five-four-oh vs. '03ish VQ35 6spd Max

[prash]

So I'm going to grab lunch and I see a nice looking Max pull up behind me at a light. It was slammed pretty low and had 18" wheels from a G35 coupe. His engine didn't seem stock either. He had an Injen sticker on the back, but other than that I have no clue what power-mod's he might have had. The car looked nice. I snapped a shitty pic of it which I'll post up later... '03's are the old body style btw.

So I don't give 'er when the light turns green and he does a fly-by from behind, but he gets caught at the next light. So I pull up along side. This particular stretch of road isn't very smooth and is patrolled heavily by cops. The road is a ~35mph zone so I don't want to do anything stupid and get my licence suspended (.... again )

So the light's still showing red but he starts creeping. The light was at a small intersection and I could see no one was about to run their light...so I start rolling as well.

The light goes green & we get to about 5mph and we both give 'er at the same time. I start to nose ahead right away. Through the end of 1st his engine was right at my front window. I was driving w/ my window down & listening to his engine in hi-fi at that point....

He grabs to 2nd (his shift was fast) and I pull a little bit more. At this point I'm already doing 50mph+ and I shut it down at around 55mph with him at my back door. He keeps standing on it and blows by me... was probably doin more than 75mph before he shut it down.

I catch back up (not racing, just trying to keep him close) & tail him for a while since we were heading in the same direction. At another light we get another clear section of road, but this time I'm behind him.

So he takes off... ... I floor it, but my wheels break loose. I keep standing on it and I can feel the back end fighting for grip... (I'm pretty sure I have an LSD on my car) I regain traction and at this point he's got about CL gap b/w us. Through 2nd he didn't pull away any, but I wasn't really realing him in either... I shut it down at 60mph and leave it at that.

Fun runs. I wish we bumped into eachother in a 50mph zone. Than I could've really let 'er rip. I'm going to surf around maxima.org and see if I can find him there.

I need to do a 3.15 LSD & 6spd swap ASAP

[GfortheCPE]

Sounds right.

Those maximas had about 255 hp ran low 15s high 14s in the 1/4.

From a dig I imagine the maxima would suffer some due to fwd, but from a roll should be pretty close.

I think the newer maximas are actually slower even though they got a little hp bump they gained about 200 pounds!

[carrrnuttt]

Good runs.

I would have like to have seen the outcome past 60, as that is when the 6-speed Maximas pull best, around 65 to 100.

[BMW Loe]

Ya good runs. They normally run 14.5@97mph stock with a 6speed but can run quicker (IIRC the quickest stock ran a low low 14.0@99-ish mph). I think Injen only makes that really crappy CAI (It has a really small filter and some saw good gains by swapping in a K&N filter over that it comes with). Watch out though, the respond pretty well to mods.

[carrrnuttt]

Originally Posted by GfortheCPE

Those maximas had about 255 hp ran low 15s high 14s in the 1/4.

LMAO

Try 14.6 to 14.1 stock driven decently, and also consistently faster than the older G35s in a straight line.

I find it funny that a fellow VQ driver would know so little about Maximas.

Here's a bolt-on Maxima with 3 people in it versus two G35s. Make note that the silver G35 is a 2007 6-speed, with the VQ35HR motor (actual race starts with about 13 seconds left):
http://videos.streetfire.net/video/8...9e00fd9e68.htm

Here's the same Maxima against two other 2007 G35s:
http://videos.streetfire.net/video/d...35012a1371.htm

[prash]

Originally Posted by carrrnuttt

Good runs.

I would have like to have seen the outcome past 60, as that is when the 6-speed Maximas pull best, around 65 to 100.

After you posted those vids of a similar Maxima running with a 545 I got a little nervous...

They are quick cars. mid - to - low 14 seconds with the 6spd & I'm sure it wouldn't take much to extract 280HP which the VQ is rated at in other applications.

[dcv]

Nice runs. Way to rep the E34 540i!

[GfortheCPE]

Originally Posted by carrrnuttt

LMAO

Try 14.6 to 14.1 stock driven decently, and also consistently faster than the older G35s in a straight line.

Wooh, sorry.....

Most maximas i've seen run at the strip ran high 14s doesn't mean they can't do better just what I've seen. I always assumed it was due to the fwd with launch. The low 14s that you say maximas run, is that with drag radials or is that stock tires?

I find it funny that a fellow VQ driver would know so little about Maximas.

Again, its what I have seen, perhaps I have witnessed only poorly driven ones...

From such a strong reaction I can only assume you have/had a maxima you used to take to the strip

What all mods did the maxima have btw?

