First off I'd like to thank Maxima.org's members and volunteers for a great website. Previously I was a guest on your site for 3 years researching the Maxima I finally purchased 2 weeks ago.

I can attest that if a newbie is willing to look hard enough they can solve 95+% of their Maxima related questions either using this forum or links to other resources. However, Turbo95Max posted a topic about a "controversial motor break-in procedure" on the general forum and there was a comment that pushed me to discuss my unique problem and make my first real post on the .org:

THAT'S ME! 2nd Owner, 1996 Maxima GXE (Auto), Silver Amethyst - Canadian Spec. 65,000km

Car History: Previously owned by Grandma for the first 64,000km. Town / highway driven on regular (89 octane) gas. All maintenance checks w/ exceptional records. Never been past 4000 RPM. I was there when she purchased the car in '96 and it still had the same smell when I drove away in '04.

Currently: Car is slow. Preliminary G-Tech ~ 9.1 sec 0-60 & 17.4 1/4 mi. UGH. (All-season tires, 1 passenger + trunk weight = +300lbs.) A crude measuring instrument, perhaps, but my cousin has been to the track and it's never been off by more than 0.3 sec. Car shifts @ 5800 RPM WOT. Is this 'standard' for an automatic (non JWT/TS ECU of course)? Car runs on premium (93 octane) gas, no CEL and city driven.

HELP!

Has anyone ever heard of a case like this? Am I doomed from a poor break-in phase? If I drive hard (like I have been) will it help? After 2 weeks the ECU should have adjusted to me right? Auto or Manual guys - any ideas or experiences would be appreciated.

Please don't post performance mod ideas - I'm doing those anyway. Besides, thanks to the *filthy rich* members of Maxima.org, you've planned out my N/A Maxima mod list, cashflow and free time for the next year: CAI, Y-Pipe, B-Pipe, RSB, FSTB, Shocks/Struts, Lowering Springs, Wheels/Rubber, ECU code check, Drop Resistor Switch, Throttle Body Cleaning, Auxillary Tranny Cooler and maybe UDP, Valve Body and a non-rice muffler (5th gen).

Until then, I love my car and I'm not expecting any records but I'd like to get this stock car closer to stock #'s and keep up our reputation against all that underpowered rice on the streets and to make sure this Maxima is a sleeper, not a snorer.

Sorry for the long post but thanks in advance for your help!

James
Proud Maxima Owner

P.S. I've read 30+ pages of past 4th gen threads, the stickies, FAQs and multiple other Maxima related websites. As far as I know, this situation is rare. My apologies if I missed a similar topic in a previous thread.

 

i just wanna say hey and wats up. i wish i reaserched buyin a max like u did, i saw mine and just bought it that instant. as for your car issue i wouldnt kno wat to tell you. i did read an article a while back somewhere on the net about how bikes that werent broken in properly suffered from a loss in hp of the motorcycles life time. the article mostly dealt with racing engines but he said it should hold for street bikes as well. is it the same for cars.... i have no idea but i figure i share with u all i kno.

 

you are well beyond any motor break in


probably has a fair ammount of carbon build up though, which you will probably find when you clean the TB.

Personally I just remove the upper intake, clean it and the lower, gasket is only $7 or so and is most effective way to get rid of the carbon and crap.


welcome to the board , kinda

 

wow a 1996 Maxima with only 40,000 miles on it holy ****

 

Before you start taking apart your intake & stuff, just try disconnecting the battery for a little while (15minutes or longer should do the trick). Our computers not only have factory settings, but they also adjust & retain info based on our driving habits. If you disconnect the battery it will erase any stored infomation it saved based on the previous owners driving habits. Then after you reconnect the battery take it out & drive it somewhat hard for a few miles. That would be the first thing I would do, before I start taking things apart. Another good thing to do when you first purchase a vehicle is go get all the fluids changed & a tune up (plugs, air filter, fuel filter, if needed knock sensor & 02 sensors). Also, I noticed that you stated the Grandma used to fill the tank with 89 octane? Stop this right away, if you ask anyone on the org there gonna tell you our cars require 91 octane or higher. Good luck with the car, keep us posted if resetting the ECU helped out or not.

 

Yeah..no more 89...run 94 if u can...

 

Can someone please clarify why 91, 93, or 94 octane?

 

Give it a few tanks of gas too before you start checking the performance of it...another things is do a tune up on...OIL change, plugs, filter, PCV vavlve...all those those compents are probaly original equpiment...

-matt

 

Because Maxima have "octane ping" This can cause damage to your car if used all the time. Run a tank of the crappy and listen for a ping when you accelarate. Also, the higher octane gives you a much better throttle response and better gas mileage

 

But I read somewhere that it wont give you better milage... that it was just better for your engine. However, what I am wondering: is 93 vs 91 really necessary/worth it?

