All the research I did before buying my Max in May of 2000, was that the Max beats hands down the CamryV6 & AccordV6...












2K GLE stock-loaded Sterling Mist

 

If the Maxima auto V6 is just as fast as a Camry auto V6, why is it we call our Maximas sport sedans?

What makes them more sporty than the Camry?? The handling? People say the Camry is too floaty..but wouldn't a set of springs/shocks fix that?

I'm not trying to flame..I'm just looking at it objectively.

 

Maxima's are "sports" sedans because they can handle and you get a choice of transmissions. Camry's, the new ones, you only get a choice of one suspension package which is soft and squishy. Acceleration does NOT make it a sports sedan. Its one factor but thats not what makes a sports sedan. For instance, would you call a Lexus LS400 a sports sedan? It can accelerate as fast or sometimes faster than our Maxima 5speeds. I always figured a car that can accelerate is a muscle car, but a car that can handle is a sports car. If you have both, its a super car

 

I OWN A TOYOTA CAMRY----they arnt as fast as a maxima----i have raced my camry against my boyfriends maxima and i dont see how i coud (even be close) to beating the maxima.

If I had to put $100 down on this race---IT WOUDLD DEFINATLEY GO ON THE MAX----:0)

 

a 4-cylinder or a V6?

 

My take on the Camry vs Maxima thing. Both are excellent cars and are very close performance wise. Half the people I know say Camrys are faster and the other half say Maximas are faster. I say enjoy your cars and let's take those Mustangs down one by one.

Any of you guys in the Chicago area. Team Solamry, Team NewCelica, and Team NewEclipse have a meet every once in a while. If you are in the Chicagoland area, you are more than welcome to attend our meet. I would love to race a SuperCharged Maxima, if anyone in Chicago has one. Win or lose, it will be fun.

"Mao" Proud owner of SuperCharged 2000 Camry XLE ...

 

SteveChicagoSC is from your area, but he has a 4th gen so you won't find him in this forum.

 

Well said. I bet you can beat my *** with that S/C

 

You said that the reason the Camry wasn't considered a sports sedan was cause of it's handling?

Well wouldn't some aftermarket springs fix that problem?

Cause the way I look at it..all these V6 family sedans have a chance at being a sporty sedan.

 

I'm no definitive authority on the topic, but I think that there's more to "sporty" handling than just springs.....

It is my understanding that if a car is designed from the ground up with sporty moves dancing in some engineers head, and then you put mushy springs on it, it'll certainly handle like molasis...

wheras the converse isn't necessarily true... a bunch of springs cannot make up for plain ****ty engineering... If a car wasn't meant to handle like a porsche, IT WON'T !!regardless of what you can possibly do to it aftermarket...

I would like to believe that Nissan built the Maxima platform from virtually the ground up with a sportier image in mind... wheras companies such as toyota and honda were aiming more for the "family sedan"....

I personally test drove a 2k camry, and 2k maxima within 30 minutes of each other (the toyota dealer is like 3 min away from the nissan dealer on rt. 22 in NJ)... Let me assure you that in my mind, it was like apples and oranges... The camry was ok.... but the Maxima blew my mind.... SINCE i wasn't doing any 0-60 mph runs at full throttle, or clocking a 1/4 mile, it wasn't the raw speed that sold me on the max... it was the feel of the car...

Guess it's all a matter of opinion...

-Tom Z.

PS... my money is still on the max...

 

Yes, but people don't call it a "sports" sedan unless it comes that way from the factory...

 

My point exactly, just like tuning up a civic..it doesnt' matter what kind of suspension upgrade kit your put on it(mugen full coil-over rebound, damping adstable, or titanium springs), it just won't feel/drive the same as say Porche...and remember, you can spend well over 10k for really nice aftermarket suspenion on a civic if you want to..but take it to the track at 150mph.see if you would want to be in a civic or not!!!!!!!!!

Maxima is definitely designed and built with more sporiter image in mind when going thru manufacture process where Camry is built for reliability and comfort/economy in mind..totally different car.anyone tries to say they are the same/or can be tuned the same..you are BS

CAll TRD, see if they would want to put more than 4psi in their project SCed CAmry...

Tim

 

Did u buy your car @ Rte. 22 Nissan?

 

No, i ended up buying it from Diffeo Nissan in Jersey City... (i got it for 500 over invoice, with no destination charges... so i guess I got it at invoice... )

-->dealer must've just gotten the car, and I did my research and therefore drove a hard bargain.... he showed me HIS invoice from Nissan, and i said I didn't like the destination charge... He said that if I put a downpayment on the car today, he would drop the $500... So i said ok, and drove home in a new max that night....

so it looks like he ended up giving it to me for just the money he made off the hold back..... (car was made in May, i bought in July... makes sense!!!)


