rejoining the 3rd gen group
01-13-2002, 06:03 PM
#1
rejoining the 3rd gen group
as you can tell by my profile, i'm a 4th gen guy right now. i'm getting married in july and i'm giving my 4th gen to my parents (along with the payments 
) because they wanted to buy something along mine to begin with. anyways, i also have an 89 maxima gxe with 240k miles that obviously isn't prime for mods. i posted on here to get an opinion. you guys obviously know a lot more about the 3rd gen than i do! i'm going to be getting a second car for my wife and i to drive and it'll definitely be a 3rd gen (because of price). should i go with a gxe or spend the extra dollars for the 92-94 SE? obviously, the se would be faster and all, but i really haven't seen much to do for one other than just a few minor bolt-ons. i found a 92 se 5-spd for $3850 with "high mileage". any input from you guys would be great. thanks a ton!!
) because they wanted to buy something along mine to begin with. anyways, i also have an 89 maxima gxe with 240k miles that obviously isn't prime for mods. i posted on here to get an opinion. you guys obviously know a lot more about the 3rd gen than i do! i'm going to be getting a second car for my wife and i to drive and it'll definitely be a 3rd gen (because of price). should i go with a gxe or spend the extra dollars for the 92-94 SE? obviously, the se would be faster and all, but i really haven't seen much to do for one other than just a few minor bolt-ons. i found a 92 se 5-spd for $3850 with "high mileage". any input from you guys would be great. thanks a ton!!
01-13-2002, 06:29 PM
#4
heres my input.....
if you go for the VE enigne(92+ SE) make sure the VTC's aren't acting up(will be a slight "ticking" noise)....but even if they are you can ground them or have thme replaced by Nissan(big $$$$$ though)....as for the VG engine(89-91 SEs and 89-94 GXEs), I feel they are very reliable cars depending on which model you purchase, if you go for a VG I'd suggest a 89-91 5spd or a 93-94 auto....the 89-91 auto transmissions tended to be very troublesome and if not cared for almost meticulously they are prone to break($1-2k fix)...so my final word:
92-94 SE(auto or 5spd) OR 89-91 SE(5psd) OR 93-94 GXE(auto)....my pick 89-91 VG 5spd!!!!
92-94 SE(auto or 5spd) OR 89-91 SE(5psd) OR 93-94 GXE(auto)....my pick 89-91 VG 5spd!!!!
01-13-2002, 06:51 PM
#5
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2001
Posts: 262
Re: heres my input.....
There are some great things you can do with the VG engine, but it's just a lot easier and cheaper to splurge and get the 92+ SE. It's got 30 more hp (which would take thousands to get with bolt-ons) and it's nice and quick.
I have a 91 GXE (aparently the bad one) with about 77,000 miles. I've found that, although it's nice low end, top end, it just loses all it's power. Once you hit about 60mph, the car just loses all its pull. Granted the 5spd is probably much better, it's still not quite as good as the VE engine. Otherwise, it's almost flawless. Just remeber, if you get the VG engine, you have to deal with timing belts, which cost lots of money to replace and require replacment every 70k miles (I think). The VE engine has a timing chain, which eliminates this problem.
I have a 91 GXE (aparently the bad one) with about 77,000 miles. I've found that, although it's nice low end, top end, it just loses all it's power. Once you hit about 60mph, the car just loses all its pull. Granted the 5spd is probably much better, it's still not quite as good as the VE engine. Otherwise, it's almost flawless. Just remeber, if you get the VG engine, you have to deal with timing belts, which cost lots of money to replace and require replacment every 70k miles (I think). The VE engine has a timing chain, which eliminates this problem.
01-13-2002, 06:55 PM
#6
i wasn't aware the ve had a timing chain. in all fairness, is the ve pretty much an "early edition" of the vq? having an aluminum block with 190 bhp, using a timing chain and all, it seems like it. also, what exactly are VTC's? i've never heard that abbreviation before.
01-14-2002, 03:09 AM
#9
Donating Maxima.org Member
Join Date: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,941
Well I have little to add here, since DA-MAX and Gamezilla pretty much said it all. Just a couple things:
I'v heard that (given the same transmission of course) the VG will have a bit more low-end thrust than the VE. That said, the VE has a lot in common feature-wise with the VQ, but lacks its wider powerband. The VE will probably need just a bit more revving to get the same amount of thrust out of it as your VQ does. I think the VQ basically provides the best of both VG and VE strengths if that's how you want to think of it.
VTC's are a (limited) variable valve timing device similar to VTEC. Read more on some of the pages in the "stickies" at the top of the page to learn more about it and it's problems.
I have a VE 5-speed myself and love it. Granted I haven't driven a VG 5-speed, but I think it's pretty fast driven around town (non-race situation) and by no means feels gutless like some DOHC 4-bangers can at lower revs. Although an increasingly rare find (like mine) I would recommend trying to find a non-ticking VE-engined car as your first choice.
VE Power!
I'v heard that (given the same transmission of course) the VG will have a bit more low-end thrust than the VE. That said, the VE has a lot in common feature-wise with the VQ, but lacks its wider powerband. The VE will probably need just a bit more revving to get the same amount of thrust out of it as your VQ does. I think the VQ basically provides the best of both VG and VE strengths if that's how you want to think of it.
VTC's are a (limited) variable valve timing device similar to VTEC. Read more on some of the pages in the "stickies" at the top of the page to learn more about it and it's problems.
I have a VE 5-speed myself and love it. Granted I haven't driven a VG 5-speed, but I think it's pretty fast driven around town (non-race situation) and by no means feels gutless like some DOHC 4-bangers can at lower revs. Although an increasingly rare find (like mine) I would recommend trying to find a non-ticking VE-engined car as your first choice.
VE Power!
01-14-2002, 05:37 PM
#10
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2001
Posts: 168
The only real differeneces are the VE vs. the VG I think there is a thread somewhere talking about this you can search for it. IMO make sure you get a 5 speed, automatics are a pain, and make sure to get a SE. THe whole question is between the engines so search and find a thread about the VE vs. VG and take your pick. When you're acutally looking at cars though just try and find the cleanest most well cared car you can find with the least amount of miles, who cares if it's a VG or VE just make sure it's a 5 speed because the auto trannys suck, I just had to replace mine which was a $1,000 ordeal.
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