MaxedOut97SE

Hey everyone I read this in USA Today, thought I's pass it along. The 2002 Maxima will have a 3.5L V6 with 260HP. It will also offer (finally!) a close ratio 6spd manual tranny. An all new body will be out in 2003, with the same new engine. This new Maxima is going to be seriously fast. I give it sub 6 second times from 0-60. They said they are upping the power to compete with the Type S TL. Well, mission accomplished. Since Acura (Honda) doesn't really know what a sports car is all about by not offering a manual transmission, it's going to get smoked, left in the dust, I rest my case. All I have left to say is reserve mine in Super Black.

gtr_rider

iTrader: (50)

let me guess you got that information from nissannews.com. Also the 2002 altimas will have 240hp & 246ft. tq(which all the nissan altimas, maximas, and infiniti i35 will have).

santino

heres a site that shows the 260hp 2002 maxima

http://www.motortrend.com/future/2002_2.html

i30boost

I think its great the maxima is finally getting recognized and up there...but im kinda sad cuz now my car is slow....agaiN! arg.

MaxedOut97SE

No, I read it in USA today. Are you sure the Altima will have THAT much power? Seems to me like that would lessen the image of the new Maxima. V6, I'm sure, but 240HP? But if that is true, say goodbye to Accord and Camry!

gtr_rider

iTrader: (50)

2002 Nissan Altima Preliminary Specifications
Layout/Body: Front engine, front-wheel drive, 4-door sedan
Engine: 3.5-liter DOHC 24-valve V6 with dual exhaust 240 horsepower and 246 lb-ft of torque 2.5-liter DOHC 16-valve 4-cylinder 180 horsepower and 180 lb-ft of torque

Transmission: 5-speed manual or 4-speed electronically controlled automatic with gate-style shifter
Drive Configuration: Front-wheel drive Available Traction Control (V6 with automatic transmission)
Suspension: front: Independent strut with coil springs and stabilizer bar
rear: Multi-link independent with stabilizer bar
Brakes: Power-assisted front vented discs/rear solid disc Available ABS with Electronic Brake Distribution and Brake Assist
Wheels and Tires: 4 cylinder — 16-inch steel or aluminum-alloy wheels, P205/65R16 tires
V6 — 17-inch aluminum-alloy wheels, P215/55R17 tires

Wheelbase: 110.2 inches
Length: 191.5 inches
Width: 70.4 inches
Height: 57.9 inches
Interior Volume: 103.3 cubic feet/15.6 cubic feet
Safety: Dual front supplemental air bags with dual stage inflators, LATCH child seat safety system; available front seat side-impact supplemental air bags and side curtain supplemental air bags
Other: All-new distinctive, aggressive exterior design; sculpted interior with distinctive interior "environments," 3-gauge instrument panel with trip computer, available 150-watt Bose® audio system with in-dash 6-disc CD changer; four trim levels — 2.5, 2.5 S, 2.5 SL and 3.5 SE

gtr_rider

iTrader: (50)

2002 Infiniti I35 Preliminary Specifications
Layout/Body: Front engine, front-wheel drive, four-door sedan
Engine: 3.5-liter DOHC 24-valve V6 260 horsepower and 246 lb-ft of torque

Transmission: 4-speed electronically controlled automatic
Drive Configuration: Front-wheel drive, standard Traction Control System (TCS) Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC) on Sport Package

Suspension: front: Independent strut with coil springs and stabilizer bar
rear: Multi-link Beam™ with stabilizer bar sport tuning levels on Sport Package

Brakes: Power-assisted 4-wheel disc with Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Brake Distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist
Wheels and Tires: 17-inch aluminum-alloy wheels, P215/55R17 tires (Luxury)
17-inch sport alloy wheels, P225/50VR17 performance tires (Sport Package)

Wheelbase: 108.3 inches
Length: 193.7 inches
Width: 70.2 inches
Height: 57.0 inches
Interior Volume: 102.0 cubic feet / 14.9 cubic feet
Safety: Dual front supplemental air bags and front seat side-impact supplemental air bags, front-seat active head restraints, LATCH child seat safety system, front seat belts with pretensioners and load limiters, emergency inside trunk-release and trunk-mounted first aid kit
Other: Refined interior and exterior styling, redesigned front grille and rear combination lamps, larger chrome badges, High Intensity Discharge (HID) Xenon headlights, upgraded leather-appointed interior, wood-tone/leather-wrapped steering wheel, wood-tone accented center console, new gated shifter, electroflorescent fine vision instrument meter cluster with multi-function trip computer, Bose® 200-watt, 7-speaker premium audio system with speed-sensitive audio volume control and Radio Data System (RDS) function

