rear disk and suspension upgrade options

A rear disk brake upgrade is a popular modification as it improves braking performance and simplifies maintenance. It is also an affordable upgrade as most of the parts are available at your local salvage yard. There are a couple Nissan rear disk setups that will work with the rear suspension of the Axxess but some fit differently than others.

Suspension upgrades are also in demand and  although some may consider higher towing capacity or a comfortable ride an upgrade, we will concentrate on a lower and stiffer suspension. The goal is better handling, less body roll and a lower stance. Unfortunately, there are no performance suspension packages for the Axxess, go figure. There are also no performance cars that have the same suspension as the Axxess.

The only Nissan I've found that has the same 6.75" springs front and back as the Axxess and also has the same strut mount points is the 85-88 (gen2) Maxima. Of course there are no performance springs or adjustable coilovers available for the gen2 maxima either.

It is possible to do a rear disk upgrade upgrade from the gen2 Maxima but the only affordable option to lower it would be to cut the original springs, which would not stiffen the ride and is often considered unsafe. Another option might be custom made springs but that may not be affordable.

There are a couple other considerations if you do decide to do the gen2 Maxima rear disk upgrade. The rotors and hubs are one piece and about twice the cost of standalone rotors. Another consideration is the emergency brake cable which is a different design than the Axxess. The e-brake cable from a later 89-94 (gen3) maxima with rear disk brakes does fit the Axxess and also works with the gen2 Maxima disk calipers.

Axxess on left and Maxima gen2 on right

One issue with 85-88 gen2 Maxima disk conversion is that the rotor/hub assembly will not fit onto an Axxess axle as the wheel bearings are completely different. You would need to also get the gen2 maxima struts and install the complete unit into the Axxess along with the gen3 e-brake cable.

Another, and probably better option is to use the rear suspension parts from a 89-94 (gen3) maxima which also fit the Axxess without modification.

The 89-94 (gen3) Maxima has a 6.75" spring up front like the Axxess but has a 5.5" spring in the rear. Of major importance is that there are a couple performance lowering springs for the gen3 maxima  although there are no true adjustable coilovers for the rear available. The gen3 Maxima also has widely available replacement rotors and the same parking brake setup as the axxess. The gen3 maxima is also far more common in most salvage yards.

The gen3 Maxima is a 5 lug hub but the Axxess hub will slip right onto the gen3 Maxima axle as will the 4 lug hub from the 90-92 Stanza. The 90-92 Stanza also has the same rear strut and disk brake as the gen3 Maxima, if you can find one with rear disks. The Stanza e-brake cable setup has not been verified yet. If you want to do a 5 lug conversion, now is the time. Keep the gen3 Maxima rear hubs and find some 5 lug front hubs or compete knuckle that fits the Axxess, probably from the same gen3 Maxima.

One advantage the early gen2 Maxima rear rotor has over the gen3 Maxima is its larger size. It is 283mm compared to the 256mm of the gen3 maxima and many other nissan models. The early Maxima achieves this by using a taller caliper bracket. The caliper itself and the disk brake mounting bracket attached to the axle itself are close to the same on both models.

The gen2 85-88 Maxima is on the left in all these images and the gen3 89-94 Maxima is on the right

It might be possible to put gen2 brackets on your gen3 setup to get larger rotors and use 84-85 300zx rotors. I decided to stay with the rotors that matched the gen3 Maxima 5 lug rotors exactly but were 4 lug, and that was the 93-97 Altima rotors, same year and model as up front.

One more difference between the gen 2 and 3 maxima rear struts is track width. The Gen3 rear struts have less material and set the rear wheels slightly closer together than the gen2 or even the Axxess. This could be a benefit as drawing the wheels closer improves fender clearance.

The picture below shows the Axxess rear axle on the left and the gen3 Maxima on the right. You can see the extra grey colored metal between the axle and the strut tube compared to the gen3. You may also notice the absence of the disk brake mounting 'ring' at the base of the axle on the Axxess. The Axxess with it's drum brakes does not have this ring which would move the Axess axle even further out. The absence of this ring on the Axxess also means you cannot simply do a gen3 Maxima rear disk upgrade by simply adding the disk mounting bracket, caliper bracket and caliper, you would need to replace the whole strut instead.

Here is the gen2 (on left) and the gen3 Maxima axles. You can see the wider track of the gen2 as well as the unusual early axle stub that is not compatible with the Axxess or gen3 Maxima.

Will all of this work with a stock master brake cylinder and still provide proper brake balance? We'll see soon enough.