maxima magazine data
Data on Maxima performance based on reports from different automobile magazines. Reported by Steve Crutchen.

Legend:
AM - Automobile Magazine
C&D - Car and Driver
MT - Motor Trend

Magazine	Date	0-60	5-60	1/4 ET	@mph	Model	Tranny	Feature
C&D C&D MT C&D C&D C&D AM* MT MT C&D	11/95 5/95 2/95 5/95 1/96 1/96 8/95 2/95 12/96 6/96	8.1 7.7 7.6 7.3 6.7 6.6 6.6 6.6 6.7 6.4	8.8 7.9 --- 7.8 7.2 7.2 --- --- --- 6.9	16.4 16.1 15.7 15.9 15.3 15.2 --- 15.2 15.1 15.1	85 87 90 87 92 93 --- 92 92 92	95 GXE 95 I30t 95 GXE 95 SE 95 SE 95 SE 95 GXE 95 SE 96 SMX 96 SMX	Auto Auto Auto Auto 5sp 5sp 5sp 5sp 5sp 5sp	Family Four-Doors Road Test 1995 Import Car of the Year Romp in the Woods Long Term Test, New Long Term Test, 40K Miles Great Cars for $20K 1995 Import Car of the Year Extreme Sedans** SMX Road Test**

* Manufacturer's data; Automobile Magazine does not do testing.
** Neither of the Stillen SMX tests include ECU upgrades. Though the MT said their car had one, it was preproduction and did not help much. The only currently available ECU upgrade is for '95. The '96 and '97 are still being finalized.

I tend to look at the Car and Driver 5-60 (street start) numbers to get a more realistic feel for what I might acheive, since I'd rather not tach up to 4 grand and then dump the clutch on my own car.

The November 1995 test results seem to be out of place; this car was quite a bit slower than the other three automatics tested, note especially the 5-60 numbers. And I would have guessed that the automatics would have been more consistent than the 5spds. I asked Csaba Csere if this GXE could have been ailing a bit. He replied:

"Regarding your question, I can't argue with your observation. The Maxima automatic that we tested in November 1995 is the slowest of the group. I have no obvious explanation for this result. The test was conducted in Northern Michigan during the late summer. There fore, the car was tested at the Chrysler Proving Grounds, our home test track, where we acheive our most accurate and repeatable test results.

Furthermore, I was along on that test and do not recall any obvious distress on the part of the Maxima. It was perhaps on the slow side, but it was running fine.

It is possible that the difference between the 8.1 seconds achieved by the slow Maxima and the 7.3 seconds achieved by the quickest automatic could fall within the bounds of car-to-car variability if one car fell at the extreme fast end of the spread and the other was at the extreme slow end. In the absence of any contrary evidence, that would be my conclusion."

FYI: For those who didn't know, the Infinity I30 is merely a Maxima in disguise.