rays01se

I've owned 5 maximas over the years. All were SE's. Just personal preference.

MaxiMiller305

Well i am 20 and i am an owner of a onyx SL. the real reason why i chose this one was because it came with everything except navigation. First off i hate that skylight.. i got a real sunroof. I like the 4 gear Auto, even though i would rather have the 5 gear sequential ****... ohwell it shifts gears pretty damn smooth. I really like the side view mirrors that fold in when i hit a switch thats pretty cool. I got heated seats and steering wheel that i really need in miami, Fl. Plus its got the black leather and HID lights which really set it apart from most SE maximas unless you wanna pay some extra bucks in options. Personally i like the plastic wood grain, it doesnt look that bad. An who cares about the rims and suspension when I changed them to 20's and put a eibach pro lowering kit on it. Can anyone let me know how to post pics on a message?? i wanna post pics of my ride

MaxiMiller305

Well here are is a pic of my SL maxima...

lightonthehill

That is one nice looking ride, MaxiMiller305. Nice wheels.

I would never have chosen a black exterior or interior in a hot climate, but I will admit black is an awesome color for the Max.

You have eliminated the larger fender gap over the OEM front wheel/tire that has bothered several posters here. Looks great.

Living in Florida, the heated steering wheel may be wasted. But I live south of Atlanta, and used my heated steering wheel most every day from around Christmas until a week or two ago. With the lack of circulation in my old bones, I find it to be a true blessing.

Again, very nice ride.

05MAXIJJ

i wanna get a SE for my SL..dam...i shouldnt had rushed..

Chris16

MaxiMiller, very nice looking max, How is the ride with the 20's and lowering springs?

Chris

maximatwo

MaxiMiller, Looks Great!! Swweeeett! hey you did an excelent job lowering it, I am so impressed, I need to make my SE look this good! Enjoy it

ElCapitan

I agree with some of the above. I wanted the SE for the 18" wheels and i didn't want the SL because of the interior wood.

05MAXIJJ

yea i wanted the SE cuz of the stiffer suspension and the rims.s.but wanted the SL cuz "it was the only one left that was white and i can take home that day"...LOL

ckaught78

I am 26 and just bought a brand-new SL yesterday. I got it because of the softer ride and with the leather and driver preferred package it ended up being cheaper than an SE.

As for the foux wood interior, it may not be the best, but in my opinion it looks a heel of a lot better than the all platic-metal looking interior, but I didn't buy the car because of its interior trim.

MaxiMiller305

thanks lightonthehill i appreciate the complements on the car. i love the black on black with black tints.. that A/C works wonders. the heated steering wheel is nice to use when its cold but that happens like twice a year.
The eibach lowering kit and the 20's took care of that gap in the front. The way the car handles in turns is nice, and I was expecting a rough ride, but I have 255/35ZR20 Goodyear tires that handle the bumps pretty well.

I have only a couple complaints. First off I hear a poping sound coming from the front of the car when i turn slow or go over bumps in the road slowly. I took it back to the installer and they fixed it, but 2,000 miles later it does it again. Gotta take it back. 2Nd complaint is that when i have a normal size adult in the front & back seat my tires rub a little bit, i rolled my fenders so it is just rubing the carpet/like guard in the wheel well, NO BIG DEAL.

The biggest advantage is driving down the streets in miami with a nice looking car.
South Beach and The Grove are the best places around and im there every weekend... Out of towners should come by.
Thanks again,
Johnny

Ryans Maxima

to me, when the 6th gen came out it shifted from sports sedan to near luxury sedan. I have a 5.5 gen thats an SE now. If I were to get a 6th gen, it would definitely be an SL, if I wanted a sporty sedan, I'd go for a TL with A-spec.

wsu

Welcome to the SL demographic portion of Maxima owners. I'm a little surprised at your SL choice (vs. an SE). It seems like most Maxima owners your age go for the sportier, more direct feel-of-the-road SE. I went for the SL pretty much for the same reasons as did you. And the faux wood was not an issue with me either. I hope you enjoy your car!

By the way, I'm almost 20 years your senior...

ckaught78

Thanks for the welcome. I have been driving a truck the last 7 years so I have had my feel of the road, plus the SL was just the better deal for the money. I think most Maxima owners in general go with the SE. The dealer where I got mine had around 4 SL's and 20 SE's. In looking at the poll above for this post and comparing it to one from Carsdirect.com, the distributions are the same. Definitely more SE owners out there than SL. The few people I have talkied to that bought SE's have done so because they have kids and didn't think there kids and leather seats was a good combination.

I have put around 500 miles on my new baby since I bought her a couple days ago and I am still in love. I find myself making up excuses for things I need at the store just so I can take it for a drive.

