The other comparison I wrote a while ago was worthless, becuase I didn't do any real road tests.

This time I got to drive her car 30 miles, highway, city and neighborhood driving. I looked for things such as interior build quality, dow low power, handling, braking, ect.

First, I'll start off by telling you guys about each car.

Her car: 1995 GXE beige Automatic w/ 174,450 miles. New engine block with some old interals such as the old knock sensors, old 174k Tranny that shifts jerky going from 1-2. Mods: Generic Popcharger, Ergon 15x6.5 aftermarket wheels on cheap rubber, FSTB, RSB, diamond clears, infinity sound system, bazooka subwoofer.

My car: 1995 SE black Automatic w/64,000 miles. Same engine, same tranny (which is still smooth). Mods: Too many cosmetic, so I'll just say my performance, wheels and suspension...Konig Caffeine 17x8 rims (19lbs.) w/Nankang 225/45/17R H-rated rubber, CAI, downpipe, b-pipe w/no resonator, flowmasters into dual outlets, B&G springs w/stock bleeding struts.

Ok, now that you are familier with the two cars, here is what I was experianced to:

A. Interior build quality

1)Her '95 GXE - Rattles, plastic shifter/steering wheel, cheaper lighter feeling door panels, ect.

1)My '95 SE - No rattles whatsoever, Leather wrapped shifter/wheel, plusher softer door panels, nice bose, more solid feeling

B. Handling

1)Her car handled surprisingly well around the turns. I can really feel the difference between her and my car in the rear where I am without a RSB. Around turns her car feels like mine, but with more body lean. On the highway her car felt really floaty compared to mine with the stock 4 inch wheel gap.

1)My car corners tighter, being that I have 8 inch wide tires, a FSTB and sport springs.. but with my dying struts and lack of a RSB, the difference between our handling is less. On the highway my car felt much more solid and doesn't float around.

C. Braking

Advantage definatally goes to her. Her brakes feel alot more responsive, while mine feel a little more worked/spongy. This most likely is becuase of my rims, and the fact that my pads only have about 20% life left. Both cars are without ABS and both have 4 wheel discs which I believe is standard, and work well.

D. Performance

1)Her car feels more lively on the low end. It's gas pedal feels much lighter, and it feels more sprightly off the line. I could peel out in her car, but can't in mine. I guess that is becuase the 15 inch thin tires that she has. Mid range power was good and highway power didn't compare to mine, especially when in 4th gear.

1)My car...less lively down low, i'm thinking do to my big wheels, and exhaust mods. Mid-range punch is almost the same, but my car pulls harder/more violent, with more torque. My car pulls significantly harder on the highway.


Overall, my car feels much more solid, and handles slightly better with her rear being tighter (NO pun intended). My car would cream her in the 1/4th, but she would take me off the line if she could control the spinning. Her GXE has a lighter more responsive feel to it that I noticed from the time I bought my car.

Both cars are above average, and both perform well. Feel free to post questions/comments here.

 

How much of this is attributed to the milege? I mean, your sis's car has 110k more miles than you do. I agree the SE has a plusher interior, but how would hte rattles have anything to do with it?

 

I guess that's true, due to the milage..but it feels like when they made my car, it was made with higher quality materials, and thicker materials, hers feels thinner and I guess therefore rattle more.

But you do have a good point about the milage.

 

i think hers jumps off the line better than yours because of your rims. 18 is a big difference from 15. more weight, plus a larger diameter to turn. but that's why you won on the highway. i'm thinking bigger wheels take less energy to turn than smaller wheels once you have the momentum and speed. i mean, the 15's have to revolve more to cover the same distance as 18's revolving once.

....or am i crazy?

 

Not krayzie, its been discussed before about the rims/momentum, stuf like that. he has 17's doesn't he? the ypipe helps a lot especially on the highway doing 70+

 

Ya I only have 17's

And your right about the momentum+bigger rim...the bigger the rim, the slower the take off, 1/4th mile, but the faster the top speed.

And your right about the Y-pipe, noticed the difference the day after I got it on, I floored the car and it was like a totally different vehicle. But keep in mine I have a very free flowing B-pipe and muffler system as well.

 

Regarding the wheels, yes the greater the radius/weight the more rotational intertia the wheels have. I notice it everytime I switch between my 18s and 16s even though they weigh almost the same weight (1lb. difference). When you talk about power you shouldn't ever talk about being able to spin the tires either The wheels make a difference, but since both of you have H rated tires it will be a lot easier to spin the tires than on Z rated rubber.

Your braking would probably feel better if you got better shocks. Right now with leaking struts the car is more than likely diving much more than your sister's car. When combined with the larger wheels the brakes just won't feel as good.
-hype

 

Just Curious, Isn't the top speed of the Maxima drag-limited (and not redline limited)? If this is correct - how would a bigger tire affect top-speed?

 

I don't believe the wheel affects top speed at all, but it will maintain it's momentum better than a wheel with a smaller radius. i.e. If you have 2 Maximas with different sized wheels (all other things equal) on the highway going 80mph and both drivers put the car in neutral, the Maxima with the larger wheels will roll the farthest before coming to a stop.
-hype

 

You guys have to also consider that the GXE is the bottom of the line of the maxima's as far as trim levels. Not taking anything away from a GXE (I think a GXE max is better than top of line rice)but had you compared it to a GLE, the interior differences would have been a better comparison. True there are bare SE's, barring that. Most SE's I've seen and been in are moderately equiped and thereby very comparable to the GLE in terms of fit and finish. As for performance, you have twice as many mods as your sister thereby very much predicting the outcome.

 

I have had the priviledge of driving two Max's for an extended period of time.

My sister has a 96GXE (w/ 84K), (we shared a car until I got a 99SE w/72K) ) But I have repeatedly driven them back to back and was saddened by the results. Oh yeah, both are completely stock.

Hers, (The GXE) Feels faster, does have better tires (which I bought). She has the 15 Steelies and off the line it is sooo much faster. Yes, I have proved that hers is faster off the line, by repeatedly racing my best friends Autotragic Volvo S70 T-5 which always runs the same time (the best/worst part of the autotragic) Her car can pull about 3 car lengths on the volvo, mine can only pull 2 car lenghts until his turbo lights off and he toasts me.

All the launches were from similar RPM, w/ minimal/no wheelspin, just launch and then hammer down.

Whether its the different wheels...15 vs 16, or just that the 96 is a good one, hers is definitely faster. The weight difference isn't that much, so hers remains faster until I start doing some modding...tanslation..get thru college and get some real money.

Just my $.02

 

Hey, make your own thread bish

Hers feels faster becuase this time it actually is...95-96 were tested and were .1-.2 faster than the 97-99's.