Ok. I'm 16. I'm going to be getting a car within the next few months... Which of the two below would you choose, and why? [Sorry if this is REALLY REALLY off topic.]

4th Gen Maxima 5spd
2nd Gen [95+] Mitsubishi Eclipse 5spd w/ Turbo

Your maxima's kick a**. Thanks in advance.

-James

 

Eclipse Turbo if you can afford the insurance.

However seeing that you are 16, and I'm guessing this is gonna be your first car, get some cheap and slow such as a Corolla, Civic, or 3rd gen Maxima (low blow! ).

Then when your 19, get a Eclipse Turbo!!!!

 

I would pick the max, and my brother said the same thing about mine, and he hates autos, but he thought with a few mods the car was much better.

 

Dude, listen very carefully, I have a 95 Maxima, and my friend has a 95 Eclipse GST(Turbo). He has intake and exhaust, and I have only intake. I beat him by a cars length everyitme we race. The turbo on that car is sooooo weak. By the time you get over the turbo lag, the quarter mile is over. Unless you have a ton of money and are planning on replacing the turbo GET THE MAXIMA.
1. 3.0 L V6: Speaks for itself
2. Lots of aftermarket goodies available
3. Looks better than an eclipse (Get it tinted 5%!)
4. EVERYONE and thier mother has an eclipse
5. Its not that fast, it just looks like it

 

At 16, I would buy a Honda Civic and do some kind of easy swap. ie.. GSR motor. That way you can have a nice fast inexpensive car that's easy to insure. Why buy a big *** maxima when you are so young? You have plenty of time for big cars when you get older. Have fun w/ something impractical now while you can! ****** Jeep or an old Camaro.

 

Plus, im sure you have friends, and believe me, they dont appreciate the supposed "back seats"

 

If you can really get a 5spd 4th Gen with the equipment you want at a reasonable price go for it. You see turbo Eclipses everywhere, but a 5spd luxury-sport sedan?...5 Series & Maxima. Plus you will zoom past that Eclipse waving with 4 friends in the car . I can't blame you for wanting an Eclipse, they look REALLY nice (with the 2 doors and all ), but the Maxima...is something else. Maybe you should test drive both and see how you like them. However you must also keep in mind that if you are venturing into the aftermarket world, the Eclipse will be significantly cheaper. But still, Maxima all the way...(Man I wish I had a 5spd!!!)

 

I was in your situation a couple of weeks ago except I was deciding between a Max and a hybrid Civic. Everybody in the world has a modded Eclipse, you dont see too many modded Maxs around, or at least I don't. Have you driven both? I was kinda leaning toward the Civic until I drove it. Me being 6'4, it wasn't too comfortable and also very wimpy. Granted it was only a EX, it still had no torque at all. On Saturday, a friend let me drive his Maxima around the parkign lot and I knew I wanted one. Plus, I have heard stuff about the Mitsubishi motors.

 

I don't know about the eclipse. My boy's car engine just blew out. Fast and nice looking but the engine is unreliable.

 

The maxima was rated import car of the year in '95. You won't find a better V-6. It is one of the best/longest lasting engines out there. An eclipse is weaksauce compared to a Maxima. Power AND room AND refinment AND quality AND safer AND cheaper insurance AND much much much more.

 

another thing, for a Maxima, I will only have to pay 210 a month for insurance, for an eclipse, it shot up to about 300. 16 years old also

 

Ten replies in what, a half hour? It's hard not to love Maxima's just from the instant response(s) from you guys! I love it! The Maxima is starting to sound REALLY good. Especially with the insurace difference. Thus begins my search for a Max.

You guys are awesome.

-James

 

Why ask that kind of question here, first they aren't even comparable cars, second this is maxima.org

 

What did you expect on Maxima.org. Maybe you should ask on some Eclipse forums. But it doesn't make a difference, the Maxima puts it to shame anyhow...

 

He asked this question here cause we all have knowledge based on experience. Ive never ever heard of a Maxima owner that wasnt completely in love with his or her car. All I can say is that I wouldnt trade in my Maxima for an eclipse in a million years.

