Frank Fontaine

I'm wondering if the philosophy between German and Japanese is vastly diff. I drove my Maxima 125 ONCE, and it did not feel right. It was less than 2 at the time. Too floaty, and steering very dead on center. I once drove 149 in a Porsche and the feeling was diff too. Felt tight, but my fear of getting pulled-over made me back it down. For what it's worth I was 19 and the thrill removed any risk factor since I felt invincible.

What strikes me is every German car is limited to 128-130 (except M Power, S4, etc.). I'm sure a BMW 530i is more stable than a Max at high speed, as is a 330 Ci Sport, Audi 2.7T Quattro, the new A4 3.0, Benz CLK, and so forth. Yet all these cars are limited to 128-130. Lexus is the only Japanese maker who seems to do this too--too bad the old LS400 will take the new LS430 by about 18 mph top-end. As I understand it, German makers came to an agreement to reduce fatalaties, ie speed limiters (they didn't want people racing to see which make could top out higher).

Is it reasonable for Nissan to just let the Maxima go as fast as it can, or should they put some engineering into the chassis/handling if they know the car is capable of 135+? Just curious for your thoughts. 3-Series owners said the steering got too loose in the newer 330/325 and BMW retrofit the cars. When Max owners and the auto mags say the steering is not right, does the input fall on deaf ears or will we be pleasantly surprised in the next Max?

Bags

iTrader: (3)

well you can solve the floaty feel. 140= felt solid as a rock with fstb,kyb agx , ebiachs , 18 inch rims with z rated tires

as for the other stuff you can change the speed limiter in any car so it does not matter

and the maxima is a 4 door sports car.. NOT a high preformance sports car.. we just drive them like it

njmaxseltd

iTrader: (19)

Nice thread. I own a 99 SE-L and I don't have the "floaty" feeling in my steering. My summer tires are Dunlop SP8000 235/45/ZR17 and winter is stock 16" rims with Dunlop Soprt A2's. I do have the AGX struts on stock springs. I have never got the floaty feeling at high speeds. 120 MPH and she's tight like a German girl. I don't know if the 2K and on Max's have the floaty feel some talk about on here???

My ahum.. better half has a 2001 330I. NICE CAR ! Not sure if she's limited in speed but the difference in German engineering and Jap. is definately there. The 330 seems much more solid. The car has a feel thats very different then any other cars on the road. I work for a German company and they have a very different attitude twards business and manufacturing then we do. Even a German bike rides so much different then Jap bikes. I've owned both, currently I'm riding a YAMAHA FJ1200 rocket ship.

I think the engineering in German cars is more for performance and longevity. These cars are built like tanks. They handle great do to the suspension. Keep in mind that in Germany the speed restrictions aren't in place in quite a few areas of the highway system. I've been in Germany 3 times on business and traveled by car a lot. The Germany know how to drive. They keep right and pass left. They do drive at speeds over 120MPH. I think they build cars the way they like to drive them, HARD, FAST and to the limit!

I love Jap cars for there cheap maintanance and longivity as well. I've had several Honda's, this is my 1st Nissan. So far so good.

If I were in the market for a car I was going to keep for 15 years or so, I think I'd be looking at BMW. There just built to last and last and last.

On the other hand, Jap cars hold there value pretty good. You get 5 - 7 years on a high end jap car and you get a pretty good return. They offer a little bit more luxury then German cars. German cars are a little cold inside. Even MB isn't all that inside, unless you get up there in the lineup.

I'm very satisfied with Jap cars. They perform great, last a long time and are cheap to run. Either way, Jap or German your getting an excellent automobile.

brubenstein

The European market is very different than the North American market. German cars are designed for the autobans where there are no speed limits. The average age of Maxima drivers (remember the info from the MSN site?) are 48, not 18, and drive along with the traffic flow (75-80 MPH on the highways). Older drivers (who also buy lots of Maximas) are used to old fashion American cars with very light, over boosted PS. There's a reason why lots of car enthusasts, who want all around high performance (not just 1/4 mile times) buy European cars.

eric93SE

iTrader: (1)

When going that fast tire pressure is very important. too much and it'll feel very 'floaty' and too little will lead to too much drag (and heat). The proper tire press for high speed in a max = I dont know. hehe

NightRider

iTrader: (6)

This high-speed floaty feeling is not present on the third gens.

