i am looking at either a used 5th gen
or a new 2002 se.

one of the best things about the maxima
has been its manueverability in the city
as well as its stability on the freeway.

does anyone know why the 2002 se and gle
specifications say that the turning radius
has increased from 35.4' to 40.0'?

has anyone who has driven a 2002se notice
a big difference in its manueverability
compared to older models?

thanks for any observation.

 

Yes yes yes. That is probably my biggest complaint about the car (which isn't even that bad). I have an 02 and it is rediculous. You need a 20 lane highway to do a U turn...it is like parking a mini van. I dont why they did it, but it takes some getting used to.

Brian

 

i believe it's because they both come with 17" wheels as standard now.

 

The only sense I can make out of it is that with the added umph they did not want to take any chances? maybe the hlsd has something to do with it? Just some ideas.....

 

i notced the poor turning radius the first time i tried to park the car. its annoying but just like any car, you'll get used to parking it. ive done 1 u-turn (on a 4 lane highway , 2lanes E and 2 lanes W) since ive had the car and it definitely wasnt easy but i didnt have to go off the road or back up or anything. my uncle's S55 is so much bigger than the maxima and it comes with 18s but the turning radius of that car is so much better. i know he paid for it but obviously it isnt physically impossible for the maxima to have a better radius. im really curious as to the reason for it.

 

You guys must have very small lanes... I can do a U-Turn on a 2-way street (1 Lane E, 1 Lane W) without going off the road (in a residential area).

 

doubt it. of all the 2k2 Maxima's produced the HLSD-equipped one's are so little a number. The pre-2k2's also had VLSD so i doubt that really changes much.

i'd say it had something to do with the wheels, but i'm still wary given pre-2k2's can have 17" w/o problems.

i've read in a long-ago post about the 2k2's having physical bump stops that keeps the wheel from turning a bit more. haven't seen anyone try taking it out though.

 

i remember reading threads of maxima se and i30t owners with 17" wheels complain about turning radius in the past.

 

imho the turning radius is horrible. i've had my car for a little over a month now and i am still amazed at how bad it is. this is probably because i'm used to the turning radius of my 97 GLE with 15" rims, but every time i bust a U i'm like jesus will this thing ever get turned around? i had always attributed it to the 17" rims.

 

yup, I've got a 2k2 SE and the turning radius is terrible. I actually couldn't make a standard u-turn from a light the other day and had to back up or I would've hit the curb.

 

i can't figure out why nissan would
design the turning diameter of the 2002 so much wider (4'+)
my 96 se is lowered with h&rs with 17" wheels
and the turning radius seems the same as with the stock 15"ers
(ie. no rubbing).

for people who drive a lot in the cities (like me),
it may be worth it to get the pre-2002. too bad.
the altima 3.5 has a similarly large turning radius.

funny thing is that the 2002 gxe is rated
at the old turning diameter of 35.4' vs. the 40'
of the se and gle.
so the theory of the larger wheel looks to be valid.

 

but like you said, your 17s dont rub on your 96. my 17s gave me the same turning radius on my 96 as the stock 15s did. my uncle's car has stock 18s and its turning radius is way better. and since the GXE can do it, there is obviously someTHING keeping us from turning our wheel further. i'd really like to see someone remove this "thing" because it dont think it would have a negative effect whatsoever.

 

Someone call a Nissan tech

 

have awful turn radius's also. U-turns are very tricky. People have removed the bumpstops and it didn't help much, do a search.

 

There are bump stops on the front suspension of the SE and GLE models that are causing this huge turning radius, these bump stops are easily removable since they're screwed on. Who would like to be the first one to remove them and tell us if it makes a difference or causes any problems ? You may need to jack up the front of the car in order to access these stops.

 

Someone shows me where they are and what they look like and I will take mine off

 

If you jack the front of your car, or just turn your steering wheel all the way to the right you will be able to see those stops.

 

YES!! I had a 2k Maxima SE and because 17" wheels had late delivery, mine came with 16" wheels. I replaced them with 17x7.5" MAS MGRs and even put 235/45/17s on (wider tire). No rubbing problems at all. Not a great turning radius, but workable. A lot of ppl at the time, however, started complaining about the bad turning radius. Most surmised it was if your car came with 17" wheels, Nissan killed your turning radius... why? No one knows.

I recently got a 2k2 i35, which of course comes with 17" wheels. The turning radius is AWFUL. I still can't get used to it. I think partially because I'm used to my 2k Max and can't understand why in the hell the same car body style has to have such a crappy turning radius.

It really is awful. I used to be able to turn right into my parking space in my parking spot in our garage, but now usually have to backup at least once. I cringe everytime I need to make a u-turn (never do it with traffic coming, because chances are you won't make it). The 2k was close, but it always made it.

Don't get me wrong.. I love my car, but it u-turns like a freakin bus!!

 

Ok. I checked under the car. There is no block of any kind. When the wheel is turned all the way to the right the only thing that looks like it could touch the wheel is the plastic flap on the left side and I assure you that wouldn't block the wheel from turning

Where exactly is this stopper your talking about.

