Memnoch

Hey all...

I've got a 2005 Nissan Altima 3.5SE. Beautiful car. Black exterior, black interior. 17" Alloys, sun roof, spoilers, dual chrome-tipped pipes. 250 HP, 246 ft/lbs torque. 0-60 in just about 6 seconds. Auto tranny that is modeled after the Mercedes 4matics (this is a five-speed, though). And this is all stock.

Now that I'm done bragging, here's my question:

Has anyone actually worked on a 2002-2006 Altima 3.5SE? I'd like to know what kind of hp/torque increasers I can put on it. Obviously some 3" cat-back pipes, and a cold air intake and K&N filter. That'll put it at just about 300 horses, I think. There's not a lot of room under the trunk though - how feasible is a supercharger or turbocharger? Obviously I could put a tiny turbo in there, but really, I'm trying to keep the money/power ratio in mind here - I'm not exactly makin' the big bucks. What about computer chips, or chip-program modifiers? Any help would be great.

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shakran

If intake/exhaust puts you at 300 horses I'll eat my car. I'd guess closer to 260, 265 max, and that's if you're really lucky. Chips are generally a waste of money, especially if they're not put in to work with other mods. Turbo/supercharger is often the cheapest as far as horsepower per dollar is concerned. Make sure you figure out how much boost your engine can take without building it up. Supercharger will be more fun, turbo may be faster. SC will give you instant throttle response. It'll have that nice jolt of accel. straight off the line. Turbo will lag and the power will come on slower. It won't feel as fast, even if it is.

Memnoch

I'm just quoting the opinion of a friend of mine (who is more of a street racing buff than I am) as far as the horse power. But, like I said: there's not much room under the Altima's hood. Take a look, sometime. I'm looking for specific SC/TC's that would actually fit in there and make a difference.

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DEI37

I think you'll find stuff from NISMO to fit it (contact a local dealer) or Stillen makes Nissan stuff. Not sure what you'll find for the Altima 3.5, but there's bound to be something.

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Scorps

don't forget the high flow cat

Borla

I have to agree.


Have your car dyno'd, see what it REALLY makes right now, then dyno it when you have added whatever mods you are going to. You'll have a much more accurate idea of what improvement was made that way, especially compared with WAGs.

I think you are looking in the right direction with wanting to improve the flow of exhaust and air intake, but I think your gains will be more like 10-20hp total, than 50hp total.

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IanSturgill

are those or the new maximas rwd, i could have sworn I saw one spin the rear tires on a comercial?

Borla

They are front wheel drive.

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DEI37

You might have seen an Infiniti G35 do that, though. It looks kind of like a Maxima, but it's built off of the 350Z chassis, hence, it's rear drive.

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Generally speaking, if you were to get what you really deserve, you might be unpleasantly surprised.

Scorps

I always though the G35's where AWD

Borla

See the third paragraph of this article.

http://www.caranddriver.com/article....&page_number=8

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MSD

I doubt that you'd come close to that on a dyno. Only one way to find out.
4matic is a four-wheel-drive system.
Your firend has watched The Fast and the Furious one too many times if he thinks you can get 50hp above an assumed, untested rating out of a N/A car.
The G35x is.

Memnoch

Way to criticize.

"Modeled after" and "is a" are different statements, chum.

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Doing my best not to end up like Kathleen Chang.

Scorps

So thats the one I read about

billege

Except that modeling a transmission after a 4 wheel drive system is completely inaccurate regardless of which phrase used.

So, he's not criticizing, he's educating. You said your transmission was modeled after a four wheel drive system. That's completely apples/oranges. It's not possible to model a transmission after a drivetrain system composed of axels and differentials, etc. They serve completely different functions. You might be able to say your car's transmission was modeled after the same trans used in the 4matic system on a specific model Benz.

But what does that mean? They both use the same transmission fluid? They both have torque converters? Similar stall speeds on the converters? Lock up converters? Number of gears? Electronically conrolled? What would "modeled after" mean? Other than trying to brag on your transmission by associating Benz quality to it, I'm not seeing that you've investigated how an automatic works, and what components, if any, are modeled after a Benz's, and why that's a good thing.

It's obvious you're proud of a nice car, and that's a good thing. It's great you're into your car, and looking to really get involved with it. If you want to learn more, you're certainly in the right place. There are some very knowledgable people in here, and they've proven time and time again they'll sleflessly share all they know with a fellow enthusiast.

That means you've got to be open when someone says "whao buddy, you're talking out your ass."

As to adding a turbo or supercharger: only if someone out there has already designed a kit for your car. It's not somthing you cobble together out of parts and see if it fits.

Chips? hah, not really. They advance ignition timing a bit, and play with the fuel maps. More a waste of money than a gainer of hp.

Best suggestion I can make? A baby NOS kit. A 50hp fogger kit would be fairly simple for you to install. It'd be easy to deinstall when you're done with the car, and go to sell. I'm sure the drivetrain can handle 50 more hp without going "kablooie" but I wouln't put it on my car withouth finding a car forum somwhere with guys who've modded your exact car, and found out what the deal is.

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shakran

You CAN cobble one together. I know what you're thinking - HE can't cobble one together (yet) because he doesn't have enough experience (yet) but I didn't wanna have him get the wrong impression.

Homebrew turbo/SC kits are out there, and they're getting fantastic results. But you have to know your stuff- I mean *really* know your stuff, before you're ready to build one yourself.

Memnoch

"Modeled after" meaning "when you're driving, you can switch from automatic to a cheater's version of manual." Jeezus.