MEXIDEV

I like the ride in the Sl dont get me wrong, but I think that wsu has a point. the ages of se owners ar probably younger. I like the preformance aspect of the se, because I am younger and I am looking for preformance. The sl owners are looking for the nicer ride.

SilverMax_04

I'm an older SE owner (age 65). I went with the SE because it has a 6-speed manual trannie -- I'm also a control freak. You need to be careful trying to generalize about Maxima owners. We all have our reasons for what we do.

jinsatx

Can't generalize about the age of SE versus SL buyers. I'm 57 and the wife is 54 and I bought two 2005 SE's, one for the wife and one for me. Personally we both like the stiffer ride and handling of the SE over the SL. Also, just think the SE looks a little sportier with the 18" rims as well as the trunk lip spoiler. Besides, both of us hate faux wood trim and prefer the cleaner look of the metalic trim in the SE. To each his own I always say. However, SE or SL, this is one fine automobile.

Atomic_Ed

I'm 37 and have an SE as well but if I were 80 I would still prefer the SE. I am like you and also hate the fake wood and really like the metallic interior on the SE. To me it is much sportier looking. I truly don't think age has anything to do with it as much as just what each person prefers.

ckaught78

Exactly, each to their own. Same with XM versus Sirius. In the end you are getting a great product no matter what you choose.

Omallymax

After driving an 02 Xterra for 2.5 years, my 05 SE ride feels very smooth. Still got the Xterra not to mention a 92 Nissan Pickup that I bought new 14 years ago. I was going to sell one of them, but my 16 year old twins begged me not to.

jbgoodmax

I just bought Kumho ASX's and WOW!!! The 18's with the 255/45's has a very "soft" ride on the SE, with all the handling also. They are also very quite, solid grip, and cheap.

I also had the "Sound Barrier" added (Ziebart) and road noise went way down (the Max was already good but ..).

chernmax

iTrader: (15)

I choose SE for it's performance attributes. The roads in Southern Maryland are pretty smooth so I get a superb ride that is tweaked. If I travel to an area that if bumpy (NYC, NJ), I take my Chevy Trailblazer LTZ.

solid71

I am new to this forum so...... Sup[ People. I got the SE because I liked the bigger wheels and the tighter suspension. I have everything on it but a sun roof and the exec package. I love every min I am in my car

chernmax

iTrader: (15)

Welcome to the forum, I have a buddy who is stationed at JITC in Ft Huachuca, he is a Navy LCDR. Get some picures up soon of your ride... Peace...

BudoTek

you can say that again Max. i grew up in just outside of miami and i can vouch for the power of the "sweet ride". my first mod on my car went i got was getting a alpine amp and 12" sub for the back...
you can take the boy out of Miami but you can't take the Miami out of the boy, i guess....

lightonthehill

solid71 - The SE would be great on the wide empty stretches of road around Ft Huachuca (where my daughter was born around forty-five years ago).

Head out the north gate, go west on AZ 82 for twenty miles, then turn right on AZ 83 at the little village of Sonoita. AZ 83 gives you twenty-seven miles of curves and hills with little traffic. I used to call it the 'dipsy-doodle' highway. That road was made for the Maxima SE.

By the way, when I first wandered into the Ft Huachuca area back in the mid 1950s, the city of Sierra Vista was a sleepy little village known as 'Fry'.

keanders21

I brougth the SL for the standard leather interior and standard HID lights. I don't mind the Wood trim. Also I was able to get the Onyx with Black Leather with the Elite package a lot cheaper than I found the elite package on the SE. I can always get some aftermarket rims and put them on the SL

James_05SE

I got the SE but with the DPP because I wanted leather and all the additional features that come with the option.

super_maxima

I like the looks of SE better (bigger wheels), but SL does ride softer (more of a luxury ride). I drove them both, and would probably choose SL now.

Atomic_Ed

I thought you wanted a BMW 740i?

lamans1979

I guess I am different then everyone else, I personally like the wood of the SL over the cheap look of the SE. Not that I like the fake wood, just better then the SE, lol. I hated the SL wheels though so I bought a set of SE wheels with tires for 600 bucks. Of course one of the wheels was scratched badly so the guy credited me back 200 bucks so I have to buy a new one. Does anyone in here have one SE wheel for sale? Anway, I do personally like the SL for the smoother ride also.
Although I never drove the SE so maybe I shouldn't put it down for a stiff ride. I went from a 2003 Tiburon which is the worst ride ever so I wanted something smoother.