The salesman on Rt. 22 was a bit shifty for my taste... Their price wasn't competitive (although they did have a demo GXE on sale (80 miles) for like $17.5k), and they apparently didn't know dip about the car... He tried to convince me that it ran on "regular" gasoline... when it's a well known fact that your only supposed to feed the max premium....

 

Gentlemen, please allow me to offer a few more thoughts. Maximas and Camrys use extremely similiar suspensions. A stock Maxima and stock Camry handling characteristics are very close. A stock Camry can handle .78g in road handling and a Maxima can handle .80g. The reason for the slight difference is because Maximas have stiffer springs/struts while Camrys are a bit softer. Market research shows that this is what US people want. Which is why Camry has been the #1 selling car in the US for so many years. Overseas though is a different story. You can get a Camry GTP sports sedan. They are not offered in the states because demand is just not there.

With one simple change however, Camrys with stiffer TRD springs/struts can handle .86gs. This and the 200HP engine should more than qualify it as a Sports Sedan. The reason why Camrys are not in the Sports Sedan category is because it does not come that way from the factory, in the US that is. Camrys are selling so well that Toyota sees no reason to offer this option from the factory. They do not wish to spend money to fix something that clearly isn't broken.

Recently, Toyota did notice a US demand for a sports coupe. Thus came the Camry Solara, a Camry with two doors and the "sportier" suspension. The only difference was stiffer springs and struts. A stock Solara can handle .80g just like a stock Maxima can. I hope this proves that Nissan and Toyotas are quite similiar.

To address the tuning issue. A properly tuned and modifed Camry/Maxima/Civic/Accord will give a Porche a run for it's money. There are quite a few people who professionally race modified Camrys.

To address the higher than 4psi in a Camry engine thingy. The engine is more than capable of handling more than 4psi of boost. The question is will the tranny hold? Unlike other companies TRD/Kazuma is bounded by it's warranty claims. Kazuma has a warranty also but not as strong as TRD's. Honda owner have no such warranty. My brother added a JR SC to his Civic and it blew his tranny within a few months. Toyota is trying to avoid that at all costs, while JR can care less. TRD/Kazuma will not market something unless it has gone through extensive testing, has been blessed by TRD engineers and worse the Marketing people. They will not market stuff unless their is a high enough demand for it. The name of the game is to make a quick return.

The reality is that in the US, the majority of Camry owners do no want a sports sedan. I'm one of them. I like a little speed but I also like the cushy ride of my Camry. Stiffer struts/springs and low profile tires are not for me. It's all a matter of taste. As I have said once before, both are excellent cars and are quite similiar. Each is tuned for a different market. Race safely gentlemen

 

True....I agree with you.

I thought I remeber that the solora actually had WORESE handling than the 4door? Also...remember g ratings are not the only measure of handling. A sentra se with the performance package "out g'ed" the civic si...BUT the si can get through the cones faster.....cuz it has a BETTER suspension setup.

 

200hp..where are you from?
anyway, Camry are for old ppl and they are designed that way...regardless what you can do with it..i am sure you can tune any cars to make into GT style, handling, performance...so what..that doesnt' mean Camry are sport sedan!!!

The point is, each cars are designed for different purpose, as you said, you dont' want stiffer ride..then..why bother talking about how Camry will handle against maximas????what is your poiont there?you know stock camry sucks in handling...

plus, the biggest drawback for Toyota is...they aren't even the biggest tuner fan in Japan either..Nissan is, go flip thru Japanese tuner magazine..80% of cars are Nissan, Silivia baby!!!then Skyline...TRD is just for Toyota to show the world that they are interested in aftermarket tuning..so what..Nissan and Honda have been doing it long time ago..

Admit it Toyota is only good for family people..why did you think they killed the Supra???

Later

 

I don't mind a good debate but I refuse to get into an argument.

 

no offense but...Toyota in US are only good for making money they are one of the most profitable car manufacturer in the world no doubt..

However, Toyota is no where near aftermarket performance industry...unless you own a Supra, but then we are talking about different catagory of cars!!!

