I was out drivin my dad's 2k maxima and to me it felt like it was faster than my car, which is a 96 with CAI and a stillen y-pipe. What did they do to that car to make it so fast or is it just the feel is different?

The 2k maxima has a the same 3.0 V6 as the 4th gen....except they bumped up the hp from 190 to 222.. They also raised the torque. I saw some time-slips in motor trend and car and driver...
they acutally had the 2k maxima 4A time 0-60 at 8.3 seconds...slower than the 4th gen which is officially 7.9.
The 5m i think was rated at around 6.5 seconds...

Anyways i test drove the 2k GLE at the edmunds test driving program....its does feel a little faster off the line...but because of the 0-60 time i still wonder where the extra 32hp went.
:)
Mike

I've also wondered about the differences between the 4th & 5th gen. Before I bought my car (used 98 last year)I test drove the 5th gen and despite their claims of an increase of 32hp, which I couldn't feel, I decided to save 6G's and purchase the 4th gen.
Just recently I went to the 1/4 track with three other guys I met on this board. They all have 2k's with the same mods as I do and ran slightly quicker times (15.1 @92.3 vs. 15.0 @94.5). Those cars come on strong on top because of the HP peaks. Ours peaks at 5600 and theirs at 6400. They also have a valve in the intake which opens at around 5g and it helps with the breathing.
I guess we have to respect our big brothers, or they'll give us a good whipping.

Yeah most people say they can't tell the difference. And whoever said 0-60 in 8.3 for atuo and 6.5 for stick is on crack. Never could any respectable car company put an auto on a car that would affect it that much. Their horsepower up top helps them. Their engine is the same but their stock y-pipe, muffler, and intake manifold is better. My thinking is if you put CAI/YPipe/Cat/Catback on both cars they should be making close to the same HP. This is another reason why the 4th Gen makes nice gains from mods.

Blue Max...I don't know...
 

Before I bought my 98 SE 5 speed, I test drove a 2000 SE 5 speed. I thought that the car was really quick and smooth. I broke down the price and decided to look for a 1-2 year old 4th gen. The next month I found a 98 SE modded exhaust...test drove it and loved it. Yesterday I went to the dealer. While getting an oil change I test drove a 2000 5 speed again...my car is faster! The salesman didn't believe me...SOOOOOO I had to take him for a little ride around some curves and to the highway. When I hit 3rd gear at around 65-70 mph...the salesman conceded! Forgive me for my little story.
K

Yeah right after i drove my dad's i drove mine and i definetly think mine is faster, but from around 70-80 i think his beats me. What can i do to fix this?

Almost all of the gain on the 2000+ motor comes from the new intake manifold, a variable-volume plenum-style manifold. The fuel system (fuel rails/pressure regulator) and intake filter box are also different, but mainly just to compensate for the increased high-rpm breathing from the new intake manifold. The exhaust setup is identical to the 99 Maximas, and is similar to the 95-98s, with the exception of the rear muffler. The rear muffler is *maybe* good for a few HP.

So, my guess (a resonably good one, I might add) is that the gains come from
1) Intake manifold - 85% (of the 32 HP gain - ie ~25 HP)
2) Intake filter/fuel changes - 10%
3) Muffler - 5%

The reason why you might not feel the gains on the 2K Maxima is that there's very little increase in torque. Considering the increased weight, the torque increase is more than cancelled out. You feel torque. The HP increase from the new intake manifold all comes on past 5100 rpm, when the valve opens in the manifold. From that rpm on up, the torque falloff that occurs on the 4th gens is much milder - torque falloff on the 2K engine is much more gradual, hence the peak HP is larger and comes at a higher rpm vs the 4th gens. Rev the 2K engine from 5000 to redline and you WILL feel the difference from the 4th gens.