CaRo

Always in auto. If I need power I step que gas pedal.
In power and comfort I feel it changes too much gears. I use auto and change gears with the gas pedal. It works better for me

nc90gxe

iTrader: (6)

I was told by the company that rebuild my tranny to leave it in power mode, the ecu lets the transmission slip (bad news) more in comfort mode.

rimaximaman

Power setting BABY!!! POWER!!!!!

ClouDrifteR

Power On... FTW!!!

Dirt Rich

I had my tranny rebuilt, but first gear still sucks imo. Goes from turtle to rabbit between 1st and 2nd gear switch. Is that normal, or just mine?

TWINTRBO

I leave it in power mode, those little 160 horses need all the help they can get. The engine works at its most efficient if it not under high load anyway, short shifting in comfort leaves the car powerless to pass so you have to beat on it more to get it to go, and it lugs the engine for less MPG.

rowanapps

i dont really notice a difference between the three options regarding the fuel consumption, diving it i notice early shift change and quicker response but that all.

'90maxpro

I like the power setting so the ratio lets it get a little higher on the lines in case someone tries to jump off the line like they know better than I do. Gas mileagle suffers though so I hardly ever have it set. The comfort setting is cool shifts too soon almost too soon. Regular is just right, getting pretty good MPG, kinda sounds like the Goldilocks story...

Scope

iTrader: (5)

Since I started this thread I might as well throw in a little something. If you like to jump off the line or use powah mode alot do yourself and you pockets a favor and buy a tranny cooler. Trust me. Even if you don't use those modes buy a tranny cooler. I've been through three trannies since I started this thread and I now will not drive an automatic unless it's a SMG tranny. Test drove one and fell in love. LOL. Anyways ALL AUTO USERS INSTALL A TRANNY COOLER!!!!!

Maxima9750

I meant that when you are just driving up and down a hilly road and you press the gas pedal a little bit harder to get up a hill, it always shifts into 3rd, even if the hill has the slightest incline.

RMTC

I leave mine in comfort because i dont notice a difference in the shift points with the other settings.

The Max

I prefer to stay in Power mode ... keeps the turbo boost ready. I also ensure that O/D isn't on below 80km/h.

maximagician

mostly power mode .....mostly

when i did vlsd test according to fsm(strangely only in m/t section?)
i lifted car so both wheels can spin and put it in neutral
and they dont spin together is this only for m\t's?(92 se auto)thanks

Nates78Ski

I'll go ahead and agree with 94Maxshima... Always seemed like a Placebo switch, haven't touched mine in the 3.5 years I've had my max...

Nate

internetautomar

iTrader: (30)

i've used mine, and it does change the shift points

Badman_Maxima

Power , POWER .POWERRRRRR LOL!!

well i'm assuming thhe ECU does its own thing, no matter how u look at it

rimaximaman

Trans seems to shift more efficiently in "Power" mode!

rimaximaman

Trans seems to shift more efficiently in "Power" mode!

internetautomar

iTrader: (30)

yeah, kinda like a CTS-V

bhunter

iTrader: (3)

That switch is one thing I miss on my 4th gen. I used to keep it in auto most of the time but once in a while put it in power.

One thing I like to do now is manually shift the auto and redline every shift.

maximagician

good question ...me , i dunno maybe someone else will be nice and chime in

brynm

Usually auto but on occasion it will be on power.

datsundesmond

I have'nt noticed any difference with the switch in either position on my 94 se. However I haven't had it long either.

bigalbert323

I have it on auto, but if I need more acceleration I leave it on power

aubz

I leave it on auto, power uses up too much petrol and not to mention destroys auto trannys

The Max

Dude, Power mode definitely doesn't destroy autos. In fact, it's actually more beneficial as it engages the clutches a little firmer. Comfort mode, on the other hand, is the tranny's worst enemy as the low RPM shifts also equate to softer shifts which results in more slip in the clutches before they finally engage. That is the destructive nature of the design of these trannies. All I can say is, I'm glad I got mine built by Level 10. It's not cheap for us Aussies to ship over a whole tranny like I did but it's damn well worth it and my turbo appreciates it all the more.

alextothestars

that is definately true on my car. i just keep it on auto because i dont see how switching the modes all of the time can be good on a 14 year-old, underpowered-automatic transmission.