 

I asked because I've been reading this board for awhile now, and I thought that you guys might have some interesting things to say. Obviously some of the people are going to be biased because this IS maxima.org. I figured I'd ask anyways. Sorry to waste your time.

-James

P.s. Thanks for all the replies!

 

Don't get me wrong I understand your question, and I love telling people how much I love my Maxima!!! Atleast now you can see WHY people love their Maximas and on the Eclipse forum you can see WHY people there love their cars (and tell me because I don't see it!). I just wouldn't trust what people say about the other car.
-Cyrus

 

..ditto..

 

The main thing is, you need to drive both cars. I wouldn't start making plans unless you knew for sure that you wanted it. I was planning on having a bagged truck for about a year and then i finally drove a fullsize chevy and i hated it. Drive both of them and then make a decision. If you are like me, you are gonna change your mind about what you want a lot, so make sure what you get is really what you want

 

Definitely. I've been looking at both of these cars for quite awhile, and done quite a bit of my own research. I have already test-driven the Mitsu. I want to test-drive a Maxima asap. I'm fairly sure I could be more than happy in either of these cars. I completely agree though. It would be stupid to buy a car without having ever been in one, and find out you hate it.

Thanks Again,
James

 

It's rare you see a hooked up maxima. Eclipses are everywhere. Unbiased or not, the Maxima is a by far a better quality car. The eclipses are sporty and fun, but that's just about it. I'd take my Max over most all these lil' ricer cars.

 

Maxima will last longer and is very low maintenance.(You can drive the hell out of this car and it would be hard to break something)

 

Well people are gonna hate me but I'm gonna report the downsides of the Maxima. Trying to put in all persepectives here. Before anybody goes flaming me I just want you to know that this is based on my personal experience, especially having dealt with Honda's and Toyotas. Refute if you wish, but I dont want to hear "you're a ___ maxima hater...." I will be honest, I do not know too much about the DSM motors. Anyway heres the negatives I see. You're driving a family sedan! Wait till you're no longer a teenager before you drive something people think is your mom's. In terms of modifications, you're pretty limited to expensive parts that have issues. We've got the misfitting Cattman Y's, the expensive and only Stillen S/C with melting pulleys. We've also got the KYB adjustable struts that never seem to be able to arrive to store shelves, or the only other adjustable struts that you gotta cut apart in order to use. But even with mods, the vast majority of Maximas are stuck in the 15's, even 16s, with the fastest one only in the 12s, even the majority of the supercharged ones in the 13s. Hell even Civics are in the single digits. Speakin of suspension, we've got the ancient beam axle technology which is part of the Nissan cost cutting program.If you got smooth roads all around, its just fine. If not, then you'll find your rear end skippin around alot. This car also has more ground clearance then a Ford Explorer, so if you lower the car, it wont even look lowered. You're also gonna find yourself with paper thin paint that scratches and chips very easily. You'll also find the interior of the car to be full of rattles and squeeks as well as leather seats that rip and arent even completely real. The sunroof cover is a piece of recycled cardboard that always comes off its tracks. If you get the 5 speed you'll find the shifter to be very non intuitive and rubbery also with a clutch pedal that will give you a workout more then a stairmaster. Safety wise the car is below par in comparison with Toyotas (go to www.iihs.og for details on high and low speed crash testing). Oh and if you want to go trade in your car down the road, good luck because the resale value is just about on par with that of a domestic car.

I guess I'll balance out my negatives with some positives. First I havent heard of any serious defects with this car, such as engines blowing up or drinking oil. We dont seem to suffer from any "model specific problems" like bad alternators or starters, or blowing headgaskets. I havent heard of any problems with rust or transmissions having a tendency to blow up either. The power windows are actually the fastest I've seen, so you can win the race of the fastest power windows.

All in all like many others have already said, be sure to test drive alot of cars. I first had my heart set on a 96 Impala SS... until I drove it. Wow what a boat with acceleration that wasnt too impressive. I made a hasty decision when I bought my car, and I regret it. I'm now stuck with a family sedan with miserable resale value. Whatever you do, make sure you're happy and just dont pull a me and make a haphazard decision.

