ChuckDaMaxRider

I drove an I35 the other day and its turning radius is terrible!

I don't know much about suspension mods, but is there a way to reduce the turning radius of the 02-04 I35? Perhaps there's a part that can be swapped with the Maxima? I know the 02-03 Maxima is very similiar, but the I35 turning radius is noticeably larger.

Any help appreciated, thanks!

ZGadson

Yes, my turning radis is comparable to a school bus, but you bring up a good point - I've always wondered if there's a way to fix this issue, but I've never thought of swapping parts from a Maxima.

Seeing that mine is an I35 Sport, I'd hope that the suspension/steering setup would be a bit more beefed up than the regular Maxima, but its worth a shot to dig into this.

Do Maximas have this massive turning radius as well? If not, what's different about their setup?

Norkoastal

iTrader: (3)

Some dude chopped some of the "stops" that prevent the rack from shifting, but I cant find the cardomain profile of the guy that had this done.. I don't hear of many rack problems with these cars, so that bigger radius might be part of this lack of problems in the 5.5 gens.

ZGadson

That's another thing I thought about. With less range of motion in the rack, that's got to save a lot of wear and stress on the whole system - probably not a good idea to mess with anything.

ChuckDaMaxRider

Hey Zack...my old '97 Max didn't have anywhere near the turning radius of the I35 - one thing I miss about it. I drove my friend's '02 Max and not even his had the same turning radius as the I35, even though the 02-03 Max and 02-04 I35 are essentially the "same thing" aside from a few luxury features.

On a side not my Eclipse and Galant have a terrible turning radius as well. The one thing I hate about a large turning radius is that when making tight parking maneuvers I look like I have the ability of a 16-year old girl who just finished driving school

ChuckDaMaxRider

I know nothing about suspension parts, but could swapping out the rack and pinion from an 02-03 Max reduce the turning radius? Since a 02-03 Max has a 36-ft radius and the I35 had a 40-ft radius?

SlyI35

Ditto! I used to fling that thing in and out of parking spots like nobodys business. (my 97 max that is) The I35s is PATHETIC! My GFs Yukon turns noticibly tighter than my damn car!!

IMO it's a really, really stupid idea to mess with the suspension. If you screw with the chassis/suspension, the rest of the car will start to fall apart, too. IMO at least.

The turning radius does suck, but that's just a minor flaw in my book. That, and the I35 needs another gear. Other than that the car is nearly flawless.

ChuckDaMaxRider

True, messing with suspension is not a great idea...I'm sure doing so would come with a host of reliability issues afterwards.
Yeah, the I35 def needs a 5th gear. Pretty much all cars with V6s have at least five gears these days, more and more have six. Heck the G37 now has SEVEN!

AznTran517

iTrader: (1)

yea thats so wack. My pops 07 camry even has 5 gears and its only a 4 banger lol

SlyI35

Yeah, it does suck, but look at it this way:

How many other cars had 255HP in '02?

Heck, get a standard bare bones 02 maxima and you get HIDs and the 3.5.

I still want another gear, but oh well.

PulsarGTS

iTrader: (6)

I took the bump stops off my knuckles hoping to the reduce the radius, the end result is.......didn't make a bit of difference.

Norkoastal

iTrader: (3)

Here is the quote form the dude on car domain.. "My alignment shop also trimmed-down the steering stops a little to allow more turning radius."

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2508996/2