# Handling question



## BikerFry (Jul 31, 2003)

I've been doing a bunch of reading on 4th gen maxima's lately. I'm going to be buying a used car in the spring, I'm looking to spend 8 grand, and I've been primarily looking at compact cars. (02-03 Proteges, 94+ integras, Impreza RS's, B14 Sentra's, etc.) Then I saw how cheap 95-99 Maximas are and how much you get for your dollar. The idea of having a decent sized, comfy, ridiculously reliable (I know they have their little problems like coil packs and knock sensors) car with a real motor attached to the gas pedal that still gets 30mpg on the highway is really starting to appeal to me. Really the only thing holding me back from looking for a 98-99 5spd SE is that I'm worried that I'm not going to like how it handles coming from driving my B13 Sentra and my girlfriend's 03 Protege. I'll probably put in an RSB, but I don't wanna drop 600-1000 bucks on AGX's/Prokits, STB's, etc. I'd rather use that money for gas and keeping it running well for 200k.

So what can you tell me about how they handle? I know it won't handle as well as my girlfriend's Protege (since it's smaller, 4 wheel independent, meant to be sporty) but would it be as good as my stock B13? I'm just talking for all around fun to drive. No racing or anything. I don't mean to compare a full sized sedan with compact cars, but they're what I'm used to and can use as a reference point.


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## Black Max (Oct 26, 2004)

We bought a 96 Maxima SE 5 speed back in June. All I can say is that we love it. Son is driving my old car, 94 Sentra XE (B13). I probably put 60,000 miles on it in the last 5 years and loved it. It is now still running strong at 183,xxx miles. I can tell you that the Maxima will outperform it, not only in acceleration, but also in braking, cornering, and all out driving fun. 

My first Nissan was an 86 Maxima SE that was about 4 years old when I bought it. I fell in love with it, not only because of performance and fuel economy, but due to the dependability of the engine. When I sold it, it had about 250,000 miles and was still going strong. What really made me mad was to find out there was a recall on the fuel injectors on it just before I got ready to sell it. The recall had been out for a couple of years and I had all kinds of problems with injectors clogging or misfiring. As a matter of fact, I had an appointment set up at the local $tealership to have these injectors replaced per recall when I sold the car.

About 6 months after selling the Maxima, I purchased the 94 Sentra for a work car. It was a 5 speed and I was really impressed with it's performance and 40 mpg highway, since I was using it daily on a sales route. I purchased a 93 Quest about 6 months later because of needing a vehicle that would comfortably seat myself, wife, 3 kids, and a couple of their friends. I liked it too because of it's comfort, dependability, and driveability. Kept it for about 4 years. Since kids are now 16, 16, and 18, wife got tired of the minivan saga. She wanted an Intrepid. After checking into them, I was not impressed because of their weak frame (front end especially). She knew how well I liked the 86 Maxima, not to mention the dependability. She finally said that she would be willing to let me get another Max instead of the Intrepid. Within a month of her saying that, I found one on Ebay with exactly what I wanted, and ended up driving 800 miles each way to get it.

We bought the 96 Maxima in June of this year in Pennsylvania. We live in Tennessee. She thought I was crazy, but I had priced them around here and couldn't find exactly what I wanted in a reasonable price range. I wanted an SE, 5 speed, BOSE, sunroof, and cloth seats. The one I found had 97,000 on it, body and interior nearly perfect, and most of the accessories worked perfectly. I ended up getting it for $4300 and it is black. Everyone who knew me thought I was crazy to drive this far for a car, but it was exactly what I wanted. When I got back with it, about the first thing I did was tint the windows with 20% black. Everyone fell in love with it and shut up about the drive to Penn. It is supposed to be wife's car, but I guess I have drove it more than her. I am 40, and even my kids' friends love this car. My 18 year old son was ready to buy it from me, but I wouldn't go for it. He just bought a 02 Dakota Sport 4x4 because he wanted a 4x4. If the Max was 4wd, I would have had a battle on my hands.

To get back on the subject of your post, I would recommend this car 100%. It will comfortably get you where you want to go and do it as fast as you want to do it. It will also do it economically considering the size of the car and still getting around 30 mpg on highway. According to carpoint, the 96 is one of the most dependable in it's class.


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## Bonka (Jan 9, 2004)

Handling is decent. I've never driven or rode in a Sentra so I couldn't compare.

