Hi, all,

I just got my 2001 Maxima GXE. The power is great. But I feel the steering wheel vibrates a bit (and the car/engine is kinda noisy) at above 70mph. My wife's 1999 Accord 4-cylinder LX feels smoother at highway speeds.

Also, the car wanders and does not track as straight as the Accord does. Is it normal? I test drove a 2001 SE and felt similarly. Can some experts here explain why?

BTW, I am getting the FSTB from Courtesy Nissan. Hope it helps. My previous 96 Civic with a FSTB had significantly improved road feel and steering/tracking.


Yuan Wu

2001 Super Black Maxima GXE, 5-speed, European style carbon fiber shift ****, Courtesy Nissan FSTB (to be installed), and Kolcraft booster car seat (for my little girl).


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NO that is not normal. I think there were some guys on the board that was complaining about similar problems. I have a 2K SE and it drives very smooth...

 

people who have driven hondas know what you are talking about... Honda's are just more presise in the steering and feel. the Max GXE doesn't help much in the feel department by having 15" wheels... so the only thing you can do is to upgrade to good tires and larger wheels. I got 18" w/235-40. Yes the strut bars do help.. you will notice a differance. both the rear and the front.

 

I don't agree with this statement.

If you noticed this behavior on the test drive what sold you on the idea that it was a fixable problem. This car will never have the feel of an accord or camry......Sorry it just ain't gonna happen. If you take maxx-s-ter's advice of getting bigger wheels then you are going to hate it even more. If you don't like the road noise with 15's or 16's you will really hate the way it tracks and also the road noise with 18's. My advice to you is invest in a good stereo to drown out the noise that is bugging you. For the vibration in the steering wheel I would reccommend taking it to the dealer and have them look at the balance on the tires....and also the rotors because there are some people that are having problems with their 2k's very quickly after purchasing them.

I still can't believe that you would feel these problems and quickly overlook them without thinking it is a trait of the car and not a fixable problem. Live& Learn!

 

I did have a vibration problem for quite a while...dealer balanced the wheels and it is quite a bit smoother...yes, the ride is a bit "busier" than my Toyota Celica GTS which sort of suprised me....and I don't have the 17" on my SE, I have the 16"" wheels. Car rides a bit smoother now but is not a floaty ride by any means

 

Well,

I think I need to get the FSTB and perhaps the 16" wheel/tire combo to gain a better road feel. The noise (I meant engine noise) might just be different from the Honda engine sound I have got familiar with after years of driving Hondas.

Maybe next week I will let the dealer do a wheel balancing to see if the vibration goes away.

Yuan Wu

 

I don't agree with this statement.

If you noticed this behavior on the test drive what sold you on the idea that it was a fixable problem. This car will never have the feel of an accord or camry......Sorry it just ain't gonna happen. If you take maxx-s-ter's advice of getting bigger wheels then you are going to hate it even more. If you don't like the road noise with 15's or 16's you will really hate the way it tracks and also the road noise with 18's. My advice to you is invest in a good stereo to drown out the noise that is bugging you. For the vibration in the steering wheel I would reccommend taking it to the dealer and have them look at the balance on the tires....and also the rotors because there are some people that are having problems with their 2k's very quickly after purchasing them.

I still can't believe that you would feel these problems and quickly overlook them without thinking it is a trait of the car and not a fixable problem. Live& Learn! [/I][/QUOTE]

First.... bigger wheels does not mean that the car will not track precisely... It's the TIRES that do that... it has to do with the tread design... some tires will bite the irregularities on the road more than others... I sugested to get BETTER tires for the wandering effect and FEEL effect will be affected as well depending on which tires are chosen. If you get 16's or 17's your ride will not degrade much and the feel of performance tires with low noise and good tracking will be a good choice for his problems... I have had experience with a lot of different tires... Goodyear, Dunlop, Nitto's, Toyo's, Pirelli, and even Falken's.... I really Recommend Pirelli P7000 supersport, they are quiet, track well and are very confortable for Z-Rated tires. Just my Opinion though... just make sure that you have the car aligned and tires balanced properly....

About the not noticing the problems at the test drive... "jzwu" stated that he test drove a SE also... and the same.... his wife owns a Accord and he previously owned a Civic...and both were better at tracking and steering feel... I totally agree with him... I owned a Prelude... then a Civic... then am Accord... and my wife drives a Accord.... and they all "FELT" Better than my Max....

What sold me on the Max is that it offered the 222HP and a 5sp at a resonable price.... stock to stock the Max lacks in feel vs. the Honda... same Modified to Modified..... It's a trade off I made... and I'm happy with the compromise I made. I just wish I could find more Hondas to race to make me feel even better.

 

Bigger wheels and tire combo costs a lot of money... and if you like it or not...they do make more noise in the cabin of the car....which was the gripe in the first place. Yes you can find some good tires that can track better than the OEM's but they will make the ride even more stiff and unaccordlike! The engine does make some noise in the cabin...more than an acoord...but ...It sounds like a wonderfull engine! I love to hear the sound of the engine...but if you take it easy on the gas it is a quiet car.

 

The engine is a bit louder than an Accord's. I had an Accord V6 and it was real quiet. But, the Maxima engine has a bit of a growl to it which I like. The Maxima engine is in my opinion better than the V6 Accord's. The Maxima delivers torque more evenly throughout the rpm band and is DOHC. The Accord V6 is SOHC and even though it has VTEC, it still is a bit slow to get off the line. Both are great engine's though.

 

Really, when i test drove the 2000 Accord EX(fully loaded), I felt the engine sucked big time(noise level) I thought this car was broken or something cuz, the engine noise was significally louder than my maxima which amazingly quiet at revving, And maxima has more torque than accord V6, it pulls stronger than Accord. But i guess both engines are pretty reliable in a sense.

Maxima rules.........