I searched around a little bit and didn't see that anyone had done this, but IF this can be done this would be a nice performance upgrade for our (all of the sudden) aging cars without costing a whole lot.

Here's the spill: Will a 6-speed LSD manual transmission from a VQ35 altima or maxima fit into a 4th gen without a whole lot of fuss? I figure at the very least you would have to fab up a transmission mount or get some custom driveshafts, but worst case would be having to come up with some kind of adapter plate to make the bellhousing mate with the engine. And it may be tricky to get a starter into the mix. Or play around to get the neutral and reverse switches.

But the VQ35 and VQ30 blocks look almost identical, and I couldn't imagine Nissan changing the differential housing a whole lot, so maybe this can be done.

If somebody has done this, is there a specific model you need, or just any old manual from a VQ35 chassis?

Here's my MO. My baby's got well over 300k on the clock and does pretty well considering, but the input shaft is getting noisier and noisier, and 1, 2, and 3 syncros have been near shot as long as I can remember. I can get the original tranny out of a low-mile junker for pretty cheap, but I think I could track down the VQ35 tranny for about the same amount of money. I figure if I have to do the work and spend the money anyway, why not upgrade in the process, right?

I can have the tranny on the ground in an hour or two, put a new clutch in while I'm in there (that will be the second on this car), make whatever mods needed to fit the new tranny, and bolt everything back together.

Am I nuts? (please kindly lie to me about that point--LOL)

Later!

Ask the org and you shall receive!! Frickin SWEET!

I printed the thread off and I'll prolly read it over the weekend.

One question for now, do you have the 3.0 or 3.5 engine?

bellhousings are the same. 4th gen tranny fits up to a 3.5 flawlessly.

I have 3.0. The tranny should bolt right up. Read through that the thread I skimmed through it really quick. It has that info in there

Not an easy upgrade. Waste of time for no benefit.

Dave

^^^ I agree ^^^

Unless you're pushing monster power out of the VQ30, the 6 Speed LSD won't make you go any faster. I'm sure it'd be stronger than the 5 speed trannies though so that's one benefit. Cause we all know the 4th gen 5 speed is pretty much poop.

My bad, I thought that was your thread. Everybody on here is max-something-or-other. I'm trying to figure out whether he put the 6-spd on the VQ30 or the VQ35. Based on some later posts, he eventually dropped in the VQ35, and I'm wondering whether that was before or after the 6 spd transplant. He didn't say on the thread, and I can't tell for sure from the pix.

Does anyone know whether the altima tranny will fit?

Yeah, the whole flywheel thing is making me a little nervous, but there ought to be some decent benefits. Here are my initial thoughts:

1) LIMITED SLIP (IIRC-helical too!)--How many guys on the org have dropped around a grand on a Quaife unit and opened up the admittedly weak 5spd box to put one in? Or swapped in a Canada-spec tranny? I would love an LSD for autocrossing (wheel hop and useless first would be in the past, and it would be great for rain, snow, and the occasional off-roading I do for work (I have a great pic of a rental Rav4 (fwd) stuck in an inch of mud-if anyone wants to see it, I'll put it up)

2) Closer ratios and/or overdrive--Right now this is my interstate daily driver, so a taller 6th gear would quiet things down a lot at 80+ mph, and might help gas mileage. Once I get another daily driver, this thing will probly be a track *****, only because that's worth more to me than what somebody will pay for a car with the mileage this has. I'm thinking either an s/c or a VQ35 swap, in either case, (again, the LSD would be needed) the closer ratios would be nice. I do need to look up the gear ratios and compare to the 5spd.

3) It's gonna have less that 300k Miles!--The few 6spd VQ35 altimas and maximas I have seen in junkyards have had 50k miles or less, and the drivetrains were all largely unaffected.

4) Multiple birds w/ one stone--I'm need a new clutch and my driveshaft boots are getting a few tears, not to mention the transmission is getting worn out, so I'll be doing a large portion of the work anyway.

Believe me, I'm not sold on the whole thing yet, but at this point it's definitely worth a little more research. And I realize that there will be some details not covered in the how to thread. Maybe I'll PM maxse5spd to see if he would join the discussion.

I dont see why everyone dogs on the 5 speed so much...Can someone give me some cold hard facts as to how/why the 4th gen 5 speed is so inferior compared to other transmissions?
I would probably be perfectly happy with a lsd 5 speed. My main problem is the open diff. The 6 speed swap was in my plans until I bought a lightweight flywheel and realized that the 6 speed lightweight flywheel was IIRC not even lighter than the stock 4th gen one. It just seemed to me that I'd be moving backwards with added rotational mass if not just added weight in general.

I dont have any facts obviously to compare the two....even if I were to go through with it...it'd be far down on the priority list.

I'm with you on the LSD 5spd, but I've NEVER actually seen one of these that I was aware of. Canadian models and 5spd I30T, and I've been looking for junked I30T's for close to 5 years.

You're spot on with the flywheel, the he says the VQ35 is 15.6 vs 11 lbs for the stock VQ30. Another item I need more detail about, I have a couple of friends in the machining biz so maybe a custom lightened 3.0 flywheel in my future.

