's the typical 4x4 stock Maxima look... not for long though.

 

Such is the nature of the maxima. The front fender is higher up and makes it look even worse. Hence the reasoning for lowering it. A little more lowering in the front than rear takes care of that nicely.

 

So the larger gap in the front and the
smaller gap in the back is normal for
a 2002 Maxima SE?????
That sucks.

For some reason I thought it might have been
from when someone stole my back right tire/rim
and left my car up on a little tree stump.
(yeah. Bastards. >:-\ )
My girlfriend didn't notice that the car was
in this condition and she started to drive it.
She moved like 1 foot and stopped after the
car fell off the wood stump.
Luckily, insurance replaced it with a new rim and tire.
(Appraised the SINGLE tire/rim and labor at about $950!!!)
Anyways...car seems to drive fine, but
you don't think that the smaller gap in the rear
is because of the car falling off that tree stump,
do ya?

 

As I don't think that was good for your max, I don't think it was the cause either. I can imagine that being as hard as a really bad pot hole...usually tire damage but struts / springs are usually ok.

Where did you get the tire stolen?

 

Rim/Tire stolen in a nice area of Pittsburgh.
All the houses around here are like minumum $250,000.
No, I don't live in one of those.
I live in a condo that I bought for my 4 years here
at Pitt Dental School. (Yes, I'm going to be a dentist.;-)
Since then, I have installed wheel locks and added a tilt sensor
to my Compustar digital spread spectrum car alarm/pager/autostarter.
I also stopped parking in the street and got a parking
spot in my condo's front circle.
Currently, I am looking for another brand of wheel locks
other than McGuard so that I can make it really hard for
any thief to take my lug nuts off. (multiple brands of wheel locks
used at the same time)


Anyways...If I put 225/45/17 HTR+ tires on, will this
disparity in wheel gap look insanely retarded?

 

Go with a 235 series. If you think it is bad now, wait until th "bubble" is gone from those tires.

The Maxima wheel gap is the car's worst point. It is completely normal to have insane wheel gap in the front. That's why most aftermarket springs lower more in the front than the rear (ie: 1.75" front, 1.5" rear).

 

Get yourself some springs... TEIN is the prime choice... This will fix the 4x4 look!!!!

 

Hey Turbo, you don't happen to live in Mt Lebanon do you? I do, and have never had anything done to my car.

 

This low look on the back is an optical illusion. The car actually sits level, but looks lower in the back because the wheel cutout is smaller in the back. I don't know why Nissan does this. 4th gen and 5th gen look this way. 6th gen is same, also. One of my complaints about Maximas - that's why I have eibach's. Makes all the difference ...

 

I thought there was a problem with it too and had Nissan check it out. They said it was within spec.