Okiewan

FYI, if anyone cares ....

I've read several posts about aftermarket springs and ride quality, big 'ole wheels and ride quality, SE vs SL ride quality ....

Just have a little first hand experience to share, take it for what it's worth.

When we bought the max, it was the Finance manager's demo, an SE with 17" SL wheels/tires on it (3K miles). Of course, getting an SE I had them pull a new set of wheels off another SE to replace the 17's. We drove the car for two days (put a couple hundered miles on it) with the 17's before the swap was made (atually before we even bought it, call it a 2-day test drive).

The ride was NOTICABLY smoother with the 17's, got much firmer, sensitive to road surface, noisier with the 18's. The SE springs made no measurable difference (seat of the pants), it was all about the wheels/tires. We also test drove a SL for about 30 minutes, really didn't notice much diff between the SL and the SE with SL wheels.

Which all brings me to ... aftermarket springs, such as Eibach, etc., really shouldn't effect straight-line ride quality as the function of the springs is primarily to maintain the ride height of the car (noting that progressive rate springs will help in cornering)... the biggest part of the ride quality factor is the tire/wheel combo and the shocks.

All that being said, you guys in the 20+" club must be breaking teeth riding around on typical roads

akaxmrxhammer

it's not that bad as you speak of. i have koni/front kyb/rear on stiff with eibachs and the ride's not unbareable. it gets rough at times, but you have to sacrifice some comfort with 20" rims. i think it's worth it. my 2 cents

peter

Okiewan

There's the difference right there... "it's not that unbareable". See, if I wanted a harsh sportscar ride, I'd buy a sportscar. Fact is, the Max will never handle well, so why deal with a harsh ride?

At 23,
I understand where your prioritites are, not baggin on ya. Been there, done that. In my case, I wouldn't go bigger but would like to lower it in the front. Just tossing thoughts out. What I'm looking for is someone who has lowered it that's not of the mindset "it's not that bad" to comment, as I'd like it to sit lower, but the wife is the one driving it.

*handle well is realitive.. yes, it's a great handling 4 door family car.

boone

iTrader: (1)

I can't really comment on how it rides lowered but that is something I'd like to know. I have 20" wheels and I can't tell much of a difference except for the additional noise when going across expansion joints on the highway. That being said, I've gotten used to cars with a firm ride. This is my third Maxima SE. Before the Maximas I drove a Camaro. Maybe I'll want something not as firm latter on but right now I'm just used to it. It feels weird to me when I drive something with a softer suspension such as my dad's Olds LSS.

Okiewan

In 15 years or so, you'll like the weekend rides in your Z06, knocking your teeth out but enjoy a smooth ride (yet with nice surface feedback mind you) of your 4 door.

I drive the F250 4x4, trust me, I understand harsh rides...

04BlackMaxx

Okiewan, I went from RSA's to F1's on the stock 18" rim, If you want a noticeably better feel behind the wheel, and BETTER comfort, not worse, invest in these tires. I will maybe go to 20" someday for the look, but im more concerned with ride quality, and these F1's are smooth as buttah...and make the car handle better to boot..very impressed and suprised. Im sure on a 19" rim they would perform just a s well...this car. Id prefer to fill the wheel well with a bigger rim and sacrifice some ride quality, than get lower springs and experience more serious problems.

The RSA's caused me to break teeth on one particularly bad road...went on it again with F1's...its like its a different car! What im gettin at is im sure you can go bigger with the rims...and go better with the tires..and be happy.

Tek-Niq

iTrader: (3)

I like a stiffy ride also... coming from a 02 max dropped with all the suspension goodies to this 04 max se, this is nothing... but I will also give some comfort for a bigger rim and I am dropping my max... I like taking the twisties at a faster than normal speed and just like having that control...

Okiewan

04BlackMaxx: duely noted on the F1's.

Thanks for the input... so far, the "20 somthings" all are good with a littkle stiffer ride, as expected.

