My friend has the same GXE Maxima with about the same milage, only mine is '97 and his is '98. I test drove his and noticed that the steering wheel and the clutch felt much smoother. Also I noticed that the engine was way quieter and doors felt a little heavier.
Now I am jealous and thinking of trading mine in for a '98. Any thoughts on this???

Don't worry. You have identical cars besides digital odo.

Maybe its something else, like tires or something. I notice on my car, when I put on a brand new set of tires, my car is really really quiet. A couple of thousand miles later and the road roar returns

As for the doors,

DW