i just bought a 2001 se 5 speed and i have 1600 miles on it already and it does not feel as fast as my friends 95 5 speed with 110,000 miles on it!!! is mine a lemon, or does it need more time to break in?

 

A few mods might help... but appearances can be deceiving so race him and find out for sure. The overall consensus I've seen is that the 5th gen is slightly faster in the 5spd.

 

Only one way to know for sure.......Line em'up

 

Hmmmm... I feel the same way about my 2k1 AE vs. my 98 SE. Thought it was my imagination. Hopefully it is. I mean 227HP vs. 190HP. No-brainer, right? Never did check out the curb-weight differences.

Putting two-and-two together... ahhh... curb-weight... maybe that's why my mileage stinks compared to my 98. Is the 2k1 heavier or would the poor mileage be a direct decendent of more HP?

I think I have some homework to do.

Also, anyone else who owned a 4th gen and now a 5th gen notice you don't sit as low in the 5th as you did in the 4th even after all the seat adjustments. I just felt as though I was sitting in a cockpit in my 4th and now feel like I'm in a kitchen chair, all pearched up like some grandmother (no offense to all those Maxima-driving grandma's out there) in the 5th.

Sorry for the rant.

 

The 5th gen doesn't feel as fast off the line because 4th gen has tons of low-end torque. The 5th gen can really acclerate at the top end.

When I first got my 5th gen, it certainly felt slower. But when I look at the gagues, I was actually going faster. I don't really know why.

It doesn't feel fast, but it certainly goes fast!

 

i definately sit higher in my gen 5 than i did in my gen 3. i'm looking for replacement seats to help correct this situation.

 

because it is lighter and it tuned for low end power, but once you go above 4500 rpm, the 5th gen. pulls definitelt harder.

 

The 5th gen's max hp is at redline as opposed to around 5600 (I think) in the the 4th gen. As a result, you've got to run the 5th gen to redline in each gear to get full power. If you shift your 5th gen at the same points as your 4th gen it will feel slower - and will be slower.

From what I've seen the 5th is slightly faster in 1/4mi but generally pulls a trap speed of a couple mph higher which should translate into being faster post 1/4mi. But it really is very close - driver ability wins.

 

I agree! My biggest gripe is the seats are too high for me. I feel as if I am going to fall over the dash. My old '96 GLE sat alot lower, I perfer the driving position in the 4th gen. The 5th gen would support smaller frames better.

Mark

 

i had a 98 and i have a good way of judging which one was faster, my 98 or my 2k auto. they are both autos. my bro in law has a 95 legend and i couldnt beat him before with my 98. i would take him off the line, but as soon as i got higher in my revs, he would pass me every time. now in my 2k i dont get him off the line by as great a distance, but as i rev i pull away from him and stay about 1 carlength ahead untill we back off at around 95-100. 2k is definitely faster. another thing is that ive never heard of 95 5speeds getting 14.8-14.9 bone stock. ive seen 2ks do it. so dont worry, let your car break in and it will be fine.

 

I've been a Maxima admirer since the 3rd gen. I've haven't had the chance to drive a 4th gen, but I have an older brochure for a '98 Max which states the 0-60 time @6.6 seconds (matching that of a Lexus LS 400 at the time)! The 5th gen Max is said to do it 6.7 sec. At first I wondered how this could be 190hp vs. 222hp (in my case 227hp AE). The supposed answer was that the gearing in the new Max's were setup for better top-end speed, to which I can testify is probably true. I've had plenty of races with other 3rd, 4th & 5th gen Max's. On one particular race I remember well, I was neck & neck with a 4th gen for about 10 mins all the way up to about 100mph then I started to break away increasing steadily up to 125mph (which it did beautifully) and it seemed like he was trying hard to keep up. When I first started opening her up I thought I would have felt more power. i now have about 6,600 mile and I'll say one thing, the power does seem to increase as it breaks in more. Either way I must say my Max has never let me down, especially at a light next to a riced out Civic/Integra/Accord with super loud exhausts. My Max proves her might EVERY time!

On the other note about the seating.....it's true I first felt like I was perched or driving a Mack truck. I've gotten used to it though. There are other gripes that I've had because I know previous Max had more features, like the lack of individual map lights (with sunroof), separate switch for heated outside mirrors (the 3rd gen had it), keypad entry system (3rd gen-I know, who needs it with remote keyless entry), some one else also made me aware that my passenger door doesn't have a keyhole (again, no big deal), and the two big ones that I was sorry to see go was the remote window operation (4th gen) and independent rear suspension (3rd gen).

