WoW!! I just ran a 96(7) Impala SS 350! Wow, we raced from about 40 to ~120....we were tied all the way!!!1 I am trippin, never thought I could hang woh one of those, I am sure he woulda raped me on take off but we didn't go from a dead stop so i thought I had a chance! And i did. He led off too!! He never pulled and niether did I! He just slammed his br8ks, gave a thumbz up and turned to his exit! Sorry for the boring post, but I was just surprised that I could hang w/ him!

 

Do you have an automatic or standard? Also I guess for us the Impalla is an overweight POS. But they look cool.
I guess I should learn to read your post/mods area a little closer.

 

Older Impala SS 350 are slow if stock, even w/ some mods they arent super fast. Give em NOS and they will be. Motor Trend tested the new Impala w/ the 3.8L vs the old 96 Impala SS. Turned out the new Impala was and is faster then the predecessor. I personally never had trouble racing Impalas.

 

The newer impalas are slower than the old ones...new ones run high 7s. Old runs ran low 7s, with some official recorded times of 7 flat, and 6.5 (C&D).

If someone offered me a mint 96 SS, I'd take it over a Maxima...

 

Back in mid june when I bought my car I test drove about 40 other cars. A 96 Impala SS was one of them. At first, before test driving it (this thing was perfect, 36,000 miles on it, not a scratch) I was pretty much set on getting it. But then, when I finally did drive it, my mind changed. The thing was "performance" modified compared to a regular caprice, but it was still a gargantuan boat. I could not find a comfortable driving position either. I'm a little guy and I just cant see myself sporting that humongous boat. Acceleration really wasnt that impressive at all, probably cause that corvette engine is pushing a humongous car. Not only that the cost of maintaining and operating that car would be much more expensive then any japanese v6 sedan. However, At some points in time, I am regretting not buying a used z28 instead of the 97 Maxima.

 

At speed it's about even. Even thought the 96 Impala's got the vette's V8 it's only around 250HP or so. And it's a fat pig. Probably 4,000lbs. Pretty tight car for a chevy.
Not as nimble as the Max though but still cool.

 

thanks for the info. In my opinion I've yet to see an american car hold up as well as a Nissan (or Honda) over the long run. I have put well over 200k miles on an '84 Max and an Accord with minor problems like water pumps etc. Never had an American car go over 130-150k with out needing major work. Just my 2 cents.

 

n/m

 

Nice car poitrC70! Well, I have an extremely hard time believing that a new Imapla beating an old one. The old 1's ran high 14's and the new ones run 15.9 on their best day. I raced a new 1 and beat the tar outta it! Eezy, but it wasn't even close that is why I didn't tell ene1 about it.

 

My uncle and I have a long history of racing the Max and the Impala. He thinks his SS is the baddest thing out there. Yes, with the right mods it can be very quick but all he has is an exhaust and intake.
Our last race went down like this...I kicked his butt at EVERY speed. We only had enough highway to get up to 125 and I honestly think his car has a higher top end because I could see him starting to come back a little.
He's the type of guy who doesn't believe an eight cylinder can beat a six and always has excuses as to why I won. he's going to break his bank trying to beat the Max!

I also find it hard to believe the newer Impala can beat the last generation's SS.

98 SE
5 Speed
CAI
Y Pipe
Mid Pipe
Stock Muffler

14.73 @94.1

 

I think that at speed, an SS would walk a stock 5-speed 4th gen. As top speed is neared, weight matters less, and aerodynamics and HP matter more. The Impala is about as aerodynamic as the max, with way more HP (260), so I agree that it would definately walk a max on the high end (100+).

While we're on the subject of fast, large cars...don't race a Caddy Northstar with a stock Max. They pack an insane midrange punch and will practically run away at highway speeds. No, there is no Northstar equipped car that will run faster than like 6.7 0-60, but that's standing start. At speed, don't even bother. I was on the highway a year and a half ago watching this eldorado creep up to me in traffic. I was in the fast lane and he was in the slow lane. I was about to downshift to 3rd or 4th and punch it, but I saw him punch his gas and it took off so fast I forgot what I was doing BTW, it was definately stock. People don't mod caddys where I live.

 

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If you're still around poitrC70, are those eibach lowering springs? how much is it lowered?