For a relatively large car, that weighs over 3100 pounds, and is designed to carry 4 adults in luxury, it does a poor job. In fact, it is down right dangerous to carry 4 adults. Talk about no stopping power... scary as hell.

I know this is a known problem, but I am getting tired of it, has any one asked Nissan to new high performance pads, or rotors, or for them to float half the bill to upgrade to better products? I know what the answer will most likely be, but I guess it is worth a shot. Nissan really disappoints me in the this aspect...

 

I've driven with 5 adults in my car (including myself) and never had a problem with the stopping power.

 

it def takes a lot more pressure on the pedel to stop the car with 5 people in the car.. i had to do it all summer long and i know what you mean.. you just cant drive like a ****tard with lots of people in the car.. it goes from a luxury sports sedan with just you in the car.. to a Slow Sedan with lots of people.. just drive with more space in front of you

 

Wouldn't any car require more stopping power with 5 adults inside it?

 

Logic would say anytime you have an extra 600+ lbs, stopping "might" be a tad more difficult.

 

ive driven with driver +3 adults and have no problems. if you wanna know about scary stopping power, cram 5 adults in a b13 2 door sentra. then come back and complain that your max stops badly with people in it.

 

With all of your performance mods, you should definitely think about upgrading your braking system as well.

Nissan will not do anything because this is not a problem for most people who own Maximas.

And what everyone else said about stopping distance increasing with an increase in mass.

 

yes, but I would think that a car of this stature should have more then ample stopping power when carrying 4 adults in the car. I understand that when you increase weight, stopping power will decrease, but I would not have guessed that is would go down that much. how hard would to be to put better brake pads, and better rotors... especially when you know it is a family sedan.

 

UGAd13 - Yes, I am planning on upgrading the braking system when spring comes along, especially since last night. I just don't feel ike spending all this money on something that should have been install from factory.

Lytheum - how you guys have no issues, is beyond me. Maybe diffrent pads were installed before i got my car? whatever it is, i am certainly not impressed.

 

Duh you got more weight in your car now and it takes more effort to stop it, so when you are carrying ppl slow down!

 

150 x 4 = 600lbs

Average Adult weight = 150 x 4 more adults, excluding yourself = ~3700 lbs. A lot more "car" to stop.

 

Why didn't I say that??

 

yes its a FAMILY sedan bec: (1) FWD (2) No IRS. For a car that was made bet. 1995-2003 with no IRS is a damn embarassment. Add 4 doors to this cheapo setup and u got a FAMILY sedan. And in terms of luxury, how can Nissan leave out a simple thing like telescopic steering wheel?? Again cheapo....I know I'm just hating, but these things really bother me. On the OTHER HAND. compared to what's out there for the money (before the WRX in '02), the Max is the most 4-door fun car there. With a stick it gets even better IMO. So u get a loaded SE with navi. heated steering wheel, but no telescopic, and a cheap plastic control that is the MANUALlumbar

 

sorry, i'm continuing the previous post. U get manual lumbar. So the Max is really a strange car. Kinda like a like/hate relationship for me. One things for sure, step on it, (for all gens.) and she blows the competition outta the water, and that's why I ended up buying one. To finally respond to the matter at hand, I've had no probs. carrying 5 people, and the Max is really a roomy car. Couple that with its' great engine (and yes, the multi-beam setup works fine on smooth roads), and it really is a nice car. Not to start any flame wars here, but I do beleive the '02-'03 models were the best simply bec. of the standard features GXE it came with. Hard to beat.

 

?????Dangerous? I was involved in an accident with a deer and had 4 people in the car (including myself) and the car (2000 Maxima) rolled over several times. The car, thankfully, landed on all fours, and we opened the doors and walked away unharmed. I actually had to put the car in park and turn it off because it kept wanting to go! Anyway, one of the main reasons I bought my 2K2 was because of the fact that we walked away from a massive wreck.

 

I drove to boston and back with me and 3 other guys all my size (over 6'2", over 220lbs) to play in a volleyball tournament (so we all had a sports bag and lunches, too) and my car did just fine stopping and starting in boston traffic.

Sounds like it's just your car.

