i made a phone call yesterday to raceeng.com and they said they could custom make 11.5:1 pistons (w/rings of course) for $600. forged rods to pair with would be $725. i know that's kinda of a high price, but i'd much rather be different and have a fast n/a max running 13's and 12's than be with the rest of the people who listen to the "boost-heads". yes, 11.5:1 is high compression, but can be handled on a maxima. 11.0:1 even is good enough. our engine is rated at the top for a reason. if a 5.0 with flexy heads, thin bolts, and flexy block as well can handle that kind of compression, the vq will eat it up. the other thought would be to have them make 9.0:1 or 8.5:1 and get the s/c or a custom turbo and up the boost. once again, the only kind of max's i see in the 1/4 mile post running in the 13's are boosted. it's time we shoot to do it without relying on boost. anyone else interested can go to the raceeng.com site and get ahold of them. one more thing, it's almost necessary to, if you wanna do it the smart and right way, balance and blueprint your engine regardless of how great of one it is when upping compression. so if u're wanting to go with this option as well, i'd suggest finding someone close to do it. jump off the bandwagon and come along!!! ;-)

Adam

 

I am right behind you buddy.. do it first

 

i will just get a new max and add stuff

 

The comparison to a max and a mustang is a bad one because the mustangs engine block is made out of Iron and the max's engine is made of alluminum. Aluminum engines are a lot easier to damage then Iron blocks. Thats beside the point though, I am sure a 11:5:1 compression whould work fine.

SO whens this project going down? It sounds interesting.

 

this summer most likely, my only concern is my tranny. i am one of those cursed with the automatic (no dealers within the 100 mile radius i actually visited had a manual, worthless midwest!). i'm wondering if it can hold up. i've already found a full manual tranny "package", as in ecu and such, for $850 out of a salvaged maxima. anyone have any input? i know the auto's not exactly the greatest, and personally, i hate it. nonetheless, it's much easier to get dead-on reaction times from them, and they make it even more sweeter of a victory when u can beat a stick shift with an auto. either way, i'm getting a stick now or later. think the auto could handle it??

Adam

btw, the mustang block, being iron or not, are reknowned for having a horrible task when it comes to doing 100bhp/L without boost. as opposed to a import block such as the B16... ;-)

 

Hey JDM where in the Midwest are you located?

 

I dont think the tranny will handle that power so well. People have problems with their tranny when they add a supercharger. One thing you can do is add Don's vavle body and a tranny cooler

 

I'm confused. How are you going to get into the 12's by upping the compression and changing rods, but not adding boost or NO2?

 

i'm in east central IL.

as far as running 12's, that won't be achieved just by getting the higher compression. it's also by losing weight. and a lot of it. last night, by taking off my chrome rims and adding my stockers, i knocked a little over 2 tenths off of my time (again). that's another 2 tenths over the last 2 tenths i lost by taking out my subs/amp and all insulation material in the end of my car. i've got timeslips to prove that. now, lightness won't get me only into the 12's either by itself. but it helps a lot. not to mention, tranny, traction. there's several factors, but upping the compression on an already very well-rounded engine will make a hellacious difference. i ran a 10.0 in the 1/8 last night with an auto max with just intake/exhaust mods. if you took the gains you could get by adding in several other components and work to your car, just imagine your possibilities. the maxima is waaayyyyyyy underrated by people, even members on here. i'm a friend to everyone on here, but i still believe a lot of them need to open their horizons. a thousand times a day it seems like, u see civics with b18's dropped in as well as half a dozen other forms of engine swaps. i've yet to see an owner on here planning to drop in the VQ35 that's coming out. or something to that nature. yea, it'd be a little work, but if you just think about it..... the new VQ35 is going to have 260 bhp as opposed to our 4th gen's 190 bhp, both of those being bone stock #'s. intake, exhaust, computer, injectors, and a few other things. you could be up in the middle-upper 300's with that vq35. that would be in our considerably lighter 4th gen as well, not that new and up-coming heavier 6th gen. just a few days ago, i saw a VQ out of a 2k max on ebay for sale. that's 32 more horse out of just intake/exhaust manifold changes, and a few others, but the bulk coming from the manifold differences. a stillen rep told me that doing something like a polished intake manifold or even exhaust one, would get "minimal" gains. if a manifold that was redesigned from the factory can get more horse, he's full of $hi*. anyhoo, that right there would be havin an engine 32 bhp stronger without mods. that's why i want this n/a thing. it's nothing like the dime-a-dozen s/c max's you see running around.....

 

still..how much does raising the compression ratio benefits the performace, and what are pros and cons? Wouldn't you also have to run like 104 octane?

 

greater compression = more powerful explosion = more horsepower (to put it simply). I think anything above 9.5:1 requires an additive or race fuel. which also adds to the explosive force in the combustion chamber => more horsepower.

 

well, first, 9.5:1 compression doesn't require anything special. the biggest proof is our max's engine comes with a 10:1 ratio. it can require higher octane gas, but that is based upon several factors.