I want to keep my car at least until the payoff (18 more months). After that, I see myself driving it for another 2-3 years untill it reaches 100K mi, or the monthly upkeep will be more than a monthly pmt on a new car. At the end, I'd like to be able to sell Max and get at least $3 grand for it so I can apply toward a downpayment on the next car.

 

I'll give up on my max when I can afford either the Lexus GS430, MB CLK430/500 or the Infiniti FX45

until then, I am MORE than happy with my 03 max!

 

When the g35c is available in a color blue I like

 

They come in two blues for '04: Canbbean blue, a mid-shade, and Twilight blue, which is fairly dark.

 

might have to check out the twilight blue...I don't care to much over the other blue, it reminds me of the old chevy lumina blue.

 

Give up Hell, we have just begun to fight.

After trying out a few other cars I have a lot more respect for my Maxima, quality, handling, power etc. These are GREAT cars.

 

As soon as I have money to either buy an STI or G35 coupe. Which the way things are going is a long way off. I'm just breaking in my MAX anyway at 88,000 miles

 

I'll be keeping my car till it dies...I don't really have a choice. As of what I know now, my car is the second fastest at my college of about 2,000 students. Thats just fine with me. BTW, the only car I've seen that would be able to beat me is a modded WS6.

My car hauls ***, handles just fine, looks nice, and should be reliable from now on. Suits me just fine....until I can afford a G35c.....

 

I take pride in what I've done to my Maxima. My Maxima definately doesn't put out big HP numbers (~195fwhp), but the VQ's huge powerband and light weight help my car accelerate better than 95% of the cars on the road. There are a lot of newer "sports" sedans on the road sporting 260hp+ yet my car can keep up and beat a majority of them which is amazing. I've owned this car since early 1999 and I couldn't be happier. This is by far the best car I've ever owned. I've improved the looks, ride quality, handling, power,...everything. My Max is lightyears ahead of what it was stock. Simply put, it's a different car with very little compromise in comfort. I just rolled 100K today and the car has been bulletproof. Over almost 5 years of ownership I've had to replace to O2 sensors, a couple fuel filters, couple sets of brake pads, and a knock sensor. That's all!!!

It will be at least a year before I get rid of the Max, maybe. I will be completing my Stillen kit shortly, replacing the engine mounts, brake rotors, and installing Koni rears in place of the crap AGXs. I'm also debating about drag radials which should be push me into the 13s.

What will I buy next? G35 sedan or the upcoming Legacy GT turbo sedan. Either one will be an automagic though because my "project car" will be a manual. I'm done with FWD in a performance car because I'm sick of poor off the line acceleration. Our Maximas would be so much quicker if they were RWD.

Dave

 

Don't believe all you read. I tried out a Mustang last weekend with RWD using my slicks and nitrous. It was a pig out of the hole, best I could do was a 2.2 60' if I did that on my Max I would sell it. I tried all sorts of different tire pressures etc its still a pig.

My Max will do an easy 1.8 60' with a 35 HP shot of nitrous and that is excellent.

My Son has a 12.5 second DSM AWD that still hasn't beat my 1.75 60' so its all in the setup not the design. He is coming out of the hole at 5500 in a 2-Step as well. Plus his poor old Dad is running the slow old automagic.

 

Unless I total it, I'm driving my Max into the ground. For kinder words, until it dies on me. Until then, in terms of looks, I'm going to keep it mostly stock, but with performance addons.

I think with a lot of people, like me, it's when the reliability fails on me when then, I'll give it up. I haven't owned the Max long enough to find out for myself so hopefully, it won't tragically end.

 

I will keep the naxt till' the end hopefully
although i would love to get my hands on a G35c. my family will stay in the nissan family though.
this is what the 4thgen should have been - RWD, same engine or DE-K, 4 wheel indepedant suspension, 3rd gen quality, same interior with better parts, quiter interior, better paint.

