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Vigo
Vigo New Reader
11/3/09 5:53 p.m.

VQ pwnz.

As i said in the other thread.. take a 4th gen maxima, throw a 3.5 in it, and BAM. About as awesome as low-dollar FWD project cars get. and a GOOD car in general, too.

unlike my turbo fwd dodges.. lol. great fun, but not nice cars.

sethmeister4
sethmeister4 New Reader
9/28/11 9:06 a.m.

95-99 Max's ROCK! My 95 has 191k+ miles and I still get 23-24 combined mpg's, and usually 29-32 mpg's on a nice highway road trip. Plenty of power with the awesome VQ30, quiet, smooth. Just be prepared to do valve cover gaskets, fuel injectors, and starters. I have always wanted a 5 spd 4th gen, and I hope to find one someday to bring to the Challenge. I think a gutted 4th gen with some suspension, sticky tires, and an aftermarket Y-pipe would surprise a LOT of people. The 4th gens are definitely one of Nissan's best cars ever!

sethmeister4
sethmeister4 New Reader
9/28/11 9:07 a.m.

Oh, and here's what happens when you throw a VQ35 in a 4th gen with some nitrous!

Strizzo
Strizzo SuperDork
9/28/11 9:42 a.m.
Joe Gearin wrote: I was at a tuning shop a while ago, and they had a few VQs that had failed after an supercharger was installed. If you don't mess with them they seem to be pretty bulletproof though. The 4.0 in the GRM/ CMS Pathfinder has been a beast.

check out http://extremetruckperformance.com/ this guy sells a spacer that installs between the upper and lower intake manifolds that puts a good bit of meat into the powerband. along with a superchips programmer people pick up .5-1mpg and a good bit of midrange torque. definitely makes the engine much less "peaky"

Otto Maddox
Otto Maddox Dork
9/28/11 10:06 a.m.

In reply to andrave:

According to the EPA, a 1998 SC400 is rated at 17/23 and the 1998 SC300 is rated 17/22. Hmmm. I'll take the better MPG, the extra 70 hp and 80 lbs of torque of the V8.

sethmeister4
sethmeister4 New Reader
9/28/11 10:36 a.m.

Auto only with the V8, though, right? Plus it's hard to argue with a Toyota straight 6...

Basil Exposition
Basil Exposition Reader
9/28/11 10:42 a.m.

My ex managed to kill one. Rammed the Maxima into the back of another car. Never had the damage inspected and it turns out it had a coolant leak. The amazing part is she drove it for months before it died. She abused the crap out of that car.

belteshazzar
belteshazzar SuperDork
9/28/11 12:47 p.m.

i just put an injector in one. the car was so gunked up from neglect i could hardly believe it. the girl inherited it and drove it through high school and was most of the way through college. the egr system was completely filled and blocked with carbon.

once i had that injector changed, it still ran like a dream.

driver109x
driver109x HalfDork
9/28/11 3:06 p.m.

I thought about swapping one into my g20 to replace the 299,xxx mile sr20 thats still running strong.

mad_machine
mad_machine GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
9/28/11 3:19 p.m.

I still have nasty thoughts of putting one of these into my fiat

JamesMcD
JamesMcD Reader
9/28/11 4:30 p.m.

I had a '96 I30t w/ 5-speed, and it was nice, but I hated the rear suspension.

Teh E36 M3
Teh E36 M3 HalfDork
9/28/11 4:40 p.m.

Anyone have an rwd transmission weight?

racerdave600
racerdave600 Dork
9/28/11 5:23 p.m.

I love the one in my G35, it's the best part of the car. The first response from anyone that ride in it is "this car is seriously quick". You don't expect it from an almost invisible generic 4 door. It really is a hot rod though. I get around 22mpg normally in mixed driving, with a best of 25mpg on the interstate if I remember correctly. It will use about a quart between oil changes, and besides a camshaft sensor, it has needed nothing since I've owned it.

My sister and brother in law still have their '96 Maxima they bought new, it's over 300k miles now and still going. They've had very few problems at all in that time, it's a remarkable engine!

bluesideup
bluesideup Reader
9/28/11 5:46 p.m.

I recently rented an Altima 3.5 SR with the CVT. I normally hate those transmissions but this thing was pretty awesome. The car itself had some floaty shocks but the motor hauled. It did remind me why I don't like fwd though.

bigdaddylee82
bigdaddylee82 New Reader
9/28/11 5:51 p.m.

In reply to bluesideup:

I've driven a hand full of the 6 speed coupes with the 3.5l. They are surprisingly quick, like snap your neck and ass firmly against the seat acceleration. Grossly overpriced new, but sweet none-the-less.

  • Lee
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