Just saw Maxima commericial

[Juice699]

Why is it that Nissan can make a 3.5 liter V6 put out 255 horsepower and 246 lb-ft of torque and Ford makes a 4.6 liter V8 put out 260 horsepower? That pisses me off.

[Hammer]

Have you looked at the torque and power curves of that "meaty" V6? Peak numbers that last a second at high rpms do not win races. Look at the S2000....

[Juice699]

No I haven't. I may have been a bit hasty in posting but I've been looking to get a GT for a while, I love the styling and when I saw that a Maxima is pushing out almost the same numbers it bothered me.

[The Deuce]

The Maxima is a solid car, but not as fast as the bhp number would lead you to belive, as hammer stated. If you want a family car, its way better than anything honda or toyota has, but it ain't a Mustang by a long shot.

[MiracleMax]

Can you say "economical to produce and operate in a pretty mild state of tune that lasts forever".

I bet that V-6 is way more expensive to produce and over the course of the engine's life it will cost more to operate.

[The Deuce]

Not to pick a fight Max, the VQ motor in the Maxima is considered the best v6 on the planet by many. Think of it as Nissans version of the 350 chevy. Its the 6 they use in every application from the exterra to the 350z.

Something tells me they have the costs and reliablity issues under control by now.

[MiracleMax]

The V-6 is a DOHC powerplant isnt it? I still bet its more expensive to build.

I've never sat down and poured over nissan engine specs, but I'm also guessing the engine requires things like premium fuel to support the HP its producing? If their making that kind of power on regular unleaded then thats pretty impressive!

I'm not knocking nissan's V-6 on any account, but I don't think Ford is losing any money on cutting edge technology for the 4.6 either (or else the GT would be sporting like 330 hp)

anywhosit, pound for pound I think the 4.6 in the GT is still alot cheaper to produce and while this isnt a topic usually discussed here, My car is routinely getting between 26-28 miles to the gallon on trips (sometimes a smidge better). using 87 octane.

Thats why it only makes 260/300 compared to 255/246.

Heck I've heard the next camry will have 275 hp? (My roommates dad is a Toyota salesman and he never missies a chance to "let" me know about that "oh what a feeling" toyota excitment.)

Finally I don't find your argument offensive? So its kinda hard to pick a fight However I'm incredibly hard headed so I'll argue the point till I draw my last breath! (unfortunate side-effect of being a minority among all the rice and brand x im around.).

Speaking of which, is it only me or are alot of people who take a ride in your car are surprised when you squeeze on the pedal? For some reason people think my car should be a bloated asmathic snail gobbling down fuel like an alchoholic at happy hour.

The Maxima motor will most likely outlast the Ford V-8. I know the 4.6 is supposed to have a longer life than the old pushrod 302, but as 'the duece' said, the Maxima's V-6 is a well built motor that, in my opinion would probably last over 200,000 miles no problem. Of course I've seen the '87-'93 5.0s last over 200,000 miles as well! And yes, the Maxima can run on 87 octane. I don't know of any foreign produced family sedans that require an octane over 87. I've ridden in a new Maxima...and I'm absolutely positive that a new GT would have no problem beating it. Ford's horse power rating seems to be a bit more "real horsepower" that you can actually feel all the way through the powerband, unlike the high revving ricers.