I just got a new sports car. Driving it around, I couldn't help but notice that it rode so much smoother than my Maxima. Potholes, railroad tracks, etc. everything seemed so much more cushioned in my new car, which is not even considered to be a soft riding car.

So now that I realize that my Maxima's ride is ridiculously harsh, what setup would make the ride more comfortable?

My current setup: 17 wheels with Tokico HB3103 HP Series Struts and HR sport springs.

 

Go back to the stock 15 inch wheels and Monroe quick struts (complete assembly with the strut, spring, mount, etc. all assembled and ready to install)

Also, check the other suspension components. It's possible the sway bar links are broken off, maybe your tie rods are no good, degraded bushings, etc.

 

Our cars originally came with 15 or 16 inch tires. Inflation pressure is 30 pounds or so.

The origanal suspensions are more pleasent to ride on than your setup. The downside is a less sporty, less compliant ride. Steering control will suffer some when you change things.

Our cars handle wll enough. My 96 SE originally came with the 15 inch sawblade design. I put Toyo tires on it. When they wore out, I found a deal on near new tires mounted on 16 inch
​​​​​1997 Maxima 5 spoke oem wheels. I could tell that handling had improved, while the ride was harsher.

You have 17 inch wheels sport suspension, stiff springs and more. You will have better control and handing than I do. You sacrifice ride quality to achieve that. It' a trade off. Seems like your entire setup is set to maximum handling, at the expense of comfort.

Back in the 1960s large family cars had 14 or 15 inch tires. Sometimes wide, sometimes not. The had wide sidewalls and soft springs and shock aborbers. The cars seemed to float on a cloud. Of course they traded that over handing and ride control. They were fine on the freeways, but no fun in twisty canyons.

 

If those Tokico shocks you have are those blue colored ones, those always gave too stiff of a ride in all the cars I have had them in (also blew out easily). You may want to start from there. Not sure if Koni or Bilstein make them for the 4th gen still, but those have generally been fantastic in almost every car.

 

How old and how many miles to you have on your Tokico struts? I had those on the I30 and 98 Maxima for a while. They get softer with age. I don't recall seeing blues as being advertised to work with lowering springs like the HR Sports.

I actually run H & R Sports with 17" rims on my 98 Maxima with Koni orange struts. The ride is firm but I wouldn't call it harsh.

 

consumer reports has described maximas in several reviews over the years as having a stiff jiggly ride, my 99 is like that .
I test drove a BMW in 99 and it was great but then you have all the BMW issues so did not buy one

 

Quality coilovers with adjustable dampening, set more at a stock height, with stock size rims and tires, and by changing worn control arms, tie rods, and sway bar end links. I'm not sure there's much else you could do. I like my tein advance coilovers for the 5th gen maxima you just have to redrill one of the holes on the two front struts to use them and they are actually a few hundred cheaper than the tein basics made for the 4th gen

 

What kind of tires are you using?
40 series sidewall tires are more firmer compare to 50 series tires.runflat tires are more harsher than the non- runflat tires with the same sidewall.Brand of the tires(continental contipro runflat tires are harshers/worse compare to michelin).
Check your sway bar bushing and end link bushing maybe they are hard like rock by now.
Currently running 17" wheel in 50 series sidewall tires with Koni yellow sport adjustable shock set to 2.5 and H&R sport spring and it drove like BMW 300 seies.