Hmm... autox and handling

Post by **Healing** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 11:02 am

Question...how do Maxima's autox? Or rather, how well do they handle in general? I mean it's a sedan and all...but...er...?

Post by **maxhopper** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 11:02 am

I've never autox-ed, so no help there. If I had the 5 speed instead of the automatic, I'd probably give it a try. Stock there is a lot of body roll. But with the suspension set up I have at the moment, it makes a HUGE improvement. Currently I have Tokico Illuminas, Tein H-tech springs, Progress rear anti-sway bar, Cattman front strut tower bar, and Energy Suspension end link and (front) sway bar bushings. The suspension is very tight now, and with the Illuminas, you can totally control the ride quality. Hope that helps.

Post by **Fezzik** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 11:02 am

They do alright. I can not remember what class the maxima is. I have heard of a maxima actually winning a few autocrosses in its class. Like Maxhopper said though, You will need to get a new suspension for it. It's not that bad in price though for autox

Post by **phenryiv1** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 11:02 am

Bad part is that even with similar suspension mods (Intrax springs, KYB AGX struts, Stillen RSB and FSTB), the car still cannot handle like my wife's STOCK Celica. Straight line, the 5MT w/ VLSD kills her, but no comparison in the twisties...

Post by **Healing** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 11:02 am

Hmm...I see, just curious. Thanks for the responses.

Post by **jdmfreak** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 11:02 am

What year is that Celica?

Post by **phenryiv1** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 11:02 am

jdmfreak03 wrote:What year is that Celica?

2003 GT on 15" rims. Basically 99% stock. The rims are aftermarket, but it is the OEM RE92 Potenzas. All other suspension is stock.

Post by **nothingstoofast** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 11:02 am

i have a maxima 90 se....... i'd be willing to challenge the celica in the twistes. granted the 90's maxima's were defenetly not as fast as the 95 and up but the suspenstion was a bit more aggressive. in my car i have front rear drop springs, koni struts, front / rear sways, my own custom built front rear strut bars (did both for all of 20$

). the only thing i dont have yet is subframe connectors. oh and i sit on toyo proxy t1-s's. oh yea i ate a 02-03 GTS alive...... i'm not sure if your gt is any better in handling

Perhaps the celica would smoke me stock for stock

, but we shall never know:hiding:

Post by **jdmfreak** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 11:02 am

What engine mods do you have?

Post by **phenryiv1** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 11:02 am

nothingstoofast wrote:i have a maxima 90 se....... i'd be willing to challenge the celica in the twistes. granted the 90's maxima's were defenetly not as fast as the 95 and up but the suspenstion was a bit more aggressive. in my car i have front rear drop springs, koni struts, front / rear sways, my own custom built front rear strut bars (did both for all of 20$ ). the only thing i dont have yet is subframe connectors. oh and i sit on toyo proxy t1-s's. oh yea i ate a 02-03 GTS alive...... i'm not sure if your gt is any better in handling

Perhaps the celica would smoke me stock for stock, but we shall never know:hiding:

No, the GT-S is faster. Stock for stock, the Celica is definately better in the turns, but even with all of my suspension mods the Celi still has me on handling.

Maybe the 3rd gen handles better than the 4th gen...IDK...

Post by **phenryiv1** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 11:02 am

jdmfreak03 wrote:What engine mods do you have?

Me, or ^?

Post by **jdmfreak** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 11:02 am

No I was talking to him.

Post by **nothingstoofast** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 11:02 am

i replied the same thing in another chat so i just cut and pasted it.

for my car i have a custom built ram air(built by me w/ scoop), center force clutchfindanza flywheelUDPmsd sci igition box with msd hvc coilfull warpspeed exhaust w/ y-pipe inc.unfortunetly ..... jet performance ECU instead of JWTdenso iridium spark plugs1.8 " drop with koni struts custom front/ rear strut bars (by me also)front and rear ST swaybarsmotegi rims wrapped in toyo t1-s

NOS and the cam come next

Post by **cullenj76** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 11:02 am

FYI 3rd gens have IRS as apposed to a multi-link rear beam setup like the 4th gens.

Post by **jdmfreak** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 11:02 am

Why'd they change it?

Post by **nothingstoofast** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 11:02 am

they wanted to go more luxury rather than sporty. they wanted people to feel that they were in a car more like a caddy rather than a skateboard.

Post by **phenryiv1** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 11:02 am

jdmfreak03 wrote:Why'd they change it?

