Question regarding the handling of FWD. I am reconsidering my purchase of 2002 Maxima. I have never owned a FWD car (had a ’90 Thunderbird S/C and now a 240SX). I enjoy going up into the canyons once in a while, although I don’t race against anyone, just push it a bit for my own grins. Test drive is not enough to figure this one out.

So those who have lived with FWD for a while in the twisties, how does it feel? Not really looking for which car Maxima could beat, or which could beat the Maxima. But when you start pushing it in the curves, does the handling, feel and feedback charge you up so you just totally focus on the next turn? Or does it pis* you off and make you back down a notch? Does FWD requrie you to radically adjust your driving style to go quickly in the hills and canyons?

 

Lowered 2 inches, FSTB, RSB, 7.5 wide tires.. i out handled an M Coupe, E36 M3, 2.5 Subaru RS on the Merrit Parkway in CT..

i guess you will just have to adjust.. but i usualy fly around corners doing 120 - 130 mph no problems..

i can't wait till summer with 8.5 wide tires and SP 9000 super stick tires

 

I am not sure about the 2k2's, but for the 96 a Front Strut Tower Bar (brace) and a Rear Sway Bar will cure all handling issues. FWD, in my opinion, pulls the car, so if you slam on the gas, your rear doesn't pull to one side like RWD cars. Having both a FWD and RWD car I have no problems going between both. If you live in NJ I would be happy to let you drive my car for a while and see if you like the ride.

Erik

 

Suspension modifications or not, a FF car will handle different than a FR. Expect more understeer and possibly torque steer under high acceleration. The car will be slightly easier to maintain control in inclement weather, but once it's lost, you'll have a harder time getting the FF car back into line.

Put it this way, I went from a '91 T-bird to a '89 Mustang GT to my Maxima. For my next car, I'm going back to FR or switching to AWD.

 

thanks for the offer, but I'm in Northern California.

 

A FWD car is easier to drive, in my opinion, and I think much more forgiving. In a RWD car if you lose it and give more gas, which most people do for some strange reason, you will spin more out of control.

You could possibly rent a FWD car for the day. Not sure how much that is in CA but it would give you a chance to try it for more then 10 mins.

Erik

 

I believe Enterprise rents out Maximas. Rent one for half a day, go to a large EMPTY parking lot at do all the turns, skids and braking you want.

 

ya, mine handles like a charm, but thats also bc i am:
lowered 2 inches
upgraded shocks/struts
rear sway bar
front strut tower bar
that stuff works wonders

 

Off to Enterprise this weekend for a day of Maxima testing.

 

After driving a Plymouth Arrow (ewww!), 73 Nova, 68 Camaro and 87 Supra... The Maxima handles totally different... I'm NOT talking about pulling G's. The way you react to 'losing control' on a FR is much different than a FF car. I really hate the torque steer, especially when the boost starts kicking in (only when turning of course).

I have to agree with Albert... my next car will be FR again.... Damn 350Z! too tempting.

 

Great idea. Even with the ridiculous airport surcharges and what not, it couldn't be more than $150 for 2 days. Only thing is Enterprise leaves it at the rental location's discretion whether to allow unlimited mileage. And they actually write on the contract which states you're going to!!! But being able to spend 2 days with a car on a trip tells alot. I might not have bought a Maxima if I had had the chance to drive it for more than 8 miles. It felt plenty powerful (190) but that steering felt iffy, though I wasn't sure how.

 

(cough)bull(cough-cough)s--t...

 

Why is that bullsh*t? Do you have the mods to justify what you just claimed? Where are your springs buddy?

 

ACTUALLY, with a FF car, its much easier to regain control,
1) IF your back goes out on you, mash the pedal and the front tires pull your car into line, theres grip in the back and your call will most likely just whip into shape and go straight....just watch the Integra's on Speedvisions's GT Car races...amazing things
2) If your RWD car loses grip in the rear, it will be VERY hard to regain control because your car will want to whip around sideways untill you spin out or hit something. THeres nothing to pull your car forward and into line.

