I G-Tech'd my girlfriend's 94 SHO auto and my 93 Maxima SE 5-speed last night in 50 degree outside temps. The result - the 94 Taurus SHO auto killed my 93 SE Max 5-speed! Here are the best G-tech times (0-60) I got with each car:

94 Taurus SHO auto
Run 1 6.88
Run 2 6.87
Run 3 6.85

93 Maxima 5-speed
Run 1 7.87
Run 2 7.88
Run 3 7.79

The Maxima should be running high 6-second 0-60 times but I think my VE engine must be tired or maybe the VTC's aren't working. The Maxima has a Random converter and Flowmaster cat-back exhaust. I pulled the Stillen intake and Cattman pipe off about a week ago because I'm selling the car. I don't think those two mods would have made a big difference anyway. The SHO is bone stock with 66K miles on it and the Maxima has 115K. Either way, I'm selling the 93 Maxima and will be driving my 87 Maxima SE 5-speed for about a year until I get some debts payed off. Then I'll be looking for a cherry 94/95 5-speed SHO with low miles but that will be hard to find. Who knows, maybe I'll change my mind by then! At least I still have the R1 to ride when I really want to go fast. If anyone else in here has G-Tech'd there Maxima, please post your times. I'm curious what the results were.

-Jeremy

 

About 2 years ago my auto 87 max ran 17.2 at 81mph with a 0-60 of 9.4 when I only had K&N panel and timing advance. AT the strip I was running around 17.2-17.3's at 78mph. Once I put in my CAI I ran 16.7 at 81 at the strip. C&D tested a 85 SE 5spd at 8.7 0-60 and 16.7 at 81mph a while back.

 

I think there is probably something wrong with your maxima. There is no way that a VE 5 sp. should give you 0-60 with high 7's; even more so with the breathing improvements. Some magazine back in the day got a 92 SE 5sp. 0-60 of 6.6 stock. I think that the SHO is a fast car no doubt, but the max should be able to hang with it fairly evenly. I really don't know how accurate the gtech is with the times since I have never used it. The intake and y-pipe are some of the most effective mods you can do to a max.... the cat and rest of the exhaust is not a problem most of the time. But I would still say that there is probably something wrong with your max.

 

Yes, I would have to agree with you because I know the slow times are not due to my driving skills. Also, my car uses oil so I think it may have low compression in one or more cylinders. Before I bought my 93SE, I test drive a 92 SE 5-speed with 17" rims and that car seemed a lot quicker than my 93. Either way, that SHO is blazing FAST for an auto! For comparison's sake, my old '91 Corvette 6-speed with mods would do consistent 5.3 0-60 times with the same G-Tech. I think my R1 does something like 2.8. One can never accelerate fast enough, he he.

 

Yeah I replaced my engine about 2 months ago. It was leaking a little oil and burning it a little in the morning as well. It had 150K on it when I spun a bearing at 6300 RPM, so I just got a motor out of a wreck that had 70K miles. Now the car doesn't use a drop of oil. I think it is so cool that when I change the oil it comes out the same color as when I put it in. I am planning to take my car to the 1/4 mile drags this sunday to get some stock times (provided that it doesn't rain or snow) and I will post them on my sig. Some people have said that the 92's were a little faster than the other VE years. I don't know why that would be though. Its like the people who say that the 95 SE is the fastest 4th Gen. I really don't know why... Before I dump the Max for a Ford, I would run a comp. test and check the plugs and timing just to find out whats wrong; that is unless you have your heart set on the SHO now. I drove a SHO 5 Ssp and I do think that they will beat a VE max 5sp. I wonder what the HP figures stock are for the yamaha engine?

 

Here are the specs for the auto and 5-speed Taurus SHO's. The auto has bigger displacement and more torque but the 5-speed SHO's are a supposedly faster due to less weight and better gearing.

The 3.2 liter (auto) engine's torque peak is 215 lb-ft @ 4000 RPM, and the power peak is 220 hp @ 6000 RPM. The corresponding figures for the 3.0 liter (manual) engine are 200 lb-ft @ 4800 RPM and 220 hp @ 6200 RPM.

 

I wonder how that car would stack up against a 5th gen... Are all the SHO's the same? They have the SHO from the first gen taurus, and then they have the SHO from the 2nd gen taurus, and the 3rd (ugly body style) gen SHO has the weak V-8 with an auto. (I am talking between the first and 2nd gens) Cool car but its an anomoly. Its still a taurus... Whatever you do don't settle for an automatic. I used to work for a Ford dealer and those taurus trannys never held up(I don't know if they beefed up the tranny for the SHO)

 

Your numbers were all very close, therefore consistent. Its just really weird that your modded VE 5 spd is a bit under 8 seconds, thats what a modded 5 spd VG should be good for with those mods.

Your SHO numbers were really impressive, so I did a bit more reading. I found that the auto was actually tested faster than the manual in a few tests. Either way, I couldve had this car very cheap when I was buying my Max but declined because I was afraid of it simply being a Taurus underneath it all. For example, my friend, who has that 93 SHO auto that I drove, bought it from his dealer friend with a bit less than 80K miles for $5K and this was around 12/98 or 1/99 so quite a while ago. The car was mechanically mint, and had a very clean exterior, it was that hunter green color.

All of the sudden I'm giving the SHO some serious thought. I'm convinced that if I was serious about selling my Max, I could get more than enough to cover a 94-95 SHO from a dealers only auction. Definitely a cheap pocket rocket with better styling than a 95-96 Max which I've also been recently looking at. I'm gonna take a look at the last dealers auction report to see what they are really going for. 6.8 seconds to 60 for a 94 car with 66K really sounds great.

