Well, went ahead and put the Maxspeeds on with Illuminas last weekend.....4 hours by myself.....just me and my air tools

So....first the measurements:
2000 Maxima Stock height ground to wheel arch (per shop manual):
Front: 27.8" (pre-drop actual measurement: 27.9")
Rear: 27.1" (pre-drop actual measurement: 27.2")

Current measurements with Maxspeeds:
Front: 26.7"
Rear: 26.5"

these measurements are after only about 10 miles of driving (measurements done right after the test-drive last weekend)......I assume they will settle a little bit more. As you can see, the wheelarch height is pretty even.

Furthermore, here is the wheel "gap" measurement (top of tire to inner wheel arch measured with a caliper)
front: 1.6"
rear: 1.3"

I'm happy with the look...it is as even as I had hoped and still doesn't look "lowered" unless you know maximas.....

Now for ride impressions:
Keep in mind that I am coming off SE springs, which are stiffer than GXE/GLE.
I also have LTB, FSTB, and RSB that make a difference.
With Struts set at level 3 all around:
ride is good on small bumps and smooth roads. big highway dips are solid...no more bouncing, the illuminas absorb all of the dip with no bounce. Bigger bumps are a bit firmer than stock, but the struts absorb vibration better than stock (i.e. with stock struts/springs it was harsh and alot of rattles on big bumps, now it's just "very firm" and is over quickly)

I originally had front struts set on 4 but that proved a bit harsh on our crappy roads around here. With my other suspension mods the handling is very balanced, if not just a slight bit of oversteer. I am going to turn the rear struts down to setting 2 (as most people here have done) to get back to a balanced stance with slight UNDERsteer (which is safer).

Overall, very pleased with the turnout. Install was a piece of cake with the air tools. The drop looks even, and the ride is overall improved, especially the flatness in corners

so now the pics:
I took this one after the first day...it has settled a little bit more since then

The front assembly:

 

Looks great! Good job! Get us some new pics now that it's settled a bit more!!

 

very nice. i like how the car still looks good even with the stock rims nice and tasteful, and it should settle a lil bit.

 

looks great. I'm going with the same setup. Let us know how much more it settles.

 

the measurements above were when I first did it (I changed the original post to reflect that point)....I just went out now and measured it out front of my house (too dark for a good pic):

front is another .3" lower (26.4")
back is another .15" lower (26.35")

gaps are reduced to
front: 1.3"
back: 1.15"

after about 700 miles now of hard driving this week that is probably close to as low as it will get....

 

As always, nice work irish. I'm sure you'll love the new set-up. When ya gonna get some 18's???

 

so with which part of this did sooner help you? just want to be ready for sooners posts!!


looks sweet....

 

heh heh...nothin this time....just me myself and my (parents') air tools. Having parents who own a marina is nice......they have about every heavy-duty and high-power tool in the book....they even have a 4' long 1/2" drive breaker bar there! and if I really want to lift up the car, can use either the 10-ton boat forklift or the 30-ton travel lift...

this took me about 4 hours, including smokebreaks and dilly-dallying.....pretty quick and easy.....

 

sweet. i am envious

 

Congrats! Until you get to install the SFC's, then your suspension modifications are not yet completed!

The stage 1 SFC's will help smooth out the ride significantly. I have a feeling that you will want to get the cross bracings (stage 2 & 3) as soon you test out your new ride with the stage 1 SFC's on.

 

very nice. looks great.

 

stop it!!!! I need to spend money on my pathetic house now!!! No more major mods til next summer!!!

 

^^why are you dawging on your crib> thought it was on MTV cribbs, last month

 

shouldn't you be watching the Colts game right now? Now go away, or I shall taunt you a second time.

my crib has requirements...finishing master bathroom remodeling....upcoming kitchen remodel....new deck next summer - home stuff is not cheap. Those three projects will cost about as much as a new maxima....all done on my gov't salary and my wife's (much lower) salary....

 

yup, after the post, i did just that...:, waste of time

so we will be fortunate not to see your posts for a while ? j/k

 

Goodluck with the home stuff, but no Home Depot mods on your part means less new mods. I say just sell the wife and mod the car. j/k

 

oh that will make him

 

Lol, hes a good man... He knows im kidding..

 

Nice, Irish. Looking good. I'd say the house is always wiser invesment...

With that said, did you end up cutting the bump stop? You mentioned taking something out of the front hump stop instead of cutting.

 

yes, I took the pink inner bump stop out of the fronts and cut one "ring" off of it...also cut the top ring off the rear bump stops....