 

I don't know if the 2k2's handling is much different than the 4th gens, but this is from my experience with my '97 SE. If you plan to keep the suspension set-up completely stock, then don't expect to outhandle anyone (except for maybe a towncar or something ) on the twisties. If you always drive in a straight line and on a smooth road, then you'll be set. But other than that, you will at least have to put a RSB and a FSTB to make the car feel somewhat stable when flying down curves or even when driving straight/taking turns. If you want to be some REAL competition for all the bimmers etc out there, and if you want to get the adrenaline rush that you get going 120 mph on a curve, then you will have to change your struts/shocks, lower your car at least a little bit, and last but not least get some nice high-performance tires. I currently have a RSB, FSTB, RSTB, and KYB AGX shocks with stock SE springs (probably H&R's coming soon), and after all those mods now I feel more confident in my car's handling than I ever did before (still no bimmer but more than enough to beat any usual cars on the road and make the bimmers break a little sweat). This is with some sh*tty continental tires that I have, so I'm thinking after I lower it a little, and get some nice Z-rated tires, I should be giving everyone a run for their $$ when the twisties come along. But to answer your question in short, if you plan on doing all those handling mods after you get the max, then you won't have a problem with the car's handling, RWD or not. And if you're gonna keep it stock, then be prepared to . Well there's my $0.02 on the topic.

 

That's if you have the POWER on tap... else...

On FR... you just ease of the gas...

 

Don't know how you can say that without a frame of reference. At NHIS this October, my second day ever at the track, my Max went through the south oval at 80. Next session when I went for a ride with my instructor in is M3, it went through the oval at 80, so I dont see what's so bull**** about his claim. You tweak the Max a little and throw some good tires on it and sticks like a mother.

 

I believe you, but if you're a fan of road racing, then you know there is much more to handling than ultimate grip. That's great if your going around the south oval or on a perfectly flat skidpad. But road courses (and the streets we drive on) have bumps, undulations, camber changes etc. These spring kits you guys put on achieve a stiffer suspension, but in most cases at the expense of ride quality and I daresay some level of control over the bumps. There's such a thing as brand loyalty, but for pete's sake the max doesn't even have independant suspension! And all else being equal, no way is a family sedan with a straight axle is going to outperform a car that was bred to go fast on the autobahn. I don't care how stiff you make the suspension. Go to the races someday during happy hour and watch the teams frantically changing spring and shock rates, sway bars, weight jackers, wheel alignement etc. The trick is to have the RIGHT stiffness vs. shock rate, among other things. The fact that his Max has stiff suspension does not automatically make it fast. Just like the RSBs everybody puts on. I have one, and I love it - it FEELS better. I think it was MotorTrend or some magazine that tested a Max with a RSB vs. one without - there was no difference in lap times. The one with the RSB just felt more stable, that's all. My guess is whoever was driving the M3 was an old lady or at the very least not as good a driver as SprintMax.

 

ive got your back sprint, the bs callers are just jealous of the nittos

 

The maxima isn't designed to compete in price or performance with typical autobahn cars, but it has the potential to handle well even with its beam axle. On smooth roads, I'm not aware of a beam axle suffering any performance difference in handling, compared to an independent suspension. It's simpler to adjust, maybe that's why NASCAR still uses it.

 

Lets not forget the Quaife differential as an expensive handling mod as well. Infact I feel this is more of a handling mod then an accelerating mod. You can really pull through the corners without the tires all squeeling on you. Its almost hard to describe in words, you gotta be in the car with one thats pushing the limit in order to experience it. If you push the quaife too hard you can get the FWD car sideways so I have found out.

 

Note: Don't say "maximas have a straight axle". The first maximas (810) had a fully independant rear suspension(a-arm type) and the 3-gen maximas also had an independent rear suspension. Learn something every day huh?

 

Doesn't Audi have some sort of beam axle in their A4/S4 series of cars? And look how good they handle. Don't knock the rear beam just cause its cool to do so. It's really not that bad.

Having both a '99 Maxima and a '95 240SX, I enjoy the 240SX more cause of its RWD. It just has a different feel to it that I enjoy yet can't explain in words. However once it starts snowing, I'd rather be in the Maxima.

The 240SX is fine in slush, rain, and dry but as soon as a few snowflakes hit the ground you better be careful! Something I never understood, slush and rain is as bad as snow, yet it handles fine in it. But snow..snow is evil to the 240SX.


However the 240SX has a rigid chassis and stiff suspesion from the factory so you can't really compare it to the Maxima. It's ride is as comfortable as the Maxima (most of the time, it does well at soaking up the bumps) but it clearly outshines it in cornering and driving feel. Even driving in a straight line, you can feel the 240SX is better (in terms of suspension).

