clive

Been driving my wife's car on and off, a 2.5 Altima, and the springs feel a lot stiffer than my Max. The steering rate is much more boosted, too. In general it handles much more sporty. . . I find myself wondering what could I change. Like for instance the steering rate - or the spring rate in the suspension.

beegeezy

iTrader: (3)

Spring rate is easy...steering ratio, not so much. What state is your suspension in now? A lowered maxima with good struts/shocks, delrin bushings, good tires, and a bit of negative camber should be a much better handling car than a stock altima.

clive

Dead stock right now. I recently had pretty much all the bushes, lower shock mounts etc replaced. I think the camber might be off as a result of the repairs - the tyres are getting feathered, it squeals a lot on corners, and the tyres look as if the tops are further 'out' than they should be. Finding a place to align it that knows what to do is gonna be tough.

beegeezy

iTrader: (3)

How many miles on your car and where do you live?

xtremepb0

iTrader: (2)

Not trying to thread jack too much.... but. I just installed D2 coilovers in my max and it suprised me how much better it handles now. I knew it was going to handle better but I didn't know THIS much better. It handles firm through fast turns (been having some fun) it eliminates mostly all body roll. If you have the money I would say go d2 coilovers (about 900).

beegeezy

iTrader: (3)

All depends on what he wants, and budget of course. If the car is has higher miles (it's at least 12 yrs old anyway) it wouldn't hurt to replace the struts/shocks, strut mounts, and any deteriorated rubber pieces...control arm bushings, sway bar end link bushings, sway bar mount bushings. If his tie rods, ball joints, and/or end links are in bad shape they need to be done too.

And you ABSOLUTELY need to have good tires! Otherwise why bother?

Rods03Max619

iTrader: (5)

The newer car suspension will most likely always feel better especially stock for stock...my suspension is shot..but got coilovers waiting to be installed, and hope i be like the guy 2 post up, as HAPPY AS HIM...

JSutter

iTrader: (46)

If you dint like the idea of lowering your car then get a rear sway bar. That will flatten out the body roll. It will have little impact on ride comfort.

The 4th gen got a better steering rack in 97 or 98 on the SE. Maybe you should look into those.

Also large tire side walls will kill the overall responsiveness of the steering.

My Max, even with all the suspension mods, still does not feel like it handles as well as my girl friends 03 3.5 SE Alti. Its more about how the suspension is designed. The independent rear suspension is much better.

clive

It's done about 160,000 and it's in Mexico.

clive

Yes, I did all this recently. It cost me around $650 including labour. The Monroe lower shock mounts were expensive. It's all good now, but if I can visibly see the camber is negative, I think it must be. I could use firmer springs, the Altima is a lot higher in spring rate; I can't really drop much because the area is infested with speed bumps. The tyres are Kumho Ecstas which have been pretty good so far, better in the wet than the dry, it feels like.

clive

Yes. i've noticed that, myself. Bad road lumps don't cause lateral movement. I think the Max is not bad, though.
My daughter's Sentra is live rear axle and when it hits a bump it often jumps sideways. I still recall my TR6 used to twitch violently left-right each time I went up a gear, as the half-axles locked up.