 

Y2KMaxGXE-R, NmexMAX ---- thanks, gee... i wonder why no one else said that. I am perfectly aware that the more people you have, the more careful one has to be. I was just merly commenting on the poor stopping power from factory.

 

that is a great story, but I am not disputing the car is not safe for accidents, I am talking about stopping power.

 

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....38#post3092338

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....57#post1693157

 

was there anything in this thread asking for instructions for rotor removal/replacement? I know how to do this. i've done it before many times. i could do it in my sleep. this is not the point i was trying to make. I was just complaining about the stopping power of the car. although, I thought that it may have been a wide spread issue, I guess not. I will just deal with it untill spring time comes and install all new rotors/pads.

 

With the BlehmCo BBK, I never have a problem stopping

 

are you having problems with normal stopping or emergency stopping situations? i havent had a problem with normal stopping with a car full of people. havent needed to slam on the brakes though.

i was just testing stopping power in the snow today. the pedal scares me when the abs goes on. it pushes back up against my foot really hard.

 

Dude... i'll smack you. j/k

 

both actually. more so when stopping suddenly. i just do not feel safe with them. but i am done complaining.

Abs is cool sometimes, but it is weird sometimes as well. it is the normal feeling, just press as hard as you can, do make sure your foot will not slip or something. abs takes all the thought out of pumping the brakes.

 

Thank god.

 

the first time i stabbed the pedal today my foot did slip off. i wasnt expecting it. haha....i guess i did the smart thing by testing in a parking lot first. this is my 6th winter driving....i always did fine without abs. then again my old sentra probably weighed like a 1000lbs less then the max.

 

The laws of physics still apply here...

No matter how hard you try, they'll still be there.

 

No problem stopping over here..........I think besides the brake shudder maximas have good stopping power

 

I know it, my 99 maxima didn't have abs... sucks in the snow.

 

For the love of.... yeah, thanks buddy. hey, btw, what were the laws of physics... and how would they affect me? (<------------ total sarcasim)

 

I've driven my car with me (6 feet, 220 lbs) and 3 of my friends (All over 6 feet tall and over 200lbs) plenty of times. When we go out we always take my car because it can fit everyone comfortable. I never have had any problems at all braking or accelerating. We even went to Florida from CT in the Max and hauled *** the whole way.

 

Nice sig, sorry to hijack the thread.


Back on subject, I notice this with any car of course, but in my 4th gne MUCH more noticeable than my 5.5g.

Though the 4g is more resistant to fade over long/frequent periods of braking, I would imagine that would be credit to a good set of aftermarket pads though.

 

i've been near the braking system/handling limit with passengers and without passengers and i can say under normal driving conditions the braking system is perfectly fine (-blowtenzas). but the limits don't extend much further up from that point.

 

Mine stops just fine with 4 adults.

 

Well, I feel that my Maxima's brakes could be ALOT better, especially with 3-4 people in the car. That is why I'm gonna upgrade to Blehmco's BBK asap. Of course when I compare my Maxima's braking to my Turbo Supra, it is a very noticable difference, I mean like night and day. Now I know some of you will say that I'm comparing apples to oranges, and you'd be right. It's just that I think ALL cars should have brakes that are exceptional, not average. The Maxima's brakes are just barely average IMHO.

 

just the other day, i took 4 other people in my car for the first time, and i actually had to slam on my brakes because some IDIOT pulled right out in front of my on the highway when i was going ~70 and it stopped pretty good IMO, i didnt feel much of a diff. although there was some....i hate idiots...

 

Try driving my first car - 1979 Volvo 240DL Wagon with 5 adults in it (no power brakes, no power steering, no A/C, manual windows, btw). Then you will think the Maxima (stock) is a dream to drive fully loaded. You young guys have no idea how easy cars are to drive these days compared to the cars 20+++ years ago that had no power-assisted anything. Even my 2100 lb 1970 Triumph GT6 you have to literally stand on the brake pedal to do an emergency stop from highway speeds. I mean BOTH FEET!!!

 

ouch... lol. yeah, I have had my share of old cars too, a 1984 chev. cleberty, 1988 acura legand. list goes on. but they always had power brakes/steering.

 

My bad. I thought you were asking a question here. Just trying to be helpful.

 

I know you all love your Y-pipes and all...but I guess it's time to invest in some of these, eh?