99 Maxima 5spd vs E60 M5 SMG

First off, let me say that I'm one of the biggest fans of the E39 M5, I was upset when production ended in 2003. If you remember it was only offered with a 6spd manual, which said something about the car. When BMW replaced it with the E60 M5 I was upset even more because it wasn't offered with a manual, until now, and that, for me, defeated the whole point of a "performance car".

One of my friends got an early 06' one with the pretty stupid (I think) SMG. I haven't seen him for a few months and he didn't know I got my Maxima about 3 weeks ago. We talked for a while and hopped on the highway. We went twice form a dig, then from 30, and then about 50. Well...he took me every time, from every gear :eek:...I honked so I would get a jump start, but I had no chance. The second time we went from a dig I actually passed him for a few seconds, his bumper was by my rear door, but I think he was just fukcing with me becasue then he flew past me. He said the whole time he never went past 4-5k rpms. When we came back he asked if I wanted to try the car. It was around 2:30am so I had a chance to push it. At 100 the car felt like it was going 60. The SMG is good for highway races. Especially if you're going in and out of traffic the paddles are awsome, but the downside is that you cant go from 7th to 3rd or 2nd...you have to go through all the gears. Also the "M" button is prety cool, it makes you feel like james bond.

The outcome doesnt seem to surprising since the M5 is a king of cars. I did a side job for a guy that had one and I got to go for a ride in it and I will tell you I wished I had about 50k to get a car with. It is truely a sweet ride...


nice death. what mods do have done to your maxima?

I always thought of it as the king too, I remember as it fought off the E55 and then the RS6, but with the E60 and the SMG many people said the M5 lost it's "sporty spirit". I think it costs more around 80K, depending on the options. I thought the 1k+ lbs weight differene would help me out a bit, but it didnt, and the first set of runs were in the "400hp" mode.

I dont have much on the max, a stillen intake and a strut bar in the front and back that were on the car when I got it, which is pretty cool. In the next few weeks I'll be getting KYB struts because the current ones are gone.

haha im sure u werent toooo suprised... any BMW with an M in the name is a mean car... i think M might actually stand for mean.

I always thought of it as the king too, I remember as it fought off the E55 and then the RS6, but with the E60 and the SMG many people said the M5 lost it's "sporty spirit". I think it costs more around 80K, depending on the options. I thought the 1k+ lbs weight differene would help me out a bit, but it didnt, and the first set of runs were in the "400hp" mode.

I dont have much on the max, a stillen intake and a strut bar in the front and back that were on the car when I got it, which is pretty cool. In the next few weeks I'll be getting KYB struts because the current ones are gone.


I was thinking 50k for a good used one...:grinno:

haha im sure u werent toooo suprised...

haha...I can pretend can't I? :lol:

I was thinking 50k for a good used one...:grinno:

I see....I'm guessing now that they have the 6spd I think the used ones will drop in price even more since many will want to get the manual. Do you know if the M6 will get the 6spd too?

No word yet on a manual M6, and I doubt that they'll do it based on what everyone has said about the manual M5. The M5 and M6 are built around that 7-speed SMG transmission and without it the car doesn't work as well. You can't turn of the traction control, which means the car is half a second slower to 60, half a second slower in the 1/4 mile, and .06g's on the skidpad. (C&D) Trust me, SMG is better on the M5/M6. Manual purists will get a terrible, watered down version of this great car. Just because a car doesn't have a manual transmission doesn't make it not a "performance car" or a "real sports car." The vast majority of modern Ferraris (75%-80%) use their sequential transmission w/ paddle shifters, all F1 cars use the same setup, as well as many other racing series. Manuals are great, but we are getting to a point where a car with a higher tech transmission is really the way to go on sports cars.

How can you really be suprised at all that a car with over twice the power, two more gears, near perfect launching (launch control), and perfect shifting beat you? There are videos of the E60 M5 running with 996 Turbos and C6 Corvettes. There is no way you shouldn't have expected a complete thrashing.

The M5 and M6 are built around that 7-speed SMG transmission and without it the car doesn't work as well.

Yea I've been hearing that too lately...

Just because a car doesn't have a manual transmission doesn't make it not a "performance car" or a "real sports car." The vast majority of modern Ferraris (75%-80%) use their sequential transmission w/ paddle shifters...we are getting to a point where a car with a higher tech transmission is really the way to go on sports cars.

I'm not disagreeing with you, I'm just saying its becoming something of a "lost art," just like self focusing cameras for example. I know how to focus the old cameras myself, however my little siblings dont even know that there are cameras that dont self focus, and when I asked them to use it, they said its broken...Its good that you can still shift when you want, but that extra movement with the clutch pedal makes you feel more "in harmony" with the car.

yea i agree... My GTP is obviously auto and i hate it with a passion. My camaro (rip) was 6-speed n theres def just somthin bout pushin the clutch and throwing the shifter that makes driving that much more enjoyable.

Its a total mental thing, I liken it to jerry seinfeld said that he liked regular phones with cords better than cordless because you get no satisfaction out of hanging up on someone by pushing a tiny quiet button, but with the standard, you could slam it down. Thats sort of the same feeling with the manual trans. Its very satisfying, even though there are now better ways to get the job done.

Everything and anything that Jerry Seinfeld says is OK wit me:)

yea i agree... My GTP is obviously auto and i hate it with a passion. My camaro (rip) was 6-speed n theres def just somthin bout pushin the clutch and throwing the shifter that makes driving that much more enjoyable.

dunno much about grand prix torque converters but for f-bodies a stall in an a4 makes a world of difference. btw my roommate is probably getting a silver 2000 gtp this weekend,, does $8k for one with 65k miles sound like a good deal?

...does $8k for one with 65k miles sound like a good deal?

I think thats a slightly more than average. Kelley Blue Book Retail: $6,875 – $10,250.