 

ill be keeping the VE until it radioactively decays...
i bought this car as an inexpensive, reliable, decently quick "everything" car for now when im young.

right now its my "project car" but once im done modding and my funds increase, ill be using this car as a daily driver.... then its camaro project time

all these new "luxury/sport cars" such as the G35, M3 etc are nice ill admit. Id love to have one but you sometimes have to get down and dirty to the raw roots of performance/power without all the cute posh luxury bull**** - classic muscle cars. Foreign automakers can tune the hell out of their sports cars, impress everyone with the advanced technology and squeeze every last bit of hp out of it, ok cool. Yet its still amazing to see the capabilities of the old big block engines of nearly 30-40 years ago that can still plant some of todays cars under a cloud of dust.

I speak partially biased from being raised in a family who has owned 60-70s camaros, corvettes, impalas, GTOs, etc.

 

Everyone had some pretty nice things to say, even those who plan to get out and be done with the Max. For me I'm gonna keep mine and drive it to the wheels fall off.

I'm almost done paying it off and soon as I do I'm gonna buy a G35C hopefully AWD just for the luxury fun it provides.

The Max has been a really great car for me, it has outlasted both of the previous American cars I've owned (Buick and Chrysler) and two Altimas after those cars.

The Max is a very good looking car in any Gen, I especially like the 4th Gen's look but I ended up with a 5th Gen, still it's a Max and as already stated "only of the best bangs for the buck out there plus it has room to boot along with its' reliable reputation.

I'm sold and I'm keeping mine.

 

"...when they pry it from my cold dead hands!"

Seriously, I bought my SE-L for the "prestige" of owning a Max and it's looks; I had read that it had very good reliability, which was great 'cause I planned to drive it very little, pay it off, and maybe make a couple bucks to get something else.

Fast forward 4.5 years & 152k+ miles later:

My needs have changed gi-normously; I drive my Max to earn a living, and now I count on it's reliability far more than it's look/prestige factor. Plus, if I ever did want to boost it's performance in any way, I'll just come to you guys and ask -type questions.

Just imagine if I had bought an Intrigue back in '99 to get a discount on the loan (credit union deal)...I'd be broke & robbin' banks now!

 

No, I'll always have my maxima, or a maxima. Put too much work into it to give up on her now.

 

I'll give up on mine when I run it into the ground, which could take a while. Compared to the current 6th gen Max, I'd rather go with the smaller lighter Altima, which is more like the 4th gen Max. Other than that, I'm really satisfied with the FWD, 6cyl,5spd platform. I pile on the miles, 35k/yr, and lots of it in the winter in pursuit of snow for skiing and snowboarding. FWD and good snow tires is more than enough pass the overweight high center of gravity SUV's on the road. I realize there are plenty of cars that are faster and handle better. But,I have no desire for a WRX or Audi style car with AWD and turbos. Way too complex,too much to go wrong and far too expensive to fix. I'm definitely a na car man. My Max has been pretty good to me, a knock sensor and evap valve over the 90k I've owned it,the rest routine maintenance. Stock clutch,starter & alternator at 123k. No spark plug wires,distributor cap, rotors. or timing belt to replace ever either!

 

I'm on my 2nd Max now...traded in my AE for an 04. Yup, I considered the G35 , TL, CTS, GTP ( ), and others. IMO Nissan served it up w/ the 04. Yeah, its a little larger, but its far from a f'n boat! Its got style, quality, and performance. Don't get me wrong, the G35 rocks....it was my "next car" until the 04 Max came out. Its a nice match for me and my life right now. It scoots without breaking the bank or screaming mid-life crisis.

Oh yeah, if I win the lottery I'll pick up a Skyline !

 

what makes the maxima so great to me is it's OVERALL package.

it's fairly quick/fun/good looking/good handling/reliable/roomy/fuel efficient/affordable.

that's all.