You're right. I am just speaking from my experience with the 4th gen open diff tranny (I'm sure you'd admit it was poop too seeing that your IPS has gone out on you).

I have not experienced the VLSD yet and I do hear that it is beefier than the open diff. But that remains to be proven.

I30T Canadian and also the 01 AE came with LSD.

If you drop in a 3.5 the 6spd bolts right up no need for modification.... To put a 6spd in a 3.0 just from skimming thru that thread seems like A LOT of work IMO too much to be honest...I think swapping in a 3.5 would be better

even if you have a 3.5 in a fourth gen, you still need to modify the flywheel because you are using the 3.0 ecu and sensors. If you did a full swap, than it is just bolting everything up and modifying the transmission mount.

The internals are identical.

I'm not sure why people go so far out of their way for the VLSD. It's a very mild LSD design so that it doesn't yank the wheel around like a performance-oriented LSD design would. So for all that effort and cost I think the improvement is rather limited. Quaife is probably a different story.

IMHO, getting better tires or splitting tires into summer and winter set is a much better way to get traction.

Dave

whaaat? I heard the lsd was like night and day to the open diff.

I suspect that's because it's part placebo. I guess my point is that if you were on a track or autox, you'd find that while the VLSD will beat an open diff, it's not as fast as a Quaife.

The VLSD is more tuned for low traction situations like slippery roads. There I would expect much clearer improvement, but like I said I find tires count a whole lot more in that situation.

Dave

^^^ I can agree on that ^^^ I just went out and got some snow tires (Hankook I Pike, the cheapest I could find) and the difference is literally night and day difference.

I was disappointed on how horrible the dry weather traction was (I was aware of it but didn't believe it was going to be as bad as it was). Decent for everyday driving though.

Last week there was a light cover of ice all over the main roads. People were driving 15 mph and braking like crazy! My car had solid grip! I stepped on the brakes... no problem stopping. I sped up, no slip! I passed by an I30T w/ all season tires on their 17's who was having a hard time picking up!

In the case of the icy road... I'm sure the VLSD doesn't make much difference on All Seasons. I don't know how the heck I survived the last couple of winters without a snow tire set...

I think we can take quaife out of the equation being that there are only like 10 in existence and I'm not paying over a grand for one should the opportunity arise.
I have no experience with the lsd but I'll take any improvement I can get if I have the option and its practical. What I do know is...traction is a MAJOR problem in my car, and I'm not talking about just going WOT. I mean any pep in my driving mannerisms and the right front tire is losing grip in first gear. Taking off hard simply isn't an option. I've tried slipping the clutch, going light on the throttle, etc.

no snow or ice down here in Houston

Hmm, in a straight line I don't get that kind of one-wheel slip in my car. Yes, one wheel slips first, but it's not like it's always the same wheel and it happens regularly. Perhaps you should get your corner weights checked. (Not that you can do much with it, but it would prevent you from investing in other issues that aren't the cause).

Edit: if you're doing it on a road with camber you can expect the right wheel to slip first. An LSD will help some in that situation, but the bottom line is a dig on unlevel pavement is always going to be a traction problem.

Dave

And check the alignment. Too much neg camber will hurt straight line tire grip as well. That combined with nice soft compound tires should eliminate most slippage. I'm around 205fwtq and feathering the throttle instead of dumping the clutch works better.

yeah i know...its a handicapped situation. I cant ever seem to keep these garbage ksports in alignment, they always give at least a little camber. That could very well be a large part of the problem. The car is putting out at least 230 whp though so..

OK time to revive the thread.

I PM'd maxse5spd to see fi he would join the discussion and hopefully we'll hear from him soon. In the mean time, I'll summarize the questions I have identified, feel free to add some more:

1. Has anyone else used a 6 speed with a vq30?
2. Will the tranny out of a VQ35 altime fit as well as one from the vq35 maxima?
3. Maxse5spd noted that you needed the pass side axle from the donor car, and then noted that a lengthened pass axle was optional. These were not discussed later in the thread. Can anyone expand on the driveshaft situation?
4. Are there any electrical/electronic issues other than the CPS mounting, like the VSS? Does the 4th gen cluster work with the 6 speed VSS?

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

ill throw in my $.02

1=not that i know of, but there wont be anything different mountin it to a 3.5 or a 3.0.
2=it would have to be the 05-06 se-r 6spd, because the newer altima 6spd has reverse next to first, not 6th. however, im not 100% sure that the altima 6spd is hlsd.
3=where the pass axle seal is on a 6spd is ~1.5in iirc more towards the drivers side in comparison to the 5spd. thus requiring a longer pass axle. or possibly getting the 5.5gen 6spd axle bracket, which should in theory be offset to compensate, because the 5.5 gen auto bracket is basically the same as a 5spd.
4=iirc, i used the 4th gen vss because my trans didnt come with one, and the speedo worked fine.

To me it isnt, its better as far as accelerating out of conrers goes but traction from a dead stop still sucks,.... but thats FWD for ya.