[Shotimes] new to mailing list
Ron Nottingham
nottingham@alltel.net
Tue, 11 Mar 2003 10:44:21 -0500
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ian Fisher" <ianf@eden.rutgers.edu>
> I hope that you are joking about Max enthusiasts being jealous of the
> SHO? My Max friends have spent less on mods, almost nothing on
> maintenance and can hang with me on the straight aways and twisties and
> laugh at me every time my SHO breaks.
OK, to be fair... The Maxima uses Nissan's ubiquotous VG30DE engine. Many
more of these engines were produced than Yamaha V6's for the SHO. Think of
the Nissan engine as the small block Chevy of Japan. There are more
performance parts from more manufacturers for the Nissan than the SHO,
hence, the lower price for performance parts. Also, the Nissan engine, from
the factory, is not as highly tuned as the SHO engine, so the more basic
bolt-on mods will do more to wake the engine up than it does with the SHO.
As far as maintenance goes... Mechanically, the SHO's Yamaha is equal to
the Max's engine, but whereas the Max gets NipponDenso electrics, the SHO is
sadly saddled with Ford electrics. I have seen very few actual mechanical
failures of the SHO engine itself, but the majority are electrical failures.
Like the crank sensor, the cam sensor, the IRCM, and the DIS module.
As far as handling goes... The SHO is the best handling 4-door sedan out of
Detroit, but falls a little short of those from Japan, and far short of
those from Germany. My wife's 325i handles leagues better than my SHO, and
has a far more compliant ride.
> When I had mentioned the Maxima, I was referring to the 4th gen and
> higher (95-current). The automatic Max's aren't that much fun to drive
> but then again, neither are the automatic SHO's (at least in my book). I
> guess its all personal prefernce, but there are a ton of Maxima's out
> there with soul and enough kick in the butt appeal to leave you sore for
> weeks. Add a simple cone filter so that you can hear the intake and all
> of a sudden the car seems like a different animal. I am 6'5" and 300lbs
> and I would sit in any seat of the Maxima for a cross country trip. I
> wouldn't even consider doing that in the SHO. I can sit in the back of a
> Maxima and cross my legs; I can barely get my legs into the back seat of
> the SHO to begin with.
One thing that gives the Max a feeling of more room, is the slimmer front
seat backs, and the slimmer rear door trim. The door trim on the Maxima
does not intrude as much as in the Taurus. I could cross my legs in the
Max, but not in the Taurus, as my knees hit the door trim. If the Taurus
didn't have intrusive door trim, I could comfortably cross my legs in the
SHO as well. Now, Ian, get in the front seat of a Max, adjust them where
you fit comfortably, then try to get in the back seat of a Max. Go to
carpoint.com, and compare the interior specs of both the Taurus and the Max.
The Taurus has 3 more inches of rear seat legroom than the Max (37.7 vs
34.3), 1.5 inches more shoulder room (57.6 vs. 56.2), an inch less hip room
(54.8 vs. 55.9), and about the same headroom (37.6 vs 37.4). This was
comparing a 95 SHO and a 95 Max SE. The Max just does a better job of
providing the "look" and "feel" of more room in the back. BTW, my wife's
much smaller dimensionally 325i "looks" and "feels" like it has more room in
the back than my SHO does (overall width is much smaller, but for two
people, the comparison would be valid). I can cross my legs much more
easily in the BMW, than in the SHO.
Where the Max falls short for me, however, is the overall driving
experience. This has nothing to do with speed. My favorite driving car of
all time was my 77 Spitfire. Speedwise, the SHO, the Max, heck, even a
Pinto could outrun it, but NEVER come close to the total, overall driving
experience of the Spitfire. Sure, you can get the same wind in the hair
feeling and MUCH better handling from a Miata, but the Miata feels more
sanitized. Oh well, looks like this is going back to the "soul" thread we
had a while back :-)
Ron N. - Dalton, GA
90 SHO
89 325i
"It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile"
> -----Original Message-----
> From: shotimes-admin@autox.team.net
> [mailto:shotimes-admin@autox.team.net] On Behalf Of Steve Tatro
> Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2003 8:58 AM
> To: 'Ian Fisher'; shotimes@autox.team.net
> Subject: RE: [Shotimes] new to mailing list
>
>
> I've ridden in the back of a couple of older Maximas, and I didn't feel
> there was much room. And I'm only 5'10". I've driven a couple, both
> automatic and manual, and although they seemed like nice, solid cars,
> they didn't inspire me at all.
>
> On the other hand, my next door neighbor has a '94. I've helped him fix
> a couple of small items, and he was impressed by the beauty of the SHO.
> I asked him if he wanted to take it for a spin, and he gladly accepted.
> When we got out onto some back roads near our subdivision and he opened
> it up the first time, I could see by his wide-eyed expression that he
> was impressed. His comments after we were finished cruising around
> included "The two cars my be equals on paper, but the SHO is hands-down
> the more fun to drive".
>
> That's all I needed to hear.
>
> My friend with the '99 automatic admits it's a nice cruising car, much
> more refined, but has no "kick in the butt" at all.
>
> The only thing I even remotely envy about the Max is the reliability
> history. I realize all cars have occasional glitches, but the Max motor
> is solid. My friend's '91 has 290k miles, and he has no idea how to
> properly maintain a car.
>
> I think that the Max owners secretly are all jealous of the SHO. They
> may not swallow their pride and admit it, but they are. The ones that
> don't haven't driven a SHO and only see the "Taurus" on the back.
>
> Steve Tatro
> Red/Black '93 with 166k miles
> Cincinnati, Ohio
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: shotimes-admin@autox.team.net
> [mailto:shotimes-admin@autox.team.net] On Behalf Of Ian Fisher
> Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2003 8:32 AM
> To: 'Ron Nottingham'; Raiden1000@aol.com; shotimes@autox.team.net
> Subject: RE: [Shotimes] new to mailing list
>
>
> Actually, the Max has the SHO beat (by a long shot too) in the rear leg
> room department as well. The Max is a much better laid out car.
>
> Ian
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: shotimes-admin@autox.team.net
> [mailto:shotimes-admin@autox.team.net] On Behalf Of Ron Nottingham
> Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2003 8:21 AM
> To: Raiden1000@aol.com; shotimes@autox.team.net
> Subject: Re: [Shotimes] new to mailing list
>
>
> Welcome to the list!! Don't apologize for the Fiero GT's!! They are
> cool cars, and one of the few GM's I would consider owning. There are a
> few list members that have Fieros also.
>
> Now, what are your reasons for wanting a SHO? What are the reasons you
> want one? Because it is fast? A four door? If these are your main
> criteria, also look at a Maxima SE with Nissan's DOHC V6. The Maxima
> has a little smaller back seat leg room, but everything else is
> SHO-like.
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