alextothestars

that is definately true on my car. i just keep it on auto because i dont see how switching the modes all of the time can be good on a 14 year-old, underpowered-automatic transmission.

the switch works on mine; power shifts later, auto shifts a bit lower, and comfort shifts much sooner. power always gets better gas and comfort goes right through it.

i never tested my theory, but i always wondered if the comfort's shifting at a low RPM would cause it to have a lower top speed, since you dont get the full range of top speed out of every gear, etc.

anywho, that concept is why i believe comfort eats more gas...you will be driving at higher RPMS in over drive because of the early shifts from 1st to 2nd to 3rd and into over drive at low speeds. not to mention youll be driving longer at these low speeds and driving at that higher RPM level for that duration. 4 minutes at 2.5/3.0k= 10/12k rpms in 4 minutes, where as 4 minutes at 2.0k= 8k rpms in 4 minutes. 10k rmps is a 20% increase in rpms and 12k rpms is a 50% increase, in relativity to 8rpms.

over drive off is a tad faster, but i dont trust it. it is not very gas friendly at any speed over 30...and come on...how many of us drive that slow ALL OF THE TIME?
just dont forget you left it off if you have swapped out your gauges for a 92-94 se gauge cluster from a manual that does not have an overdrive on/off dumby light.



as for the question about the wheels not spinning together...
im pretty sure the auto(DOHC) and all manual transmissions are limited slip (in relation to the 3rd gen maxima)
that being said, the auto(SOHC) have the locking differential. the manual might even be locking, but i know that this is true for the autos.
that is the biggest gripe i have, but you have to understand that they werent marketing the car to kids or businessmen going through mid life crisises until 1991/1992 and the locking differential was the slower, family-car idea. the 92-94 SE is the true legacy of a Maxima; with its solid, 3500 pound weigh in, a 190hp/ 190 lbs/ft DOHC engine, a limited slip differential, independent rear supsension, and its practical and attractive interior design, the 3rd generation Maxima started it all. sadly, it kinda ended it all, too, and the 4th gen Maxima received its Motor Trend-adored "Q" DOHC engine, but went through a cheaper construction process due to the bankruptcy which lead to Renault purchasing the company and creating the more "refined" 5th gen/6th gen Maxima...you can't even get the manual transmission in one now!

sorry about the rant. i just love maximas and hate to see the altima (bluebird...of which the maxima was designed to be an UPGRADE of...) surpass the maxima as the 4DSC.

sadly, i think we can kiss the legacy of the maxima goodbye from what im seeing/hearing. when i hear maxima these days, i try to think of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th gen 4DSC and NOT Nissan's 2009 answer to the Cadillac....

CapedCadaver

iTrader: (8)

sometimes I debate killing my automatic on purpose, so I can have an excuse to put in a new [manual] tranny

Caidwen

Most of the time I use auto I have sometimes used power

CapedCadaver

iTrader: (8)

what happens if you disconnect that switch entirely? will it default to Auto? I had taken some of my dash panels out, and only reconnected what i thought was necessary (hazard light, mirror_adjuster/cruise_main/rear_defrost/brightness_control pawl), and then I was like wait... maybe I should hook that tranny controller back up also. I never actually started the car without the switch attached.

Also does anyone know if is there a way to tap the automatic transmission computer to add on some +/- direct shifting ability (perhaps controlled by some add-on buttons or switches that we could mount somehwere)?

CapedCadaver

iTrader: (8)

Similar to the other post I just made.. do you have +/- gates or are you just doing L/2/D-OD-Off/D-OD-On? The thing that bugs me about that is the way that the 3rd gen shifter isn't very precise when choosing a shifter position. I usually have to overshoot it (halfway between N and D) and then pull it back to make it get into D, otherwise I'm riding around looking dumb in 2nd. Maybe I need to get a stronger spring-stick-with-ball-on-the-end thing that goes at the front of the auto shifter (if you've taken out a center console you might know what I am talking about).

nc90gxe

iTrader: (6)

i know this reply is old, but when i got my trans rebuilt i was told that for our models leaving it in comfort or auto lets the trans slip a little (which is bad) for a smooth, non jarring shift. power mode doesn't let it slip which is better for your trans. that's why manuals last longer if the driver doesnt burn the clutch (same as auto or comfort mode)

CapedCadaver

iTrader: (8)

The switch is supposed to affect absolutely nothing except shift points. So I don't think your top speed will be limited, because if you're going for your top speed, then you're flooring it, and if you're flooring it, it's going to use the lowest gear possible without over-revving, and it it does shift 500RPM sooner, then you're shifting out at 5500 instead of 6000, which is still pretty high, and with a torque converter, RPM is an inecact relation to speed.. It should however affect how fast you reach your top speed. Short-shifting will make your car slower because you have less RPM and basically the same amount of torque on these engines, but that still makes for less HP.

