sorry, I'm sure this has been done, but I wanted to know from your own personal opinions if I should get a 5-speed conversion from my automatic,

is it better? is it worth it?

and if so, where would I find a tranny

thanks for the input fellows, I just wanted to see what you all think...

 

The two questions YOU need to answer. Have you driven a 5 speed Max? It really depends on how you drive your car. I know for me it was worth months of searching to find a Maxima that fit my criteria. I'm sure you could come across a tranny on the .org. GXE, SE, and I30 5 speeds will be a direct fit. The I30 tranny comes with a limited slip differential. For me, the difference is night and day (auto/man).

 

99.999% say it's worth it. Being better is all a personal preference.. Odds are if you're on this site, you're among the many who would rather have it.

www.car-part.com is a good place to start as well as the F/S section here on the org.

http://www.dynomagic.com/maxima/5spd_conversion.htm

 

personally I love driving a manual, but everyone tells me that its just not worth it to convert considering the price, I might as well buy a new one, but problem is I've been to every dealer and no one has a 4th generation manual, so now I'm thinking about converting it.

 

Who's "everyone"?

 

my friends mainly...

thats why I'd rather get the opinions of those that have either driven it, or have done it. if converting an auto is worth the cost

 

It be cheaper and more cost effecient than buying another Maxima ...

 

I haven't been able to find any, I mean, I've found private owners, but what am I gonna do? trade his/her maxima for mine? so ya, I'm going to try and go around the dealerships again. Its just really tough to find a 5-speed Maxima

how much would something as a conversion usually run for, that is if I found my own tranny?

 

The ones in the autotrader in my area were half and half man/auto. I had no problems locating the exact color/trim/tranny that I was looking for. I'd say expand your area and you'll find one.

 

I am wondering the same thing.
Is a manual THAT MUCH faster than an auto??
i`ve test droved a 5 speed a while ago but i guess the engine was all beaten up, it feels weaker and slower than my auto???

 

well my engine is relatively quiet, but if u know how to drive a manual well, it is definately an advantage,

I'm jus wonderin if anyone has done a conversion, and how much it costed?

 

I'm in the Seattle area and it's almost impossible to find a 5speed in the colors I want (white or black)

It's to the point where I'll take any 5speed SE I find.

 

I'm doing my swap next week, and I bought a manual parts car with a rebuilt transmission and new clutch lines for $900....i'm getting the swap done for free because i'm trading the guy at the shop the rest of the parts car. total cost of swap: $900 including materials and labor. The only thing I have to buy extra is an anniversary edition shift **** and boot. The car already comes with a pacesetter sts.

 

hmmm, hopefully I can make the same deal with the mechanic that I'm talking to, Guess I'll have to find a tranny then, but isn't there more to a 5-speed conversion from an automatic, I mean, I still want my cruise control to work and all. How would that all equate into?

 

Oh manny trannies feels much more in control and you can feel the difference in the power/pull - well, compared to my friend's parent's '99 GLE w/ ATX. Heh.

 

I dont think many regular mechanics would do a swap? Where'd you guys get the swap done? how much was/is labor?

 

That's better answered in a regional forum.


Autotrader.com is a good place to start, and if you're willing to have it shipped, even better.

This depends on so many different things. Price of parts found, and labor if any. Done perfectclt could cost under 1000, but most of us aren't that lucky, so I'd say between 1-2k.



The car you drove was probably not mainaned well, and had a dead knock sensor. With the 3.0L yes there's a significant difference. Stock ~.7-1 second.

Don't trade if it's paid off. There was one in the f/s forum for 2500, jsut a smidlge over the price of a full swap including labor. I thought of this route once too, but decided not too b/c it's not cost effecient.

Lucky b@$tard.

 

Personally, unless you have quite a bit invested in your car (mods), or your car runs flawlessly, or you can do all the labor yourself, you might be better off selling your max and buying a 5 speed one.

I got my 95 max on ebay, 5 speed gxe, 88K, clean in and out for $4500. Drove the 6 hours and picked it up, drove home in 4 hours

 

4500 > 2500

Price of used 5M Max or high-end-of-the-spectrum for 5M swap ... Do tha Math.

 

If the money aspect can be taken care of the 5 speed is immensly advantageous. You will never get the kind of pull you get in a manual and control over the entire car. Try cleaning your tires before a take-off in an automatic. (Given your not running boost) But if you enjoy driving manual then I say hands down do it!

 

I learned on a manual and will now never purchase an auto as long as I live.

 

Kind of off topic but since I can't use search or start my own thread this seems like a good place to ask...

I found a 97 SE 5 speed near me, only drawback is 140,000 miles. Asking price is a bit high but I'm sure I can talk them down a bit. Should I go for this or are the miles too high???

Thanks and sorry for off topic

 

I got my car at 87k, started modding about there, got an extended rev limiter @ ~ 200k... So the car you're looking at is still a young car, and for reference mine currently has nearly 229k.

 

most of my friends are saying I might as well buy a new car if I"m gonna spend that kind of cash on converting it... so I dunno

 

You > friends ... screw 'em, do what you want, do some research and decide. I was in the market for approximately 3 months, and finally came to the conclusion that converting is the way to go ... I used to post all the tim ein the F/S forum aout shipping etc .. but then decided, heck I don't need another car ... because there was no way I would get rid of my current 1995 Maxima.

 

true, I've been workin on my max for a bit now, and I'm at the point now where I wouldn't wanna get rid of this car, cause I've put so much sweat and blood into it,

well I'll research it some more and come up with a decision, thanx NmexMAX

 

What do your friend drive, Civics?

 

I've been told the same thing, but it's the logical thing to say when you don;t know much about it. But when researched and dug into/beat to death .. it's actually not.

 

hahaha, no, one of my friends drive a celica, my brother in law has a 03 maxima se, and another one drives a honda accord v6

 

I have an 03 Maxima too, and I say go for it .. err ehhh if that's teh deciding factor.

But truthfully they dont't have the man hours of research into this project like I or soon to be you hopefully do.. so tehy still have no place to talk, prove em wrong.

 

true, do u have any sources in which I can research it in more detail online? because I honestly don't know where to start from

 

If you have an extra $20 dollars lying around, donate ....

until then

http://www.dynomagic.com/maxima/5spd_conversion.htm
www.car-part.com