I'm getting sick of the pause in my Auto. It's really bad when you floor the car, but sometimes it does it when I'm just driving normally.

My car is a '97 SE w/ 56,3XX miles. The only real "Performance" Mod that I've done is a Stillen Hi Flow Intake. So far I've changed the Spark Plugs and kept up with other regular maitenance (Oil Changes, etc.) in an attempt to rid my car of the hesitation, or at least lessen it, but with no suck luck. I also plan to change the fuel filter (if I ever get around to it) and clean the Throttle Body.

What else can be causing this? I know it's normal for Auto's, but it just seems really bad in my car sometimes. Does the intake have anything to do with it?

Thanks!
-Nick

P.S. Don't say get a 5-speed! I really want one, but the parents crushed that dream really quick. I'm just gonna have to wait a year or two until my parents will let me trade my car in for a 5-speed. I don't know why they even care. I bought this car myself with my money...they shouldn't care how I spend it. Oh well.

 

nm

 

Do both of those and you should notice a good difference. I tightened up the accel. line to the throttle body and wow...response up the wazoo. Good idea with the filter too. but I would do the throttle body.
Gary.

 

Don's VB mod did the trick for my car. When driving along and you mash the pedal, instant downshift. Worth every penny he charges.

Kirk

 

take off the overdrive ...n keep it offf !!! should take 90% of that pause ...
~ 96 SE 65,000 miles

 

ok..I'm an idiot.. what does VB stand for? Is it an auto thing?

Gary

 

You serious Kirk !?? I asked this a while ago and people said NOTHING will get ridda the downshift time, and not Don's VB!


Oh well I'm still gonna get the 5spd implant

 

Nothing will get rid of the 'pause' you are talking about, but then again, I really never noticed it.

 

I guess I never had the hesitation he is refering to then

VB = Valve Body upgrade - automatics only.

After I got the VB upgrade and I'd smash the pedal to the floor while in motion it would shift almost instantly. I did drive most of the time with O/D off though, maybe it was just that. You're going to love that conversion. Oh, do you have a pic of the duals in your sig? I've noticed that it keeps changing. Your car looks sweet bro.

Kirk

 

Shift kit will fix you up... if your going to tear off into your auto tranny- well i would make some friends at the tranny shop first. if your going to spend the time to rip that badboy out, you might as well get a complete kit done. replace your clutches, metals, thrust washers, get high performance sprigs, etc etc... another word: stall converter. if your gona rip the trans out for a valve body job: $300??? why not just pull it out and get the works for 600... not to mention you wont have tranny problems for atleast another 100k if you get it done right...

 

Even with a VB upgrade, there will still be a slight pause, it just not as bad as stock. I noticed the pause only on downshifts. No pause in the upshifts. Upshifts with the VB are very cool, an automagic able to chirp second gear is a site to see. Nowadays, I drive with the OD off most of the time and I definitely noticed an improvement oppose to have OD on.

 

Sarcasm



Aint it great?

 

Hmmmm, maybe I'll try the VB Mod. I'm also gonna turn my O/D off since I always leave it on. I didn't know it made that much of a difference.

Thanks guys!
-Nick

 

Thanks Kirk

My red clears come this friday so after they go on i'll take some pics. Love em.

 

thanx to clee130 ... he was the one who told me to drive with the O D off...cause with it on..it locks out ur 4th gear on autos ...use the O D to cruise the highway...or juss passs someone real quick ...
have fun my maxima brothers !!

 

I would drive with the overdrive off more often if I weren't worried about 2 things. One is Fuel Economy. The overdrive is there to make the car more fuel economical. From my understanding, your millage will drop considerably if you start driving around all the time without OD. Here in California, that means mucho dinero assuming your filling up with supreme and driving a fair amount each month (I put on close to 1500 miles a month). The second reason is just tranny wear. For some reason, I was under the impression that it would wear on the tranny more, hotter trans fluid and so forth.. perhaps I was wrong *shrug*. I want to get Don's VB mod but am curious about how if feels. Maybe a local would let me ride in his car and see

 

Very true. Fuel economy is definitely true, your gas mileage will suffer driving with OD off for an extended period. As far as tranny wear, that could be true too. I might do a 5spd swap in the future, so I'm not too worry about that.

