I'm starting to think of what I might want to get as a "summer" car, after the maxima gets a bit older. I was thinking about getting a 350z Nismo (limited edition ones) sometime in the future.

Do you think that you will buy another Nissan or more specifically a maxima after your current maxima? If not what are you thinking of getting? And please be realistic, I know we all want porsches or GT-R's at heart.

 

My first car was an '86 Nissan 300ZX, and I still have it...the only thing non-Nissan I've ever owned was a '93 Integra. I'm 18, the cars I've had so far are my '86 300ZX NA2T (still have), a '93 Integra (bought for $400, sold for $800 a year later), '79 280ZX (still have), '92 Nissan Hardbody (bought for $500, traded for my Maxima), and my '96 Maxima I got a couple weeks ago...

So basically I've decided, after owning the integra and having a chance to drive all sorts of different makes and models (my brother owns a dealership), I've decided I'll never own anything but a Nissan again.

 

So im guessing you want a sports car.

 

I am also a fan of the new z's - nissan really did their thing with the nismo edition (minus the ~$40k price tag), but i've owned my maxima for about a year and a half now and no substantial problems out of it, only replacing the starter & radiator. I am very pleased with the amount of car the maxima is for the money; if I get a new car anytime in the near future, you had best believe it will be a nissan, probably even a newer maxima.....

 

There are so many cars with 3.5L that can make 300HP today: G37, IS350, C350, 355I.

But with gas prices like last summer, the car to get would be an Altima Hybrid. A lady with this car pull into the parking space next to me. Went in the store, came back and pull out without a sound.

 

Seriously, don't get a hybrid...

 

No hybrid... The Nismo Z is a great choice except for a price tag. For that kind of money... have you driven an EVO or STI before? I've driven both and absolutely love the EVO IX hands down over the STI. Though the STI is a little more comfy and seems more ergonomic inside... the EVO's precise steering and point and go handling makes love to the tarmac. And power is very easy to come by. A slightly used EVO or STI would cost considerably less.

If not looking at $$$ as too big of an issue I'd probably go with the Nismo Z or the latest Z model coming out (330 hp right?). Easy power w/ a Turbo Kit and tune. I haven't had the chance to drive the Nismo yet, but the 350Z I test drove was unimpressive. It could've been a flawed car too though, since it only ran a 14.4@97 mph when I ran against it w/ a 14.2@100 mph in my maxima. We then ran again and results were similar... highway pull results were similar too...(Power/Weight he should have killed me easily)

 

I think that this will be my last Maxima. Mainly because they went away with a true manual trans. I love the new Maxima, but I have to have a real manual. My next car would be either an 07 or newer Altima 3.5SE sedan 6 speed with Nav, a new Infiniti G-37 sedan with manual trans and nav, or a BMW 335i sedan 6 speed. I think that that is why I love my 03 Maxima so much. It has a 6 speed, and all options except nav. For a pure toy car I want a 02-03 Spec-V with a VQ35de swap.

 

My summer ride has no cage around it.

 

Ugh. No offense intended (to anyone), but I can't stand EVOs and WRXs. I just think they're a waste of money compared to many other options around. Also it seems like the only people who drive them are ******** (maybe just my experience). Too expensive, bad mpg, not great hp/$, FWD, no features, not very attractive (riced rally car FTL), expensive rice rocket IMO.

Me, I have been touched by the Nissan bug, and a G35/37 is hopefully the next step for me in a few years. More hp, better mpg, looks better, luxury features, RWD, for only a little more (or about the same price) as a comparable EVO/WRX...

I'd also like a Lexus IS F someday...

 

IS F and several of this same class of cars use the same size gas tanks as the normal cars. I have a IS250 and range is not great, IS350 would be worse and the IS F would spend huge amount of time at the gas station.

GT-R and MB C63 has the same range issues.

 

I have a Prius since 2001. It was brought out of curiosity at the time but it came in handy last summer.

 

Umm no? Correct me if I'm wrong please, but the g37 does not have a 3.5. Thats why you have a g35


Our 4th car we've owned was a 95 Nissan Maxima when it first came out. Had it for over 10 years with NO problems that comes to mind (moms car) until my uncle totaled it. Soon later my sister bought a 03 Altima and I bought a 90 240sx. My dad bought a 03 Titan and I bought another Nissan; 97 Maxima. Our experience with Nissan's have been great as they deliver comfort and performance at a affordable price tag. Oh and you probably can guess what my friends cars are.

All in all, Nissan FTW!!!!

 

Ummm.... I hope you meant 4WD?