Where the hell are the old folks?

jsmithsole

iTrader: (5)

Ok, I'm right in the middle age wise (32) but I'm having issues with growing up. But like Okiewan I came from driving a lifted F-350 before the max, so my car now is like a dream...come to think of it I've never had a car/truck with stock suspension (1 lowered truck, 3 lifted trucks and 2 lowered cars) I'm addicted to stiff rides I guess!!!
Oops, off topic kind of. When I put my 20's on and lowered the main thing I noticed was the road noise. The suspension actually isn't that bad like okiewan said, it mostly in the wheels. I rode stock 17's lowered for a while and it was nice and quiet...

04BlackMaxx

I drove a wallowy sloppy 96 taurus with 100k miles on it. This feels like a real F1 car compared to that ride...on $50 General tires...lol

ramberg

iTrader: (29)

Okiewan I am one of the old guys. lol I have 18" rims with the Eibach lowering springs. 95% of the time I enjoy the ride, the other 5% is when I drive on some of the streets in NYC that are messed up. It all depends on what you want. Later Warren

Jayzmax04

Im 33, so I guess that puts me in the middle also.

Funny story, last year I had a choice in 2 demos, an SE and SL. I test drove them both. There was a pretty big difference.

The "older" part of me really wanted the smooth ride of the SL.

In the end, my youth prevailed and I went with the sport SE. Guess I cant grow up yet either! Not sure if I will ......

04BlackMaxx

The old guys on here arent old ....because everyone I see driving a 6th gen where I live is 2-3 times my age...Lotsa grey.

akaxmrxhammer

you're old as you feel....

lightonthehill

I feel young and vigorous; just like I did back in the depression days of the 1930s. I'm still 'money' from behind the three-point line.

I love my 2000 SE, and feel I can turn on a dime and leave 9 cents change in that baby. It is great for quick maneuvering and beating a hasty retreat.

But now that I am retired, take lots of long leisurely freeway trips, usually have my wife along (sometimes the children and grandchildren), have super low insurance rates (no chargeable accidents, no tickets, also have homeowners policy and umbrella policy with same company - State Farm; been with them since 1958), I usually take the SL and enjoy the VERY pleasantly comfortable ride.

Could I be losing my 'sporting touch'? Is my love of my SL the first sign I have passed into the twilight of my years? If so, at least I will ride into that sunset comfortably . . .

jd04

hey which is faster? SE or SL? anyone ever raced to two? i have the 04 maxima 4 speed auto it is pretty quick but just wanting to know.

Okiewan

Pfft, everyone knows the SL is WAY faster than the SE, but a black SE is pretty close. The orange SE's are the slowest.

gizzsdad

This is very interesting to me. I am intrigued by the F1's, and have found some of their accolades hard to believe. Went to Goodyear's website, and they rate the RSA 7 and 8 (scale 1 -10) on ride and noise respectively, while the F1's are rated 5 and 6. This would appear to be consistent with expectations for ultra high performance tires, but seems to be the opposite of your experience!

Now I'm so confused - is this all just a question of subjectivity, or is Goodyear's rating process screwy?

viguera

iTrader: (1)

I wouldn't trust Goodyear to review their own products, since they'll probably give you more satisfactory ratings than an average user would. If you head out to the tirerack, you can see that the RSAs are rated (by owners) no higher than 7.5 out of 10 in a bunch of categories. Wet traction is particularly low. By comparison if you look at the F1s, it's rated much higher, and more people say that they'd probably buy the tire again.

It's probably partially subjective as well, but the more reviews you read the more info you gather about what's really going on with the different tires.

NismoMax80

iTrader: (6)

i go along with tirerack.com reviews. Goodyear way overrated the RSAs. My cheaper Dunlop Sport 5000M replacements are much nicer and rated higher on sites than the RSAs. RSAs are only High Performance, SE should have Ultra. I know the Dunlops are low on the Ultra ranking, but as the only Ultra Hig/All Season Goodyear brand, I took what I could get.

throw some Pilots or Neros on and you'll feel a world of difference.

I'm thinking that even if you lower the car, with adjustable struts/shocks, you can actually have a smoother ride (w/ good tires of course).

Tek-Niq

iTrader: (3)

try liquid silver, we are always getting tickets