I have an '03 max which i purchased last year. ever since i purchased the car i've always noticed that the suspension has always been a little, well, rough. I recently installed eibach springs on my car and now the ride has become unbearable. my dad recently purchased an I35 which, i thought, is the counterpart to the maxima....but the rides are two completely different stories. it's so soft and smooth.

since i've never been in another 5th gen maxima, can anyone tell me...is the ride normally harsh?

if so, what is the solution to a MUCH softer ride? i'm willing to compromise the handling a bit to make my car ride more like a family sedan.

 

Get rid of the Eibachs and put in the GLE springs & shocks. That's about all you can do.

 

so from factory, the se springs are ridiculously harsh?

 

The SE springs are not harsh at all. Maybe it is just your set or maybe or struts are bad. But I agree with UGAd13, if your just looking for comfort and do not want to lower the car, get the GLE springs and maybe upgrade your struts.

 

SE springs and shocks are not harsh, it's just they are little bit stiffer then GLE set up. There's a guy here in 5th gen Part/Sele forum selling the GLE set up of sptings and shocks. You might want to talk to him since you're looking for softer ride then SE.

And yeah Eibachs are stiff springs, I had those before and I know what you mean.

 

first mistake was any sports spring will make your car ride harsher then a stock spring. Depending on what kind of car you came from before the max then yes i can feel harsh. When i brought my 02 brand new i thought it rode kinda harsh because i came from a 97 mazda protege the ride soft. The rear end on the SE is stiffer then the gle so over some bumps it can make the car feel harsh. Let me also tell you that 6 speeds ride better then autos cause the springs in the front are stiffer on autos due to the weight. My 02 was an auto and when it got totalled and i got a 6 sp 03 that was the first thing i noticed. I checked around and found my answer to way they rode different and stiffer springs in the front on autos. But I still love my 6sp.

 

i intend to keep my eibachs since i love the drop. if i use some GLE struts, would that help my ride?

 

^^Nope cause the shocks/struts are the same on both GLE and SE. Only difference is springs. The only chose you have is getting illuminas and setting them at there softest setting and combined them with your eibachs. But if your complaining about ride stiffness then you have to loose the eibachs.

 

how are the AGX's?

 

Don't know much about those but i think you have to gut the shock housing on OEM struts for those to work. I think they are just inserts. I wouldn't touch em, seems like to much work. I have tokico hps on stock springs and let me tell you the ride is great . I don't like harsh riding cars either and the hps matched with stock springs really improved the maximas ride quality. No more jarring over small bumps and no hard bottoming on large ones. The car rides and handles better and I enjoy driving it very much. You should give this set up a try unless you have to have the lowering look.

 

Or you can do a combo of springs like I did (H&Rs in front Tein H-techs in rear), and get the ride confort very close to stock. The drop is going to be even better then Eibachs, little lower and even on all sides. But only consider this if you have extra $$$ to spend!!! But once again you can sell the remaining rear springs and make some cash out of them.

Ohhh yeah and I don't recommend having stock shocks and Eibach drop on those. You'll blow the struts quick.
I say buy the combo of springs like I told you, and get the results you're looking for. So far me and Kruppa are running the same set up and ohhhhh boy how I love the confort, looks, and handling with this combo.

 

I am counfused in this thread you said, which was only April 3rd

and now you have eibachs? You have donated a to maxima.org so you can search and you have bought 3 sets of springs without asking these questions already? Before you buy again take the time and read, there is an incredible amount of info on the .org and you can base your choices on thousands of opinions and expirences rather than this guy's brother's sister's roomate that I know.

On Topic: I have a KYB GR-2s with Vogtland Springs and am very happy with them. In my sig is the thread with all the info.

Fat