 

I'm 19 with a "family sedan" and don't regret my decision at all!!!

I love my Maxima. It's a beautiful car with a lot of power. You can easily separate it from the rest of the "family sedans" with a few low expense mods... Clear corners, intake, etc...

Basically the whole "family sedan" is a bunch of bull**** if you personally like the way the car looks and handles. Don't make your decision on what others think but on what you will be happy with. I wanted a 4 door car with a lot of room (back seat and trunk) and actually didn't want the typical teenager civic or whatever. All I kept hearing when I was searching for my car was "but the Maxima is a family car, why don’t you get a civic or an eclipse like most teenagers?"

Alec

 

Seriously thats like asking who do I take to the Prom?

Katie Holmes or John Holmes....

 

Of course there are downsides to the Maxima, but there are downsides to every car. Stock, the car does look like a family sedan, but after just a few mods, it turns into a sports car. I like the fact that my sports car can hold 4 of my friends, which cant be said about other "teenager" cars. Even if you still think its a family sedan after, lowering, tint, body kit, intake, exhaust, or whatever it is you want, I dont know of too many family sedans that can burn civis and integras and a lot of other "teenager cars" Basiclly, of course a Maxima isnt for everyone, but niether is an eclipse. It all depends on preferance. I am a teenager, and my friends have "teenager" cars. It feels great to look better than they do, feel better than they do, and go faster than they do.

 

I wish i was 16 again ...not!

For Eclipse, hell yeah

Make sure you tint 5% all around so the cops can write you up

Isn't that true for Maximas too?

Depends on what you do to it.

 

MAX

 

Gonna have to jump on the MAX boat here.

SuDZ

 

Hey MaxGurl(typo?) if you dislike Maximas so much then why do you own one, and why do you reply to threads about them? Everyone has Maximas, true, but how many modded Maximas do you see driving around? I have 5% tint all around and ive never been written up. Even after getting pulled over several times, once at the races, the cops still did not notice, so i dont see the big deal. You think the Maxima looks fast? I dont know what kind of Maximas are around your part of the world, but a stock Maxima looks like a slow, heavy grocery mobile. Thats why its so fun to see the look on peoples faces when you smoke them. Anyway, thats just what I have to say

 

MAX

 

Im in the same situation as you...almost. I have a '95 GXE auto with many mods. I live in Colorado and run a 16.6 with all the mods listed. That is VERY pathetic and due to that I am selling my max to buy a '93 Eagle Talon TSI(the AWD one). It is selling for $4600 and I know I can get $6000-7000 from my max. The Talon is running 13.3's here in Colorado all the time and that is with the STOCK turbo. Go with the Eclipse! The maxima has torque and will beat the turbo eclipses off the line(unless its a GSX with AWD) but after that it should be all Eclipse, assuming the driver can shift as it sounds like in an earlier post the guy couldnt. True, the max has more room but it is so heavy it isnt worthy of a "sports sedan" title. If you have an automatic one it all over, they are S L O W! Go with the Eclipse while you can, you have the rest of your life for a practical car.

Kirk

P.S. Im only 19 too.

 

Regarding that remark about the 5% tint, my tint is 5% all around (see pic) and I have a 12" front tint strip (5%). I have had the tint for 2 years and cops have never said anything to me, even when I got pulled over. Let's not forget 5% looks bad-a$$!

Oh and get the Maxima.

