1993 SE 5sp stock 200k
I was doing a lil test today. I put the car in gear and let it pull itself along at 5mph or so...then gunned it...car is slow to pick up until 2500rpm. Is this normal? From 4+ (intake runner change) the car's a beast!
My gf's 95 Altima SE 5sp stock 105k has better pickup all through the range. Our 97 Sentra GXE auto has great pickup from 5mph but suffers when it hits 2nd (actually feels slower).
Any ideas on why the maxima's a slug? I thought the v6 190hp should help a lot on takeoff.
Jae

 

same here...up to 3k, it sucks

 

after about 3k the car kicks ***. it really sucks in the auto.
the way to master this is to learn a new driving style. i call it cutting a rev. basically bring it up to the redline when going between the gears and then drop the clutch, you will learn to do it without spinning the tires, you get great acceleration. it wont work from first though
i drive overdrive off and i kick ***. first hurts though, sometimes i use neutral as a "clutch" almost. youll learn to drive it right.
good luck
MrGone

 

Are you flooring it right off 1000 (or whatever) RPM it's running at 5mph? Have you tried being more gradual with the throttle instead? Maybe you're bogging the engine too hard at too few RPM.

Of course it's a bit subjective what "slow pickup" is from one person to the next, but I know the power curve for VEs doesn't really pick up until over 2500. I drive normally (ie, pretty fast) keeping it under 2800 all the time.

 

That's normal J, and one of the great things about having a 5-speed. You can keep that VE in the powerband.

 

oh but you see, I can keep mine in the powerband and its an auto. however I can say "tranny rebuild". neutral does wonders
im working on mine dont worry
MrGone

 

My new sig it going to be: "I'm never buying another automatic car for myself unless someone chops off my right arm."

 

you could always drive a european stick car then

 

I guess that would be one more reason to buy a R34 Spec-V.

 

actually theres a kid at my school, his name is mike. he was born with no left arm, well think of cutting your arm off at the elbow. he drives a stick. granted its funny, but still.
hes a great guy. i feel sorry on him, he likes to work with cars but the one arm think really sucks.
MrGone

 

I dont think that is normal Jae. In nummaonenutsaq's new bone stock 5 speed, if I do that, it will spin the tires off the car practically. If I hit it about 3/4 of the way it will pull hard then if I punch it at about 4000rpm it will still spin, I usually hit WOT at 4500rpm.

 

hmm....so 2500 or 3000 is the sweet spot? I know when the intake runner switches it's nice...but anything below that isn't very fun.
Bman, for normal driving, I shift below 3000 but the pedal feedback is horrible...if I'm trying to speed up 5mph, I have to give it lots of gas. Is it just the powerband issue?
And yeah, I'm flooring it @ 5mph. I'll try a more gradual method today.
Lordrandall, at 5mph and under 1000rpm, there's no powerband to be in. hehe. If we were cruising in 4th gear, yes, I'd definitely drop it to 3rd or 2nd.
MrGone: I have no problem shifting; it's just the low rpm range that bugs me. I expected more outta a 3rd gen.
Maximan190: unless Nissan starts usuing constantly variable trannies in their sedans, I'm gonna stick with 5sp. Heehee.
dmontzmax: hell no! there's no way this 3000+ lb car with 215wide 15" stock rims will do a burnout when rolling 5mph. I've only done that once when 1 wheel was in the drain gutter, but that doesn't count. (btw, I think the lsd lockup needs to be tighter).
Jae

 

I dont know dude, maybe it is from all the miles, the car has lost some of its juice. The VE 5 speed I am driving has 140k on it, and has no problem lighting them up all threw out 1st.

 

I have the same problem. Until about 3500, she seems to hesitate, like when you get out of bed in the morning and can't seem to keep your eyes open. At 3500-ish, however, it feels like I've got a turbo. Some days, though, it's faster than a striped *** at all rpms. I think they have good days and bad days. Yesterday was pretty good. At the quarter, I botched up my manual shifting and still ran a good 15. I plan on replacing the exhaust, ignition coils, injectors, and gutting my cat soon. After that, I'll see how much power I've regained. I'll bet I'm wasting a ton right now.

 

i'm thinking of replacing: cap/rotor, sparks, spark wires, O2 sensor, fuel filter, and cleaning the injectors. It's ****ing me off. I believe there's a beast under the hood that needs to be released.

yeah, today I tried easing on the gas pedal from 5mph...no difference...it still bogs.

