I just drove my friend's new 2004 Saab 9-3 Aero. Holly $**** - it is pretty nice. Maxima still smokes it, but handling wise -- that's the other story.

So this brings up the question - what do you guys do to improve our boat-link handling? So far I only have Front Strut bar. What can I do next to get a better feel in corners, less dive..?
Thanks!

 

the most noticeable is a rear swaybar. for a full effect drop it with your choice of springs get better shocks or struts. I got rear strut bar also and my car drives like its on rails.

 

Get a good spring strut combo or better set a set of true coilovers...and a rear sway bar. After that give it a shot it makes a world of difference.

 

FSTB. RSB. springs, shocks/struts, wider wheels with good rubber. No, not Hankook...I said good rubber

 

Buy an AERO!!!

HA!

Seriously -- my Dad had one of these when i was in high-school....I've never driven a better handling car. Not that they don't exist -- I've just never driven one!
And the BRAKES...!!! Damn.....

Seriously -- do what everyone else said. Or get a different car.

gr

 

In order:
Rear sway bar
Lower Tie bar
Front Strut tower brace
Subframe Connectors

Then you can also add springs, struts, and different rims/tires to finish the deal...

 

My personal suggestion is:

#1: Good Performance Tires (check reviews on tirerack.com)

#2: Addco or Progress Rear Sway-Bar

#3: Front Strut Tower Brace (Something inexpensive, like Otto)

#4: Springs and Shocks (H&R w/Tokico Illuminas)

#5: Blehmco Lower Front Tie Bar

This would leave you with a Maxima with good handling with a more connected and controlled feel, but would retain most of the smooth ride quality and ground clearance. And as a bonus, excessive wheel well gap will be reduced.

If you are willing to sacrifice some ride quality for even better handling, go with eibachs, or coilovers.

 

Trust me when I say Don't waste your money on any Strut tower braces and Rear sway bars. Go straight for better springs and struts. This car will not "ride on rails" short of spending THOUSANDS of dollars. I have owned cars with stock suspension that corner better than a maxima that has upgraded struts, springs, fstb, rsb, and subframe connectors. I purchased a front strut brace and rear sway bar and it was a waste of money. I am now looking into springs/struts.

If you want CONSIDERABLY better handling there is nothing that can be done beside replacing the springs/struts. I have both bars and the body roll is still unreal. With my 99 cougar I could go around turns at twice the speed I could with my maxima. You may think you will save money (like I did) by doing the cheap upgrades but in the end if you want MUCH BETTER handling you will end up buying new springs/struts anyways so just do it now.

Mark

 

^^ Just curious, you have driven a 5th gen Maxima w/subframe connectors? FYI: Not many 5th gen Maxima have SFC's installed. The members who did only had done stage 1 since the stage 2&3 have fitment issues.

 

What's wrong with Hankook? Their Z211 is excellent and their forthcoming Z212 is anxiously awaited.

 

yeah pretty much what everyone else has already said.

 

I disagree with one of these points. An RSB is a necessity. Try that first, it makes a world of difference in the handling and from there upgrade your suspension.

 

mdloops,
I have a hard time believing that the 99 cougar can go around the turn twice the speed as your Maxima. Just not possible!!!

 

That's great. I just picked the 1st crap tire that came to mind and I guess it happened to be what you have...lol...

 

Go for the drop. You'll notice a big difference.

 

what about just illumina shocks with stock springs. i would think it would help some because the stock shocks are so poorly dampened. i wanna give this a try before going to lowering springs....

 

VMaximus02-- I am really interested in your impressions of the SFCs. How do SFCs change the handling and dynamics of the vehicle? I understand you have all 3 stages installed? What were your personal impressions?

 

That should help quite a bit.

 

I think maybe you were expecting too much from the RSB and FSTB. And actually the 5th gen Maxima has very mild body roll stock, relatively speaking. It's supposed to be less than the Z32 300ZX according to nissan. Not to mention, body roll isn't such an evil, with a properly designed suspension. My MKIV Supra would lean in a corner, but would still inspire confidence while pulling near 1g. I think the real problem is the underdamped, and uncontrolled feel of the stock suspension. It pitches around, and reacts strangly to weight transfer. It will hold onto a turn at good speed, it just doesn't inspire much confidence while doing so. But I do agree, the biggest improvement would come from springs and shocks. Just remember that very few of the springs on the market will really improve handling. Just because a spring may cut down on body movement, and give a better feel at 7/10th driving, that doesn't mean that it will have the compliance, balance and suspension travel to allow the same composure at 9/10th, or 10/10ths.

 

Where can i get this SFC done? Do they have some sort of GD going on? I;ve thought about the blemco LTB too but everyone ultimately says to get struts, and springs.

 

Here are a few links regarding the SFC's:
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=286295
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=255346
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=244439
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=175684

The last one was my original post about the SFC's.