 

EricWong-
Let me put some things into perspective here. I really don't think you are speaking for the majority of Maxima owners here. Some of the things you don't like about the Maxima don't make sense to me. Example: You complain that you have to cut and modifiy the struts to insert the adjustable Koni's. That's true, but if it's so hard to do (takes a whole 20 minutes to do a strut) then a 12-13 second Honda wouldn't be your cup of tea. If you think modifiying struts is hard, wait until you've got to trouble shoot a hybrid or a turbo motor. Sure, there are 8 second Hondas out there, but they aren't truely Hondas. They're pretty much drag cars that resemble Hondas in shape and have a Honda block. That's it. The hard truth is most heavily modded NA Hondas are in the 14s on up, especially on street tires. To have a fast Honda you must be willing to compromise ride quality, sound, gut your car, etc. Yes, the clutch of the Maxima is much heavier than Honda's feather weight clutches. Try driving a Stang or F-Body and tell me how heavy that clutch feels. I love heavy clutches, it gives the feeling of "beefiness". I think you're right, the Maxima isn't the car for you. I think your expectations for the Maxima were way to high. However, I doubt you'll be happy with anything you get because you seem to believe that 12s aren't fast enough and 12s should be easy to come by. Unfortunately for you, there are VERY few 12 second cars that are streetable and import. If you want to go 12s for $1000, buy a clean 87 Buick Grand National.


James-
About the Eclipse. The potential to have streetable 11/12-second car is clearly there. I personally know BryanH (prior Max owner) who owns a 95 Eclipse GSX. He's got a 16G turbo, built motor, built AWD system, stand alone ECU, etc. His car has gone 12.6s, but the car has been on jack stands for weeks at a time. These cars are not reliable and are the joke of the industry in terms of reliabilty. The 95-99 DSMs are notorious for "crank walk" which instantly destroys the motor when this happens. They are complete rattle traps. The AWD is severely compromised when you turn up the boost. Snapped axles, munched syncros, differentials, etc are commonplace in these cars. If you have the money and time to modifiy the car the right way, it can be a brutal sleeper. Unfortunately you're only 16. Most of the guys that own the quick ones have lots experience and understand how these cars work. To pay some grease monkey to fix your car every week will be very expensive.

The Maxima is a cookie cutter car when it's stock. Once you do some tasteful cosmetic stuff, the car completely changes. It really takes to visual mods quite nicely. I get tons more looks in this car vs my red modded 94 Z28. I get thumbs up from older gentlemen and women dig the car. The Maxima is a extremely reliable car. Engine, tranny, and electrical problems are very very rare. Many people complain about rattles, but I think it just depends on the car. I've driven about 7 Maximas and only one had a few dash rattles. My car doesn't rattle unless I hit a big pothole or bump, but I have a 2" drop, large wheels, and stiffer struts, it's to be expected. Modification wise, there is all the typical stuff out there. Intakes, suspension, exhausts, superchargers, NOS, cosmetic, etc. You just have to realize that this isn't a Honda. Engine swaps, 40 different body kits, 100 different intakes, etc aren't available for the Maxima. Just remember, the stock Maxima, on average is 1-2 seconds quicker than most stock Hondas. You're starting out with a mid to low 15 second car and the Honda guys are typically starting out with a high 16 to low 17 second car.



Dave

 

maxima cause this is a max forum
i bet all the eclipse forum people choose eclipse.


well anyway, i think maxima is better cause its 4 door, fast enough, fun to drive, good handling, nice ride, sorta reliable.

if u got the money get a maxima. u can soupe it too if u got more money.

 

Mmm... where do you find me say 'I dislike Maximas' or anything remotely close to that statement? Assumptions are bad!

Over 120 modded Maximas in June (LSP meet)
Usually once a day (on average)

Front tint in ANY % is ILLEGAL in states such as NJ. No NJ State MV inspection facility will pass a vehicle w/ any sort of front tint. Forunately for you my friend, CA has a liberal approach to tints, not emmissions
http://www.autowindowtintings.com/ma...tion=newjersey

I'd like to think Maximas serves both purposes. Slow? It's a matter of opinion.

 

Dave, couldn't have said it better myself.


Eric, don't take this personally, but you're an idiot. I agree with that Dave that your expectation of the Maxima is way too high. You talk like the Maxima is the only car around that has "problems". Yeah, I'm sure whatever car you will get next will be trouble free and drives like a dream.