 

Ummm....With O/D OFF it locks out 4th Gear...not ON.

And it doesn't make any difference on or off for downshifts that I've noticed. I've just always noticed that downshifts SUCK on the max Autos.

Why'd they put in such a crappy sluggish tranny with such a quick bad-azz engine anyway?

 

Fuel economy will suffer minimally. If you keep it under 2500 rpms you will notice about 2-4 mpg difference. As for tranny wear, it should be better for your tranny. You arent shifting as often so the tranny fluid should be cooler. Its also not shifting from 4 to 3 every time you pass someone and then back to 4. I believe it will make your tranny last longer and keep the clutches from some wear also.

The VB is a stiffer shift and can chirp gear changes. It wont give you whip-lash by any means, but i've heard of people complain about it and others rave about it. I personally loved it.

Kirk

 

If you drive with O/D off when you mash the accelerator from a roll it wont have to shift from 4 to 3 and then again from 3 to 2. It wil only go from 3 to 2. This makes it easier and faster to get to the optimal rpms.

Nissan made the auto tranny to be a creature comfort and shift ever so smoothly, which it does. Most people who bought the 4th gen maxima didnt want it for a race car. That is obvious by the fact that roughtly 95% were made as autos. For an auto, it is either smooth or it is efficient. The VB mod makes our trannys efficient and they dont shift smooth anymore. Pick your poison.

Kirk

 

do a 5spd conversion....

 

My tranny shifts somewhat hard.

I've been told by a few that this is normal.
That's what I don't like. If it shifted smoothly, I'd be happy.

 

Hmmm....I dunno. I have a GLE, do they have a different VB? That might be why its smooth, I dont know. I can swap out a VB, but other than that I know little about them except for what they do.

Kirk

 

Yea.. it's not very noticeable at WOT

yea, i know



heh

Hey, the pause has always been there with my car.. but I am used to it. I am not too fond of it either but it's a hell of a lot better then my 93 Max where there was not even a pause, but a KICK even after I rebuilt the tranny.
Even when accelerating slowly from a stop etc.. 1st - 2nd gear change is always with a lag, or a pause.. when you hammer it, it can do the same and wait to switch gears.. but once it gets going, it's good..

not too bad, I am wondering if a good tranny flush with synthetic fluid would help out..

Only cars I haven't really noticed these pauses on (and i've driven quite a few cars) is Lincoln Towncars, and Toyota Camrys.. lol

 

Most of the time, my 95 auto shifts very quickly when I floor the pedal, but occasionally, she will just putz along for three or four seconds first, really annoying when I'm trying to race! I have found that when it does this, it will usually shift immediately if I quickly let off the gas and floor it again. It doesn't eliminate the problem, but seems to lessen the lag time.

 

My 97 SE has the pause too but several times I have "tricked" it into not pausing. The first couple of times it was an accident that I did this, but it's been reproducable for me. If I am cruising along at say 20mph, "blip" the gas (step on it a bit, then let it off real fast) and then slam on the throttle, the tranny shifts down real quick. The effect is similar to being in neutral at about 2000rpm and throwing it in drive. Probably not too good for the tranny, so I wouldn't recommend it. Anyway, see my Tiptronic thread for more on this discussion.

 

sometimes my tranny shifts real fast and throw you back, but then sometime it will take 3 05 4 secs to shift. it just dpeends how you ease the accelerater into the 'just right' postition. one time when going to my parking lot, which is a very steep hill, i hit it and it never shift until i got to the TOP of the hill, and the sudden downshift cause my car to almost slam into some wooden guardrails. i mean i came within inches.. but i got lucky i dint hit anything. now when i go into the lot i know just how to hit it so itll shift and pull me up nice and fast