BrianV

iTrader: (9)

Yeah, but on nissan's webpage it points to the rear of the car displaying traction control which makes me think it's rear wheel drive. On the Sentra they point to the front wheels while explaining traction control. Maybe they messed up.

gtr_rider

iTrader: (50)

i see what you mean, traction or no traction, that is the question.

megamax96gle

any1 have any info on prices? when it is coming out any pics?>???
anything just post on here

Vitaly O.

Ye that is not the worst of it it also has a 0-60 time of 6.3 sec. and top speed of 142mph and a 5speed manual damn cant wiat till 2003 for the neww maxima it should be very very tight, sweet, phat, what ever word you guys want to use to describe it.

edward079

yeah. All this sounds great for the max,.... but...........WHAT ABOUT AN INDEPENDANT REAR SUSPENSION!!!!!!!!? C'mon, the max can't be taken completely seriously (as a 4dsc) unless it has 4 wheel independant traction!!!Even with the terrific engine! its the 2000's for goodness sakes not the 1980's!!! Cant nissan afford to produce that by now?! I mean the 2002 is gonna have a "fast" engine but a "slow" suspension. Makes it seem like an unrefined musclecar to me not a "4DSC"! Sorry to rain on anybody's parade (as i so often do), i mean the 2002 sounds nice, but isnt it time to move forward, instead of backwards? Does anyone know if the 2003 is gonna get a non "multi-link" joke of a sport suspension?

gtr_rider

iTrader: (50)

if someone would view the top posts they would see the info and some pics.

Loe max

iTrader: (6)

You've been misinformed about beam axle suspensions. Stop your ignorance. I can't even begin to tell you whats wrong with your post. There's just to much wrong with it.

Kashoggio

iTrader: (11)

so the Altima and the Maxima are going to have the same engine? I wonder how did they get the extra 20 hp in the Maxima and if it would be easy to get the same thing on a altima.

EZ

I think the Max will have variable valve timing while the Alty won't. But don't quote me on that

EZ

MaxedOut97SE

Where is everyone getting all the info on this? I'm talking about all the specs and 0-60 times.. I've only seen a few things (like engine specs and a picture of the Altima) on both the 2002 Maxima and Altima. If you could post a webpage or something I'd appreciate it.

edward079

(sorry its long)
Letme rephrase...I said "slow" mteaphorically. The max suspension simply cant keep up with rough surfaced streets bumps.
Heres a lesson on the cool sounding multi link rear beam:Its beam construction causes some jacking when one rear wheel hits a bump causing the other wheel to push down. This effect causes rear wheels to "skip" or hop around a pivot reducing tire contact time with the road surface eliminating whatever advantage a beam construction produces (even with flexible "twist-beam" characteristics complete independance of rear wheel movement from the other wont occur, some energy of shock to one wheel always transfers to other) The scott-russel linkage used in place of conventional panhard rod is nice but that innovation only helps the max's susp "catch-up" with a superior double-wishbone setup with the same inherent qualities. No mattter how anyone explains maxima's "patented multi link rear beam" and no matter how well you embellish it( or Nissan), its still a beam!!!!!! Yes, I like the max believe it or not, i just have to beef about the rear susp. Its not a perfect car man, sorry to hurt your feelings so much. You can nitpick at my complaint and my english any way you like, but that doesnt change the fact that the max has an inferior susp for providing serious handling and precise, sensitive communication feel for the driver!(like a bimmer)

dwapenyi

iTrader: (3)

Don't mean to jump in on this but I had to say my say.

