SE; Excellent Performance + Extras

I had an oppurtunity to buy a 1992 Maxima SE from it's original owner two years ago. It was a black on black leather, 5-Speed, sunroof, air, etc..

The reason why I bought it was because it had a problem with the VTC (Variable Timing Control). This part of the engine commonly fails on the VE30DE 3.0L V6 in the SE model. I repaired it by welding it into place (it had simply cracked internally, and would make a loud noise as it jiggled around on the end of the camshaft). This had very little effect on the performance of the car.

The things that struck me when I took apart the engine to repair it was the quality of engineering of every aspect of the engine. All the aluminum parts where finely finished as if it were to be viewed from the inside. The three main heavy-duty timing chains were very nice, the camshafts all being driven by pulleys (other manufacturers like Toyota have skimped in this area by having cheaper engine designs with two cams that are driven only on one pulley, and a gear drives the other cam between the two). The spark plugs are ignited using direct ignition, another feature that was ahead of it's time when this engine was new.

The Engine feels much more powerful than it should, Much more than the same year of Camry V6, or Accord. In fact, it wouldn't be fair to compare the Maxima SE to those cars. The 5-Speed manual has a very high quality feel, and is one of the best I've ever used. The throw is short, and tight. The engine makes so much power, in some cases you may have to hold the transmission in gear to prevent it from popping out under instant-on low-gear situations.

The suspension is also equally refined, with a fully independant rear suspension (not the same on later models). The car feels very stable, and "planted" at speed. It actually feels better the faster you drive. The brakes where excellent (because they were well maintained). The braking system features valves integrated into the rear suspension to proportion the braking force depending on suspension angle during cornering. The ABS works great (I had to use it twice in emergency situations, and it saved me each time). The steering is a fairly quick ratio, which is only really common on sports cars. The steering responce is good, but considering the size of the car, it is still slower than a sports car.

The black leather interior was really nicely styled. There isn't anything special about the design, but it is nice and simple. All the controls are nicely arranged, and easy. The white faced guages were also ahead of their time, very nice, with the backlit numbers. The quality of the guages is really amazing as well, the finish up close, night or day is remarkable.

I didn't experience any problems with the car when I owned it. I eventually sold it because I demand rear-wheel-drive in my cars. I now have a 1989 Toyota Cressida.

::goldenaxe::