Maxima vs. Taruas SHO

Today, during my lunch break, I drove up to "Subway" for lunch. I got my food and got back into my 1999 Maxima SE. As I began to back out, I noticed a nearby Taurus SHO leaving at the same time. I could tell the driver was about my age, having an aftermarket exaust and various other obvious cosmetic mods (stickers and ground effects). So being the guy that I am I race over and get right up on his tail in hopes that the driver wants to play. We pull up next to each other at the next stop light giving one another the look that its on. When the light turned green I floored it. Through first gear the SHO pretty much stayed next to me. Maybe this is because I baked my tires but when I shifted into second I could hear the SHO rumble. I was scared that I was going to be eaten by a Ford product. (This was terrifying to me, having just gotten rid my old Taurus for a Maxima). However I pulled away in second and in every gear from there on. I guess my question is: Was it the driver of the SHO that made it slow? Or is my Maxima simply faster than an SHO? I know this is a stupid question so don't answer if you dont want. I just wanted to share the highlight of my afternoon with other Maxima lovers who wait for the same oportunity. I have only a FSTB and JWT Pop charger as mods.

:flipa:

What generation SHO? The newer ones with the V8 are slow, the older ones with the V6 and 5-speed are about as fast as a stock Max, a little slower maybe.

The Yamaha V6 is great, the rest of the car is crap. They do have superchargers for the SHO that can make it into a real beast tho.

my friend has a 95 yamaha v6 sho 5 speed. i beat it with intake and exhaust with no real problems. they're pretty quick but the max i better.

I believe the SHO was a mid 90's model. I used to have a '95 Taraus and it looked to be the same body style. I believe they changed the body style in 96 or 97?? The SHO did have a Yamaha sticker across the windshield which is another hint that it was the V6 (unless he's just a choch, trying to look cool). I'm assuming that it did not have a supercharger based unpon the outcome of our little afternoon fun. It would have really pissed me off if I had been left in the dust. I'm glad that my little MAXI-pad held its own. Thanx for the feedback guys.

:bandit:

yeah, SHO's are pretty quick, if they catch you sleeping you will be left in the dust...but Max's are faster

Nice kill, no one hardly ever say that anymore but to help back up your claim, I raced and killed a (believe it was) 96 SHO, the car looked good it was White with some starshaped rims and tinted windows. I guess he underestimated the Max.
The race happened in 2000 when I first got my Max, so I guess he wanted to see what I could really do. I showed him just like you showed that kid what a Max is really capable of.
That Yamaha V6 is nice though, even if the rest of the car isn't.

good kill. the yamaha engine is a good engine in the sho.... but like you all say the rest of the car is crap.. my frioend had a 95 sho and it was nothing but problems with it...:D

nice kill
i never knew that a SHO could come with a supercharger...

Originally posted by Strider Negro
nice kill
i never knew that a SHO could come with a supercharger...
they don't come from the factory supercharged.

Originally posted by Paonessa

they don't come from the factory supercharged.

nope, they don't, but a supercharged SHO would be pretty damn fast

Originally posted by thrasher


nope, they don't, but a supercharged SHO would be pretty damn fast
i bet an s/c VQ would be a lot faster. and tauruses are ugly. it would be one fast pile o' shit though. the only good thing about the car is the engine and yamaha made it

Originally posted by thrasher


nope, they don't, but a supercharged SHO would be pretty damn fast

So would a supercharged Maxima and it'll look better, last longer and have a higher resale.

Hey, I currently own a `94 SHO 3.2L with the Yamaha engine. I'm also currently buying a Maxima `04. So this thread was fun to read. I was telling the guy at the dealership that my SHO felt very damn close to the Maxima if not peppier in the initial take off from a stop. But the Maxima does top out a bit faster than my SHO. That Ford has 220,000 miles on it folks and still has original everything except for wear and tear stuff like brakes and tires. I did replace the radiator a couple years ago for $500. I absolutely love my SHO. And it looks great with the spoiler and fog lamps. They are very sharp for a Taurus. Quality all the way on the ex and interior. So hard to part with, but it feels right to be buying this 2004 Maxima. I think i'll love it even more, possibley. Both great cars. It's really to bad Ford quite producing the SHO with the Yamaha engine. You guys are right though. The Yamaha engine is the sleekest and most dependable engine i've ever come across in a sedan like these, especially in the mid nineties. They run forever. Gotta love the 3.5L Maxima though. With the SHO you could definitely sneak up on people thinking you had a regular Taurus. With the Maxima, people no instantly not to play!

Originally posted by UOF FRY
With the Maxima, people no instantly not to play!

not really...i sneak up on unsuspecting Mustang's and Camaro's all the time, and then piss all over them!