 

Just run 93. Your fuel door should say something about it being recommended. And the .07 or so difference really isnt worth worring about.

 

I posted that because I bought a grandma car too. An old couple had my car and babied it for 65k miles. I bought it in mint condition in 2002.

You have a choice between 93 and 91? I can only get 91. If I could get 93 I would. You should find many posts that will argue why you should use only premium gasoline, Chevron whenever possible.

Welcome to the org.

 

You should use 91+ because that's what the owners manual recommends. Performance benefits of 93 over 91 will be negligible for those who aren't massively modded (ie compression raised or forced induction).

I didn't realize that the car actually adjusts to the owners driving habits. I may have to reset my ECU though the car seems pretty quick (especially for having 208K+ miles!). But definately do a tune up like mentioned. Get some fuel system additive too to help clean out the carbon w/o having to remove anything.

 

91 or above. none below. I prefer 93 and only at Chevron or Amoco

 

wow! really really low miles for that year. good job.

 

Get her up to high RPM range few times (4500-6000) , drive like you just stole her
and she won't seem slow no more.

Nick.

 

No. This engine is speced at 91. Anything less and the knock sensors will pull back timing for a mild decrease in power. Anything more and your wallet sensor will go off (it sounds like a toilet flushing).

The OP should change out all various filters, drop some fuel injector cleaner in there, etc. Otherwise disconnecting the battery and leaving it for a while may be of some benefit, but I would like to hear of any other ideas! The 0-60 on that car is supposed to be around 0-60. An extra person and weight in the trunk of 300lbs increases the weight by 10%, so that could be significant. Remember also that a full tank of gas vs. an empty one is around 100lbs, although generally magazines rate their 0-60 times with a full tank, I think.

 

getting back to what the dude originally asked.......i would try that battery thing first, then get a tune up, drive it with "overdrive off" and go ***** to the walls.

Tony

 

Is that some BS or what?

 

i occassionaly run a tank of racing fuel from Sphnix(100 octane) and I hear no "toilet flush" sound. There isnt much of a difference from 100 to 93 either except its more expensive. I just do it to help clean out the fuel system once a month.
You only really need 91 or above

 

Thanks everybody for the quick replies and the warm welcome. It feels like I called in the Maxima emergency response team.

Yeah, I'm pretty lucky to have low mileage. I rescued this Maxima from collecting dust in a garage. Let me assure you that the first tank of gas I put in was 93 octane and it'll be 91+ for the duration!!! The only basic tune-up type OEM parts/fluids I know of left on the car (after checking service records) is the battery, tranny fluid, O2/KS sensors and PCV Valve (b/c I don't know what that is Matty). The battery will go soon but shouldn't some of those other parts last me until at least 60,000 miles?

liqidvenom - I read the same article on the general forum. The lifetime loss of HP made me worried. I hope this car's not destined for a 'slow' death.

mrgone - Thought it could be build-up in the TB - gas mileage is sub-average, about 550km/tank. Already have the cleaner and DIY instructions from motorvate.ca and will check the gasket as per your instructions. Was hoping to buy CAI soon so I could do all the work at once.

nostrixoxide - I've looked into resetting the ECU after mods but you changed my mind. I've read that most guys do it after adding performance mods and say it takes about 2-3 days or a tank of gas for the car adjust. Some guys don't bother resetting the ECU because it takes the same amount of time anyway. I will do this on the weekend and try some fuel injector cleaner (Daily Interlude) when I can take the car out on a country road and ride hard. Not worth it during the work week driving like a r3tard (unsafe) in stop&go traffic. Give me another week to assess and post long term results. My question to you - how does resetting the ECU your way (unplug battery) differ from this link I found (http://www.brianv.net/mods/ecu/)? Seems like the battery method would be a true, fundamental delete vs. turning a screw. I'm asking because I'll be on my ECU checking for codes anyway. I've read many times the ECU will spit out minor CEL codes without the CEL going off. In particular the KS will go off a lot w/low octane gas but you'll never see the CEL (octane ping - 96pearlmax).

Kenji - thanks for making that comment. I might have lurked in the shadows forever. Maybe we should start our own club of Grandma Maximas except your car is much faster.

Nick - 4500-6000RPM will do. Do you have an automagic as well? Ever get past 6000RPM for shifting at WOT in D? Btw, nice ride height. That's about what I'm looking for.

Thanks for all your input. I'm taking more ideas - I'll try to keep up with the responses and let you know how things turn out.

