darin i noticed the same thing. i used to have a maxima, my dad bought a new 97 when i was working for nissan that my sister now drives, so i'm fairly familiar with them.

the 89-91 had a 3.0l 170hp V6. i think VG30DE was the engine code.

the 92-94 was the same body style but had the VQ30DE (same as the NA Z32 300ZX) at 190hp.

the 95-99? maxima had the same VQ30DE but i think was 195hp in the new body style.

the 00-03? maxima had the same VQ30DE cranked up to 222hp in the new body style, and was now available with a 6sp.

i don't remember the specific weights of the various models, or their respective suspension designs or brake sizes. some of my years could very well be off a bit.

given that these are all FWD, i would probably chose the 95-99yrs since they would likely have a lighter weight than the 6sp high hp model.