Well, we went and played and here's what happened...one of us went home dissappointed, but it wasn't the guy with mods or the Acura.

We did 5 light to light races and a couple of pretty long runs on the highway. I'll describe the first one since all but the one I hit the limiter on were pretty much identical. The guy with the 2k2 was a ****, and wouldn't wait till traffic was absent to race. We could've probably gone, but my friend and I decided to wait till we found a dead road with no traffic. When we finally did, we managed to line up 3 abreast on a 6 lane road with about 1/2 mile during lights (and thankfully empty this time of night) that stretches for about 4 miles with the last stretch being about 1.5 miles long. The guy wasn't completely retarded and was torque braking pretty good (could hear his engine revving and brakes groaning). We all took off and were even when the 2k2 and CL-S started pulling a little on me through the beginning of 1st. The CL-S was beating him enough that I could see his Taffeta White nose in front of the Super Black nose of the 2k2. I was thinking it was pretty much over, he's gonna start pulling on both of us, but by around 60 I was back even with him and we were both at the CL-S's rear bumper. I wound out 2nd and by 3rd he was at my door with my nose at the CL-S's door. We cut it off at 90 each time with the same results except once when I bounced off the rev limiter hard (oops...). We all slowed way down so we could hit the last light and get in on that 1.5 mile stretch ahead. We started off the same, and it took me till about 100 till I was even again with the CL-S and was a couple feet ahead at about 110 when we shut it down. The 2k2 was at Dell's rear bumper at the end but passing ever so slowly according to Dell. On the highway we did a couple long runs with myself and the 2k2 beating out the CL-S by 125 or so. From a 60 punch both times, I would pass the CL-S at about 100 at which point the 2k2 was at my rear bumper and not falling back anymore. Those things have some awesome top end. When I hit my governor he was maybe a foot behind me and the CL-S was at his rear bumper. In short, tonight was by far the sweetest races I've ever run. 3 cars, 255hp, ~254+hp and 260hp going at it, and it was fuggin sweeeeet cause never once was there more than a carlength separating us. By the way, the 2k2 had 1300 miles on it, not 300, or so the guy said (I asked him if he wanted to wait till that think was broken in first). I only had 1/4 tank of gas, same with the CL-S, and the 2k2 said he had less than 1/4. All in all, I was very impressed with the new Max, as was my friend. Out of the 7 races, the CL-S won 4, I won 3, and the 2k2 finished 2nd in 3 of them (the higher end). He said he was manually shifting too(I asked to make it fair), but I wonder at what kind of skill level he has with a car he's only had a couple months. Anyways, after the second highway run he took off and my friend and I went on to kill another 2K GXE, a very loud, very slow Civic HB, and a regular 3.2TL. Damn, if the new Max's will run like that stock, I can't wait to see what they'll do with mods...The CL-S was the victor tonight, but that car sure as hell deserves it (I don't bash type-S's, I bash the owners ). On a side note, the H&R's clung to the road really well at high speeds. The car felt a lot more comfortable to handle and drive at those high speeds. Maybe now it's time for shocks...

 

are you trying to say your car has 254hp, with only a UDP, and some exhaust? I'd love to come up against you in my stock GXE 5spd see your mods worth.

 

Good runs, thanks for sharing .

 

Stock: 222hp
Y-pipe: 15-25hp
Intake: 6hp
UDP: 8hp
------------------
Total = 251/261hp flywheel

Sounds like a good estimate to me.

 

I concur .. that's a pretty good estimate ...

 

Those #'s are a bit high, normally a Y-Pipe yields 10-12FWHP=11-13 crank

Intake does something like 3-5hp=4-5crank
UDP has showed a variety of different #'s typically about 4FWHP=0 crank.

Add that up and you have 236-240Crank .

 

We're not talking actual, hence the 260hp CL-S and 255hp 2K2.

These are probably higher than actual, but STRAIGHT from $tealin and of course he wouldn't lie. Would he?

 

Was the 2k2 automagic or manual?

 

Auto, hence the brake torquing and manual shifting. Sorry, just felt like being an A$$.

 

It's ok...I've gotten rusty over the months. Dang, if that was an auto I would like to see those 6 spd owners be beating those cl-s owners.

 

I agree probably 240-245HP at the crank. Either way you have much less HP and still hold your own!

 

My crank hp guess came from my dyno. 190fwhp with a 25% loss due to the auto transmission. Just a basis for comparison...

 

great runs man!

 

Wait until your friend breaks in the 2k2 Max... then all 3 of you should race again.

 

Since your were all autos (The CL-S having a 5 speed auto against a 4 speed auto in all Maximas), then that would suggest that the 6 speed 2K2 and 5 speeds 2k1s with mods and 5 speed Gen 4s with mods should easily take a CL-S. Interesting . . . . .