jinsatx

I own two SE's, bought about a month ago, and I don't find the ride to be that "harsh" when compared to the SL and other "luxury" rides. Is it stiffer, yes, does it corner a little flatter, yes, but is it "harsh", NO, at least not in my opinion.
With the new independent suspension setup in the 6th gen, most of the differences in ride/handling is the tire and wheel setup in the SE versus the SL and not the suspension tweaking. I'm sure there is some setup differences, but I don't think there as different as they were in the 4th gen. and I don't know about the 5th gen. The ride differences in the 4th gen were quite noticable between the GXE, GLE, and SE. I did some work for some of the Nissan dealers when the 4th gen came out and got to drive quite a few different models and I really felt the difference in the ride of different models that I do not feel in this 6th gen. Since I've always liked flatter conering ablility and less "float" in my rides I leaned toward the SE over the SL naturally. Throw in the fact that I hate plastic wood, that the 05 SE used real metal instead of metalic plastic, the lip spoiler, the 18 inch wheels and fatter tires, the choice for me was the SE. As for the wife's Max, it could have gone either way, but since her color choice and my price point only came on an SE they had in stock, her's wound up being an SE as well. Either way you can't go wrong as the SL handles just fine, albeit a little less agressive than the SE, and the SE is far from "harsh".

WopHunter

Well I just turned 21 two weeks ago and I went to the car dealership and tested the SE and the SL. I chose the SL. Reasons: Well I did like the wheels on the SE, but bottom line you can always change the wheels and rim size of your ride. The wood interior in the SL is not bad and that too can be customized. Overall I love the SL and so far im enjoying it. I will post pictures when I have a chance.

Atomic_Ed

Thats cool if you like the wood, to each his own and thats what really matters. I personally do not like fake wood in any vehicle but thats just my taste. The SE does have a stiffer suspension than the SL but it is hardly noticeable in ride quality with the exception of really bad bumby roads where the SE provides a harsher ride quality. However it is performance tuned which also means that it does not have the body roll around turns the SL has and offers better high speed handling as well. So basically it is a tradeoff whether you want more comfort or better handling. I can say that I love the SE without a doubt as far as ride quality qoes considering it is a performance suspension, it rides really smooth.

Twinmax24K

I bought an 04 SL because it was for my wife and she loved the nice touches like interior wood trim and the softer ride. If it had been for me I would have most likely chosen the sport-tuned suspension but she has driven a base 2002 5th gen SE for the past two years and has complained a lot about the kidney-bruising stiff suspension enough for me to learn my lesson. Plus we needed a nice riding car, my car was a Jeep Grand Cherokee so it rattled our teeth too. This is a nice change for longer trips in comfort.

SilverMax_04

You note implies that the SE does not provide comfort on longer trips. I disagree. We have driven our SE on many trips over 1,000 miles and find the car to be quite comfortable. I believe the SL provides a softer ride (more like a Buick) while the SE provides a more controlled ride -- but certainly not "kidney-bruising." I have a Dodge 2500 pickup truck with camper springs -- I know what a "kidney-bruising" ride feels like.

Twinmax24K

I believe you are probably right about the Dodge 2500 pickup truck with camper springs!! You say your SE is comfortable on long trips, that's great. To be fair, we have not driven a 6th gen SE like yours, so I can't fairly make a comparison. I am only going based on what I have read and heard, and on the assumption that the ride must be something comparable to that of our 2002 SE (which, I don't care what anyone says, yes it will rattle your teeth! ) The 04 SL we bought exhibits the "Buick-like" boulevard float and roll you correctly described. That just happens to be the preferred ride for the boss (my wife) who couldn't give a rat's **** about performance handling, as she drives VERRRY conservatively. I am very satisfied with having inherited her 2K2 SE, however, and love to track curves in it. I am used to the firm ride, having come out of a Jeep Grand Cherokee 4x4 so it doesn't bother me at all. Only thing is, the poor 2K2 doesn't know what hit it right now..it's not at all used to being wrung out like it is in my grasp! BWAHAHAA!!

Congratulations on enjoying your SE, I hope it gives you many more trips with good service.

Longhorn1

damn, y'all got some sensitive *****, i test drove both models, and honestly my rear end couldn't tell the difference, went with se because of the 6 speed, but maybe if i drove the sl now i could tell the difference

lightonthehill

Longhorn1 - Just wait until you have over seven decades on that '****' of yours, THEN tell me you can't tell the diff between an SE and an SL.

And yes, until I finally crossed into the senile era, I was one who much preferred (and only bought) the firmest riding Maxima on the lot. As SilverMax 04 said, the SE is a fine car for freeway driving. And I know it is a superior car for maneuverability.

Were I wonderfully young again (say around age 60), I would still be driving SEs (actually, my other car right now is a 2K SE). But time moves on, and this time it sorta left lightonthehill behind. And it is his 'behind' that tells him so.

SilverMax_04

Even more so with the Cattman rear anti-sway bar -- even flatter in the curves and no added "harshness" in the seat of the pants. I look for even better performance in the curves and a better ride when I get the RSAs replaced with Pilot Sports next week.