How to tell if a Q45 has active suspension?

[BLACKonBLACK98]

sorry guys. i have a feeling this has been covered but i did quite a few searches, clicked a bunch of links, and still didn't find the answer. help me out.

i'm looking to buy a g50 and need to know if theres any easy way to tell if a q has active suspension. ideally i would like to know if the vin can be decoded so i don't have to waiste anybodies time. other than that what would i look for in a quick overview (no lift or jacking the car up) to tell?

i definitely want one without active so no need to ask questions there.

thanks guys!

[maxnix]

Check for the active pump and cooler, and the hoses to the front shock towers.

Tells us you haven't reviewed the car's maintenance history, which is not wise.

If it is active, then you do have the most knowledgeable person in the world in TexasOil in Houston.

[BLACKonBLACK98]

i actually haven't found anything i liked yet but i am actively searching. all possibles get a carfax.

the point here is to make an informed buy.

i wasn't aware that the active suspension will not work for what i want to do until today. i also was not aware that there were models without it.

thanks for the help!


Modified by BLACKonBLACK98 at 2:00 PM 7/9/2008

[Panther in a Q45a]

saw a sweet one on ebay. price is high or hes taking offers. not active

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...48429

[maxnix]

all possibles get a carfax.

the point here is to make an informed buy.

Then read the sticky above about how to buy a Q45. Maintenance history is the key, not color nor model.

Don't know what you want to do with a G50, but an active G50 is still one of the most sophisticated suspensions available even today.

[BLACKonBLACK98]

i read all the stickies, understand what maintanance will have to done, and really just wanted to now if there was a way to decode the vin so i know if a car is worth checking out or not.

i own a company that specializes in maximas, a wheel company, a company that does some car related accesories (clothing), and will soon be venturing into the vip styling market.

i'll be doing something along these lines:



i've been told by members of the vip community that own qs to avoid the active suspension because of complications associated with my goals.

i do understand that you are trying to help but i am not new to cars, nissans, or forum etiquette (i sponsor 2) just q45s. thanks.

[maxnix]

Yeah, you're right. The active system is for drivers. Would be a shame to cripple one as they are realtively rare in this country.

[BLACKonBLACK98]

saw a sweet one on ebay. price is high or hes taking offers. not active

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...48429

that is a really nice one but i'm trying to stay local. i also dont need it to be in such outstnding shape since it will be my project next year and will be completely rebuilt.

thanks for the link though, she sure is a beauty.

Quote »... as they are realtively rare in this country.[/quote]thats actually good news to me,i was under the impression that they were the more common model. thanks.

[Q45denver]

There is an "a" next to the Q45 on the rear nameplate. The active has better ride and handling but was heavier and cost about 8K more when new. Pretty rare in states but most common in Japan.

sorry guys. i have a feeling this has been covered but i did quite a few searches, clicked a bunch of links, and still didn't find the answer. help me out.

i'm looking to buy a g50 and need to know if theres any easy way to tell if a q has active suspension. ideally i would like to know if the vin can be decoded so i don't have to waiste anybodies time. other than that what would i look for in a quick overview (no lift or jacking the car up) to tell?

i definitely want one without active so no need to ask questions there.

thanks guys!

[Q45denver]

So your making a "President". I would like to see a kit to do that to mine but it would have to be less than $2k. I don't think one person out of a thousand here would even know what a President is.

[BLACKonBLACK98]

exactly the point.

i've had some serious talks about putting a conversion kit togther but the price would be more in the 6k range for front and rear. this is the nissan flagship so new oem parts aint cheap.

[apossiblehybrid]

So your making a "President". I would like to see a kit to do that to mine but it would have to be less than $2k. I don't think one person out of a thousand here would even know what a President is.

haha i think there are more people then one out of a thousand on here that know what a president is. the president is the new vip ricer dream.

[Q45tech]

Unfortunately the active software must be reprogrammed if one substitutes heavier than oem 15" wheels as most VIP do. The system cannot control the extra weight on expansion.

[maxnix]

Why all the active controllers come from Japan where active was the dominant suspension.

Anyone else remember that LHD President that was for auction in Taiwan a few years ago? Seemed to be the real deal with updates.

Such a wierd thing to do as while there were short wheel base Presidents, almost all were long wheebase (never imported to US) and active.
Modified by maxnix at 7:46 AM 7/10/2008

[BLACKonBLACK98]

... the new vip ricer dream.

vip and ricer are about as contridictory as you can get. would have been a perfectly true statment without the little comment.

