In your opinion/experiences, do you think that these cars are equally matched?

My reason:

A friend of mine, who is a HUGE Mustang fan (owns 6 of them), was telling me of his most recent run against an 02/03 Max SE. Now, keep this in mind: he races in some sanctioned league/event/whatever. This just happened to be on the street a couple of Saturdays ago.

He said, and I quote "I could not beat that Maxima. When I asked the guy about any modifications, he said there were no mods done to his car yet.". He even went on to say that he was flat out beat with no excuses (ie. missed a gear, etc.).

He's VERY impressed with the Maximas.

Now, what do you think? A good matchup, or do you think the guy with the Max was yanking his chain by saying that there was no mods done to his car?

Like I said, he's a friend, so I trust his word. But it just doesn't sound right to me.

 

Maybe your friend didn't get a good launch? Stock for stock he should have taken the Max by a little-especially when you get up there in speed. Around 90+ the Mustang should really start to move ahead.

 

I've beaten an 02 GT 5 speed with my 03 Maxima Auto stock....

 

eventhoguh you say the cars were stock that doesnt necesarily mean anything

eventhough your friend races his stang doesnt make him a good driver,

i think that was the case here, it was a driver's race

 

it is a drivers' race definitely.....i've beaten a 02 GT by like a car up to 65ish.....it's a quick car i gotta say....

 

even with that said, it's still quite amazing that a 4 door 3200lb V6 boat can even tangle with a V8 monster....

 

I agree with the observation that it's a driver's race when it comes to a Stock Mustang. I gave a newer GT the flux and he could not do anything but shake his head.

 

its not a monster, a cobra is a monster a GT v8 is barely enough to have fun in a mustang.

it a ford man, probably after a couple of races a drive to the dealership would be necessary for a rebuild

 

Damn, he OWNS 6 or HAS OWNED 6???

I'd say if your friend is truly a good driver, and he has a 5sp GT, the Max probably had some mods.

Otherwise, from the stories told on the .org, it seems to be a driver's race between the 5sp GT and the 6sp Max. If it's a 5sp GT vs an auto Max, it's still a driver's race, but the GT is at an advantage.

 

He OWNS 6 of them.

The only changes that were made to the car he was driving was a different exhaust setup. More for sound than anything.

I was thinking the Max owner was pulling his leg, because my friend is a great racer. He's not a slouch by any means.

I just thought it was cool that he openly admitted to being beat without making any type of excuses. He's good at that too.

 

Not one stock 6 speed Maxima (02-03) can consistently get 14.1's in the 1/4 like the current power GT can. If my GA car/truck/racing club can all get under 14.2 dead stock, then I don't see how the Maxima has a chance. One of our stock '00 GT's ran 13.82 on street wheels/tires. Only had the spare and jack removed. No Maxima can do that, even if it is race prepped.

 

i believe it

i kept up with one in my maxima (on is back fender) before i had my overheating accident ....it has never been the same!....thats why its stock now..

 

With modifications, I have been able to beat the new GT's. It's always very close. With that in mind, I'm going to have to agree that the GT will win most of the races against an unmodded Maxima.

 

I can stay dead even with my buddy's 2k2 auto GT from 20-90.

 

I don't know about the Maxima auto beating Mustang GT S-speed . I've done this race before and by the time I hit 70mph or so he had a nice 2 car lengths on me. But then again at the time my car had only 180 miles on it.

 

I beat some dude in a 99+ GT 5speed, right after I got my Max out of the shop. (Right @ the light, 1/2 block up from the dealer).

He's looking all smug at me, pumping his tunes. That light turned green and we both TORE out; I took him by 3/4 car lengths right to the next light about 1/2 mile down.

I was laughing halfway down just because I could hear this guy just wrenching his gears...REVVVVVV-CRUNCH-REVVVVVVVV-CRUNCH. If I ever see that guy again, I have two words for him: Skip Barber!!

Peace.

 

I have yet to see a 99-03 stock GT get those numbers consistently either no place and I do alot of tracking.

 

Hey F23A4, where from jersey are you?

 

it is a total driver's race...i have outdriven a trans am 6 sp., but so what. assuming equal drivers, the 'stang will be faster. but they are very close in acceleration

 

So do I, and I see them each and every time. I've got plenty of vids to prove it...

 

So do I!