Nevertheless, in its stock form, the Maxima leans quite a bit and the front end ploughs around corners on occasion. It's not so much that the front independent/rear beam setup being the issue, but more of the stock "height" the Maxima comes with that would attribute to the lean.

If you decide not to go with a lowered suspension setup, might I suggest going with a front strut tower bar, rear anti-sway bar and rear bushings. All together they should not be more than a few hundred bucks and should greatly improve the handling.

By the way, highly recommend you visit and read through this site if you haven't:
http://maxmods.dyndns.org/

An excellent resource.


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## BikerFry (Jul 31, 2003)

Thanks for the input guys! Yeah, I've been to that maxmods site and I agree it's a great resource. That's another nice thing about these cars, that there is a ton of technical info available online. I have a feeling that I'm going to be saying the heck with a small car in a few months. I can't really find any reason not to go Maxima. I forgot to mention that they're really nice looking too. :thumbup:

I bet it'll end up handling just fine for my taste. If not, I could probably do agx's, prokits, and an rsb for close to 600. Not bad, considering that if I spent 600 on my sentra in performance parts I'd probably gain all of 10 horse.


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## Matt93SE (Sep 17, 2003)

yoiu'll definitely like the Maxima over the B13. as everyone else said, you MUST upgrade the suspension if you want it to handle good, but it's still decent straight out of the box. IMO, simply pick one up and mod it as the parts "wear out".. at the age of car you're looking at, the struts will be shot and need replaced anyway. replace them with some AGX or Illuminas and throw some Eibachs on there while you're doing it. Definitely get a RSB, and pick up a cheap FSTB on ebay while you're at it. $30 very well spent.
I also sell a few brake and suspension goodies on my website, but I'm not going to whore up the thread with them.  Nevertheless, they definitely help in the handling department as well.

Also look at some energy suspension control arm bushings for the front. they're about $35 for the set and a HUGE improvement in cornering over the factory stuff. you'll be happy, trust me.


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## kcvmax38 (Nov 22, 2004)

*Don't lower it*

I put lowering springs on it and it handled much better but it killed the nice smooth ride. Also, I did put a front strut brace on and it really helped in the front end lean and movement. I have been very happy with my 96. They are great cars.


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## jetsam (Feb 7, 2004)

Maxie is a great car. Her limits are greater than those of public roadways.

However, when pushed, she feels like a big fwd sedan. Feeling aside, she'll run rock creek parkway ( a twisty 'lil road near here with many "dangerous" curves and 20 mph signs ) in excess of 50 mph.


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## MilesA (Nov 23, 2004)

The A32 Maxima is a competent handling front-wheel-drive car. You would be surprised. Although it seems like a big car, the 1996 with manual transmission weighs under 3040 pounds. That's not much more than a VW Jetta these days.

The factory suspension is tuned to be quite soft -- this sometimes makes people uncomfortable at higher speeds or in tight turns because the car does not seem to enjoy being pushed very hard. Despite this "floaty" feeling, if you trust the car and just hang on, it will handle well objectively speaking.

Improving the subjective feel of the car can be done with a few good aftermarket parts. Since your shocks & struts would be close to needing replacement anyway, you could put on a set of H&R springs and Tokico Illumina dampers all-around. A front strut-tower brace and stiffer bushings for the front-sway bar will make a noticeable difference. You need a _good _ set of tires. These changes give the suspension a well-controlled feel to match the excellent drivetrain.

The steering will still be a bit numb and over-boosted, the brakes will still work well but not offer all that much feel, but you can't have everything, I suppose.


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## mrdick (Mar 25, 2004)

kcvmax38 said:


> I put lowering springs on it and it handled much better but it killed the nice smooth ride. Also, I did put a front strut brace on and it really helped in the front end lean and movement. I have been very happy with my 96. They are great cars.


 of course the ride gets worse. any suspension mod you do to the car will make it un-smooth. sacrifice comfort for handling. happens everytime.

what you can do is get SE springs and pair them up with aftermarket shocks if you dont wanna go lower and still have a somewhat stiffer ride. ive never ridden in that but i hear it does wonders. also tires help out in handling as well. big improvement. theres such a big list you can do to improve handling. you definitely have to get rear sway bar. its probly the biggest bang for the buck in suspension mods.


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