Since I'm moving to college in the fall, im looking at a 400+ mile trip across Illinois. My question is , how does the Max perform over the open road? I've never had a chance to find out for myself, so before I do , I'm asking for some good-old-fashioned knowledge. I know the car is great across town,but is it better on the open Interstate? How many times does it need gas? And yes...how fast can it go. Gotta make it to registration on time...

 

The amount of gas it'll use depends on your driving habits, outside conditions, and state of car.

It'll go as fast as the speed limit permits.

The car sucks at dodging cross winds and even headwinds.

400+mile is no problem. Your body will be tired long before the car will be.

 

How many times does it need gas Depends on how far you're traveling, typically the needle is next to the letter "E".
Whenver it runs out .. have you ever heard of calculating MPG? You have an 18.5G tank .. so whenever it runs dry odds are you'll need gas.

MPG is dependent on speed so ehh yeah. People PLEASE lets not turn this into a "how fast have you gone in your max" thread

 

I like those odds

 

Is that how you drive cross-country?

 

You'll be fine Don't worry, relax, and enjoy the time you get to spend with your Maxima.

 

400 miles is jack ****, I'm looking at a 1,000 mile trip from Maine to North Carolina. Just need to get a tune up and change a few things for preventive maintenance and Its all good.

 

Never have drive cross country, but common sense tells me to refer to the needle to my left whenever in doubt.

 

He was referring to what a tankful should yeild ...

 

try saying that about a Ford.

 

It'll be fun...the last trip to southern Illinois involved a 10-year old Cadillac SDV .....and a boring A$$ trip. Its fast, but the steering wheel on my PS2 has better road feel than that flinty old rod of a car. The reason why I'm concerned (slightly..) is that the nearest Nissan dealer from SIU is 90 miles away..so its best that nothing breaks en-route...which, if I know my car, is NEVER gonna happen....

 

Never take it to the dealer, hasn't this place at least taught you that?

 

i'm guessing your going to u of i @ urbana? good luck.. i went to u of i @ chicago...

anyways.. yea no biggie.. done 800 mile trips at least 2 times a year.. i always check my fluids and tire pressure before i go. (also your spare) no need for anything major.

my max loves the highway more than nj/ny streets

 

Southern Illinois University@Carbondale. Go SALUKIS! Anyways, its about 3 hours south of Champeign-U.

 

I've made 2 300+ mile round trips the past two weekends. Lots of fun, winding hilly roads. It was a blast in the newly lowered Max! And duh, just fill up before you go. You might make it all the way, if you set the cruise at a reasonable speed.

 

Max is smooth on open roads, I've done many 300 mile trips on stock suspension and stock wheels and tires and all was fine. Roads were smooth and even some rough roads still felt smooth. Heated seats helped at times when it was cold. For my 300 mile trip, I filled up right at the highway, and when I arrived at my destination I had a little under half a tank left. You should only need to fill up once assuming you car is in proper working order and filters arent in need of changing (air filter especially)



edit: I was traving @ 80mph the whole way no heavy footing.

 

i drove 1250 miles from philly to south florida with a check engine light on .. the car ran perfect...no hesitation ever.... anytime I hit the gas it moves with ease, i proly punched it 100 times to pass truckers

 

The max is the best on the highway, even better than local streets. Well, at least I think so.

 

Made a trip 4th of July weekend, drove about 408 miles, I filled up with 93 before I left and had cruise on just about the whole doing anywhere from 75-80, 78 seemed like the sweet spot gas mileage wise. I got there with a little more than 1/4 of a tank; make sure you have good air pressure in your tires, run a bottle a techron while you are at it if you want, the max should run very well.

 

Why do people post crap like this.. are they thinking the Maxima has a limit of 100 continous miles and it breaks or what!?!

I think for a 400+ mile trip he should take some spare cams I hear they wear out on such a long trip

 

Do YOU think that after 185,000 miles that its somehow gonna quit after 100 miles? Cause I dont think so..........

And HOW IN THE LIVING HECK did you wear out the cams IN ONE TRIP?
And i guess im supposed to just bust out my engine teardown kit at the Kankakee rest stop and just "replace the cams" in transit?

And excuse me if I want to find out how my beloved car will ride BEFORE I hit the road ..........

Why you flamin' ? If you have nothing nice to post, don't post: Save some space.....

 

Its called sarcasm .. Obviously you won't be replacing cams - the fact that you fell for it speaks volumes.

I flame because the thread is ghey.. no one needs to hear your going on a long trip .. as you state it won't fall apart all of a sudden after a road trip

 

Damm my Newbieness...............
Okay , yall got me...... but still, a road trip in a Max is a good thing.....

 

I've take min from N GA to Miami twice. Just another day on the road. Top off the tank at your first potty break and you'll have no worries. As far a how fast the car will go, it is more than fast enough to land you in jail for wreckless endangerment. Be careful above 100. Thinking about 400 miles, I did that on my motorcycle one day. Have fun, and have a nice day.

 

I drive about 360 miles to college. I made about 7 trips home this year. Its relaxing as long as you have lots of washer fluid (damn bugs), full tank of gas (I make it home on one + have about 75-100 city miles left), and, the most important thing, entertainment.

 

140 mph

 

last year i drove from orlando to virginia...no problems....oh except that the night before my freakin bose headunit went out, so i made the trip there with no sounds wutsoever except a few >> , try drivin 13 hours with no radio! you'll be ok

 

The maxima seems great in cross/head winds after driving my girlfriend's saturn on the highway

 

If you guys have nothing constructive to add, just read it and move along. How hard is that?

 

Well, it depends on what kind of Ford you're talking about. During my teen years my family had a van, we took it back and forth from Florida to :Boston; Syracuse; Philly; New Orleans; CT; Miami; Key West with no major problems except my brother and I getting in a fight and he ended up puncing out one of the side windows (parents were thrilled about that).

I have also taken my Max from Tampa to : Philly; Atlanta; Miami and Numerous trips from Philly to Boston.

Had the car 5 years, replaced the front pads twice the rears once. Since I've started doing track days and auto-x now I my A/C condensor has a leak and my rear valve cover gasket is leaking, my CV boots are shot and I need new shocks, not bad considering.

125mph, Penn Turnpike through the Lehigh Tunnel on 476 in a train of 6 other cars. No crosswinds in the tunnel, felt like I was going much slower.