There is no other car that I could think of that i can buy for the same amount of money my car is worth, not a single car. Even a car that is twice the price - except the maxima, there is really nothing else.




and I'm kind of close to giving up on the maxima maybe for an altima 3.5 or another maxima - 2k2. If the right deal comes along, I'll be all over it.
In the meantime, I'm waiting for G35s to lose some value

 

Easy. On my 98 SE with 83k, not any time soon. Because that shiny new BMW 3-Series costs $700/mo if I put 25k down. I have to consider what it'd be like having no car payment to coming up with $700/mo. That 700 is almost 1/4 of a mortgage payment, and it's almost equal to the monthly property tax payment. It's not chump change. Dog has to eat and g/f needs a ring, money doesn't grow on trees.

As far as the model goes, Automobile Magazine tested 12 sport sedans, and the 2k4 Maxima finished dead-last, TWELFTH. Any questions?

 

this was my first car and i will b keeping it for sum time...i get out of college in 1.5 yrs and hope 2 get a new car then and keep this 1 as a fun/project car...yes its dumb, but i love the uniqueness of the 3rd gen and even tho there is better and newer stuff out there in the end i dont think i could ever let this car go...besides, its worthless (salvage title)

 

I just got my max, and have loved every second of it. I have big plans for this car. I don't see giving up on it anytime soon. It might turn into a second/project/learning about new things car when i get outta college. You know a car you can pull something off of for a weekend just to "see how it works" and not have to worry about getting around.

Now a probably will be getting a newer car when i get out of college, but that is a couple of years off and other things (LOANS LOANS LOANS) will have to be paid off first before a new car is even thought of, so for the forseeable future the max is my main car, and it will only not have a place in my garage when the wheels have fallend off and the engine has rusted through.

 

I have already given up on my Maxima. It's not a performance oriented vehicle, which I want. It has been a pretty good car, but has had its share of problems. I was thinking about the 350Z as my next car, but I am not satisfied with Nissan service and quality. I am going to keep my Maxima another 6 months or so, then I will probably go with a STi or Evo.

 

Once I hit 450 WHP..

I will think about it..

until then, I drive it till the wheel fall off.. Knocks on wood..

I will have 2 cars, though... A beater and the maxima..

then the max will go away and I will pick up a Turbo Something, either AWD or RWD...

Looking at skylines, thinking about resale on the house I am trying to buy... Makes one have a good idea of how to BLOW $50,000

 

I've been thinking about selling my max for a few months after 3 of my friends bought an Evo, s2000 and G35C. However, I've put a lot of money in this car already and as we all know the resale sucks. I'm the biggest car freak in my circle and my friends always say why i still have the max and should get a 350Z or some other fast sports car. But my rationale is that my new car will be a sports car and has to be a 2 seater, Turbo and RWD with 350+HP and low 13 preferably 12sec 1/4 mile. I don't know of any car that's in the market right now (<$40K) that has all those. I'm hoping they come out with the 350Z TT. Even then i will need to keep the max as i can't have a 2 seater for a daily driver. So i'm prolly going to wait another 2 years before I get a new one. In the meantime i'm definitely thinking about Supercharging. that's just my $0.02...

 

Name another car with the reliabilty of the Maxima for the price of ~$8500 (97 SE).

Derek

 

Please don't take this the wrong way, but do have any experience launching a RWD car? My 94 Z28 automagic with a some basic bolt ons was happy to yank consistent 2.0 60 foots and even grabbed a 1.91 60' all on Z-rated street tires. I've got friends that pull lower 1.8 60 foots with their LT1/LS1 and 99+ GTs with drag radials. On full blown slicks my buddies LT1 Z28 with heads/cam/2400rpm stall nails lower 1.7s. Better yet is the LS1 with a stock block that launches at 5000rpms on slicks and pulls 1.6s!!! Learning to launch a high torque RWD V8 is fairly tricky, but it's still far easier to master than trying to launch a lower torque FWD V6. It took me two weeks to learn how to launch the Z28 and my buddies 90 LX 5.0. It's taken me 2 years to learn how to launch the Maxima on street tires and I'm still pretty bad (2.20 is my best).


