MattB

I went and drove an '01 ES today at a dealer. Wonderful car, almost silent at 40mph, picks up well, has a good sound system, etc. Only one thing bothered me....the steering felt very loose compared to my Infiniti G20. It seems like it would be harder to drive this car fast through turns than the G20. Are they all like that and if so is there any way to tighten it up?

LovEnPeaCe

yeah, I think they're all that loose

MattB

Darn. Any way to tighten it up?

ES BL155

iTrader: (3)

Could aways get a trd or whiteline rear sway bar if you want to improve handling. I don't have one but hear nothing but good result from it.

vin 78

A suspension upgrade would certainly help. As ES BL155 stated swaybars would make a big difference. I upgraded to the TRD rear swaybar a few years ago and it made a night and day difference.

lexusk8

Other ways to tighten up the steering include installing a front strut tower brace, upgrading the stock strut assemblies to a set of Tokicos, and perhaps a set of springs or coilovers. The difference in steering is very clear between my ES and my father's BMW 740iL. I would take the Bimmer anyday if I want a luxury sports performance vehicle, but that's another story

MattB

It wasn't so much that the handling was bad per se, more that the steering effort was too low for my tastes. Will a TRD rear sway bar or a strut tower brace deal with that?

1993ES300x

i find it very comfy to have a loss steering wheel.... think about it. you can hold your lady's hand with one hand and steer with the other.

Tranceman

lexus are luxury vehicles - not sport cars for the most part at least. here in lies the differences between suspensions on luxury cars and sport cars... luxury cars are going to feel more cushy but what comes along with that is less responsiveness and that "tight" closeness feeling to the road is lost. if you want a sports car get one and you'll feel all the lil bumps and be able to make those corners faster. that's how the cookie crumbles these days. until an engineering feat with suspension systems comes along it'll be like that. luxury = cushy, swaying, less bumpy. sport = tight, more bumpy, more road feeling.

mentatgom

This seemed like a perfect response:
Here is the engineering feat: http://www.bose.com/controller?event...suspension.jsp

vin 78

Hummm, I only thought Bose made audio systems...interesting to say the least.

MattB

The Infiniti I30 seems able to provide a good ride and handle well simultaneously.

intrmsof2

something to keep in mind on this thread: the G20 was designed to be a high-end sport compact car, whereas the ES was never intended to be anything other than an FWD luxury sport-sedan (although the sport has slowly been ebbing away). The steering ratio and geometry on the much smaller G20 are designed to give a sportier, small-car feel than the ES.

It is not that the ES is loose, but that Nissan targeted a completely different driving style with the G20. If you drove the ES for long enough, you would find that it is a car that goes exactly where you point it, and does so with remarkable efficiency.