 

I found them... Removing one of them now (left side) so I won't want to trim any of the plastic yet. I will take pictures.


Update: I removed the left side bolt-stop... Everything looks good except for part the part that makes the tire turn (the one that twists... sorry for sounding like a moron) looks pretty cramped now... Will be putting pics up shortly.

 

Results: I did get a better turning radius with the stop-bolt removed... Estimated about 1' - 1 1/2'.

If you guys want I can get exact measurements tommorow night... Post if you want me to

So far I don't think it's worth risking...

BEFORE:


AFTER:

 

ANGLES: (wait for this one to be redone more accurate)


Can't put the picture up but here is what I got with more accurate lines... I measured the normal tire allignment and the tire when it was turned all the way left and all the way right.

(sorry, not good at geometry, can someone get that angle for me?)

Left Side: Measured 5 3/8" from the midpoint the angle was 2 7/8" from the middle line...

Right Side: Measured 5 3/8" from the midpoint the angle was 2 6/8" from the middle line...

 

Hehe ... it looks like a door stop

I would have to guess that it was done to insure that tire rub doesn't occur ... it was probably too close in their opinion and they didn't want the possibility of another Firestone/Ford war with their tire supplier should tires start going down.

 

Melteye you the man! Nice pics. I might attempt it. Dudez, the turning radius doesn't seem that bad to me ... coming from a 2k Chevy Blazer. But the neat thing about that car was, I could hop the sidewalk & make the turn!

Thanks again 4 the pics!

G

 

Good job melteye!

But... um, forgive my technical incapabilities. But where exactly in the photo is the bumpstop? Was it hard to take off?

As for the angles and the floor sketches, i can't figure it out quite yet but you're saying the angle is increased by a couple of inches right? Not bad at all. How's handling and maneuvering so far? Any rubbing?

 

it's that greenish thingy with the two hex nuts on both ends. See where there's a green dot in the second pic? That's where it was * POOF * now you see it, now you don't!

G

 

Ah! Now i see it.. err.. and now i don't

Thanks for the heads-up!

 

thanks melteye...
i knew there was a simple solution.
nissan wouldn't have spent the resources to
changed the basic steering components of this
last year model. but, what a weird solution: a door stop?

if you get the time, it would be really interesting
to see the amount of radius change by the bumpstops' removal
(is there one on each side? or only on the left.
don't have to get too fancy, simply start out at a curb edge
and make a mark at the opposite end of the turn circle
with or without the bumpstop.

good work!

 

Increased turning radius on my 02 GLE was very noticeable compared with my 95 SE.

Not enough reason to not buy the car, but it was a disappointment.

 

I find the turning radius of my 2001 SE to be unsatisfactory compared to previous cars of the same wheelbase and tire size. Can't imagine how bad the 2002 must be...

 

sweet! let us know if u notice a difference where it really counts -- on the road.

 

I took the bumpstops off of my 2000 SE a few months ago, I think it makes a huge difference. No rubbing problems so far, and I have gone in and out of my driveway at full lock several times to compress the suspension. Should reduce down to the GXE turning radius, right? By the way, I don't think the radius has increased from 2000 to 2002, only the models affected. 2000 and 2001 GLE's came with 16" wheels, so no bumpstops. Only some of the SE's came with 17" wheels (part of C&C package). Those have the bumpstops. My opinion, get rid of the stops!

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by melteye
[B]Results: I did get a better turning radius with the stop-bolt removed... Estimated about 1' - 1 1/2'.

If you guys want I can get exact measurements tommorow night... Post if you want me to

So far I don't think it's worth risking...


how did you remove the stopper? did it just unscrew? did you have to cut it? what did you do?

so you dont think its worth the risk?

 

Was pretty easy, just got a wrench and turned and *pop* it comes loose suddenly and I hit myself in the face Took me about 10 seconds to get off and 10 to get on.

On monday I will go to a parket lot and measure the turning radius exactly.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Newman96SE
[B]TODAY IS MONDAY i want the measurements

Why exactly do u think dat its not worth risking?

 

I am taking the measurements today. The Non-Russian is coming over to help out as I am horrible with measurements.

 

Results... Tested U-Turn ability. Before = 31'. After It was about 30' 9"

When you said the turning radius increased from 35.4' to 40' what exactly is measured? I did a U-Turn and measured the Diameter...

 

Hmm... for a bump stop of that length i could have been sure it would give more benefits than a measly few inches.

Something's amiss. How big of a difference is the angle on the front wheel if turned to the L or R at the maximum setting compared with having the bump stops there?

 

the numbers are off. it definitely shouldnt be anything below 35'. im pretty sure the turning radius is from a complete circle. thats how ive always pictured it. i could be wrong though. now that i think about it would probably yield the exact same results as only a half circle. so i dont know.

 

Yep, whether it be a full or half circle - radius is a radius so it should yield the same number.