blackmaxima88

This is another confirmation that these Maximas are among the finest made.

My friend, a countryboy who dislikes imports ("riceburners" including Nissans) is one of those people who only buys GM (Garbage Machine) products. Regardless of the infamous and notorious GM alternator problems.

Anyway, he has this 1989 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme sitting in his front yard which hasn't run in the greater part of a year because the battery went dead and the automatic transmission doesn't shift right. well tonight I put a new battery in (took about 45 minutes total) and attempted to start it. here is the comparison:

first, let's look at what we're comparing.

1988 Nissan Maxima SE, 3.0L V6, FI, 5-speed manual
1989 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, 3.1L V6, FI, 4-sp. automatic

battery replacement:

on the Maxima, it's 2 wingnuts for the tiedown. disconnect the cables, battery can be removed.

On the Oldsmobile, I had to unbolt and remove part of the frame. after removing that, I had to bust up my knuckles removing the side-mount cables with about 1/2" of working room. after disconnecting the cables, a plastic casing over the battery had to be unscrewed and removed. finally, the battery hold-down had to be removed, requiring a 12-inch socket extension. but that wasn't enough because another part of the frame was in the way. so the windshield washer fluid reservoir had to be disconnected and removed, battery slid over, and fished out.
yeah, REAL convenient.

features:
after several minutes of cranking, the Oldsmobile started. the digital dashboard didn't work until about 5-10 minutes after the car was running. so in that period, no odometer, speedometer or fuel gauge.

oldsmobile: NO gauges except for fuel, NO tach, NO temp gauge, oil pressure gauge, voltmeter. had a temperature warning light, oil light, and alternator charge light.

maxima: tachometer, fuel gauge, oil pressure gauge, temperature gauge, voltmeter, alternator charge light are standard equipment.

oldsmobile: drivers-side power seats only
maxima: DUAL power seats

oldsmobile and maxima: power windows and locks

oldsmobile: no air recirculation option
maxima: air recirculation is available

oldsmobile: turning door key unlocks only one door
maxima: turning front door keys unlocks all 4 doors automatically

oldsmobile: no factory alarm system
maxima: factory alarm system is standard equipment

oldsmobile: no power seat belts
maxima: power seat belts

oldsmobile: climate control
maxima: available option, but mine doesn't have this

oldsmobile: no door-open, seat belt, low washer fluid lights
maxima: all are standard equipment
both: low coolant light

oldsmobile: pulling outside door handle lit outside lock only
maxima: pulling outside door handle lights lock and dome light.

oldsmobile: factory Delco tape player, power antenna
maxima: factory equalizer, power antenna

I'm sure there's more but I can't think of much else. the point? the Maximas are simply better and I'd take one over any GM.

Dan
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maximase86

iTrader: (24)

Also to note, that olds has a pushrod v-6 that only puts out maybe 140hp...maybe. Maxima has a SOHC v-6 that puts out 160hp.

S

GundamWZero

HA!!!!! Finaly got ya! HP for the Maxima is 190hp;


http://www.freshalloy.com/site/featu...nes/home.shtml

This is where I got those specs from....... : dances jig:

GundamWZero

The site has been updated. They had it for the 1985-1988 Maximas. But the specs are still there, but under the 1995-1999 3.0l specs.

maximase86

iTrader: (24)

The specs are for the VQ30DE. Not to the VG30E like in our cars. :P The maxima didn't reach 190hp until 1992 with the VE30DE.

S

GundamWZero

Well, I saw it though, plain as the *** stains on Monica Lewinskys little blue dress!!!! It said VG30E. But when it came to the 1986 300ZX it went to VG30ET, cuase I was wondering about swaping internal parts with the stronger, durable ones.....


Or, I have been taking those "purple pills" again.........

blackmaxima88

wait there is one other difference....the oldsmobile doesn't run because the transmission is screwed up....THE MAXIMA STILL DOES!!!!!! HAHA!!!!!!

gettin really tired of people who make fun of imports...

maximase86

iTrader: (24)

Hmmm...we gotta find the right numbers...as for the VG30ET, the only really different part about that motor is the lower compression pistons, and a slightly different bore and stroke. Other than that, its like one of our motors with a turbo slapped on.

S

MaxWgn

iTrader: (1)

Actually, I do believe the differences between the VG30E & the VG30ET are as follows (please correct, if i am wrong):

The dished pistons in the VG30ET to lower compression.

The cams, as the stock NA cams are not really suitable for turbo - they don't flow enough air.

The fuel injectors, fuel rail & pressure regulator are all different.

the oil pan - but that's a given!


The exhaust manifolds, as the VG30ET's left side exhaust manifold is cast to except the turbo.

The ECU, of course, and possibly the distributor.

I think that's it...the crack and rods are supposedly the same, the heads, minus the cams, are the same, and minor plumbing diffences in our VG30E vs. the Z31 VG30ET...

John L

How about a comparison of the interior volumes? 2nd gen Maximas are not in the same class as the W-body. BTW my Cutlass has a 220hp twin dual cam 3.4L, no comparison.
No disrespect to your belief system intended.

maximase86

iTrader: (24)

Is that the 89? I thought that the twin cam motor didn't show up till about 95 or so...