Sorry for rambling on.....

Despite all that I LOVE MY MAX!!! There's nothing else that can touch it in the $30k range especially with the 5speed.

So go enjoy your MAX to the fullest.

 

Excellent--thanks for eliminating my fears. About when do you start feeling the difference? I've got 1800 miles now and it still feels kinda weak. i took it up to 125 today and my 87 Saab 9000 turbo feels like it would woop my maxima's ***.

 

So the 5th Gen was geared for top end? I don't really see how they could have improved it all that much, I thought mine was like that. On the interstate you will be going 130+ in my Max and not even be pushing it. Is 3rd gear good in the 5th gen? Thats the best gear in my '97, it absolutely screams.

 

The 5th gen has the same gearing as the 4th gen. The reason the 5th gen has better topend is because it's got about 700rpms more to work with. Yes, the 5th gen has about 32hp more, but some of it is negated by the extra weight. In the topend, the 5th gen will win. By looking at the dynos the 5th gen makes a little less power down low which is related to the variable path intake. Once the short runners come into to play, the 5th gen exceeds the 4th gen. My 4th gen only makes 175 fwhp@5600, but it's making 165+fwhp between 4800-6000rpms which makes for a very usable powerband. I'm making over 180fwtq from 2000-5100 rpms which makes for good acceleration in any gear.

The 5th gen feels soft down low because you're tugging a little more weight with a little less power than a 4th gen from idle to 4000rpms.


Dave

 

My seat of the pants tells me that the 4th gen. is/was indeed more torquier down low, but I can already tell with this new 5th gen. of mine that it has more pull after 5000rpm. And this is with only 300 miles on the odometer!

 

stock for stock, auto for auto, my 96 GLE was slightly faster over my 5th gen. Funny, how 190HP can out run a 227. Maybe its not funny, but sad. From a roll of avout 30-40 MPH, the 5th is a little faster.

 

i wouldnt call it a kill, but a snail-paced walk. i have a 97 gxe 5spd and race my friend 4 times. he has a 2k se auto with barely under 10k miles. first stopsign, i took him off the line about 1/2 car length in front and by 60-70ish i was about 1.5 cars ahead. second stopsign (shorter strech), i took him off the line again but i had some wheel spin. he was about 1/4 car in front by 20mph and i pulled even to him at about 45mph. third stop sign, sprinklers on and peeled out. he pulled away and i just sat spinnin my wheels. fourth stopsign, 1/2 miles stretch, our take off was even but by the end of first he pulled on me by about 1/4 car but i pulled right back up when i switched gears. samthing happened at second gear and same with third at about 100ish mph, by now, i was about 1/2 car on him. im sure the 4th gen 5spd is barely faster than the 5th auto. i dont know about a 5spd 5th gen. im sure its faster but i havent raced one yet. o yeah, both are completely stock.

 

So what does everyone prefer, just out of curiosity? Would you rather have more torque down low or more pull after 5000? Ive never driven a 5th gen., but I can tell you that the torque that my 97 possesses is amazing. After owning the car for over a year I still am amazed by it. You can cruise around in 5th gear with absolutely NO problem at 30 MPH. (I've even started out in 5th gear on a flat surface and didn't kill it, no lie!!) I dont think Id want to give that up, since it screams after 5000 also, but like I said, I'd have to drive a 5th gen. Take it easy everyone, keep drivin your Maximas.

 

I raced a 5th gen 5-speed last summer when I was stock, and it was COMPLETELY even....well at least until I missed 4th gear (dumb me). But in a race out of a light stock for stock they seem to be pretty even. I definitely go for low end torque over VERY high end pull. I mean you can use the low end all the time....how often do you reall get your car above 100mph.

-BriGuyMax

 

The 5th gen. Max is a joy to drive. Some people report jerkiness with the 5spd but I haven't noticed it. I do NOT miss my 96 I30t 5spd!

 

Nice post and I agree. I hate the fact that Nissan eliminated the remote window. I loved seeing the heat crank out as I let the window down in the summer with my 97 and 99SE. When I got the AE I just assumed it was still a feature, STUPID ME! Wonder if I can integrate the old system into the AE?