I was thinking the EVO or STI would be a better bang for buck compared to picking up a Nismo Z? $20k(used) $30k(new) vs $40k.

hp/$ ... my bro's Evo dyno's @ 350 awhp mustang dyno... $2500 in additional mods:
E85 Injectors: $300 (off of a different EVO, resold his stock inj for $150)
Cosworth Cams: $600 (Stock sold for $150)
Turbo-Back: $500 (Stock sold for $90)
HKS BOV Recirc: $100 (Barely used, stock resold for $60 to EVO VIII owner)
$600 tuning time total (Stock ECU was designed for aftermarket modifications! Not many stock ECU's are set up to accept dual maps!)
and a couple little other stuff... stock 16g IX turbo.

Nismo/350Z would be at least $3000 for a turbo kit (No stock to resale) and more for tune... so hp/$ would have to go to the EVO....

Along the lines of A$$hole drivers, I would agree... they always think they the $hit w/ their new turbo 4wd and still have dealer plates on... I've smoked a couple of EVO VIII's and X's and STI's w/ the Maxima due to their cockiness (Stock Vs Modded Maxima it's gonna depend on driver ability). And they are becoming the replacement for Civic's.

Bad MPG??? What Does the Z get??? Can't be too much better. G37 or IS would be a pretty sweet ride too.

 

 

I'm selling my max right now and I'm going to get either a yota or Honda beater cause I'm broke. But if I had the money there is little question that I would get an impreza of some sort. I have driven most subies avail and done a fair amount of research and I've got to say that there is now way it's a bad deal for what you get. An Sti gets 300whp out the box on a sweet well engineered 4 banger with the most acclaimed awd system in the biz (evo tcases blow early like 40k). There reliability ratings are equal to or greater than nissans since like around 00. And the stock impreza starts at like 17$k and the car is no slouch (easily keep up with or beat a 4th gen with a good driver). And subies are insanely easy to squeeze power out of on a budget. Nissans are good cars don't get me wrong but I see far better value per dollar for a new subie compared to a new nissan.(and the g's typically get really low reliability ratings) and if I were to get a truck I'd get a 4runner.(another unbeatable value)

 

Great for you and your family.

We have one guy in the office who has a 5th gen I35, 4th gen Max and a new 4 dr Frontier.

Four years ago we were looking for a two door and test drove the G35 2dr, SLK350, Boxter, 350Z. The Z4 was not available for a test drive when we were looking. My preference was the G35 2dr but we pickup a SLK350. Yes, our summer car.

Two years ago we went to see the IS250, Mazda 6 and G35 4dr (V35). The G35 was being heavily discounted in anticipation of the V36 coming out. We pickup a IS250 because gas issue made the IS250 more attractive and the update made that car thoroughly modern.

We had a chance to pickup a used Versa two months ago but somebody offered more. The Versa or Altima Hybrid would be or next pick. Other cars to be considered would be a VW TDI or another Prius.

BTW, we lived in Southington, CT before moving to CA.

 

I'm with you. The reason I just bought my 02 Max was for the manual. I needed something I would be happy driving (that means manual), but had space for the kids. I love manuals and want to always have one. Maybe in about 3 years I will pick up an 07 Altima 3.5 6 speed. Or a couple year old Acura TL with a 6 speed.

 

I love Nav too and have Nav in all my cars. We now have two cars with factory Nav and in both case they are not worth getting. Main reason is that they must be programmed while in the car. You can imagine with a pretty passenger waiting and you can't find the place you want to go. You can't get any data in and out of them.

But, pretty soon they will be almost a standard item in any new cars.

 

Well, technically I meant AWD for the WRX...

http://www.subaru.com/shop/specifica...ry=PERFORMANCE
2009 WRX STI: Starts at $35k, 17/23mpg from a 2.5L H4 305hp

http://www.mitsubishimotors.com/MMNA...s.do?loc=en-us
2008 Lancer Evolution: Starts at $33k, 16/22mpg from a 2.0L MIVEC L4 290hp

http://www.nissanusa.com/zcoupe/specifications.html
2009 370Z: Starts at $30k, 18/26mpg from a 3.7L V6 330hp


Looks are a matter of opinion and taste, I just like the way the numbers stack up.

 

How new does it have to be? Older cars are more fun, they don't weight 2 ton (not all new cars do either, but you guys know what i mean)

 

i like nissans and 4th/5th gen maximas and i like the altima SER's but my true dream car is a 94 supra TT 6 speed.. nothing will ever change that, not even the GTR.