Not to mention that, aside from coming into this not expecting to be descended upon by people wanting to "teach" me, I still have yet to hear from anyone who has actually worked on an Altima 3.5. If you haven't, you could have done something constructive, outside of telling me I "talk out of my ass", like find me a link like this one: http://www.nissanperformancemag.com/...jectaltima.php or this one: http://www.nissanperformancemag.com/...taltimaser.php (props to my dad for sending me those).

Thanks for all the help. /sarcasm

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Borla

Dude.........you have to be willing to listen if you want constructive advice.

I am a Supermoderator on one of the largest automotive boards on the internet (it's in the top 100 biggest boards ever on the net, according to bigboards.com). The others here gave advice that was, for the most part, trying to help you out. I think what was being conveyed about "realistic" gains was to try to help you avoid projecting the "ricer" image that is so prevelant today. With kids adding parts that they are clueless about, and quoting advertised numbers, or uninformed buddies, and claiming their alleged gains as gospel.

Quite a few cars nowadays have the automatics that allow you to switch over to specifically choosing your gear manually. Even the Mitsubishi SUVs that are our sales fleet vehicles here at work do that. If you like it, fine. But responding like that to people who are trying to help you communicate in a more accurate way isn't going to get you more help.

As far as whether those people specifically have worked on or modded an Altima with the 3.5V6 is basically a moot point until you get into specific detail on advanced mods. The fundamentals are the same for virtually any combustion engine in any car that is unmodded. Make it breathe better. Make sure it is getting all the fuel it needs. Unless you get into some heavy, heavy modification, your stock fuel system should be fine. You are on the right track looking at ways to improve on the stock intake, and the stock exhaust. However, the gains you quoted from your buddy are insane. It simply will not happen. If you want to be knowledgable about your gains, go get the car dyno'd, then dyno it again when you are done. You'll see what I mean.

Keep this in mind though......if you are under a warranty from the factory, you are probably about to void it. Your friends might say otherwise. People on other boards might say otherwise. The only way to be CERTAIN is to go to the Service Manager of your local Nissan dealership and say "if I do xxxx, what is going to happen if I need warranty work on something?"

We are just trying to be helpful man.

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silent_jay

All I can say is a post like this isn't going to get you any help from people here. As for people wanting to 'teach' you, what's wrong with that? Everyone has something to learn everyday, also you did say this in your original post so it's obvious a little bit of teaching was in order, which is what some of the well qualified people here have been trying to help you out with, but if you don't want the help then why bother even posting a question in the first place?

Just my 2 cents.

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billege

Whoah there buddy. Sorry if you feel decended upon. If I sounded like that to you, I apologize for it.

Let's pretend we're sitting in a garage shooting the shizzle about cars, maybe even with a beer in hand.

In that setting, where we're all buds that can chuckle together, I'm going to respond to anyone saying 50hp comes out of a new set of pipes and an air filter, by saying "Dude, you are talking out of your ass."

Then you'll laugh and say "Hey man, FU, if you know so much, why don't you tell me somthing?"

Then *I'll* laugh. Then I'll tell you why 3" pipes from the cats back aren't going to get you more than 5-7hp TOPS, and why a cold air intake and air filter might be good for the same thing. Maybe, if you're lucky.

Now, as for anyone here modding out your exact car, the odds are more in favor of you finding that person on a Nissan forum, as your dad's links lead to.

Pretty much, most people on the internet should be telling you to find your own forum links, becuase you're as capable of using Google as anyone else. Then again, some folks here will (out of the kindness of thier hearts) do a search for you, and post links. I suppose "constructive" can mean "doing your searching for you." For me, not so much.

In any case, I'm sure if anyone happens to know a kick-ass forum for you, you'll get a link to it.

The rest of what you're going to get (here) is prolly not peeps who have worked on a Mazda 3.5, but instead very knowledgeable folks who can tell you a lot about an awful lot.

A gasoline internal combustion engine is an IC engine, your 3.5 ain't special. It's as crowded in that front driver's bay as about any other V6 front driver made in the last 20 years; all the same general performance tricks are going to apply.


It's all good man...

So, what's your budget, what do you think you want to try, etc?

__________________
I can sum up the clash of religion in one sentence:
"My Invisible Friend is better than your Invisible Friend."

billege

w3rd. That's come cool stuff there. I didn't realize they were getting to the point that if you are teh 377t 3nGiNe hax0r, you can put somthing like that together.

That could be all sorts of fun.

__________________
I can sum up the clash of religion in one sentence:
"My Invisible Friend is better than your Invisible Friend."

MSD

Here are some basic tips:

-Exhaust will be good for 5 to 10 HP, and depending on materials and construction, may save you a few pounds.
-A free-flowing intake will allow the engine to work more efficiently, and lowering the temperature of the incoming air will give you approximately 1% increase in peak power per 10°F you decrease the intake temperature. Putting lightweight heat shielding between the headers and the intake pipe and relocating the point at which air enters the intake will help to maximize this temperatur decrease. Expect an absolute maximum of 10hp from a complete replacement of the intake.
-Nitrous is fun, relatively cheap, and relatively safe if you keep it within reason. A "25hp shot" should be safe and provide you with a good fun button for passing, merging, or fucking around on the highway, according to your preference. Do not push the button in first or second gear.
-Forced induction should be left to the professionals.

Memnoch

Wow. I remember this post had been a "final straw" of sorts for me and TFP, and I don't think I ever even saw the comments that came fairly quickly after my "Thanks for all the help" comment. If any of ya'll are still around TFP, here's an apology for being an ignorant son of a bitch, 4 years late. What I'd give to still have that car. Sigh.

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Doing my best not to end up like Kathleen Chang.