WoodEar

What are you talking about?
540i sports is limited at 155, so is 7 series. CLk430 is at 150, basicly most of V8 German cars is not limited at 128-130. And Lexus GS400 is limited at 150 too.

Double check your source next time.

black019

lower your car and get some strut and sway bars. that will take care of that floaty feeling. man its crazy to go that fast on the stock max suspension. suicide almost...

Frank Fontaine

Sensitive are we? 2k2 Audis:

All A4's--130 mph
All A6 incl 4.2 and 2.7T--130 mph
A8L or A8--130 mph
TT--like to guess? 130
Allroad--hmmm, could it be 130?

TT dual intercoolers 143 mph
S6 and S8 are allowed 155

Where did GS400 coume from? That's an outdated lexus quite overdue for an update, and it may go the way of the LS430 being speed limited.

By the way you are dead wrong about 7-Series. Friend picked up a 740i Sport in November and showed me the brochure, it's speed limited but has some bad-a** wheels for sure.

Str8ridin

The main reason why the cars are electronically limited at certain speeds are because it is cheaper for the manufacturer to install a governor than it is to dress the car with Z rated tires.

If you inspect the speed rating on all the cars mentioned above, "Jap" cars as one mentioned and German as well, the ones that are electronically speed limited coincidently have H (130 mph)and V (149mph) rated tires straight off the assembly lines.

WoodEar

1) Just because I corrected you, it doesn't mean I am sensitive.
2) Quoting your words "What strikes me is every German car is limited to 128-130 (except M Power, S4, etc.)". It's just not true, as I said most of V8's are limited at higher speed.
3) Where did GS400 come from? Quoting your words "Lexus is the only Japanese maker who seems to do this too", so I am giving a counter example to prove you wrong.

Frank Fontaine

You're right, and I am too.

My friend emailed me that the new 745i does 149 or something. His 740i (2001) is something like 130. I did say every and should have said many, but this is a board I don't proofread. What is also odd is the auto 540 is limited to 130 or so while the 6-spd is 155.

Again, I don't know why the various limits even though tires could be a reasonable explanation. But I still don't know if 137 is safe with a max due to the handling and also the H rated tires. I'd like Nissan to design some more capability into the chassis.

WoodEar

540 with sports pkg is at 155 too, without that it's on 16" with crappy tire taht's why i think.
i think the speed limiter is just politics **** in US, some cars come stock with z rated tires but are still limited. as for maxima, i would not take it to 137 in stock form, that's the difference between german and japanese, german cars are tight and stable on high speed, most japanese cars are not.

dwapenyi

iTrader: (3)

No. He's right. The CLK430 is the exception, as well as the other examples you mentioned. The E430 stops at 130, the S430 and S500 stop at 130. They all can do way more, but the come stock with H rated tires, hence the limiter.

The brand new Lexus LS430 stops at 130 too, the older LS400 goes to 150.

DW

dwapenyi

iTrader: (3)

The Maxima tries to be all things to all people. You have the GXE, the SE and the GLE. Right from the factory, the SE is really the only one best tuned to high speed driving with its spoiler and stiffer shocks and springs. When driving at high speed, yout tires pressures should be set high, too.

Here's what I do;

I run 36-37 psi in my front tires, 30-32 in the rear. These are COLD measurements. Once the tires warm up, the fronts can get as high as 42 psi. The maximum for most tires is about 44psi. I keep the rear low because the FWD Maxima is too light in the rear anyways, and this helps to the spoiler in its effort to keep the tail down, and the air flowing away from the car smoothly. Also, the addition of an RSB will make worlds of a difference in making the rear feel more planted.

If you were to just add an RSB to a stock SE and follow the tire pressure recommandations I said above, you would find yourself happy motoring your Maxima at autobahn speeds, and the car will feel very stable. I know I do enjoy my autbahner Max


DW