Dave

 

Keepin it. I could get something later on, but Im definitely keepin the max. With the new tranny, clutch, struts and springs going in this weekend, It will cost me less than 3 car payments on a new car.

 

I had all the same thoughts as well. I was going to get a 03 Cobra but then I thought what would be the fun in that, everyone would know it was fast and no ricers would try and mess with me.

So at about 85,000 miles I am going all out. Boost, and every thing to make it run right (picking it up this weekend ) Then I am getting suspension, tranny rebuild or swap and custom leather interior. The styling of the 4th gen Max is so clean and can't be found in any of the bubble cars of today. The japanese cars of the mid 90's are still in my opinion the greatest cars -

(Right Click and Save As)

Supra vs lots of very nice cars

http://www.streamlinemotorsports.com...mbovssupra.wmv

Another vid of the same Supra

http://www.speedcraving.com/extreme/rollons.wmv

I will drive this car until I cannot find another engine or tranny to swap out and keep it running. The car has a timeless styling and with a loud BOV it is simply awesome.

My next car will be an IS300 with a PFI kit like this, very clean car with rear wheel drive, and still a sleeper can't get much better than that.

(Right Click and Save As)
http://www.turbois300.com/home/Jerry...RSX-Sturbo.mpg

 

I wouldn't give up my Maxima ever OVER MY DEAD BODY. I don't care about other cars in terms of Performance. Since the Maxima satifies my every whim. They do have the unmatch quality and style over competitors. Of course I would want a car I come across , I still would keep my Maxima and have a second car whatever I get.

 

My first drag car was a 1970 Dodge Challenger that I bought in Sep 1969 so I do have a little experience yes. (I was 22 then)

RWD cars can be made to work fine, yes but it isn't the miracle cure that a lot of FWD guys think it is. I have proven that a FWD car can pull a great 60' time with little or no effort and you have just stated how tricky it is to do it with a RWD.

Guys are looking for a miracle cure to get out of the hole fast, I am just saying that a RWD is not that miracle.

Launching a V6 is very very easy IF you have an auto, guys consistantly put down auto's but they are still the best at the track when you put down a little power. A manual transmission cannot outrun an auto when you get down into the 12 sec area without putting out much much more power. My car puts down less than 300 HP and can run a low 12 try that with a stick.

It is much more satisfying to run a 1.7-1.8 60' in a FWD import than a RWD V8 Domestic. Its very easy and its also very consistant.

The only real advantage that RWD cars have is that they are a bit quicker with street tires. However if you go to a drag strip you use drag slicks thats why they were created.

 

I am very pleased with my decision to get this car so far, and can see no problem keeping it another 43 months (or till the end of the loan) and just keeping it. This is sort of a more upscale car for me, and like the Maxima image and LOOOVE the smooth engine and it's responsiveness. Not really planning any mods as of this point in time, but I don't think I will ever do more than simple bolt ons, and lowering and rims. In the end, I want this car around for quite some time so that in the future I could get a faster, sportier car like a WS6 or possibly few-year old C5 and I'll need it then. Judging by the posts I've read here, that should be no problem.

 

my maxima give up on it i cant. Now when my engine goes then give up on it. I think not just drop in a new one. Tranny goes looks like the 5 speed is comming.



Now when the Skyline hitts the U.S in 2005 give up on my maxima no way get the skyline hell yeah but my maxima is a part of me



now when i see my friends with there brand new cars yeah sometimes i wish i had a new one but as far as me going with the nissan maxima it was the best choice i made and would never change it

 

so yea i just read through all of your replys... i have concluded that most people will be picking up a G35 coupe after their max. although the max changed its perspective from 04s+, but the VQs will definetely last-long. we just can't its reliability and smoothness.

well...whatever VQ it's gonna be, G35 coupe, altima 3.5SE, 350Z, or maybe another max, it's gonna hella fun

 

RWD will put down a better 60', given a proper launch. I would disagree that a auto will be faster when you are running 12 second cars. Manuals always put down more power to the wheels. Yes, the real fast drag vehicles use autos, but thats more for consistent launching. Their are a lot of 12 second factory cars out right now, that only offer manual.