[apossiblehybrid]

vip and ricer are about as contridictory as you can get. would have been a perfectly true statment without the little comment.

alrite would it make more sense if i said the new ricer vip dream. ive read it so many times that so and so wants to do a president conversion on their g50. you went from asking about how to tell if a Q is an active to telling us about a president conversion, when most of don't care for "vip" cars on this forum. what we do care about is making our flagship luxury car into a race car.

[BLACKonBLACK98]

Quote »Don't know what you want to do with a G50...[/quote]geuss i wasnt exactly asked but this lead me to explain what my goal was and why i didn't want active suspension.

Quote »when most of don't care for "vip" cars on this forum[/quote]thats funny... it has its own subforum and all.

Quote »what we do care about is making our flagship luxury car into a race car.[/quote]oh i see. i guess its not just the maxima guys then. everybody wants to have a racecar regardless of what they bought. good to know.

and i'm the ...

[apossiblehybrid]

thats funny... it has its own subforum and all.

oh i see. i guess its not just the maxima guys then. everybody wants to have a racecar regardless of what they bought. good to know.

and i'm the ...

yea ive seen the vip forum. how many of the members on this q45 forum are on the vip forum? barely any in comparison. btw the maxima is not a flagship luxury car lol, its a sports sedan.

[MinisterofDOOM]

btw the maxima is not a flagship luxury car lol, its a sports sedan.

You haven't been in a Maxima, have you? It's more (or at least as) luxurious than half the Infiniti lineup. Nissan has always marketed the Maxima as the NISSAN brand's luxury flagship. During the mid-80s, it actually had it's own special emblem on a hood ornament, and it was treated more like a luxury car than a sports car. The current Maxima blows its contemporary G35 out of the water as far as luxury.These days, it's definitely more luxury than sport. Tons of leather and imitation suede. Power freaking everything (the ONLY feature my Q has that the new Max doesn't have is power headrests). No manual transmission option anymore.

My 1993 Maxima is/was pretty close to my Q in terms of luxury. If I had the top-end leather package and digital climate control, it'd be even closer. Soft touch materials everywhere, similar look and layout. And that was arguably the sportiest Maxima of all, but it still could hang with the luxury big boys. And for what it's worth, I find my Maxima's seats much more comfortable than my Q's seats.

Also remember that the Maxima WAS an Infiniti as well for 9 years. The I30 and I35 were Maximas with analog clocks and a few different body panels.

[qship96]

The Maxima is not a luxury car, never was....a stretch to call it a sports sedan as well...more like a nice family sedan in the same catagory as an Accord, Camry, Passat. Never let power accessories {windows/locks/seats,etc} fool you.

Even in I30/I35, it was at best mediocre and provided a substandard overall driving experience. Everytime I left my Q at the dealer and got a brand new I30/I35 as a loaner, I was underwhelmed and couldnt wait to get my high mile old Q back

Front wheel torque steer was borderline dangerous and destroyed the overall driving experience, wheel always tugging at you....and rear suspension was horrible.

Overall interior, while not bad looking, somehow always felt cheap looking to me.Overall a poor platform to choose to use as an Infiniti model as it cheapened the brands image to every passanger ever to ride in one.....it just lacked that special something that is hard to define that the Q45 just oozes,even with age.

[maxnix]

Yeah, it is definitely a reliable salary man's car.

Beam rear axle? Puuuhhhleeeese! Not a sports sedan, unless you compare to only Camry, Accord and Jetta.

[BLACKonBLACK98]

i got my answer.

i'm not impressed with the attitude from you guys. you don't have to like what i'm doing or what i've done. i build cars for me.

simple question, simple answer.

[BLACKonBLACK98]

Yeah, it is definitely a reliable salary man's car.

yeah well i spent a salary man's salary on it last year alone. i'm not one of these drive to work, drive home guys. cars are my passion and my business.

low post count /= low knowledge

[MinisterofDOOM]

Yeah, it is definitely a reliable salary man's car.

Beam rear axle? Puuuhhhleeeese! Not a sports sedan, unless you compare to only Camry, Accord and Jetta.

Only had rear beam axle from '95 to '03, though.

After 1994 they took a step down. The '89 to '94 Maxima was absolutely a luxury car and absolutely a sport sedan. IRS and one of the best balanced FWD platforms out there. It wasn't compared with the 3 series for nothing.

Also torque steer wasn't an issue until 2002 with the VQ35.

[maxnix]

Exactly, but the I3x was subject to the beam axle it's entire life.