Say you were to develop a pulley that would underdrive the power steering pump. Will this decrease the awefully overboosted steering of the 4th gen? Would this potentially overheat the power steering pump? My biggest gripe about all Maximas is that they are way overboosted. I'm pretty sure we could convince Unorthodox to make a pulley if there was interest.


Dave

 

thye make them for other cars, this was discussed once before, it might even give a few hp.

 

I would be all over that

 

Just figure out what the I30 uses. My I30's steering feel was much much nicer then my max's. I don't know what part they used to make the difference though.

 

On the same note...the steering in the 99 max is WAY better than the 97. I would assume that Nissan changed something around 98 or so.

 

Don't know if the I30 has a different rack, I would tend to doubt it, it would go against Nissan's cost-cutting mantra.

But look at the E46 BMW. When enough 2000 buyers complained, they retrofitted the steering racks. Very costly, but it shows how important the feel of the car is to the co.

Maxima doesn't want heavier steering. Drive a German car and drive a Nissan, or really any Japanese car. Everything is so soft, the clutch, the gearshift, the steering, the brakes, the ride. They designed it that way. IMHO you'd need a new rack, it has little to do with the power steering pump. Not to be funny, but to give you an example, I had a Volvo on which the rack went bad due to wear. If you let go of the wheel, the car could turn it's wheels to the far left by itself. I had no choice but to cut the belt. That did not give it any different road feel on the highway. Maxima is loose at all speeds, from 0-135. Very dead feel at center.

 

Add caster.

 

Nissan did revise the 4th gen steering at some point. I dont remember what year or what they did, but Car and Driver mentioned it in their annual new car issue one year...

...I'll do a little research.

 

really?? never driven an older max before, gotta try it. Personally I think the 99 steering still sucks

 

You are correct. The reason why your 99 SE felt better than your 97 GXE is because the 97+ SE models uses a different steering rack. 95-96 SE/95-99 GXEs&GLEs use the same rack.

 

It's a fact. 96-99 I30T's steering wheels are much stiffer.

 

comparing to yr 6spd max or your old one or both? Have you tried the volvo S70 steering wheel? its nice, pretty stiff & its tiny

 

I've tried a couple 850's steering wheels(two in my driveway). The volvo's are a hair stiffer then my I30 was. I've driven lots of maxima's and a few I30's and the I30's are quite a bit stiffer.

 

Pull the powersteering fuse. If you could take some measurements of the pulley diameter/width and how many ribs it has. I could compare it to the pulley on my SR20. UR makes a pulley that underdrives the PS pump for the SR20. Its worth a try.

 

I'd be REALLY interested in such a pulley, Dave. My biggest gripe with the Maxima is it's poor steering feel. It's hard to DRIVE a car when you can't feel what the hell it's doing. I don't have time to get the ball rolling on something like this, but if you guys can get a product, I'll be first in line to buy.

Also, any chance anyone can get some clear info regarding any changes Nissan may have made in the steering in the 4th gens anywhere from 95-99? Additionally, I'd be very interested to know what the difference(s) between the I30 and the 4th Gen is/were. Who wants to do some research?!

 

id be very interested in this as well. Im sure i could get some Nor Cal guys to get in on this as well....assuming its a pulley thats gonna get made and needs support for.
Id buy between 3-5 of them if they made a decent difference.

 

My 99 SE-L is nice and tight. Almost to tight to make a U with just one finger on the wheel. It must be something in the valving or the system pressures.