DW

 

The 2k2 owner was just someone my friend met at the McDonald's on base from the USS Wasp, so I really didn't know him that well. We talked with him for a couple minutes before we ran, but he took off after our second highway run. I don't know if it was his exit or what, but he didn't stay to talk with us again, which sucks cause I had a million questions for him. I asked him before we started if he really wanted to run a car that's not broken in, and he told us that he already had 1300 miles on it, so it wasn't a big deal. Guess my friend misunderstood him the first time they talked. I still think that there's more breaking in going on after 1000 miles though, but it's no longer the point where you have to baby it. I'm wondering how he treated his car for it's first 1K though, cause judging by the way he was hauling *** and weaving in and out of traffic before we found a good spot to run (this took like a half hour since my friend and I didn't want ANY traffic on a road where 3 cars would be going 90+ side by side) it didn't seem like he cared much for his car, or others for that matter. You think shelling out $30K+ for a GLE would change your mind about such things and have you taking it a little easier, but I guess not. Maybe I'm just getting old...

And by the way...barely modded 5spd and stock 6spd Max's should OWN type-S's, at least judging from what my auto will do.

 

is that CLS stock? because if the Stock CLS and the Stock 2k2 were racing, and the CLS was pulling, then thats sad... larger displacement for the 3.5Max, 200-300lbs lighter... and still losing... I wonder if this had anything to do with not broken in, i sure hope so.

 

That makes me wonder how a 5spd would do against a 6spd maxima. Might be pretty close due to gearing.

 

Very nice runs.

Hmmmm ... so that's all the modding needed to bounce an S. Very interesting.

 

Great story!!! Thanks for sharing
Time for special sauce yet?

 

Not just yet. I'm pondering how much I want to pour into the Max here this spring still. My biggest concern is the $4K for the Level 10 Stage 3 rebuild. I'm try to figure out other options still before I inject that plus the cost of forced induction or N20. N20 seems like the favorable thing, since I could get the Venom kit for $1200, be able to adjust how much hp I was adding, only use it when it's necessary, and still be as fast as a s/c auto. On ther other hand, I honestly don't know which would be worse for my engine and still like the though of having that s/c under there. I still have a couple months until I get my reenlistment bonus, so I'll have until then to collect as much info as I can and make my decision.

AznWontonBoy-the CL-S is stock and the Max had 1300 miles on it. Not really fully broken in, IMO, but enough that the guy was willing to race it. And the CL-S only pulled at lower speeds, not on the highway, which, my friend and I theorize, is due to their gearing. I'm in trouble as soon as AEM sends out his CAI though. He wants to see what that'll do first, but has already set aside money for the headers...

 

Someone tried the Venom kit on their 4th gen and it didn't work, so I'm assuming it won't work on our car.

 

Really??? Damn. I guess that makes the decision a little easier then...guess it's time to start pinching pennies...

 

I just emailed Python about the Venom VCN-2000 nitrous system and they said they didn't have one for the 2K-2K1 Maxima and he didn't believe one was planned. I asked how many people needed to order before we'd be "worthy" and he didn't respond. ANYONE INTERESTED SHOULD EMAIL THEM SO THEY MIGHT CONSIDER MAKING ONE FOR THE MAXIMA.

Actually, NOS is less damaging to an engine than a SC or Turbo at reasonable levels. My reasoning is that the NOS actually cools the intake charge as it enters, where as a SC/Turbo heat up the air. The hot air is damaging to the engine over time. Also, the SC is connected all the time reducing fuel economy(not that big a deal to me) and anytime your under boost your affecting the life of the engine/drivetrain/cooling system.

I personally don't get to race much, especially on the street to really need/justify a SC. I would do a turbo if available. Therefore, a VCN-2000 NOS system appeals to me for the user programmability, safety, no professional installation needed, and an easy install/uninstall vs. a SC/Turbo. I know you can't SAFELY add as much power as a SC/Turbo without upgradding the fuel system, but a 50-60hp shot would allow me to run in the 14s at the track and surprise if not beat, a few V8 performance cars on the street.

Where did you get a $1200 price quote and was that for a VCN-2000? I've looked, but I've only seen them say it starts at $1300.

 

Not sure where I found that price, but I'll look again. Do you have the email address I should send something to? I don't have a problem with upgrading the fuel system anyways, and like the Venom kit for the same reasons. Hopefully we can push them towards making one...

 

I often ponder the same questions... the s/c is full-time on the fly power, but do you need that all the time? N2O can run out... leaving you hit and dry if you forget to keep the bottle full, but doesn't stress the car when not in use. I am leaning towards the N2O route because if I blow anything up ( and more then likely, I will ) it is easier to remove before going to the dealer. A fuel system upgrade is recommended for s/c or N2O. The tranny upgrade is a must if you want a good launch from an automagic, since we have to torque brake to get a good launch. Hoohumm.... decisions, decisions, decisions
Your story corresponds with my encounters with TL-S. Off the line, they would get me by a bumper, but after 60mph, I start to pull and by 100mph, I am about 1/2 fender to 1 fender up ( depending on the driver ). Now this is if the TL-S torque-brakes. If not... no contest.

 

Hey, how are you liking your VB mod? Would you say it makes a pretty worthwhile difference? Still debating everything though. To be honest, without Hogan's project, I wouldn't even bother with the s/c anymore, but he's got his **** together, and is coming up with some good stuff. What kind of N20 kit are you running, and what shot? I think if I do go that route, I'm gonna need something fairly idiot-proof so I don't jack up my engine.