 

I still do not know what everyone is talking about regarding the damn rattles. My car is 5 years old w/ 70k, and the interior still looks new. It is rock solid and has excellent fit and finish, as good or better than Accord and Camry, and it has NO RATTLES. I guess I got lucky.

 

Alright well Im 20 so I'm not much older then you. Personally, I do not like the way the car handles. Its nose heavy, with plenty of understeer and body roll, and even Consumer Reports says it produces "rubbery side to side kicks" when they tested a 98. Looks dont really affect me too much so thats not an issue to me. I do get what you're sayin about the typical teenager car. However, theres alot of other choices out there for the amount of money a Maxima costs. You can get good new and used cars, on the domestic side theres Mustang, F-body, C5, import side theres Acura RSX, Acura CL, Toyota Solara, Toyota Celica, Supra, Eclipse, Lexus IS300, GS300, BMW 3 series, Audi, etc etc etc.

 

You're right, I'm quite the minority here I do realize. Most people hang out at this site cause they like their car. To be fair to the person who was originally asking about the Max vs eclipse I'm trying to complete the picture. It would be pretty skewed if all he heard was "this is great, that is great.. this car is perfect..."

OK the point I was making was not that I complain that modifying the strut was a bother. Rather, I'm making the point at the limited amount of aftermarket products that are available. The fact that there is only ONE adjustable strut so far shows how there simply isnt the aftermarket support.

But the fact remains there are Integras out there putting out 500+ HP with big turbos and lots of internal engine work. Case in point, a recent issue of Sport Compact Car. 4 cars with more then 400 HP, all with full interiors, street legal. Unless theres a Max around here that we dont know about, Don's is the fastest Maxima around here and he's only in the 12s running nitrous. Yes, the other guys did spend alot of money to get it there, but certainly if us Maxima guys are in a class above, wheres our share of extreme cars with more then 400 HP or cars running in the single digits? I would hope our 3.0 L race engines have more potential then those sub 2.0 liter inline 4 cyliners do. As for compromising ride quality, dont we do the same thing when we start using coilover (singular, not plural cause GC's dont count) lowerin springs and strut? At least the Honda's have real suspension, aka double wishbone independent suspension...

I realize that cars dont get that fast easily. That is one of the big reasons I bought myself the cbr600F4i (which is a honda btw :-) ). Out the box it has potential to run 10s in the 1/4, and even that has a turbo charger kit available. Its extremely reliable, well built, and an import. I also realize the Maxima isnt the miracle of cars, but then again there's other choices too. For the amount of money, wtf is with the non independent rear suspension? Being a luxury/sport sedan, why is the resale value so low? Even a Toyota Corolla has independent rear suspension! Its little wonder why the Accord and Camry continue to outsell the Maxima.

If I am not mistaken who do we have making parts for us? Cattman, Stillen, Warpspeed, JWT, Greddy and a few others. Stillen is the ONLY supercharger maker, and how many times have we read on these forums "my pulley melted" or something else wrong with the blower? Hell we've even had people TAKE OFF their supercharges because of reliablity issues. And short of NOS, it seems the S/C is the only way into the 13s. We've got the Y pipes that dont fit, which was put on the car for a poor excuse for a clean engine. I dont see Toyotas, Hondas or even domestics with precats. The stuff that also falls into the "only one available" besides the S/C are the true coilovers, the differential, motor mounts, adjustable struts, aluminum flywheel. I guess I'll throw body kits in there too, cause theres only like 2 available. Lets not forget, we have NO high flow aftermarket injectors, cams, heads, headers (at least not in this market), ECU's for the later years, rings, rods, pistons, intercoolers, headgaskets, turbos unless its custom made. And those are the parts that are necessary when it comes to serious modification. When I first got my car, I thought "theres plenty of aftermarket available, Stillen makes stuff for them". Yep, they sure do, but they have a monopoly over their products and are sooo expensive.


I know I'm coming across sounding like a total butt plug, but I honestly expected more out of this car. Especially one that cost as much as it did and was supposed to be this amazing 4 door sports car. Guess all the hype and advertising worked. Being a former Toyota driver doesnt help either.