 

Challenger? Nice!!!

I pretty much agree with you. FWD is easy to launch hard assuming you have the right set up like slicks, some suspension work, and most importantly torque. My point is that FWD takes 2nd place to any RWD with the same suspension setup. You're pulling 1.7-1.8s on slicks, nitrous, blocked rear springs where as RWD cars are pulling lower 1.8s on just drag radials. Take a bonestock LS1 with full drag strut suspension, 2800rpms stall converter, and slicks and it's pretty easy to grab 1.6s. There's just no denying physics. RWD plants better. On street tires, what's your best 60'? 2.1? 1.9-2.0 are common on stock RWD cars (assuming they have decent power).

It's just not the launch of the RWD that I like the most. I prefer the way RWD handles, drives, and feels. With RWD, the car has the tendency to go thru sweeper turns with more control. Typically understeer is reduce. With RWD, nearly all the driveline "slop" is gone because the engine is mounted north/south, not east/west. With RWD the weight balance is better. With RWD you typically have a taller center tunnel which feels more comfortable even though it does impede on interior space a bit. With RWD you can fishtail which is a blast...assuming you know how to control it.

As for the automatics being quicker in the 1/4 mile, I totally agree as long as the automatic we're talking about has a very strong torque curve....like your car. Nitrous adds good HP, but the great thing about it is the torque. A 100hp shot of nitrous will add 150tq. This is why you're so quick. You're really not making any more HP than a SC or low psi turbo Max, but your TQ curve is thick and very flat. With all that torque, you don't need all the gear multiplication a manual transmissioned car needs.


Dave

 

How many times a week you will be at the track? Everyone talks about HP HP and HP. Lets talk about Style too ;-) Some cars might be fast but if they look like Shyte then that FASTNESS doesnt matter ;-) For me maxima is it until I have enough money to buy a car that LOOKS good and then have some POWER.

No BMWs for me no more after 04 they have screwed it up big time but Benzos are getting better every day... I am sure I will be better off keeping the maxima rather than partin it out ;-)

 

I know we're getting off of the subject but Jime is right. Show me a person with a 5 speed that can shift fast enough to keep up with an auto slamming away at each gear. In the Maximas case, the auto is able to run its gears longer before shifts and give that a lot of horsepower to run with, the car is gone. With a raised limiter and auto will only need to shift twice unless they are trapping much higher speeds. Unless you have a manual with electronic paddle shifters, no manual will shift as fast as the auto (modified of course).

 

I can show you a lot of people that can shift faster than a production manual. I can chirp 2nd and 3rd in on my OEM clutch. Yes, I know that drag cars use auto's, but they are nothing like what we have in our Maxima's, so lets set that aside. If properly driven, a manual will always be faster. Now if you bring a SMG into the arguement, then yes it will shift faster than pretty much everyone beside a professional driver.

 

Before you start disagreeing with seasoned drag racers like Jime and Dave you ought to read into their arguments a bit more and think of why the autos are eventually quicker. At those power levels a manual is shifting 3 or maybe even 4 times vs an auto shifting only twice. All that extra shifting costs you time which the auto does not suffer. The auto launches much more consistently and is much more controllable. Shifts are much more controlled on the auto. Think about it....

On the street with "normal" power, yes, a manual will almost always be quicker. But when you're putting down lots of power, especially very thick torque, the longer gears on the auto are advantageous along with the consistency. That buys you more in the 1/4 mile than the higher efficiency of a manual gives you.