I know that I should buy a truck, and I could afford one I guess. The fact is I love my 03 Maxima and I am set on driving it till the bitter end. Eighty present of the roads I drive are dirt, and not very good ones. I think I am tearing up my suspension, and my low pro wheels collect dirt and snow that put my tires out of balance. This is a constant problem. I have read threads on MotorXing but this does not seem to be the same idea. Can I replace the wheels and redo the shocks and suspension to make a back road Maxima? I still must be able to drive on pavement. Has this been done before? Does anyone have ideas?

 

You want to raise the car? has that ever being done before for a maxima?

 

I live on a dirt road and I've found that my 4th gen is okay but the SE suspension causes the back end to kick around on washboard areas. I haven't heard of anybody changing their suspension for this though...I think most people on here are scared of dirt roads! I think it would screw up the overall handling of the car.

It would probably be best just to have a truck/SUV or a car you don't mind beating around. My Mom's Subaru Forester handles excellent for this type of driving. I first bought my Maxima because I didn't want to be driving a new car on rough windy roads so I figured I'd buy a cheaper used car thats fuel efficient, instead of a truck...but now I love the Maxima so much I don't really want to ruin it...

 

Change the profile and tire size/type by buying a new set of rims and tires. Going from 17" rims up to 16" makes a big differance, up another size to 15" will give you plenty of tire cusion for the bumpy dirt roads.

 

go to a higher-profile tire, and you might even want to consider going to either small-size SUV/pickup truck-type tread or even a high-performance snow tire (Dunlop Wintersport M3), which can take the beating of bad roads and still provide decent on-road grip.

As to suspension, get some GXE/GLE springs that are a bit softer, and some illumina struts that you can adjust between hard and soft settings, depending on where you are driving.

Another thing, which may not look great but will save the sides of the car's paint, is get some rally-style mudflaps (they make them for WRX/imprezas, and perhaps you can alter it to fit maximas)

http://www.fastlineonline.com/products.html#mud_flaps

I might get some of these to use in the winter, since I do alot of driving on salt-infested roads and have already chipped off all the paint on my rocker panels!

 

Thanks all for the input. Im doing it.

 

or get a beater car

 

Or move somewhere where there are decent roads. I've only been on one dirt road in the 11 years I've had my Maxima and that is the last dirt road it will ever be on as long as I own it.

 

I have to drive a fair amount of dirt roads, so I spent $400 on this:

 

Smart man! Why anyone would want to trash their Maxima on a dirt road continually is beyond my comprehension.

 

That thing looks awesome, have you had to do much work to it?

 

If I had more $$ for insurance, that's what I would do! Is that a 4 wheel drive?