You're right, its not a perfect suspension setup, but for 95% of our driving characteristics, the dis-advatange of the beam doesn't really come into play. The only time that the beam suspension really shows its weakness is on very bumpy road surfaces. On road surfaces with 1 or 2 bumps, it ain't that bad at all. Think about it, the Max was built as a performance oriented car. Since when do performance cars race on bumpy surfaces?? Am I saying that the beam is better than an indepepndent setup?? No. But the beam is not as bad as people, like you, suggest. On the autocross circuit, the beam does not show weakness. when I go up against other cars on the street I'm not thinking "oh he has an independent rear, better give up on that one" , and I'm sure you don't think that either. I've gone up against BMW 3s, 5s, audi A4s and A6s, the battle was good, the winner was usually determined by what was under the hood, or who could cornere better, over bumpy sufaces everyone slows down. Actually, often, because of my RSB, my cornering ability is better than those stock indepepndent setups.
You know, maybe the weakness you're feeling in the rear beam right now maybe something else. When I was stock, the rear felt light and not well planted. Later on with experience I realized it was because of 2 things;
1. My rear tires weren't in as much contact with the road as the fronts. I had both my F/R pressures at 35 psi. I now ride with 36 F and 30 R. Big difference.
2. Installing the RSB really tightened up the rear on hi speed sweeping bends. I mean really. I am much more confident in those situations now.

Try those things and see how your rear setup feels afterwards.

DW

deathwish

So wait, in 2003 the maxima is supposed to get big right? So why are the mucking with the 2002 model? Seems like a waste to put a new engine and tranny in the car for one model year... Or are they doing the redesign in 2002 and not 2003?

Nine7Max

i'd actually rather have the new engine in the current body style, rather than a bigger car, I think the 2002 maxima is going to be real nice.

Loe max

iTrader: (6)

This is what I was talking about. Beam-Axle's do NOT show on the streets or a smooth race track. But, we do have different generation Maxima's and driven both, you can feel the difference in handling.

supertool

So will 2003/4 Maxima, since it will be using Altima based platform.
Anyways, I will prolly get the Altima this winter. I think with current Altima being bigger then the Maxima, the next Altima will be Avalonesque.
Actually, I don't see why they put 3.5L into the Altima. Seems like the current Maxima setup would have done it against Accords and Camrys. I guess they don't want to continue building the 3.0L.

edward079

Dwapenyi,
Good point about the max not being as bad as i say (street use not "off-road"),I just get kinda mad that the max isnt as refined as a bimmer etc. but i guess it IS in a totally diff class, just have really high expectations. I dont mean to add to the negative clout or anything, but just one more thing about the susp. Adding a rsb to the max to reduce body roll does come at a price. It inhibits the already limited independance of rear wheel movement -adding to the "skipping" effect inherent in beam axles. But yes, overall i do agree that it is worth the sacrifice b/c the max does roll quite a bit into turns.

Im just diappointed that nissan's financial condition must ultimately be reflected in its cars! Anxious about the 2003 redesign!

Klamath

The Altima's flash presentation on nissandriven.com states the following:

The 2002 Altima V6 is an incomparable new 3.5-liter power plant. World-class power is delivered through sophisticated CVTC valve timing optimization and dual exhausts.

dwapenyi

iTrader: (3)

Yeah, true,

Nissan's not the only one who has suffered. Audi, when it was unfairly suffering from "sudden acceleration" used beams in their audi 5000s. The 1st Acura integra had a rear beam, some Honda CRXs had them, too, and these cars both had very good drivablity reputations. I actually had a CRX and was totally blown away when I found I was driving on a beam!
Nissan is the only company I know of that took the beam further. I like that.
As for BMW, they really do go all out to make the car ulimately drivable, but other things are sacrificed, like practicality, and reliability. To me, part of the enjoyment of having a driver's car is knowing that it won't break down on you. You can keep pounding on it at will and still go get some groceries with it late, not make some excuse about it being in the shop.

DW

deezo

iTrader: (3)

This point can be added to the whole talk about which is better. Who knows why Nissan decided that the beam axle was best for this cars setup and I don't think its best design for the rear of any car. I really don't think the Maxima's problem is the rear end anyway. This car has a problem with the front suspension. Seems like the design of the arms could have something to do with it. It just feels like the car wants to go straight all of the time. Nothing drastic, but sticky tires will do the job. I think that the beam axle stays stiffer in the turns better than an independent suspension or trailing link suspension. I another good thing about this the beam is that you get the most tire to ground contact because the tires are at 90 degrees to the axle all of the time. I drive a 97 GXE which has a softer suspension than the SE's so if the suspension is stiff to begin with, you will get the car hopping around on very bumpy roads especially thru corners. The GXE deal with this pretty good I think. Hopefully when these guys are designing the suspensions for these cars, they are thinking about keeping the tires at the correct degree angle for maximum traction.