Tim

 

Come on now. Your last two posts were pretty lame. What do you think Nissan is here in the USA for? To break even? Toy sells crap loads of Camrys just the way they are. Why would Toy want to change a winning formula? If their market dictated them upping the hp and suspension to sell more cars, don't you think they would do that? In fact, I hear that's exactly what Toy might be doing w/ the upcoming Camry. I believe they want to bring the Camry into the sports sedan segment. I mean you didn't see Nissan introducing a 2-door maxima did you? Toy had them for the 3-gen/4-gen Camry. What has Nissan introduced up to 2000 that was so great? At least Toy had the ***** to go heads up w/ the Nissan 300TT and make it superior in almost every way. (more factoy hp, better brakes, FACTORY timing and fuel maps up to 25 or 30psi, bigger stock injectors and so on.) It's common knowledge that TT versions are dynoing at 300hp at the wheels, while the 300TT had only 300hp at the flywheel. BPU mods equaling over 400 RWHP? Nuts man! I'm sorry but even the mightly Skylines are not that easily modable or reliable. The only way to get very high hp out of a Skyline is a mega ($5000+ tranny) and $$ for ecu/injector/turbo mods) Just becuase there's a boatload of makers offering mods for the Skyline doesn't make it cheaper or better.

And besides,aren't you forgetting the turbo MR2 that get 300+hp easy and the celica All-Trac? Same motor but the All-trac is 4WD. What's the last Nissan sports 4WD here?? Maybe the Stanza 4WD? LOL! What's the last mid-engined turbo 200hp stock car that Nissan brought over? Oh that's right, they DIDN'T bring anything like that over.

And I don't get the aftermarket availablity either. The only reason maximas have more mods available is becuase of us maxima owners taking charge. Not becuase of any aftermarket companies backing us. The last time I checked TRD are factory Toyota warranty backing. Ahem, which one of the Nissan aftermarket suppliers are the same? Oh, that's right none. Hell we have a hard enough time, getting the Nissan **** warrantied.

You have got to admit, Nissan hasn't brought anything decent over to the states for along time. The Sr20DET, the RB25DET, the FJ20T(300hp!) all could have been brought to the states almost 10 years ago. Nissan was just too cheap to do it.

 

Camry2000

you are comparing the best handling camry (.78g) to the lowest handling maxima (.80g)...the maxima se has a stock skidpad of .85g...i will try to find the mag that says that a little later today

 

Let me clarify some of the numbers you've been using...

.80 is somewhat low for a Maxima. I've seen .83. I'm not sure about the Camry; I'll leave that to you. I thought the Camry was 194 HP though.

Also... isn't the rear suspension on a Camry independent?

 

OK, that's more I like it. Debates are all good. Thank you for correcting me.

No need to find the article I'm sure Maximas can handle more than .80g. In my poorly written much too long post, I may not have made my point clear.

Stock Maxima vs Stock Camry -- Maximas have a slight edge, cause it is sports tuned from the factory. Camry does not get any sports tuning from the factory. However with simple TRD addons, Camrys will give will be in the same ranks as Maxima. No comments about the import scene.

I have not heard that the Gen5 Camry will get a power boosts. This is because Toyota does not want to hurt sales of it's popular Lexus ES300 (a Camry with VVTi, heated seats, adjustable sports suspension, HID hedlights and Nakamichi stereo and $8,000 higher price tag). Those marketing boys at Toyota really know how to get people to fork their money over.

 

In response to the comment that the camry is the #1 selling sedan, you have to consider that they sell a sh*tload of cheap 4-bangers... If I am to believe the Nissan Commercials, the Maxima is the best-selling V6 Sedan in the Northeast...

Point being?? We could throw around sales propaganda around all day long, and it will still amount to nothing..

Case and Point --> FACT ->"Camry's also outsell Porsche 911 Turbos"... draw your own conclusions!!!

Personally test driving BOTH the camry and Max, it was like apples and oranges... The camry was comfy and mushy... but the Maxima made it look like molasis... (both stock, of course).. So why pay more for less?? I went with the maxima!!

-Tom

-> If everyone jumped off a bridge. . .

 

Good point, sale figures mean nothing here. I was merely using it to explain Toyota's marketing scheme, that's all. Nothing else. Please don't read any further into this.

I understand that you like the feel of Maximas better. That's kewl. Maximas are great cars but so are Camrys. Like I said in my first post, half the people I know say Maxima the other half say Camry. I'm not here to convince you to sell your Maxima and get a Camry. I am a visitor here and I am trying to express my opinions in a public forum. If I am wrong, kindly tell me and I will be more than happy to acknowledge it, ie. the HP thingy.

Anyway I'm tired of this topic cause it's been done before. If any of you are ever in the Chicago area, please send me an email. I would love to setup a race. Grocery getter vs. Sports Sedan. See you all later.

 

Yup.. beating a dead horse aint no fun

Its like pc's vs mac argument -- some ppl will take these debates religiously.

I cant add anything to the debate other than I like my maxima

Oh, nice camry btw. No indication of that monster SC under the hood.. I love that sleeper look

 

i have a v6 camry--dont like it....switching to a maxima hopefully asap

(by the wasy mr. burner----your maxima kicks!!!! I heard the body kit for your car that stillen was buying it from someone else and that is why it was so expensive)

 

Hmmm No comment Wustylz?

