I just test drove a 04 Max (with 2000 miles) and i pushed it a little bit, holy *hit the car cant handle the VQ. Dropping it into a front wheel drive car is the dumbest thing i ever heard. Anyone know if Nissan is going to do something about it?

 

Ummmmm, G35 (RWD, AWD)

 

Go buy a Honduh. You can't have torque steer if you don't have torque.



err, seriously though, people's perceptions can vary widely. Some people don't think it's a big deal, and others would flat out not purchase the car over it. If I'm in a turn and am gonna nail it I'm most definitely going to be holding the wheel firmly, and I'm a big guy, so I don't think it'd be a big deal to me.

 

I have yet to experience serious torque steer with mine and I have pushed it pretty hard and even added more HP with performance mods...

 

Well, there must be something seriously wrong with your car, then. Time to get it dynoed...(just kidding)

 

I have been driving mine for couple month now and hardly notice the torque steer.

 

We're not goin' down this road again, are we?

Mike

 

The torque steer is only unbearable when you floor the car from a stop or if you are below 20 mph and going at full throttle. after you go past 45 mph, you cant even feel it.

 

I reccomend a nice green Dodge Neon for anyone with torque problems.....

 

"Well, there must be something seriously wrong with your car, then. Time to get it dynoed...(just kidding)"

Naw I think I must have really strong forearms and wrists from jerki** errrrrrr - tennis, yeah tennis that's it...

 

I think there is some amount of tourqe steer but you have to keep in mind that the car is front wheel drvie and its got 265 hp. I'v heard the SL models do have a lot of tourqe steer but i have no problem with my SE model which i pushed it hard a lot of times. Its a behavior of a typical front wheel drive car. So i think u test drove the SL model if that was that terrible.

 

I noticed a little torque when test-driving a six speed a year ago. I haven't notice much torque in the SL. I would be surprised if the torque varied greatly between the SE with auto and the SL.

I try to remember that the '04 Maxima is a cross between a four door sports sedan and a near luxury sedan; not a race car.

 

I push my max hard everyday and tq steer is not there. A friend recently bought an 02 altima and he was like the car feels like it walks or pulls to the side and I explained the tq steer to him. Honestly though im 245 lbs and it is not a problem at all for me.

 

No not a problem at all for me either. I've got the 6sp and HLSD.

I'm not hard on the gas right off the line either. I know if I floor it that it does pull a bit. It doesn't bother me in the least in day to day driving.

Also bear in mind we all bring different driving skill sets with us. I know mine are up to the task.

 

You can sell a young man's car to an old man; but you can't sell an old man's car to a young man. In other words, if you want to dance, you have to take lessons, hmmm, that's not it. Seriously, torque steer is torque steer is torque steer. The degree and severity is directly related to the driver's foot on the accelerator. If you'r gonna push it you'd better hold it or it's gonna try to get away from you. The easy answer is to take it a it easy; life is just too short to race through it all of the time. SemperFi

 

Still might be too much to handle... I recommend a GEO metro, or a Toyota Prius.

 

Anyone who responded to this thread by saying that there is no torque steer is an idiot. We're not talking about the infamous shimmy here -- we're talking about physics. Any time you put an engine that makes the hp/torque of the VQ in a fwd platform, you will get torque steer -- and while the HLSD may mitigate it somewhat, to say that the car has no torque steer is pure ignorance.

If you don't like torque steer, buy a different car -- but please don't come into our forum and try to impress us with your marvelous grasp of the obvious.

 

I got torque steer. I'd be disappointed if I didn't. A marvelous grasp of the steering wheel is all that's needed. When you're on the throttle just point the wheel in the direction you want to go...

 

Redline - I don't think anyone responded by saying there was no torque steer, just wasn't as noticeable as some people are making it out to be - so stop throwing the term idiot around. Maybe some peeps need to pick up the weights every once in awhile Physics or no physics, I have yet to feel anything that I've had trouble with and again I have pushed my car pretty hard.

 

I used to have a 1976 El Dorado convertable. Now THAT was torque steer! 500 cubic inches, 365 HP, too much torque to measure.

 

I agree with JiuJitsuThug. I dont appreciate being called an idiot. If you hold the wheel in the direction you want to go then it should stay that way. I guess if your 8 yrs old the tq steer might overpower your strength and pull u away but any adult shouldnt have a problem with it.

 

Yup .

 

Ok, I guess you were right all along -- there is no torque steer.

 

I test drove the SL and the torque steer was terrible. I bought The SE after driving it. It seems the sl has serious torque steer problems, i've read the reviews in a couple of magazines.

 

How could the SE have less than the SL? Stiffer struts and bigger wheels make it disappear?

 

I wonder if the ones that notice it more either have or do not have the vehicle skid control? I have an SE w/o it and going straight I don't notice it too bad, a little more than my old Camry I guess, but nothing that affects the driveing experience. If I am turning while going 0-60 you do get a lot more tourque steer. Also if there is a bump or pot hole in the road under only 1 of the front tires while hard accelleration it will twitch. But you have to expect that. I love the way this car drive. Sometimes I just wish its *** wouldn't feel as heavy. But all in all I love the way this car drives. Even after test driving the G35, G35x and the TL before buying the Max. :-)

 

Torque steer being worst in the SL is exactly the opposite of my experience.

When test driving the '04s spring a year ago, I eliminalted the SE 6 speed immediately, as the torque steer was rather noticable. I found the SE 5 speed automatic to have minimal torque steer, but settled on the SL because I noticed no torque steer with it except in extreme situations.

Torque steer in a heavier powerful front wheel drive car is almost a fact of life, and doesn't really bother me that much (except in my '66 Olds Toronado, where torque steer would yank my arms out of socket).

What I don't understand is why different folks find it worse/better in the SE, while others find it worse/better in the SL. Mystifies me . . .

 

I can't understand it either. But, due to the physics of front wheel drive cars, its going to happen. I just don't understand how the suspension and wheels could make a difference. I drove both, and found a tolerable amount of torque steer in both.

All of our individual driving styles (mainly leadfoot as I can tell) are going to make the amount of torque steer vary.

 

If you have driven a maxima for any amount of time you will become familiar with the torque steer and miss it when driving other vehicles. Anyone who has added larger wheels with smaller sidewalls will tell you the first time they drove their car afterwards it was scary but they got used to it really quickly and have come to love the feel. Also you8 guys are whining about torque steer with 265 hp, maybe 230whp. Think about us guys who are pushing 350 to 400 whp. Sorry but i love the torque steer and have learned to manage it

Currently I am driving an 04 sl as a rental and i burnout daily in this thing love it

 

I dont think that anyone can deny the fact that there is initially at least some torgque steer that occurrs when you first drive the 04 Maxima. But, like myself I think we would all agree that after getting used to the pedal and steering that you dont notice it at all after driving it for a few days or weeks. When I first test drove the 04 Maxima, I was surprised too, at the jerk in the wheel when turning & accelerating, but you #1, get used to it & #2 you adjust the amount of pressure you apply to the pedal.
But, in the end if you still dont like it, maybe you're just not ready to handle the power of the big bad Max. Maybe you should stick with the Neon or Civic.

 

ahh yes, the geo metro.... you'll have no problems with torque steer out of that 1.3L 3 cylinder pumping out a whopping 55hp

 

The TS shouldn't be that bad. The STS had 300HP and FWD.