So I have a 1999 Nissan Maxima GXE, and it is stock (as far as I know, the previous owner replaced the stereo deck so he/she may have swapped other things as well), and this arrogant classmate of mine has a 2005 Pontiac Sunfire. He said that if we raced he bets he would win, but I have my doubts. What do you all think? I can provide more info about the car itself if needed.

 

Unless you're talking about going to a drag strip and racing him legally, don't talk about racing on the street since that will get you banned.

And if your Maxima can't outrun a crap 4 cylinder Pontiac Sunfire, you've got major problems, or can't drive with a s**t.

One last thing, welcome to Maxima.org

 

^^agreed with EVERYTHING^^


Going to the track, you will win against a Sunfire, especially if it's stock to stock.

You're using premium gas, right?

 

Thank you for the welcome.

And no, I don't use premium gas because I typically don't put the car through it's paces. If I were going to race I would though. First I would need to find a track or something here in Minnesota..

 

AFAIK, sunfires are pushrod four bangers rocking auto trannies. Guttless 4popper+auto=no torque(fail)

If he wont shut up, do what you gotta do SAFELY, just dont tell us you did it on the street.

edit; he could be swapped to 3.1-3.8. even so a NA v6 GM does not keep up IIRC.

 

Throwing a 3.8L into a Sunfire will not work well, if at all. 3100 maybe even the 3400 V6 but the 3800 is larger. Needs more room than the stock Sunfire hood provides...gotta get a Grand Prix or Bonneville for that motor, not a small coupe

 

The issue is safety, but there are some asphalt ovals I could get to. If the sunfire is only a 4-cylinder though, there really is no need to prove to him my car is faster, despite the age. He obviously doesn't know that the Maximas pack 190 hp. I'll just point it out to him and see his reaction.

How good is 190 hp compared to other cars? just out of curiosity.

 

back in the 90's it was pretty damn good!....but now alot of 4 cylinders have 200hp from the factory and almost all v6's have 250+ hp, soooo

 

I just checked (see link), and your max is 6 years older and WAAY more powerful.

http://www.new-cars.com/2005/pontiac...ire-specs.html

2005 Sunfire has a 2.2L ecotec engine with a paltry 140HP.

 

It also weighs almost as much as your 4th gen, 2,771lbs.

Do this: make him bet serious money and have a 3rd party hold the cash. There is no reason to prove you are faster everyone knows that already. Might as well make some $.

To make your stock car faster(you don't need to do any of this but you can if you want):
You can also unplug the sensor so you shifts have full line pressure. Should drop a .1-.2 off your 1/4 time.
Take off your air filter for the race only free 5whp
Get rid of your spare, jack, everything in your trunk and everything unneeded in your car, you want to be as light as possible.
Deflate your front tires a good deal, this will help you get traction off the line.

 

of course, do the above at an asphalt oval

 

of course or at your local drag strip.

oh adding to the list I made of free mods for the strip:

Overinflate your rear tires you want the least contact area. Or if they let you run two spare tires on the rear.
Get some zip ties on your springs to reduce wheel hop off the line.
Gut your interior.
take off a belt!

There are more I just can't think of them.

Or you could do this: http://www.rcramer.com/fun/econobox/

or run a sneaky pete: http://www.summitracing.com/search/B...Oxide-Systems/

 

I might have to research that out of curiosity. I used to have a supercharged Grand Prix, and i've seen those engines swapped into other GM cars, such as an Oldsmobile Alero, for example. Not sure if it's been done to a Sunfire or not. Fiero guys do motor swaps all the time.

 

I could be wrong too...it's happened a time or two before

But back in the day when I had my grand am (like 3 months ago) I was in their forums, heard of folks throwing in a 3800 in one, but having issues due to clearance. The sunfire is a different GM platform, but smaller iirc, which would make for a real bear of a swap to anything larger than a 3400.

The Alero is a larger platform than sunfire...sunfire is same as cavalier iirc, tiny coupe. Grand am at least came in sedan form



edit: it IS possible:

http://www.j-body.org/forums/read.php?f=30&t=46518&a=2

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...wap-20395.html

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...wap-20678.html

 

So I mentioned the prospect of a race to him, and he still thinks he has a shot. Apparently he beat his dad's Hyundai Sonata in a race, and he says it's a V-6. I didn't mention money, since distance is an issue to the nearest oval. But if it does happen, all of those suggestions will be taken heed of. However, he is in an engineering course, and may know how to do the same to make his car lighter. Or mod the engine a little bit.