 

I bought @ Rte 22 and yes I would say they were shifty. They first tried to quote me $489/mo on a lease w/ $5k down to which I laughed.

 

Sorry bout the last post, sorta unrelated. I just read all the newest posts and this is a topic that will never die and I can't believe it was taken this far 1k+ views, wow!
My $.02 : each car has their pros and cons. I happen to think that the reliability for Toyotas are a notch higher (as we've been seeing in other posts), but the Max was definately directed towards more sporty minded people.
I obviously bought the car that I thought best fit me as did everyone else. Everyone go and enjoy your cars.

TO EACH IS OWN!

 

is a very nice engine. I don't have a Camry V6 but I have a Toyota Sienna which shares the same V6 with the Camry. Although the Sienna is heavy, that V6 makes the mini-van very quick. Mind you the Camry V6 is not as nice as the Maxima's VQ but I have no doubt it can keep up. Too bad the Camry is totally mind numbing to drive...but the V6 is top notch.

 

Why do you have a Camry? Did you purchase it? The more you post about not liking the Camry, the more I think you don't own one and the reason you are here is to "pretend" you own a Camry since this thread was about racing a Camry to make sure you can get your "Maxima is superior" message out to everyone.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Wustylez
[B]


200hp..where are you from?
anyway, Camry are for old ppl and they are designed that way...regardless what you can do with it..i am sure you can tune any cars to make into GT style, handling, performance...so what..that doesnt' mean Camry are sport sedan!!!

The point is, each cars are designed for different purpose, as you said, you dont' want stiffer ride..then..why bother talking about how Camry will handle against maximas????what is your poiont there?you know stock camry sucks in handling...

plus, the biggest drawback for Toyota is...they aren't even the biggest tuner fan in Japan either..Nissan is, go flip thru Japanese tuner magazine..80% of cars are Nissan, Silivia baby!!!then Skyline...TRD is just for Toyota to show the world that they are interested in aftermarket tuning..so what..Nissan and Honda have been doing it long time ago..

Admit it Toyota is only good for family people..why did you think they killed the Supra???

EXACTLY!!!! THANK YOU!!!!!

PEOPLE---were arguing about a camry here---and we have maximas!! hello---point is this read carefully

"one day a camry raced a maxima .....the maxima won"
"another day a camry raced a mxima...the maxima won"

get the point :0)

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Christina7m
[B]
Why did they kill the Supra??...hmmm...maybe for the same reason Nissan killed the 300ZX. Actually, Nissan killed the 300ZX here before Toyota killed the Supra. So, what's the point here?....Toyota can make sporty cars just like any other. I believe that Nissan is much better at making sport cars than Toyota, but that is neither here nor there, we all agree that the Camry is a family car, the Maxima is a sport sedan.

 

------------------
BY THE WAY-I HAVE A CAMRY because it was given to me -- Sorry but after seeing a maxima i dont like my camry--is it a problem that i dont like my car--have you ever had a car that you didnt like either---(makes sense) Why would i pretend to own a camry? Thats so dumb---All of my friends have maximas sorry that it annoys you that I support NISSAN--I recommend that you join the Toyota forum bc youve defended it from the beginning--enough with the talk--this is for MAXIMA ENTHUSIAST--means people who like to show off about the nissan maxima which is what I am doing---

 

Not to say anything about your cars, but you people beating Camrys really bad have to figure you didn't buy a Camry because you like performance, which probably makes you the better of the two racers. Your cars are nice, but why would any magazine, or Maxima owner lie about a Camry's performance?

 

Wow... talk about beating a topic to death..


Well, I could say one thing for certain... coming into this, I had the impression that I could beat a camry easily.... Now, I see that the cars are a lot closer matched than I would originally have liked to admit... The camry v6 has a lot less raw horse power, but the flatter torque curve and ultra smooth transmission sorta makes up a lil' bit of that difference (in terms of acceleration)..

While I still believe that a stock maxima can definitely take a stock camry, it would be a lot closer than many of us would like to acknowledge... Drive safely.... Viva Maxima!!

-Tom Z.

 

If you really want a quick family sedan, the Audi A8 6.0L has a V-12 with 420 hp. Only problem is that they don't sell it in the U.S.

 

where can i find this solenoid and tcm? i have an automatic, and dreading everyday that i didnt get a stick. if this is a good way to help automatics, please let me know.

thanks,
d

 

Ahem... ya... -=BUT=- you could imagine that the cost would be sorta prohibitive for us mere mortals...

sorta like a BMW M5...


-Tom