______________________
2001 20TH AE Maxima SE
Sterling Mist
Stock

 

I love the torque. My Max is making 194 fwtq which equates to about 225 ft/lbs or 20 more than stock. What's cool is that I'm making slightly more torque as MaddMax's 2000 SE with a Y-pipe and intake (plus the nice 5th gen exhaust). What sucks is that he's got 24hp on me I'd bet in a 0-100mph sprint, most modded 5 speed 5th gens would have a hard time pulling away from me. After 100mph I'd think they will slowly walk away due to the HP advantage. I've raced 2 5th gen 5 speeds and I beat them quite easily to 80mph, but I've got mods and I've learned how to launch this thing.


Dave

 

I raced Maxed Bandit's 4th gen auto vs. my 5th gen auto. He had a y-pipe, intake, and greddy cat-back. I just had my intake. It was DEAD even. We even shifted at the same time, we hit about 110 before we got the cop itch and slowed down. Granted he had a 120 lb box in his trunk, but I'd say his mods make up for that. I dunno i'd say 4th and 5th gen are around the same, 5th gens may have more top end but a lot of the horsepower gets sapped by the 200 or so lbs of extra weight. As far as the auto vs. manual, i raced irvine78's manual 5th gen with Y-pipe and intake on 17 inchers from around a 5 mph rolling start, he took me half a car and by the next light he was a good car and a half in front of me.. so that 4th gen 5 speed who beat a 5th gen auto was to be expected. My conclusion? Saving up for manual swap and weight reduction =).

 

i beat u up pretty good that day, didn't i?
hehehe...
aight~ i'm just messing with u...

 

A new wrinkle.

If I recall correctly, the 97+ got heavier and a bit slower. Something having to do with redesign of back bumper because hitting a pole damaged it too easily.

Are the 97+ 5spds as fast as the 2ks? I'll bet it is still too close. Unfortunately, comparing my 96 auto to my 2k 5spd is not much of a comparison.

 

I dynoed my Max at 300 miles and then again at 9700 miles on the odometer. There was little to no difference in power output. The runs varied by less than 1 hp.

 

Thats 28 hp Dave heheheheheehe.

But, Ill concede the 3 ft lb of torque

 

I posted this at www.clubmaxima.com and I didn't post a link because some of you are too lazy to click on a button so I cut and paste

I was at my sisters place this weekend and I went to cruise the strips. Man were there alot of cars ranging from Modified Civics, modified RX7's, modified Camaro's, ect..
There were 2 other Maxima's cruising. One was a dark color, I believe it was green or blue I couldn't tell because it was dark out, 3rd generation 92-94 SE. Another one was a 97-99 SE. I saw him earlier under the street lights and his car was green. I was cruising the strips and I see the 4th gen guy coming up to the right of me and lining up with me. We cruise side by side for awhile. The 3rd generation come up to my left. We were side by side going about 25mph. The 4th gen guy floors his car then brakes. Me and the 3rd gen guy do the same. We are still lined up and the 3rd gen guy floors it. Me and the 4th gen guy floor it at the same time. We were side by side gaining on the 3rd generation. Me and the 4th gen hit 55-60mph and we pass the 3rd gen. I gain on the 4th gen and by 70mph, the front of the 4th gen guy was at my passenger door. I brake and so does he. The 3rd gen guy comes up and slows down. I slow down and get behind the 4th gen guy signal for him to turn into the gas station. We turn and the 3rd gen guy slows down and comes to the gas station. We talk for awhile and I tell them about maxima.org and clubmaxima.com. They said that they will check it out. We might be getting new members

-3rd generation guy name was Mike and it was a 93 (turns out to be green) SE automatic. No engine modifications but he has a killer sound system in his car!
-4th generation guy name was Steve and his was a 98 SE automatic. No engine modifications but you should see the neon lights inside his car.

 

Thanx, if you ever find a way to do so let me know!
Until then I guess we'll have to settle with walkin over to the car......oh well.

 

Uhhhh...just to make the records clear, I didn't have the Y-pipe just yet. I raced you with my 16's, Greddy, and air filter. So I should be just a hair faster or still dead even with the 18's...maybe we should check some time in the near future??

 

hell yeah!!! i'll be there!

 

My bad, gets confusing you know, seeing as how you got practically all your mods within like 3 weeks of each other hehe. I guess we'll find out this weekend at carlsbad

 

we're going to Carlsbad this weekend?
man! i have finals next week!!!!

 

Whoa, when did we decide on this Carlsbad run? What day and what time? Need to get some info before you can assume I'm there...even though I will be there.

 

well, that was chinkzilla's idea..i don't know where he got the info that we were going next week...cuz i'm not going next week...got finals...
the week after tho..no problem~