Are the front sway bars (also known as anti-sway bars, anti-roll bars, etc etc etc ) on the GLE and/or GXE smaller and lighter than the sway bars used in the SE?

With the lowering springs and RSB, the car has plenty of roll resistance already and I'm thinking a softer front sway bar would make the car run a bit smoother over uneven surfaces.....has N E 1 here done the swap in the inverse -meaning, installed an SE sway bar on a GLE or GXE, hence has a GLE/GXE sway bar lying around?

 

I have never seen any company that actually makes an aftermarket front sway bar for the maxima....

LTB, FSTB - yes. But FSB, no....
I think the OEM front sway bars are identical.

 

I'm extremely curious too. I've been looking into smaller FSB's for 2 years now.
http://forums.maxima.org/showpost.ph...9&postcount=11
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=171605

'01 GXE/GLE FSB is p/n 546112Y900
'01 SE is p/n 546112Y901

If somebody could provide good diam measurements on the bar that would be great!

 

Not sure why you guys want a smaller fsb. I have a upgraded ST bar for my 3-gen. I love it. I think Whiteline or someone made a bar for the 4-gen.

 

Well, really, not much to add to what I stated above.

With the lowered roll center coming from the H&Rs and the addition of the rear sway bar -which has been on the car fore more than two years- the car is plenty stiff already so.....just looking to improve the ride quality a bit.

A softer sway bar will have the same effect (on single-axle bumps/wheel deflections) as installing a slightly softer spring; this could perhaps bring about noticeably better ride with a minimum of added body roll...

 

Hey, this is great info, THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!
I hate to ask, but...do the bushings have a different part number as well?

 

Galo. Most of the ride's harshess is probably from either the springs, shocks or tires. I don't see how a fsb would add to the harshness from bumps etc..

A swaybar works a little different than springs. If you do put a softer fsb in, I could see more front end dive on turns etc....

 

Mnnnn.....I agree with some but not all your observations. Yes, the sway bar acts differently than the shocks/springs/etc when cornering. And yes, it does nothing at all on any bumps where both wheels are compressing simultaneously -as when going over a speed bump, for instance.

But, it does come into play when one wheel is compressing and the other is not, because in these situations it applies downward force on the wheel/tire assembly that's compressing, hence increasing total spring rates.

Let's go down this path a bit more: I agree that the most significant component of ride harshness due to bumps (meaning, on shock jounce, or compression) is the total effective spring rate. And yes, that total effective spring rate is the sum total of all the 'springs' involved in cushioning the car: the springs, the shocks and the sidewalls on the tires.

But, when u have a situation where one wheel/tire assembly is moving up (compressing) while the other tire is not, the stiffnes of the roll bar adds to the total spring rate created by the shocks/springs/tire sidewall combination.

In other words, the sway bar, which in a turn will work to minimize/reduce the compression of the suspension of the outboard wheel while it's also trying to minimize/reduce the inboard suspension from extending, will also add a downward force on any single wheel on that same axle that's compressing upwards on a bump.

Try this with a paper clip: straighten it so that it looks like this l___l, place one of the 'L' sections (meaning, one of the 90 degree bends) flat on a table with the other, opposite end of the clip (the other ___l) overhanging the edge of the table and try to twist the end of the l upwards with a twisting motion -you'll see what I mean.

All that is suspension theory but....I noticed this when I was diagnosing the clunking in the front suspension (which I still think comes from the sway bar tie rod ends, BTW) and I disconnected the sway bar altogether. Yes, the car was a pig to drive -but it did ride a lot smoother on short, sharp, one-wheel bumps.

 

3.5L SE has a thicker swaybar than the 3.0L SE, I hooked it up with one for my Maxima GXE 5spd. Its not a supper EZ job to do, it didn't change the cars handling as much as the RSB did- I got a Addco.

 

I see your point Galo. But it's not worth the handling penalty.

 

U might be right -but if I can get my hands on a GLE/GXE bar cheap, I might just try it & see....

 

Alright, who can provide confirmations of OEM A32 or A33 sizes? Accuracy with a caliper or similar preferred. I got no fr bar, stock struts & springs, worn strut mounts, and 65 series tires right now and just a touch of body roll

Eric mentioned no difference in 4th gen bars in this FSM reference but I still wonder if that's right.
http://forums.maxima.org/showpost.ph...7&postcount=14
I once asked DaveB for measurements but hadn't heard back.

Alldata and JRN confirms different part numbers for A32 front bars just like A33. #5461131U00 for the SE, and #5461131U10 for the GXE/GLE.

Just measured my old one. A32 SE bar is .83" or 21.3mm.

 

Ahh....yeah.....I think this could be....ahh....not good. That said, thanks for yet another confirmation that the SE bar is different from the others.

I think I might just pop over to my friendly neighborhood Nissan dealer and see about the part numbers for the bushings & stuff & speak to a grease monkey to get a 'degree of difficulty' rating....

 

Hmm I suggest maybe renting a maxima for a day and ah..... no comment.

 

You can go here for a GXE FSB
http://www.courtesyparts.com/Merchan...t_Code=A33-STB



Ooops Newbie

 

Hehehehehehehehehehehehehe

 

thats the strut tower brace, sway bar goes under the car and connect to the lower controll arms via sway bar end links. I don't see why its a GXE only thing.... I have their bar and it fits a SE or GLE just fine. Unless I am smoking some **** here their info is wrong.

 

Oohhh.....señor Moderador.......how...how.....terribly uncouth and all

My, my, that's weally, weally,

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Honey!!!!!!!!!!!????? What's Hertz's phone number again??

 

well, it could be they have the same OD -that would allow them to forego having different bushings and possibly different end links as well while making one bar softer than the other.

Only way to check this is on the Nissan parts computer, which I shall do posthaste....

 

hmmm.... i might give it a try ... rent a maxima.......swap out parts........hmmm..... thanks for the advice!!!

 

Soo.....coming home from work last night I stopped at my friendly Nissan dealer and the bushings are indeed different, confirming that the GXE/GLE bar is smaller.

Dealer also wanted $133 bucks for the bar + the bushings, which is not bad at all considering he sells everything at list price.

Looks like I'll be giving DaveB a call soon to get the bar+bushings+ new sway bar end links to replace my clunking ones....