Jae

 

You might already know this but just in case...you dont have plug wires or a cap/rotor...you have coils over every plug. You might pull the coils and see if they are cracked. With 200K you probably do need to replace the coils.

 

So...Did anyone do anything that cured their low power problems yet? Tonight, I torque-braked to about 2k rpm and still didn't even squeal the tires. It's really getting on my nerves. I know I need a new exhaust, but would a hole in the exhaust ruin performance that badly?! (If so, someone please tell me..I'm worried.) There's got to be something simple causing this, I just can't think of what. We should all do a cooperative experiment. Each of us with this problem should try a different solution, then report back to this thread on what works and what doesn't, so that we can all do what works and not waste money on what doesn't. I call dibs on exhaust! Anybody else in?

 

i'm in. dunno where to start though. anybody got a gtech?
Jae

 

Cool. I'm getting my exhaust looked at tomorrow or Thursday, so I'll post the findings then. I may have some other stuff done as well, pending the results.

 

I havent read this whole thread, but it took me about a year to fine tune my Maxipad.

I had the same symptom, no power til about 3500rpm.
First, did a scan on the ecu, nothing showed, then left the car for a few months took it to a friend mechanic, he tested some sensors with a multimeter, and turned out a lazy 02 sensor, it helped.

Later, i tested some stuff out, found a bad Engine temp sensor, changed it, much better, but still a dog.

My buddy then tested the ecu pin for pin, and found no output to the VTC's, which is what controls the timing, mainly during low rpms.
I swapped in a good ecu,and WAM, what a difference, i had torque again! @1700rpm, I can stomp the accelerator and begin laying rubber!

I then, cleaned the injectors, Better once again.
Cleaned out the TB and Intake runners with Carb cleaner and wine bottle brush cleaner, readjusted the TPS and timing, and lets say the Maxima is fun again.

To sum it up, these cars are a pain in the butt to figure out whats wrong since all it takes is one bad sensor, and the car will run in safe mode, giving you the same symptom no matter what is wrong!

Dont believe Diagnostic port readings, since i had a lazy 02, bad Eng. temp. sens, and bad ecu.

The VTC rewire is a big thing guys overlook, and I cant believe they dont mind loosing the low end torque in return for a quiet , non chattering motor.

Its seems to be a common problem on the Maximas, (according to my buddy, who used to work with NIssan) the VTC output from the ecu doesnt function at times, its supposed to ground the VTCs, which retard/advance the timing accordingly.

It could be many things!!
Good luck.

 

Well, crap...That sounds like a lot more work that I wanted to do. But I guess if it's for the Max, I'll do anything. BTW, I got my exhaust checked today, and found out it's the manifold that is leaking. Unless someone wants to sell me one dirt cheap, it's not getting fixed anytime soon. (HINT HINT) I guess I'll clean the injectors and replace the O2 sensor first, then go from there.

 

Did the VTC make noise when the ecu wasn't ouputting a signal to the soleniods? And did they quiet down again after you changed the ecu?

 

simple question on this subject..is the JWT ECU a replacement or reprogram or add-on?

 

Nissan ecus don't have replacable eproms so in order to upgrade, you have to send the whole ecu to JWT for them to reprogram. But you can get an add one daughter board for nos applications.

 

if the ECU's VTC output were not functioning, could they "make it function" again?

 

To make the vtc output function again,I dont know but, its cheaper to buy a used ecu from the wreckers.

My VTC used to make noise when i bought the car, three years ago, i started using Mobil 1 synthetic, 5w30, and the noise went away instantly.

The car used to go good when i first bought it, i ran 15.37@90mph bone stock, and then i neglected it for about 2 years, and found the car to be gutless.

I also changed over the entire exhaust system, thinking there to be an obstruction in the system, causing the sluggishness.
So now I also have a new Nissan y pipe, and 2 1/4" cat, no resonator, and Ractive muffler.

Dont just go changing parts for the hell of it, you have to spend some time testing many things.

 

ok, i probably know why i'm sluggish now after reading a few more posts.

1) exhaust leak. not so bad, but it's there. Darn stud's broke. I've read the writeups and it seems like a lot of work (or expensive if I have someone else do it)
2) vtc...i grounded them cuz i'm really klacking now...this thing's seriously gonna blow soon.

Funny how an O2 can get "lazy" but you don't get a check engine light. I heard the same thing over in the Altima boards.

Jae