Agree with Thrash on that one: There are some out there who still don't recognize the Max's character, like the other day I was coming back from watching the Drag races and some kids were playing stoplight drag against whoever lined up.

It just so happened that I was going in the same direction and I lined up at the light with them (one was in a V6 Tibby and the other in a Celica, both brand new). I only have slight mods now Intake, FSTB and they both had big exhaust, Intakes and big guages on the dash, before the light changed they looked over at me and laughed because I had a 4door and 2 other people in the car with me.

I torque braked to 2500 (autotragic) the light changed and me and the Celica were about even to 30, the Tibby was behind us and then once we went past 35 they both were history, I really pulled on them hard, we ran to about 90 and shutdown and I was more than 5 cars on the Celica, the Tibby was an afterthought.

how can you torque brake when you have brakes on all four wheels?

why wouldn't you be able to? all cars have 4 brakes.

Originally posted by Paonessa
why wouldn't you be able to? all cars have 4 brakes.

well is it hard on the brakes or what? do you just stomp the brakes all the way and hit the accelerator?

i think so. all of my cars have been 5 or 6 speed since i was 16. it sounds like a terrible thing to do to your maxima, though

Originally posted by Your Guide


well is it hard on the brakes or what? do you just stomp the brakes all the way and hit the accelerator?

yes, this is what you do, and yes, it is horrible for the car...but it's the only way to launch an auto quickly

i was confusing it with powerbreaking (think automatic muscle car) where they have front brakes and rwd, so the tires spin and the car doesnt move. i dont see the advantage of this torque breaking, especially since its hard on the car.

Originally posted by thrasher


yes, this is what you do, and yes, it is horrible for the car...but it's the only way to launch an auto quickly

It's bad if you hold it for long periods of time, but not if you just "flash" the TQ converter. And you guys could use the E-brake if you're only flashing to low RPM launches (like 2K RPM and under).

Originally posted by bk2kmax
Agree with Thrash on that one: There are some out there who still don't recognize the Max's character.


yea but how many people do you think know about SHO's.

The SHO is definitally a better sleeper, and would be fun to burn some rice with it.

When it comes to V-6 SHOs compared to Maximas its always a great race because it comes down to driver skill if the are both stock. The cars are to evenly matched to just say one will beat the other.

i think more people know about SHO's than maximas, everyone on here seems to think a maxima is slow or something besides a few that own them

Originally posted by Your Guide
i was confusing it with powerbreaking (think automatic muscle car) where they have front brakes and rwd, so the tires spin and the car doesnt move. i dont see the advantage of this torque breaking, especially since its hard on the car.

There is no difference between launching manual and auto.. you just use clutch to control when you wanna go for manual.. but since there's no clutch for auto's, you're simply using the brakes to hold back the car... (when u're trying to launch at a high rpm that is..)
I really don't think its hard on the brakes, but for sure, it is hard on the tranny cause it builds up heat.

Originally posted by BeEfCaKe


There is no difference between launching manual and auto.. you just use clutch to control when you wanna go for manual.. but since there's no clutch for auto's, you're simply using the brakes to hold back the car... (when u're trying to launch at a high rpm that is..)
I really don't think its hard on the brakes, but for sure, it is hard on the tranny cause it builds up heat.
yea called break launching... it doesnt ruin your car if you car is a rwd. its not hard on the tranny if you have an auxillary transmission cooler (im lucky :wink: )

maximas are nice and quick. i think the owners of a lot of them dont realize how fast they are. some do, those are the ones you have to watch out for.....

Originally posted by civicHBsi91
i think more people know about SHO's than maximas, everyone on here seems to think a maxima is slow or something besides a few that own them

well i know around where i live in NJ no one knows about SHO's and certain ppl know aobut maximas.

i posted this a month or 2 ago about a Taurus SHO


Originally posted by EPVQ30
we rolled off the red light slowly and punched it at the same time. we were head to head until i dumped it to 2nd gear and then i pulled away by a car length.. i think by third he gave up.. i pulled his pants down and spanked him..MUAHAHAHA:sun:


Motor Trend, Road Test, June 1994
"Our tester, a five-speed SE version of this fourth generation of Maxima, produced a blazing 6.6-second 0-60-mph time, and a 15.2-second, 92.4-mph quarter-mile run. Ask us,
and we'll tell you how the Maxima SE will whip the Integra GS-R, and Taurus SHO;
the new Maxima also shows no mercy on its Nissan stablemates: It'll stomp the normally aspirated 300ZX, and drivers of automatic-transmissioned 300ZX Turbos best not be snoozing when the light goes green.
This demure-looking family car is the quickest Japanese sedan available in the States."

Good kill. The SHO Taurus was exceptional for its time (Early 90's), but nowadays an Altima will smoke it.