 

My 02 6-speed was slowly pulled on by a 5 speed GT from around 60-110, by 110 he had me by a good car length. It wasnt a mauling, but I think they have a faster car stock vs. stock. I have taken a few of the auto GTs but I by no means destroyed them. Blow a shift, or bog, and they will get you. It is interesting just how much a good driver factors in, I was reading in R&T about a Roush Mustang they were testing (close to 370 hp at the crank or something like that) anyhow on one run at the strip the guy got overzealous on launch and ran a 14.2 and I think his best run was high 13's. Funny with a car that should be consistently low 13s.
-Getz

 

I just gotta give props to you Maxima guys. Alot of other boards just bash Mustangs and call them ****ty & slow.

As far as new GT's hitting below 14.2 stock, believe it. My dad has a 00 GT 5 speed Coupe, and only mod was intake silencer and K&N filter. He put down 236rwhp/282rwtq on a Dynojet (SAE) and has run consistent 14.2 @ 98mph when at a decent track. There have been guys that really know how to drive that have hit 13's in a 100% stock 99+ GT.

Remember though, exhaust, tires and intake for you guys get you close to 13's. Full exhaust (headers/off road crossover/catback), decent CAI, and some decent tires will get a GT to mid 13's, and then throw a set of gears in and it'll run low 13's on a drag radial. Stock for stock they are pretty close, but modded vs. modded the Mustang starts to show a more distinct advantage. JMHO

 

Personaly, I like the Mustangs. I only bash Hondas.

When I got my 2002 Maxima, it was a split between the 2002 Mustang and the 2002 Maxima. I figured since I have a family (and will probably be adding to it sometime soon), that the 4 doors on the Maxima was worth it over the 2 doors on the Mustang.

Now granted, I have 2 Maximas (2002 and 2001)...but hey...they both look good in the driveway next to each other.

 

i was looking at a Cobra, but decided it just wasn't practical enough, since i live in minnesota, i would have needed a winter car. maxima is a great car... fast, incredibly good looks, lots of features. i love my maxima!!

 

The only Mustang i like are the Cobras Cobra R and Saleen. GTs are ok, but you see lots of them around here and i dont think they are special unless you but a nice body kit or some rims and such.

o.....My favorite Mustang by far are the Ricer v6 mustangs with the huge spoiler, coffee can exhaust, and altezzas.



The one thing i hate are some of those crazy Ford lovers, they think Ford is the best automaker in the world, Chevy Die, ect. Thats stupid.

 

I would love the mustang, if it didn't have the name Ford attached to it...

 

Besides my 2 Maximas, I have a 1993 Ford F150. I must say, with 261,000 miles and counting, it's been a heck of a vehicle. Neither the engine or the transmission have had any major work done to them. But, it's not a Maxima, so it's pretty rare when it's driven anymore.

 

Somerset

 

Why the dislike with Ford? Sure they've had their problems, but it's not like Nissan has been flawless, especially recently.

It's funny how fast people forget that Nissan was about 30 seconds away from becoming the Japanese Geo. If Renault hadn't invested in the company Nissan would almost for sure be dead in the water right now.

 

I raced a GT today and was shifting at 6600 rpm. When do the rest of you guys shift? The GT beat me by about 1 length.

Jesse

 

A friend of mine has a 2001 Stang convertible GT. I took him for a ride in my '03 6 speed/ LSD, and his reaction cracked me up, he said something to the affect of "holy f#ck, no way". Seat of the pants he said it was faster but we never raced. I guess that might have something to do with being a convertible, since it's heavier.

What's wierd is, every maxima with the vq35 is that fast. I remember a time when if you bought a car that ran high 14s factory, you had a special car, rare in fact. All those Maxima's out there have that potential, well, at least us MTs do :-)

Another close firend is a Manager for a nissan dealership. He has a SE auto right now as his loaner, he calls it a "factory freak" because it has so much torque off the line. I was like, yep, "they're factory freaks allright, all of 'em!"

TO me, the car is my 4 door daddy car. I kept my 95 talon TSI turbo, with some mods which is a bit faster. No one has ever challeneged me to a race in that car in normal commuter driving. Coming home one day last week in my max, and a worked eclipse (same as Talon) turbo pulls up along my max, vents his BOV and brakes, he wants to race!!! I was like damn, I wish I had the Talon. I didn't bite because i heard an aftermarket BOV and he had exhaust, I know from my talon he prolly would beat me. Besides, I didn't want to turn off the climate control