That's how come I don't get this "you will be driving at higher RPMS in over drive because of the early shifts from 1st to 2nd to 3rd and into over drive at low speeds". My car drops into 45mph at about 1800RPM on level ground in OD, regardless how hard I accelerated, provided the engine is warm. turning it into Power would make your OD rpm higher, by preventing you from shifting into OD until you reached a higher RPM in 3rd, which would require faster vehicle speed, and that added speed would make your OD rpm higher. If your car normally shifts into OD at 30mph, which is, say, 1800RPM in 3rd, and then 1400 in OD, but power makes it hold until 2200RPM, and 1700 in OD, at 37MPH. Those numbers are all made up, btw.

As for gas mileage, power makes sense, because flooring the pedal in a high gear uses more gas than babying the pedal in a low gear, and power lets it downshift sooner, which means you don't have to floor it to get the same acceleration. However, at cruising speed, if you are forced to use a lower gear, the added inertia and driveline friction that you have to overcome in a lower gear is why you are wasting gas. I'm pretty sure that coasting downhill in OD uses no more gas than coasting downhill in '2', becuase you're at idle-throttle. The engine isn't trying to spin but about 700RPM, and it's the momentum of the car that is causing it to spin, not the fuel. So therefore, when trying to maintain your speed on a slight downhill grade, you can put it in Neutral, and let the car hold its speed (gravity cancels tire/bearing friction), whereas the engine braking (even in OD, there is a little bit) would make you give it a little bit of gas to keep it from slowing down.

So the sooner shiftpoints of Comfort will give your engine more resistance in the higher gears, causing you to use more gas to achieve the same acceleration. But once you're in OD, you should notice no difference (no more gears left), and if you're flooring it you should notice little difference (no room to use even more gas pedal).

But seeing as how it says I'm a newbie, anyone feel free to prove me wrong, since I know that a lot of you know a lot more than I do.

internetautomar

iTrader: (30)

That answer your question

CapedCadaver

iTrader: (8)

I get the upshift ones, and I guess the second column is whether or not it'll downshift if you give it half throttle based on your speed, but what's up with the 1sub2-1sub1 column? And was "that answer your question?" to me or someone else?

internetautomar

iTrader: (30)

not sure what the last column is.
and yes the question was directed towards you, though it is rhetorical

CapedCadaver

iTrader: (8)

Either way, it proves my point that full-throttle acceleration will be unaffected by that switch (and the 4-3 full-throttle downshift will only change by -1KPH/-1MPH on some numbers when in comfort mode, which is basically negligible). And it shows that the switch only affects anything in part-throttle situations. As for the theory of 2000RPM idle throttle down a hill using as little gas as 1000rpm idle-throttle down a hill... that's up for debate still.

Maybe the last column is an idiot-proof system for those who grab hold of the shifter and downshift with that, where even if you miss 2 and end up in L, it'll hold 2nd until it's safe to downshift into 1st, to prevent over-revving. Just a thought, based on something I read today by Tom and Ray from Cartalk. Because when I videorecorded myself going 0-70, I hit 5500RPM in 1st, right at 40mph, which is exactly what it seems to say in that last column. So if you're going 70 full throttle (or half throttle, according to the chart) and manually shift into L, it ought to ignore your downshift request until after your car has slowed to the 35-40MPH range.

Corbit

Hey all , I need a little help here . I'm looking into buying a 92 maxima with the v6 auto , but it has a bad tranny . I have found a 95 local that will part with the tranny cheap . Will it work. Sorry to Hijack , but being new I cant start a new thread or I would. Any help would be awesome , I'd really like to buy this one but I need to know what auto trannys are interchangeable. Thanks Corbit.

DanNY

iTrader: (14)

no it won't work...
don't thread jack!!!!