S

John L

I think the 3.4 was first available as an option the same year the convertible was released 89 or 90? I think 95 was the last year for the 3.4 maybe 96 after that only the 3.8 fi and supercharged were available. I have a very waning interest in GM anything. Pontiac came out with the Aztek and now the Vibe (shudder, choke back the vomit) and in their infinate wisdom the GTM brass decide to cut Oldsmobile from the line-up???? It's very possible I own my last GM.

maximase86

iTrader: (24)

Yeah, my boss has a 97 Pontiac Bonneville SSEi with the 240hp 3.8L supercharge V-6. They can be pretty decent motors, but I'd take a the VQ35DE over that.

S

blackmaxima88

I know for sure that this olds has the 3.1L V6 engine, I've seen it myself. '89 Olds Cutlass Supreme SL.

GundamWZero

Well, what about the new Pontiac GTO?

maximase86

iTrader: (24)

It's a Holden! Basically an Aussie car that GM decided to bring over.
Holden is GM product line in Australia.

S

GundamWZero

A Holden huh? I watch them race on speedvision. call the V8 Supercar Championship. They race Ford Falcons there too. Even Honda have a Lego in the races too. Never finish in the top 10 though................

Dev

iTrader: (5)

my dad had an olds, with 220hp also.
a cutlass will murder a 2nd gen maxima in a race.
these cars are of 2 different classes.

maximase86

iTrader: (24)

Maybe it will, but remember, even with all the horsepower, if you don't know how to use it, it won't really matter.

S

Charles Bisel

Olds is dead and you won't see me crying at the funeral.

Bye Bye Olds!

-C-

Dev

iTrader: (5)

doesn't matter how bad one drives, the olds will win the race

esp with an auto..hahaha..not many errors to be made

anyways im not a bad driver myself

MrSmith

Its funny to hear you talk about those two cars. I have an 86 Max and my Mother inlaw has a 90 Olds Cutlass Supreme. we were on the express way one day and my father inlaw was driving I was following him ---> going to get a Christmas tree. anyway that Olds was rollin but the Max was stickin and eger to pass. Those american cars got some get up and go.

maximase86

iTrader: (24)

Yeah, they do, but they are also like the average american....obese in weight...

Dev

iTrader: (5)

hahaha
they are pretty ugly, and my dads car was a boat.
but it had a very solid engine.
everything else was average on that car for the time it was built.

John L

I'm not just sad to see Olds go, I'm absolutely p*ssed that Pontiac didn't go on the chopping block instead. But enough of that.
Draw your own conclusions from my Max vs Cutlass experience. I bought the Max as a short term driver while I waited to get an oil leak on the Cutlass fixed. This was an o-ring seal at the end of the oil pump drive where the distributor used to come out on the early Chevy small 6s. Normally that would be no big deal, two bolts and a few dollars for the o-ring, not on this engineering nightmare! The back head covers part of the plate to get at the o-ring, so as a result, it's about $1300 in other parts and (mostly) labor for a lousy part that came to $5 on the invoice. Now, I have taken the Max off the road since having that done. Soon, however, I have to put the Max back in service so I can replace a collapsed front strut support that I had fixed just before the oil leak fiasco to the tune of over $1000 (new struts all around, am I insane?) $300 for the Max, $350 for injectors, $25 for front brake pads under $10 in spray paint for the grille and headlight bezels plus some standard maintainence items like tune up and oil change. Also need a new battery from sitting all winter.
Tell me which is a better deal, the Max or the Cutlass? My mind is already made up

Dev

iTrader: (5)

well i don't know about the $5 part costing you $1300. you just paid too much for a small problem. is the car even worth that much?
my dad had the cutlass for 13 years. only problem was the tranny needed to be rebuilt. i think thats pretty damn good, along with routine maintenance. when we traded it in for a grand am, it still drove fine, but we had no need for 2 cars (i didn't have my license at that time).
about the better deal, i'd say the cutlass.
it had a $5 part gone bad, and a blown strut - thats not bad at all.
now if you paid $1000 for struts, i think you got seriously ripped off, unless you got coilovers or something!
as i'll be getting kyb agx (near top of the line) for about $600-$650 canadian, including extra shipping charges and brokerage fees/duties. that converts to about $430 USD.

Cutler

iTrader: (3)

Add Some NOS to the maxima it will be rolling along. The olds is an old man's ride, very nice just not for everyone.

MaximaSeoul

ok, the 89 Olds Cutlass Supreme w/ 3.1L OHV V6 has 145hp, the 2nd gen Maxima 3.0L SOHC V6 has 156hp, it was 160hp in '89-94. like said the 1st DOHC Maxima was in '92 SE models as an option motor. yes the 300ZX Z32 motor is referred to as the VG30DE but it is different from the Maxima VG30E.

i am glad to see the Olds go away, the only thing great they had was the Quad 4 motor, the Olds 442 & Hurst models. true they ate up Grand Prixs & Monte Carlos but Olds doesn't hav a following/sales like Pontiac & Chevy.

maximase86

iTrader: (24)

156? Where that number come from? The 2nd gens were 160hp like the 3rd VG's. Also the VE30DE was standard on 92 and newer SE models, but not offered on the GXE models. The VG30DE never made it into a maxima, but it did make it into the J30. Quite honestly, the VG30DE was more powerful than the VE30DE if you got the Z32 version. I dunno what the rating was on the J30.

S

dr.disc

Heads, cams, and distributors are the same in the Maximas and Z31s, turbo and nonturbo. Pistons are the only difference for the turbos, except for the bolt-on turbo stuff.

maximase86

iTrader: (24)

I thought the bore and stroke was slightly different....oh well.

S