ok so i have a 01 Max SE...with home made intake
and a straight pipe (which i just read that does nothing for me -.-; ) i also have 18's but i dont think they're any heavier then the stocks but the tires are awesome and grip like crazy. my friend has a MazdaSpeed Protege (turbocharged just in case you didnt know) and they're rated at around 170hp to the flywheel. i've raced him twice and both times he took me. =( first time was from dead stop i did the torque starting method (mash the brake..rev..let go of brake and floor it) i had ONE person in my car and he had FIVE (including the driver) and from the start i got about half a car length and once we reached around 100 he SLOWLY crept by me and i was at WOT. i was very ****ed especially since he had 5 people in his car...at that time he was bone stock.

Second time: started from dead stop and this time i had 4 people in the car (including myself) with a system in the trunk. He also had 4 people in the car and his recently installed Injen CAI...same method this time but this time i got a full 2 car lengths ahead of him and it took him a good 10 sec. to catch up to me and then proceeded to pass me AGAIN!! he said once he hit 3rd gear thats when he passed me. i really dont get it since i just read the post on here that maxima's have a chance with wrx's and my friend happens to have an 04 wrx but i've never raced him because i didnt want to hear it from him. i've managed to keep up with him.

anyone have any ideas as to why i keep loosing? the only think i can think of was the extra weight and the 18'' rims. turbo or no i have more torque and hp regardless of flywheel numbers or wheel numbers. i took it off of overdrive and started from 2nd gear btw.
any ideas or opinions appreciated.

 

wow i would never think a that he would beet you!!!!

 

lightly modified those lil' fockers run low 14's....

 

a similar thing happened to me when I raced a '00 modded civic Si. had him through 1st and 2nd and when I hit 3rd (I have an auto), he tip-toed past me.....weird.

 

just as an observation, you might want to support that intake a little. at least have it somewhat level with the height of the throttle body. even if you use a zip strap, id get it moved up. at the risk of sounding like a dad, why would you want to race with anyone in your car? i can see a camera guy in one car if its a worth while race but racing with 5 people just does not make any sense from any standpoint.
just going one on one from a highway roll at about 60. downshift to second and your revs will be about where your variable intake opens up. go from there and you should be able to move out ahead and stay there. also, with the look of your battery, you may want to consider cleaning or replacing the filter.

 

well, you have a 3.0 auto w/ no performance mods. sorry, but it's not exactly a rocket. the
mazdaspeed protege is a faster car. hell, the mags
even rate it as a faster car. i guess i don't see the mystery here.

 

...yea that or u should kick the fat chicks out of ur car....ur racing not car pooling

 

its not about peak hp or tq

"its about area under the curve" -SteVTEC
If he's an manual, he's probably hitting max hp/tq way before you especially with a turbo

And honestly a auto 3.0 with only a intake is not all that fast

 

Buddy, you need at least a Y-pipe to unleash the power in your car. What type of 18's do you have?

 

i agree...i was thinking of using a ziptie or something to support it...the main reason i'm not doing any major mods is because its my sibling's car and im just waiting to get my own car. so i'm just trying to get some fun outta the car make it pull a little harder without spending too much money on it. i agree that we'll have to try and do a rolling start on the highway for better results...thanks for the input...the 18's are Ace Sigmas with sumitomos on them. i guess i'll stick to racing my friend in his IS300 for now...

 

Stupid question, but why the hell would you be street racing over 100MPH and why the hell would you do it in somebody elses car? I think instead of worrying about how much power your SIBLINGS car has you should mature a whole lot more before you get somebody killed. If you want to race on a track that is one thing, but you are putting multiple peoples lives in danger.

 

Why don't you ask your sibling why his car isn't fast?

 

first you need to clean your engine to get some clean air.. your filter is probably filled with dust...
second .. maximas are twice the weight of those f ukcers ... so weight plays alot here...

 

ok i know i know which is why i've decided not to do it anymore...and yea my filter is dirtier then a monkey's a$$...thanks for the input tho...appreciate it.

 

2843 lbs for a 2003.5 Protege vs 3186lbs on a 01 GXE 5spd... I can tell U one thing thou... when I had my Turbo SE-R the car felt stronger with 4 people in it than with 1 person, just made no sense. Also Mazda is know for having goofy HP #s. With 170 CRANK HP and 0-60 of 7.9 sec per Edmunds I don't see how even a VG30E Maxima 5spd would get dusted by one stock vs Stock. There has to be something wrong with your car cause I had a roll with a Mazda MP3 and the MazdaSpeed Protege... and from a 40MPH roll to 120MPH I can't tell wtf is behind me.

 

a fairly stock auto maxima in this case with heavy 18's would suffer highly on performance. Especially against a turbo'ed protege.

just read the shop talk section that stevtec wrote on the 3rd vs. 4th vs. 5th gens AFTER wheel weight is factored in. THe 5th gen becomes crap with the stock 55lbs. 17's. Then take his car, factor in the auto (slow downshift times and lag if at the wrong speeds), and factor in the wheel weight and rotational mass, and you have a severely reduced power to weight ratio.

 

Get a 3.5....than get back to us.....results will be night and day....we dont lose to many ricers .......

 

after many many races wit diff cars the 00-01 maximas i think have a really ****ty 3rd gear....thats where most people pass me up....our 3rd gear is way too long and if ur going up against a manual u have no chance....im thinking maybe a vb mod can do the trick or something but until that 3rd gear gets better forget it...i have many clips to prove this...here are some examples....

acura tl vs 2001 max- i had 2 cars up until about 110 and then he just flew past me....

1.8GTI 25anni vs 01 max- i had him from a 20 mph roll but also started creaping up alot on my 3rd grear he was in 4th....

Sentra Spec-V vs 01 max-- pretty even but again my 3rd grear...he was about half a car in front of me...

 

you'll need a 5 speed AT to space out those gear ratios. A vb mod will only make your shifts faster. 2nd gear is considered the taller gear IIRC, since second goes to like 80 mph-ish, and 3rd goes to 117 mph (i forgot)

IMO, if you can't win by 110 mph in a race I don't think you'll win at all anymore after that.

 

yeah i understand that...at the track i get the better time on all those cars i mentioned but wen we do highway runs they pull on me around 110.....

 

I AGREE MY FRIEND RECENTLY BOUGHT A MAZDASPEED PROTEGE AND HE CAN KISS MY DUST FROM A SECOND GEAR ROLL AT 30 OR A HIGHWAY RUN.

 

The gearing is way too tall on a auto Maxima. Don't feel bad though, I know the guy that designed the turbo system on the Protoge (Simon Kim). He can't raise his boost, it's locked out. Just tease him about that next time. :P

 

My 3rd gear goes to damn near 125. I also feel that 3rd gear is the weakest gear in my maxima....it just seems to drop off significantly in power once I get out of 2nd. And 4th gear is almost useless.

 

if you have time check this out.....http://forums.max-world.org/index.php?showforum=62

 

yea my friend tells me stupid people that try and boost their cars all blow their engines and that only with a turbo upgrade and other upgrades can they safely raise their boost.

 

a turbo upgrade doesn't mean you can raise boost safely. A turbo upgrade would increase your chances of blowing your engine becaues it enables you to run more aggressive boost.

raising boost in maximas is about having enough fuel and preventing detonation and accurate ecu timing. (well, to a certain degree)

 

not to mention the 6spd guys own all!

 

yeah, well the 3.0 5 speeds... yeah we dont get our headlights stolen as much so there! (okay, not much of an arguement... yes 6 speeds own all except in L.A. traffic)