No power in low rpm's
 

I am an owner of a 2000 Maxima SE with a 5 speed and 17 inch wheels. I really like the car, but there is one thing that really bothers me. Taking off from 1st gear and even into 2nd gear, there is very little power between 1,000 and 2,000 RPM. I will often rev it up to about 2,000 RPM before taking off in 1st gear and I can still feel a major deadspot in the engine. Then unless you rev it way up in 1st, when you go into 2nd you get the same lack of power. Once it gets past 3,000 it takes off, but for normal driving this is a real pain. The engine really suffers in this low RPM range. If you put the air condition on and put a couple of people in the car, you are pretty much dead in the water in this range. It has 60,000 miles on it and is due for a tune-up, but I am wondering if this is normal. The engine does idle very smoothly, which makes me think there is something wrong, other than a routine tune-up. Is anyone else experiencing this problem? Is there anything I should have checked when I take it in for the tune-up? Any insight is very much appreciated.

Marcel

I put in a k&N today in mine, and it made a big difference in my low rpms, i don't know if it was the k&n or the fact that my old one was REALLY dirty (which it was) or a combination of both, but either way.

Yeah its normal, I think my Altima SE engine is actually an even more powerful version of yours and it STILL is very sluggish in this area. But downpipe, cat-back, and intake did help it breathe better. but i"m used to alot of torque in this area since my last car was a 5-speed 2001 Mustang GT. When I get in my friends 98Gt 5-speed its a HUGE difference, he has a ton more power down low. But I smack him down an a race BIG TIME. 98's are slow though, 99-04 might be a bit harder.

You need a new MAF sensor and possibly coils with a tune up :)