Nice vids!!

[prash]

My buddy has a '98 Max and I've heard him say that VQ35 Max can do 14's on street tires no problem bone stock. And I've read magazines which had similar results.

I've raced a newer 3.5SE Max on the highway. They're heavier and I had little problem pulling away.

[GfortheCPE]

Yeh, the newer maximas weigh about 200 more pounds.

I'm guessing ive only seen autos at the track then....I've never seen one get close to 14.0.

It makes perfect sense if you can launch them without problem...

after all its same engine and the 02s only weighed about 3300 which is about the weight of the Z where as Gs are fat

I've just never seen one do that before, that max in the vid is quick!

[BMW Loe]

Those low-mid 14's are on street tires. IIRC the quickest all motor 5th generation (2000-2003) Maxima is SR20DEN from www.maxima.org. He ran 12.8@108mph on slicks (I think, or was it 12.6 on slicks?) a year ago so I don't know what he runs now.

[carrrnuttt]

Originally Posted by GfortheCPE

Yeh, the newer maximas weigh about 200 more pounds.

I'm guessing ive only seen autos at the track then....I've never seen one get close to 14.0.

It makes perfect sense if you can launch them without problem...

after all its same engine and the 02s only weighed about 3300 which is about the weight of the Z where as Gs are fat

I've just never seen one do that before, that max in the vid is quick!

Actually, the 2004+ Maximas are up to 400 lbs heavier, though they are similar to the 2002-2003 Maximas in low end acceleration as they have a much more aggressive final drive, and they also match the 2002-2003's top end due to a better coefficient of drag. The 2004+ Maximas have .30 Cd, and 2002-2003's have .32. What I am saying is, don't sleep on the newer 6-speeds either.

The best combo is a 2002-2003 Maxima with a 2004+ 6-speed swap, or at least the final drive.

My Maxima is a 2002 SE, with a curb weight of just around 3200 lbs. SEs (Sports Edition) are the lightest, and the other models can get up to 3300 lbs as you said. Some SE's without sunroofs are even lighter. It's the SE's that are usually 6-speed, although some SL's have 6-speeds too, but overall, 6-speeds are rare. Automatics are usually the heaviest models.

One other thing is, as far as body, the 2000 to 2001 Maximas have the exact same body as 2002-2003, except the 2000-2001 have the older 3.0 liter motor with about 222 HP (5th gen), while all 2002-2003's have the 3.5 VQ motor with the rated 255 HP (5.5 gen). It's easy to think think that a Maxima you just saw run was a 3.5, if you don't know the differences, the biggest of which is the HID headlights, which all 5.5's have.

[carrrnuttt]

Originally Posted by BMW Loe

Those low-mid 14's are on street tires. IIRC the quickest all motor 5th generation (2000-2003) Maxima is SR20DEN from www.maxima.org. He ran 12.8@108mph on slicks (I think, or was it 12.6 on slicks?) a year ago so I don't know what he runs now.

Funny thing is, Maxima drivers tend to like BMWs and vice versa. I owned BMWs before I owned any Maxima, and am looking to go back to BMW next year. There are a ton of former Maxima owners that now drive a BMW on maxima.org.

[Zen S14]

Seen the newer automatic SLs run around 14.6 at the drag strip with a 250+lb driver. The guy ran the car in auto mode and had stock tires.

Best rental car I've ever driven was the 2003-2004 255hp max. Had an auto but that thing ripped coming off of the line and had power in any speed. Got 23 mpg too depite my heavy foot.

I am kinda of surprised a Maxima could outrun the G35s though. Pretty cool vids and clear enough to actually see what is going on.

[BMW Loe]

Ya, I'm one of them. The VQ's can be a beast, especially if you stick it in a lightened and slightly gutted 2,800lbs A32 body with bolt-ons and either a modified intake manifold or a 350Z plenum.

[prash]

Originally Posted by carrrnuttt

One other thing is, as far as body, the 2000 to 2001 Maximas have the exact same body as 2002-2003, except the 2000-2001 have the older 3.0 liter motor with about 222 HP (5th gen), while all 2002-2003's have the 3.5 VQ motor with the rated 255 HP (5.5 gen). It's easy to think think that a Maxima you just saw run was a 3.5, if you don't know the differences, the biggest of which is the HID headlights, which all 5.5's have.

I used to work for Nissan when I was in high school. The differences b/w the 3.5 and the 3.0 are minimal, but I've been around them enough to be able to tell just by looking at the headlights and tail lights. I've driven that gen 3.5 SE and they feel damn quick.

That burgundy Max is crazy ... & the driver shifts are instantaneous,