 

ahh yes, gotcha. Great links to have handy. I'm still chasing down a damn shimmy in my car's steering, which I am not sure of yet, but that's where my $$ is going until I fix it... after which I plan on doing stage 1 SFCs.

 

Ever since I sold my '99.5 A4 for my Maxima, I've been trying to find a way to improve the handling of the Max. Comparitively, the Maxima handles like a couch.

Of course, the Audi had Quattro and was sitting on an Eibach Pro-Kit, so the thing handled like a dream. It puts my Max to shame.

So this weekend I'm putting Progress springs along with Tokico Illuminas on my Maxima, I'm hoping that that will improve things dramatically. I'll probably go ahead and add an RSB to that combo as I've heard the effect on the floaty rear end is incredible.

Will let you know!

 

Check VMaximus02's posts out... the solid "european" feel you're looking for is better attained using Subframe Connectors. But I must commend the choice of struts; I love my Illuminas

 

Suspension upgrade is a combination of factors. All give different grades of improvement, and some combinations make performance/handling worse......Of course springs and struts will improve handling. That's obvious. But things such as the RSB (not so much the FSTB) and LTB DO make a positive difference for certain peoples' driving styles. RSB by itself is only 1/2 the job though. RSB by itself promotes oversteer. By adding the LTB you balance out the car again, and steering/handling response is much improved. Also I suggest you don't speculate about how a maxima handles with struts, springs, fstb, rsb, sfc, (ltb), etc...if you don't have all of those things on your car already....Of course there are cars out there that corner better than a maxima...DUH.
Nothing? Ok you bring your car down here with springs/struts only, and I'll take my maxima and show you the considerable difference with RSB, FSTB, and LTB on there WITH the springs....There is a reason race cars, auto-x cars, etc. have RBS, FSTB, LTB, SFCs....because it improves the handling...
PREPARE TO EAT THOSE WORDS. According to every road test I can find (including Edmunds.com)....

2000 Maxima lateral roadholding index: .85 G'S
1999 Cougar lateral roadholding index: .81 G's





This is the second thread recently where you talk about your 99 cougar being so much better than the maxima. If the F-in Cougar is so awesome, why don't you sell the maxima and get a Cougar?

I'll take a maxima over anything that says "Mercury" on it...

 

LOL ^^

After all it's a FORD...

 

My stock suspension handles curves fine as is with stock springs and Tokico Illumina struts... I've taken some curves on public roads at fairly high speeds without worry, besides the lump in my stomach telling me not to do it Right now I'm looking to smooth it out a little, which SFCs should play a huge part. That and going back to stock profile (225/50-17 instead of 235/45-17 like I have now) to soften up some bumps

 

AMEN to that

 

not to mention the Cougar weighs in about 400lbs less than a maxima and is a 2-door compact coupe, with a puny, light 170hp V6 (might as well have a 4) while the maxima is a mid/full-size 4-door sedan with a much larger/more powerful engine....of course it will feel smaller/more nimble/less body roll..

As we can see from the numbers above, the maxima OWNS the cougar in skidpad. It also OWNS the cougar in accelleration, speed, style, amenities, looks, number of doors and the list goes on. The Maxima is far from perfect, but don't ever insult the maxima by saying a Mercury is in any way better than the Max....laughable.

 

lmao! type of ownage that makes you wince.

 

Irish... no one coulda put it better... mdloops, why'd ya even get a Maxima with all your negativity anyway? Ya did test drive it right?

 

Yes! That should work quite well. You might consider KONI or AGX too.

 

I notice mdloops is listing that he's got 2 12's in the car...maybe all that junk in the trunk is what's really making the handling bad
yes, Illuminas will make a difference, and the adjustability allow you to tweak it out a bit....

 

To all the haters, go buy a Miata or a Mini. The Maxima handles like crap, but with mods it's not that bad for a FWD family sedan...lol...

 

my friend's rx8 will own me any day of the week. haha.. i have no problems with that.

oh yeah... i didnt know you can have stock springs with tokicko illuminas?? Does anyone know how the ride actually feels. Is it more soft or stiff? I thought the illuminas gave a softer ride?

 

and my rsb is STILL in the garage collecting dust...sigh

and i thought i lost my strut bar the other day but it's still there too just sitting behind a buncha junk...............sigh haha

 

dude...how can you pay $$ for stuff and just let it sit there? The FSTB takes like 2 minutes to install, and the RSB like 1/2 an hour.....Man, as soon as my stuff comes in, I put it on that freakin day!

 

Good point. Within the past 30 days I've driven on stock struts, Progress struts, and stiffer damped Progress struts. Without changing bars, braces, or even springs, the difference of a $300-$400 valving job alone is incredible. Too bad more maxes haven't explored the idea.

 

what you talkin 'bout Willis?

 

valving job?

(like the Illuminas' adjustment setting that has that built in I guess?)