yup! drove to Chicago and Indiana and back in 3 days. The car's performance was awesome! Especially when driving in Chicago! And I got great compliments from friends I met up with. Man!!! There's so much power in this thing!!! Even at mid 3000 rpm's!!! My only complaint was the very bad roads in Chicago and part of Missouri! I CRINGE everytime I hit one at 80mph! I was scared its gonna mess my tires up or worse, my struts/suspension! Thats why I dont wanna take my car to st. Louis, MO because of the bad road/I-55!!! For those of you from the "bootheel" area, you know what Im talking about!!! I dont think there's a way that you can miss the bumps/potholes/uneven patches on the I-55!!! But it was a great trip altogether! Just hit my 20,000mile mark during that trip!

 

Congrats. I've got about 50 more miles before I crack 1000 miles. Once I do, I'm going to test the fabled power of the '05!!

 

WAIT!!! I believe you would have to wait till you reach 1200miles before you can test the power of your car. At least thats what the manual says...

 

First welcome to the Org, next 1200 miles is the recommended breakin limit, and my wife made out like a bandit because during that period I would drink all the milk (and other consumables in the frig) and than say, hey I have to go to the store and pick up more, just to cruise when the Max was new, probably gained 15lbs but it was well worth it. Enjoy you new ride...

 

As I recall, I-55 isn't very bad (actually pretty good in many places in southern Illinois)... if you want to see a bad road, check out I-44 west of St. Louis.

Glad you had a nice trip. I made a very similiar trek back when my car as new, and it was a blast.

 

Thanks! I-55 is not really that bad all throughout, but there are parts here in the bootheel area going to St. Louis where it's kinda smooth for a couple of miles, then suddenly, you see a big "crack" on the road that stretches through both lanes, sometimes with elevated areas that make me CRINGE everytime I hit them (which i do most of the time!!!) you can practically feel the car SHUDDER everytime I run over them. have you been down I-55 south to memphis, TN?

 

Yeah I-55 from north of Cape to STL does suck with all the patches they did. I-55 south from the Arkansas border to Memphis is no big deal. Arkansas just about got all of their interstate work done.

One thing I wouldn't recommend is getting **** drunk in New Orleans and taking I-55 back to Memphis. That interstate ride sucks till you hit Mississippi, then the road smooths out and the nausea subsides. It feels like you are on a cruise ship ride hitting waves.

I'm getting sick just thinking of it

 

thanks for the tip, cos Im planning to go to new orleans sometime soon...in my Max! So do you bring your max from memphis to STL?

 

Well thats not to shabby. I drove from Austin, TX to Chicago, IL in 17 hours. It was about 1250 miles. I enjoyed the ride, it was amazing.

 

WOW! with your Max? How was the road?

 

And I thought NYC had the worst roads.

 

[QUOTE=ramberg]And I thought NYC had the worst roads.

Ramberg.... I have a question for you.. I'm having an issue with the stock suspension on my 04 Max. To me, when I hit a more than average road bump, the entire front of the car along with the steering wheel gets quite a jolt. The car is in for service for the 2nd time with this issue and this time they're telling me they cannot duplicate. Now my question is this, should the 04 SE drive like a car with an aftermarket suspension? The ride is GREAT on smooth roads but as soon as I hit a slightly rough road with average road bumps it seems the chassis doesn't like me much.

 

[QUOTE=thecritik]I have the OEM suspension plus Eibach lowering springs. I hit bumps and I feel it but the car does not jump around. You must have some bad as* roads out there. As soon as drive out of the city the ride is nice and smooth. Have them check out the struts. Some owners have had problems with them. There are treads on them. There are aftermarket set-ups but a bump is a bump. Later Warren

 

thecritik, I have a 2005 SE stock and drives perfect. on bumps the car shakes (naturally) but nothing too crazy. What dealership are you taking your car to? I use Habberstad Nissan in Huntington and have treated me right (even though I havent had any major problems yet)

 

My first trip was to Legend which is where I bought the car from. I was very unhappy with the level of service there, being a former service manager for a major computer company, I find myself being a little to critical sometimes. Anyway, they said they changed my struts and a few other things, yet they never test drove the car. This time I went to Baron in Greenvale and the level of service was just alltogether different. The people were very attentive and seemed like they actually gave a crap about me and my issues. They stated they could not replicate my issue with the suspension and advised me to come in and that the tech would drive with me and get some input. The tech was cool and explained that the suspension on the SE was tight. That's pretty much all I was looking for. I had a Passat before this and it didn't feel this way till I put the aftermarket suspension on which was as tight but more sticky. I was happy that the guy took the time to explain this to me and that's pretty much all I wanted was an explanation. It starts at the top though and it all depends who these techs and advisors work for. If they have a good Manager, you will get good service and if not good luck. I'm going to stick with Baron for any future issues because I liked how I was treated, not entirely because they resolved my issue.

Funny though, Legend screwed up my alignment and it pulled to the left. Baron "fixed" it and now it pulls to the right. Gotta bring it in next week to have that fixed. Was actually pretty comical though .... advisor started laughing with me when I called her on it. I'm happy "for now"

 

It was as smooth as a babies ***.

 

I had two trips of about 2000 miles each before my car reached 10K miles. The first part of one trip was about 1000 miles in 13 hours. My experience was similar to yours regarding the solid performance of the car (the roads are beyond our control). Even now, when facing a long trip/drive it's nice to not have to give a second thought to the Maxima being an issue, but rather that the Maxima will be a significant asset in safely reaching my destination in comfort (and style).

I hit a chunk of truck tire on the freeway the other day (about 70 mph), fortunately, no damage that I am aware of was sustained. I drive quite a bit on I 74, I 70, and I 57 in southern Illinois (as well as on a lot of other 2-lane state and county roads), the roads here are likely no better than the I 55 situation you describe above. People complain about taxes, but it takes a tremendous amount of money to keep up the transportation infrastructure. One thing that is commonly on my mind is the detrimental long term effect on my Maxima of driving the roads I have to travel. There's not really much I can do about it (outside of seeking a job transfer), but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

The think that peeves me the most is sand/gravel/rocks flying off of trucks. I've already had to get a windshield chip repaired.