Hi Folks:

I am new to the group. Great info here.

I have an 02 6 speed SE. Never did a thing to it.

Thinking of lowering it a bit. Would also love to give the steering a bit more of a German feel.

Any thoughts?

All help appreaciated.

Also..I get about 28 MPG at 80 on highway. Is that good? Can a different airfilter make it better?

Best,

Howard Adamsky

 

Howard...welcome.
A few comments:
1. It is difficult to give the Maxima a "German" feel because as you might know, BMWs and other German cars use a frame/body construction, while the maxima uses a "unibody" construction. Unibody has inherently more body flex....
In terms of "performance sedans", generally...
German = stiff frame, soft springs, stiff struts
Japanese = soft frame, stiff springs, ?? struts.

The best way to give the maxima a more "european" feel is a combination of several suspension/body mods...:
- Stage I/II subframe connectors (stiffen frame)
- Lower tie bar (stiffens steering area)
- Rear sway bar (reduces back end body roll)
- Springs (something like Maxspeed/H&R are ideal for this full setup, in my opinion, and don't lower you all that much)
- Struts (Adjustables like Tokico Illuminas allow you to tweak the rebound rate/firmness)
- strut tower brace (further stiffens front body)
- lower-profile tires (on bigger rims)

I have all of these except the SFC's and rims, and am still not at the level of precise handling that one would feel in a BMW or other high-end german sedan. Supposedly the SFCs make a big difference to this end.

not sure what you mean by "german" steering feel....but the LTB certainly makes the steering more responsive/tighter, as would replacing all the bushings with poly ones.

Also keep in mind that most german sedans are RWD/AWD, while we have FWD....so the dynamics of the steering will always be different due to torque steer, etc....

As to 28mpg...I only WISH I ever got 28mpg...23-24 combo city/hwy is the norm for me, and I've never seen over 26, even on long road trips

For authoritative site on springs/struts, check out Housecor's site: http://www.innerbean.com/housecor/sp..._decision.html