 

No, this is not true. I own a 95 Maxima and an IS F. My Maxima gets about 22 MPG (range is about 330 miles). The IS F gets about 20 MPG in mixed driving and about 25-28 on highway (range is about 290 miles). The C63 and M3 get like 13 MPG. BTW, they both also get hit with gas guzzler, which the IS F does not. Many IS350 owners complain that the IS F gets better gas mileage then them.

And yeah, I drag race every chance I get in the IS F and still get around 20 MPG.

 

Well, I got a SLK and then later a Lexus as a summer car, because as we know the air conditioning in our Maximas suck ***. And yeah, the GT R is on my short list as my next car as I'll have paid off the Lexus in the next month or so.

I actually still like driving around in my 240,000 mile Maxima. It's like an old shoe you've become comfortable with. I just spent close to $4,000 the past 6 months to fix my Max (new transmission, wheel bearings, air conditioning, 60K tune up, headlights, brakes, etc.).

 

It's like an old shoe you've become comfortable with.



i usually throw my old shoes away but good luck w/ buying a GTR especially if you still have car payments on the lexus, a GTR is like a morgage.

 

I am not talking about MPG but range. They still use the same tank for all three cars, IS250, IS350 and IS-F.

 

...as who knows? The A32 air conditioning system works extremely well, if you actually take care of the car.

 

MPG and tank size == range.

 

shenigans. I saw them for 36K at the dealer last month.

 

Yes, which is why I put in the range of each of my cars. The IS F is not much worse than the IS 350 and within a 50 miles of my Maxima. So, I disagree that you'll be at the gas station all the time with an IS F.

 

Well, I paid off a $65K Lexus IS F in about 7 months. I don't think the GTR will be that much more difficult.

 

Only when you run the car dry. Our IS250 has the shortest range amongst our seven cars.

It is a great car all around otherwise.

Just a few things to ***** about like the range and the time Nav put the car in between two runways at SJC airport . Then the dealer shop guy said they need to do a "CALIBRATION". What a laugh.

The IS A/C design accumulate gunk inside and made the car stink. They never were able to fix it.

This is a small car so the seats are fairly short. Knees would be hanging out beyond front edge of the seat if you are a tall guy. The seat back would be behind the B post also. My partner is 6-3 and he doesn't fit well in it.

 

My I30 A/C works great. The variable capacity compressor was ahead of its time and eventually Toyota copied it also.

 

assuming you put nothing down on the lexus, you paid 9,000 dollars a month for that car? even if you put half the money down, who pays a 4,500$ loan a month???

 

This is just a general comment and nothing to do with madoka.

Take an equity loan and buy a car. The whole country is doing it and that's how we got to where we are today.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...ey05-07_06.jpg

Keep driving that old A32.

 

Well, I suppose I do. I have no debt outside of mortage. I've already prepaid my utilities for the next 18 months. I saw that I was paying some $200 in interest every month for the Lexus. I know I'm financially irresponsible, so if I didn't pay off the car, I would just blow my money on some new gadget or other (e.g. I bought 13 computers for personal use the last 2 years). So I figured, the best thing to do was to just pay off the car early. But now that I've done that, I'm seriously tempted to buy another car because I've gotten used to the speed of the IS F.

 

Weird. When I first got my Maxima back in 95, I was involved in the maxima boards. EVERYONE complained about the weak AC system. I have to turn it all the way to max (setting 4) just to get to what other cars are at with setting 2.

 

That just the factory programming. The compressor is a variable capacity compressor.

When the input-output pressure delta is large as the evaporator took more therms from the freon, the compressor wobble plate angle increases and increase the output pressure more.

When the input-output pressure is small as the evaporator took less therms from the freon, the wobble plate angle decreases and decrease the output pressure more.

The interior control doesn't sense the internal freon pressure but just monitor the inside, outside temperature and your A/C temp setting. All you have to do is lower the temp setting and the fan will remove more therms from the freon. This increases the freon pressure delta and kicks the compressor into higher capacity mode.

The designer of that compressor is really a thermal genius and eventually it was widely copied. Few engineers considered it before as it is kind of a suicide concept, increase the pressure more as the pressure is already increasing. So they put a pressure sensor on the dryer as a safety device.

The original wobble plate design was licensed from GM/Harrison. GM licensed the variable wobble plate angle design back from Calsonic and produced it themselves. The wobble plate design fell out of favor in the '70 to '80s when it was viewed as less efficient than radial designs. Then it came back in the '90 with this variable capacity feature. I have the old fixed angle wobble plate Harrison compressor on my Suburban.