 

So does the Golf.

 

Ah some if not most of the A4s and all of the S4s are AWD. AWD has a tendency to make the car handle kinda good.

 

phew, so are you tired from writing all those posts regarding VTEC, VTC lobe and those kinds of stuff?

 

Kinda. Who's gonna educate the masses man?

 

That's what I call, a moderator with motherly love!

 

EXACTLY. Close this thread clee, cause the answer is right here.

My friend in his lightning almost kills himself 4 times a day just buy losing control and fishtailing on the roads. My car is so easy to control, it's almost boring.

I drove his lightning and off the line I gave it about half throttle and the wheels lit up and the back shook back and forth violently. I also tried making a U-turn. NOT fun! Makes me take my maxima for granted.

 

Note: fix your sig. coping Keving's sig from 5th gen maximas didn't work

 

jetta has rear beam axle too I think, but it feels totally different compare to the maxima, the jetta is wayyyy more stable in corner, leans less, & smoother(but firmer) ride. & this is teh base model I drove with steelies.

 

Sure...let's see how the Maxima would handle the SAME hp/torque...

 

NASCAR still uses it for the same reason they're still using all the rest of that sixties technology - it's mandated that they do so by Winston Cup to keep costs down. Sort of like Nissan's excuse fo their rear axle - to keep costs down. NASCAR is also not allowed to run any kind of engine management computer, fuel injection, coil pack ignition etc. They can't run roller lifters or OHC engines. The list goes on. The engine block dimensions they use date back to the 1950's, with the basic theory and design dating far before that. The technology in your Maxima far exceeds that of a Cup car. NASCAR ends up spending all their millions of dollars on aerodynamic testing and cylinder head and intake manifold flow bench analysis. Anything they can do to get more speed out of those dinosaurs. Sort of like beating a dead horse - if they get another 2hp it's a major acheivement. Interesting that the passenger cars which the Winston Cup cars are modelled after are front wheel drive fully independant suspension vehicles -- it's like they wont let go or something.
Myself, I prefer CART, F1, Touring, Rally and SportsCar racing. That's where the technology can be found. And you wont find any straight axles - it's just not the preferred setup.

 

CFster, you're taking a car that costs drastically less than an M3 and trying to compare them. Yes, there is no way a Max can keep up with an M on the autobahn, but on a relatively slower speed road course, with the proper setup (springs, AGX's, RSB and good tires) it can more than hold it's own. Does ride quality suffer from stock and does it feel much better to make the M3 go as fast, I think yes. Is the ride quality still acceptable to me (and many others), of course.

As far as smooth skid pads, you obviously have never seen NHIS. The oval is just part of the course, there is a whole section that can hardly be described as flat and smooth. One of the things I love about the Max is that it constantly surprises everyone with what it can do if properly set up. When I first started going, they used to laugh and ask why I even bothered to bring it, then they were looking at tailights. They stopped laughing. I think too many people take the whole I have a BMW, Audi (add other high end Euro cars here) therefore I have the ultimate car and am untouchable thing way to seriously. I'm done ranting for now.

 

So exactly how fast are these NASCAR maximas? does anyone know? I would think they at least run 12's if not lower?

 

What are you talking about? There are no nascar maximas and nascar ain't in the 1/4 business

 

Oh my bad... I misunderstood the other post and thought it said that NASCAR uses MAXIMAS , they were talking about the beam axle I think. Sorry about that...and I know nascar ain't in the 1/4 business but I just thought if they use maximas they must be pretty fast.

 

Heh, oh well! One of the (most boring) aspects of NASCAR though is that all the cars are spec'd to be almost identical from each other and only differ in minute details and how good the engine builder is. I tried watching it, but it got old fast.

 

Actually, I've been to NHIS probably a dozen times. Anything from COMSCC or SCCA events to motorcycle racing to CART (now defunct) and NASCAR. Depending on the configuration they are running (and there are several road course configurations) usually it's turn three which is the dip where the track transitions onto the outfield road course - most definately not flat I agree.
I'm not trying to compare a Maxima to an M3 - SprintMax is. He sure made it sound as though he flat outran an M3 down the Merrit Pky.

 

Well, the Merrit Parkway isn't exactly straight in some sections, it's very twisty. I can see him embarrasing an M there. On the straight sections, he may be able to scare an M auto but it's really no contest unless he's spraying or something. What did you use to run at NHIS??