 

I wouldn't say my car is 'much faster'. Wait until I replace my slipping clutch

"The 0-60 on that car is supposed to be around 0-60."

Really I thought it was closer to 0-90

 

Thats right. Your CEL should never ever come on due to octane ping. Its not really something that is going to destroy your engine, but it could impede its abililty in future. And for the slow death...that max of your is going to run forever

 

Jumbo,

I read the BrianV explaination for resetting the ECU. This the common way most of us here on the org reset our CEL. By using this method the computer still has a 12v power supply. So the stored info is still being retained by the ECU. By disconnecting the battery altogether you are essentially removing the power source from the ECU. You can kinda look at it this way. Have you ever had a radio or knew someone that had a car stereo that would never retain the preset stations when the vehicle was turned off? This is because the memory wire was not hooked up to a constant 12v supply. Instead it was connected to a switched 12v source. If the memory wire would have been hooked directly to the battery (constant 12v) then the stereo would always remember what stations were programmed into it. Thats a very rough discription, but I think it makes my point clear about the necessity to disconnect the battery to clear any stored info from the ECU.

 

remember that servicing your car should be done for not only mileage, but age as well. you only have 40,000 miles on your car, but its 9 years old. check for a knock sensor code, then reset the ECM using the directions at the top of the forum. drive hard for about 300 miles and then worry about how your max is performing........


oh yeah, welcome to the board and thanks for reading before posting!

 

resetting the ECM using the screw on the side is the proper way to reset it. the "stored info" is not retained. it puts the ECM into self learn mode for about 10 drive cycles.

 

The "toilet flush" sound, for those on a literal stint today, is the sound of flushing money down the toilet that's what I was alluding to! If your max is running better on 92+ than on 91, then it's either got problems, or you're running at a higher compression (something that you'd know about).

 

Hey guys, thanks for the great info. I promised that I'd let everyone know how it turned out. My solution, I/Y/B, Battery, 91 octane, check ECU (no codes) FI additive, oil change (syn), TB clean to date + new NGK plat. plugs/AT flush (syn) by the end of the month. No hurry to do PCV valve or fuel filter <70,000km.

I didn't realize the Can-Spec Max had the full size spare so that should add extra weight combined with the fact that my GXE has a sunroof + elevation = slower than yours.

For those of you out there in a similar situation / non-believers, I was able to re-train and "break-in" the car before I added mods. When I first got the car it shifted at 5800 RPM after ECU reset and an "Italian tune-up" and it shifted between 6000-6100. Small change but noticeable and measurable. Also, the car did loosen up. In the beginning, I was pretty worried so I had three previous/current Max owners drive my car to make sure the Butt Dyno wasn't playing tricks with my mind. Since then, two of them have driven my car and both noticed the car was 'loosening up' (prior to mods).

After recently added I/Y/B, I'm in the process of re-educating the ECU. Right now it thinks it's a getaway car for bank robberies.

Thanks.

P.S. - sorry about the long posts. I should've put a 56K warning in the title!

 

That's funny!

 

91 is all that is recommended.
93 is waste.
However, all we get here is 89 or 93, so that is my only choice.
It just does no better with your engine than 91.
If you are turbo or super charged.....maybe then.

 

People have said most of the important things. You should do the obvious oil change, plug change, fuel filter change, and pop in a K&N while your changing the air filter. Removing the intake manifold is very good as it is very difficult to get it more than moderately clean with any cleaning solutions like seafoam or anything. Once the tb and manifold are spotless put it back on and reset the ECU for the soul reason of reseting it to clear possible safe modes. That is the only thing the ECU remembers. If you have an undefined problem it will go into forms of a safe mode that retard timing and reduce power. Our ECU's absolutely DO NOT learn driving habits. Thats total BS.

 

yeah, do a major tune up first, eventhough it's grandma driven. just do it, and start your regular maintenance from there on. also, say good bye to 89, do 91 or higher, try 93. it's better off. like others said, it'll be smoother but won't improve much on gas milage. one more thing, using high octane will maintain longer knock sensor life. it'll keep you away from getting a cel on. my 96 auto maxima is bought from a guy doing 89's all the way. it's 185 k miles now but it runs smoothly. but every time i change a mod, the cel always come on for a while. checked code, it's the knock sensor. but it goes off automatically after about two weeks though. didn't bother changing it, but i maintain my car with much cleaner fluids nowadays. you should stay with the factory recommendations. word.

 

i will say this once DRIVE IT LIKE YOU STOLE IT

 

hehehehehehehe


Well recently (this week) i had to change to 89( ) a lil short on dough and gas prices rosed around my way. But now i'm starting to feel the sluggishness and now i throwing codes. UGH. Guess who's changing back to 91 by end of the week