 

heres a site for you to look at if you haven't already.....really good site mods, faqs, everything-->
http://www.shotimes.com/
seems like a great alternative to the Max in terms of performance oriented "4DSC's"!

 

I posted there asking for any input from current SHO owners about 2 hours ago. Do you happen to know anything about the tranny or other parts that often cause trouble on that car?

 

I have heard that there are several probs, but myself I'm not sure since I've never had the chance to deal with one, but I pulled up the Recall/TSBs links from my bookmarks:

'93 seems to have a couple engine/tranny issues, but I didn't read it all so I'm not sure on the severity--> <b>http://www.alldata.com/TSB/19/93191251.html</b>

and heres for the '94, cooling fan seems to be an inherent prob!--> <b>http://www.alldata.com/TSB/19/94191273.html</b>

 

hey guys my 93 se 5 speed that i recently bought is not running close to those times and im thinking there should be a lot more power. When i floor it it sorta hesitates. ive recently changed the oil got new ngk double platinum plugs and had the fuel injectors cleaned. Also the owner before me had the vtc's replaced. Anybody know what the problem could be or what else i could try?

 

An old Car and driver had these two cars matched against one another. Unfortunately the MAXIMA was a couple of tenths behind in most of the acceleration and 1/4mi. numbers. However, how mant TAURUSs do you see roaming the streets after 100k+mi.? I seriously think we got the better end of the deal.

 

Actually, the SHO engine is built by Yamaha and is reputed to go for 350K miles easily. Unfortunately, I don't think any Taurus body/chassis will last as long as the motor.

 

between the lines well. I thankyou for reminding me of what I forgot. The SHO/FORD/yamaha engine is a great motor. Again I forgot to add that; thanks.
I also might add, that the tranny and support devices for the car is FORD Motorcraft. Let me clarify, ....
GOOD core motor/heads, awseome concept for a sedan, poor support equipment(tranny,A/C, etc...)
Do you know who supplies that rebuild from FORD?.. FORD rebuilds that motor! That is not good. So once it dies if ever, then leave it that way.
I pray my FORD 97 COBRA will last longer than 100+kmi. If you need help finding part numbers on the SHO; shoot me an E-mail, at least I can turn you on to the part numbers, not a sales agent any more though.
brose@satx.rr.com

LATEZ

 

Its cool that the sho is fast, but in my opionion it looks ugly! and like you said the body is FORD built so you know what that means Found On Road Dead...hehe

 

I just got a 90 SHO 5-speed to replace my 90 Maxima VG auto
The SHO's have some common minor problems, but the major problem is cost of parts. I just had to replace the valve cover gaskets @ 91 bucks for the set.
They arnt that bad as far as reliability as long as they are maintained well...a lot of people say cars are POS just cuz they cant hold up well when not maintained right.
I used to have a 91 SHO..sold it..got my maxima..then sold my maxima to go back to SHO. I dont know it i would of done that if i would of had the money for a 5-speed VE maxima, but this SHO was 2k and my other one was 1550 bucks.
And the 89-91 SHO's are the fastest ones, the newer ones got heaver and slower, even the 5-speeds.

Just my .02

 

Its always kind of bothered me that the 92-95 SHO nose looks exactly like a 92-95 Sable's instead of looking sporty. The body itself always looks kind of plastic. Anyway, I'm in a huge conflict. It would be going all agaianst me beliefs if I get one, but that insane amount of pure speed/performance almost seems worth it. Id definitely get it as a hobby car and keep the Max if I could afford it.

 

I've been able to beat all those sho's except for the 89' for some reason. A friend of mine HAD an 89', and it could tear some ***. He said that year was the fastest they ever made, and I wouldn't doubt him being up against him. The car was a big p.o.s so it had to be sold, but I respect it's performance.

 

the 89-91(especially the 91 Plus models) are like 7sec 0-60 cars driven right..and even lower with a really good driver.
Properly running and with a good driver they would beat a 4th gen 5-speed maxima stock vs. stock.

 

Mr Rose - Yes, I've heard horror stories about both the manual and auto SHO transmissions but this car was meticulously maintained by the original owner (older guy) and the everything on the car works great. We bought the car for the motor just like you'd buy a GMC Syclone or Corvette ZR-1 for the motor. Also, 6K was a steal for this car considering the mileage and condition.

Maximus/NYC - Styling is a subjective matter but most people would agree that the SHO looks pretty aggressive. If you think about it, it looks a lot like a 3rd gen Maxima SE with the ground effects, spoiler, dual exhaust, fogs, etc. They're both 4 door sports cars but the SHO is certainly longer and wider. It feels like driving a cop car.

Foo90 - Cool, I'll bet that SHO is a blast to drive. I hope the maintenance costs don't kill you. Post some pics if you have a digicam.

Maximum 810 - If you live in the Bay Area, let me know. I'd love to race some Maxima's in the SHO. All I know is this car ripped my 93 SE 5-speed a new one.

We drove down to Disneyland this weekend in the SHO and it was smooth as glass on I-5. There is one stretch of I-5 southbound near Firebaugh where the oncoming lane is not visible and there is nowhere for cops to hide so I opened it up, all the way up. We pegged the speedo at 140 and the RPM's were only at 5K! The damn thing redlines at 7K so I think it will go faster but I wasn't about to try. Getting from 120 to 140 took a while because we were driving into the wind. I think the fastest I've had my Max was 130 but others 3rd gen owners claim to have gone faster. Either of these two cars are great sleepers for under $10K. Nuff said.

 

SHOs; do they have fully independant suspension?

 

Yup the SHO's will supossedly out-handle a 3rd gen maxima...not too sure on that though...it drives more like a big car compared to my Maxima SE