jdonavich

OK, here's the deal. When I was looking for a 4-door sports car a few months ago, I was set on either a 5-speed 93/94 Maxima SE or a 5-speed 93/94 Taurus SHO. Well, I couldn't find a SHO with low miles and 5-speed but I found my 93 Maxima and bought it with no regrets. So the girlfriend and I were down at the used car lot just looking for kicks and I spotted a moonlight blue 94 SHO ATX with grey leather interior, 10 disc CD-changer, fully loaded, and only 66K miles. The damn thing was for sale by original owner for $6500! I told her she should consider buying it so we test drove it and loved it. I also ran a carfax report on it and everything showed up clean. To make a long story short, she bought the SHO yesterday for $6200 and we drove it all over town last night having a blast. This car is just as fun as my 93 SE and possibly as fast, if not faster. We plan on racing the cars during the next few days to see which is faster. Here are my impressions so far:

1. SHO has more features (8-way power seats, auto lights, remote keyless entry, digital climate control, etc.)
2. SHO is bigger and heavier but has substantially more interior room than a 3rd gen.
3. SHO's suspension is too soft and cushy with a lot of nose dive and rear squat. Need to install Eibach's/Tokico's.
4. SHO (automatic, bone stock) is just as fast as my 93 Maxima 5-speed (will determine soon).
5. SHO steering has way too much power assist. Big downer.

I swore I'd never drive another Ford but this car has me impressed. I'm in no hurry to sell my 3rd gen or anything but I may consider trading for a 94 SHO 5-speed if I can find one. Both of these cars are fun, fun, fun! I'll post the race results as soon as we've had a chance to flog the cars.

-Jeremy

Jon Little

He loves it, it is not a stick but it is quick. He had not done ant modding to it, and i don't think he will but for stock it will move. His doesn't have leather but he put a 6 disc in it and a new head unit

jdonavich

Actually, I wasn't too impressed with the acceleration until I turned off the overdrive. Then, that car really put a smile on my face. The autos are supposed to run mid 15's and the sticks low 15's but there are a ton of mods that can be done, even more than the Maxima. I also noticed that performance parts are substantially cheaper for them. I still don't know if I want to spend $500 for a damn JWT ECU.

thebull

thats cool she got an SHO. i always liked them up until they stopped making them. if i was going to buy a ford, id definitly have to go with an SHO. any idea on why they quit making them. they were quick, had big engines, and were priced cheep for what they were.

Brandon90gxe

when i was looking for a car i looked a a sho or a maxima also. I test drove the sho and although it felt pretty damn powerful, it felt like i was driving a boat with no roadfeel at all. The overboosted steering sucks, and i didnt like the feel of the brakes. ITs definitly the only taurus i ever would consider, maybe because the engine isnt even a ford, but the problem is that everyhting else on the car is ford. Therefore the reliablity is crap (the people told me they had just put $4k into it the year before, i dunno whether thats a good thing or not) so i said forget it, and went with my max with i love so much more! Oh yea i almost bought a toyota cressida too, pretty nice car, except it was the ugliest color, rudy crap on the inside and out (no offense to you guys that have that color max ) But then i came across my max and fell in love

BTW Jeremy, one of these days we'll chill. Not sure when, if not before but at least hopefully we'll meet at the next maxima meet.

trbo

I remember when they first came out, the 89 or 90, with the older body style, they were equipped with Yamaha designed engines, and I think the next model were too. Thats the only thing nice about those cars, is that they arent really a ford, Oh yeah , they look pretty sweet too. I myself looked into them when looking for my next car. But couldnt find a 5spd in good condition or good leather. So I gave up on that car. I would like to have a go with one of those though(me driving the sho that is!)

What did SHO stand for again, was it Super High Output, or Supercharged High Output? I know they were a high compression engine, but cant recall if the were SC or not.

jdonavich

The 5-speeds and autos have 3.0L and 3.2L DOHC 24-valve Yamaha engines respectively. They both put out 220HP but the 3.2L has a little more torque to compensate for the slushbox. The 3.2 liter engine's torque peak is 215 lb-ft @ 4000 RPM, and the power peak is 220 hp @ 6000 RPM. The corresponding figures for the 3.0 liter engine are 200 lb-ft @ 4800 RPM and 220 hp @ 6200 RPM. The acronym SHO stands for "Super High Output" and the word SHO means "victory" in Japanese. The engine revs up to 7300RPM before the limiter kicks in but this is only to protect accessory drive components, not the engine. The engine itself has been tested at RPM's greater than 8500RPM! Yeah, if I come across a deal like she did, I may consider getting one but most SHO's have high mileage and are trashed. I would also want a 5-speed and, like the Maxima, those are harder to come by.