Who knows...prob for the same reason that the GXE model of 4th gen was equipped with steelies and hubcaps whereas all 3rd gen models had alloy rims...

Post by **jdmfreak** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 11:02 am

Yea I hate the hubcaps on the 4th gens. They take away from the cars looks. I really dont like the rims on the 95-96 SEs either. I want the 97-99 rims for my 95 though.

Post by **cullenj76** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 11:02 am

jdmfreak03 wrote:I really dont like the rims on the 95-96 SEs either.

Really? I wish I still had my sawblades. I traded them for s14 SE wheels.

Post by **jdmfreak** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 11:02 am

Yea they're okay I guess. With a 97-99, I wont really worry about getting new rims until later on. Since I dont like the 95-96 SE rims Id end up wanting to change them faster than the other ones. Thats just me though.

Post by **MinisterofDOOM** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 11:02 am

My '04 (SE) suspension is very tight. Even though both of mine are IRS (as cullen mentioned above), the '04 has a much firmer ride than the '93. That also has to do with the fact that my third gen is a GXE, too though. The '04 SE also has very wide tires for a stock car (245-45-VR18). All that adds up to a whole lot of fun on the twisties.

Post by **jdmfreak** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 11:02 am

Hows the understeer in that thing.

Post by **MinisterofDOOM** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 11:02 am

I haven't really had the opportunity to push it too hard, but I don't recall having experienced any noticable understeer. It really almost feels like the tires are magnetically attached to the ground. I'll have to go play with it tomorrow (I don't think the neighbors would appreciate the sound of my roaring VQ35 and squealing rubber in the middle of the night) and get back to you on that with a more educated response, though.

Post by **MinisterofDOOM** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 11:02 am

I took the '04 out and pushed her a bit yesterday. I did notice a bit of understeer while under throttle. Nothing severe enough to cause problems, just enough that I had to adjust a bit to compensate. At times, partially due to torque steer (yeah...it's hard to explain), it almost feels like the car is oversteering like a RWD while cornering under very large amounts of throttle. Considering the amount of torque steer produced by this car, I am glad that Nissan didn't make the same mistake with the Maxima that Acura did with the TL's front LSD.

Post by **jdmfreak** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 11:02 am

Thats good to hear. Some of that torque steer disappears if you get the manual tranny. I hear there's a lot of it in the autos at high speeds.

Post by **cullenj76** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 11:02 am

MinisterofDOOM wrote:I took the '04 out and pushed her a bit yesterday. I did notice a bit of understeer while under throttle. Nothing severe enough to cause problems, just enough that I had to adjust a bit to compensate. At times, partially due to torque steer (yeah...it's hard to explain), it almost feels like the car is oversteering like a RWD while cornering under very large amounts of throttle. Considering the amount of torque steer produced by this car, I am glad that Nissan didn't make the same mistake with the Maxima that Acura did with the TL's front LSD.

There is a point where my car will go from understeer to oversteer when I'm in the sweet spot of the motor in 2nd and 3rd gear in the twisties. Then there's also that point(before upgrading suspension) where the back end has a mind of it's own:rolleyes

Post by **MinisterofDOOM** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 11:02 am

Yes, indeed...I know that point very well with my 3rd gen.

And yeah...the torque steer is tremendous (I have the 5-speed auto). If you drive it like my mother does, though, it behaves a lot better...but who wants to drive a Maxima like a Buick?The torque steer is a good tradeoff for all that power to me. I haven't had so much fun at red lights in ages.:asmile

Post by **jdmfreak** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 11:02 am

Hopefully they'll work on that problem and have it reduced by the time the 05' or next gen Maxima comes out. Wish I would be able to drive that car regardless though.

Post by **MinisterofDOOM** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 11:02 am

That would be very nice. I hope they fix the torque steer before the inevitable upgrade to VQ40DE (at least I hope its inevitable). That would be insane. But, as you said, either way it's fun to drive.One thing I was impressed by was that even though the new car feels much larger than my 3rd gen, it still handles like a Maxima, not like a landbarge. It feels wider and longer, I mean. Height wise, my head rubs the ceiling unless the seat is all the way down. Kinda makes me wish it had the opening sunroof.

Post by **jdmfreak** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 11:02 am

How great would it be if the 04 Max was RWD? I think the new Max has the body of a good RWD car. IDK maybe its just me.

Hmm... autox and handling

Hmm...

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