Sonic

My guess would be so that the Altima and Maxima don't switch places in the the model matrix. If the Altima was available with more power and was bigger than the Maxima, it would DESTROY all Maxima sales. That would explain the 2002. As for 2003, who knows. I just hope it's good.

VQracer

i hope the 0-60 times will be in the 5 second range or faster than the new altima

Sonic

Low six seconds (<6.5) for the six speed. Only a matter of time before we have five second Altimas and Maximas with all the mods available. Next problem will be with getting all that power to the ground, especially if you install a supercharger into these new engines. 300 HP+ FWD= fun torque steer and lots of burnouts.

edward079

The max got its beam b/c nissan was in financial troble
(hence the eventual takeover by Renault and Ghosn) So Nissan replaced the independant w/ a much materially cheaper and easy to assemble beam for the 4th gen. Since marketing the max as a 4DSC was still a top priority, Nissan improved on the beam to make up for the loss of performance capability. And yes, it is prob the best beam setup out there, but not the best susp setup (you win some, you lose some) and as some have pointed out, The relatively crude beam is plenty sufficient for street racing where bumps are not too much a problem.

MaxedOut97SE

If this Altima is going to have 240 HP and six speed, how are they gonna justify paying more for a Maxima? The powertrain was always what made buying a Maxima over any other Nissan worth it. Now it looks like the Altima will overshadow the Maxima, which SUX!

Sonic

I'm sure Renault/Nissan is trying to figure this one out right this second.

SmoothMax

iTrader: (2)

Very true. If you think about though the styling of the 2003 Max is gonna be different and like the AE edition Max using the same engine, Nissan might do a lil sumthin sumthin to the engine to add a lil power as they did with the AE edition. That's jsut my .02

dwapenyi

iTrader: (3)

I think Nissan may be heading towards a hi performance 4 door sedan for every budget. Take your pick, the baby Sentra (with the kicker SER), the bigger Altima, or the even bigger Maxima. Given what the new Altima is going to be, they should re-name it Ultima I mean, dual exhausts and 240 HP V6?? Man, this ain't no ordinary Altima, the only choice of which was a 150 HP 4 banger. This is one BIG step up.
Performance 4 doors seems to be the name of the game for every carmaker. The germans have been doing it for eons. Get a BMW 3,5 or 7 series. They are all performance oriented cars. With Benz you got the C, E, and mighty S class. Audi, A4, A6, or A8.

DW

MaxedOut97SE

I really think Nissan is on the right track by making all of their cars fast. I read in that USA today article that the Altima would compete with the Accord and Camry.....Who in the hell would buy a bland Accord(200hp) or bread-and-butter Camry(194hp) when you can get 240HP and a six speed???? The new Maxima should be ungodly phat and fast. I guess the Altima is taking the Maxima's place and the Maxima is moving on up to a higher class of cars, like the Acura TL Type S, Lexus IS300, dare do I say BMW 3 series???

MaxedOut97SE

Ok I just checked out the new Altima on Nissan's website. Umm, what the hell are they gonna do with the Maxmima to keep it competitive??? Lets see, the new Altima comes with everything you could previously only get in a Maxima, and it even offers HID's!!!!!!!!! What are they gonna do for 2002 besides add the new engine? God if the new Altima is this phat I can't even imagine the 2003 Maxima!!!!!

hlh0501

iTrader: (1)

All the new luxury cars are going crazy on horsepower and 0-60 times... the new lexus ls430, mercedes s600, etc etc.. the sad thing, my dad is getting one of the new Infiniti Q45's, and they run a 5.8 !!! My car is gonna feel slowwwwww. Its gonna stink ina couple years when the normal luxury car is gonna be able to roll me

MaxedOut97SE

Yeah, I agree, but just remember that your car went from 0-60 in 6.6 seconds in 1995!!! If I remember correctly it was the fastest sedan from Japan (0-60) at that time!! Oh, and don't include the Toyota Avalon, excuse me, Lexus LS430 in those fast cars. It is slower than the LS400 it replaced, uglier too, but we won't go there. The new Q? Hell yeah!!!!!!!!!

Kashoggio

iTrader: (11)

The new altima wont have a 6 speed, its going to have a 5 speed. Some of you are thinking of the maxima