Both are 5 Spd.

I sense a lack of power on my car so I'm at the dealer (Alta Nissan) with a service rep in a 2000 SE and me in my AE. We go to a clear road and race. First run, he perished under my superior driving skills
Second run (this time he smartens up and doesn't peel his tires), he left me. Third (this time we both take it to 20km/h, side by side, and then floor it!!) he destroyed me (and we didn't even take it to second gear)

In the third run we factored out driver error.

Conclusion: 1). 2000 is faster or 2). My AE, in particular, is slower.

I've been on Nissan Canada's case on this problem since June 4th. (terrible service). Today the dealer's manager (where I purchased my AE) calls and says:

"After carefully looking into the problem, District Nissan Rep. said that on 2001 Maxima models their is a modification on the EGR valve and ECU which makes the 2001 models slower then previous ones."

That's the way they were designed and they can't do anything for me.

 

Hi bramirez,

Did they tell you what, exactly, those modifications were, and the intended purpose in making them. I don't even know what the EGR valve is, but was there a problem with it in previous models?

 

hmmm...sounds kind of strange....

 

He didn't give me details nor do I know if there was a problem in previous models. All I know is that the 2000 SE is faster then the AE because of this and am not entirely happy with my AE.

 

It sounds like a load of Horse $hit to me!
Last I checked the AE is supposed to have 227 HP and a VLSD. If this is true then your AE should be a tad more powerfull then a 2K and it should launch better off the line. There for a AE should be quicker then a 2K. It sounds to me they are either making up some B.S. and/or false advertising, either way it's screwed up and I whould be hella ****ed off.

I can't amagine why your EGR is different and if it is different thats just stupid. What I whould do is get to the bottom of this, figure out the part #'s for your EGR and ECM and compare them to a 2K SE Max, my bet is they are exactly the same. If the #'s Match up you have a case on your hands and you should present it to your Nissan dealer and ask why they lined and demand something.

 

I'm not sure that the technical explanation is correct. However, some of the 2ks had cali emissions and some did not. My understanding is that all 2k1s had cali emissions.

The cali emissions maximas appear to have dyno'd somewhat lower than the fed spec - although whether it is significant, I don't really know.

 

I also have an 20th AE that I feel is a little slow. However, over time it appears to be getting faster, I have 2800 miles on it and was able to do a 0 - 60 of 8 sec's (timed by a girlfriend with a wrist watch so pure accuracy may be off).

Earlier, I know it was taking over 10 secs to go 0 - 60.

The car is supposed to do it in 6.7, but considering the extra weight of the girlfriend and a full tank of gas I'm figuring that I'm getting close to the advertised time.

One thing I would say, and I've posted it before, Mazda recently got burnt overstating(in ads & sales literature) the HP on their Miata's. Car & Driver magazine discovered the discrepancy and Mazda ended up offering to buy back, at full price, any affected cars (or you could opt for some type of good deal on your next Mazda). The point is, if someone can prove that Nissan is mis-stating the HP you'll have a decent case.

I'm planning on contacting Car & Driver to see if they would mind looking at these cars. I don't know where to go to have my car tested or I'd do my own.

I would definitely get what the Nissan district rep said in writing. ("After carefully looking into the problem, District Nissan Rep. said that on 2001 Maxima models their is a modification on the EGR valve and ECU which makes the 2001 models slower then previous ones.") If Nissan knows that they have lowered the HP, but has continued to tout the 227 hp, then they are in some trouble.

 

http://www.caranddriver.com/xp/Caran...mazdafudge.xml

 

Unless you have a 5spd - you aren't supposed to be running 6.7. If you have a 5spd and run 10sec or 8 sec, it is either a bum car or you haven't had it long enough to be able to get the best out of it (i.e good launch technique, shift at redline). I know it took me a while to be able to get the most out of my 5spd.

 

It is a 5-Speed and like I said it is getting faster so maybe I haven't given it enough time.

But, if the Nissan rep is stating that they slowed the cars for 2001, but kept advertising the higher HP, there is a problem.

 

Advertised hp on two vehicles can be the same, yet they may differ in hp to the wheels. Therefore, a 227 AE that had additional emissions controls could produce less hp to the wheels than a 2k at 222hp without the same emissions controls.

We dyno'd two "fed - spec" 5spd (that is without cali emissions) and got 190 hp to the wheels stock. At the same time, a cali spec 5spd with Intake and y-pipe dyno'd at less with less mid-range power. HOWEVER, he did not have stock 17s - but aftermarket that might have been heavier. When he changed the wheels (and made a couple of other changes) his dyno went up. So we really didin't know how much difference between fed and cali but know that there is some.

 

I just called my dealers manager and requested more details on the EGR and ECU modifications. He now changed stories slightly: After carefully looking into the problem, District Nissan Rep. said that on 2001 Maxima models their is a modification on the EGR valve and ECU which affects performance.
I will post the results (a few weeks from now when they decide to respond)

 

Exhaust Gas Recirculation Valve. Its used for emissions and reverts exhaust gas back into the intake.

 

And here is the dynoplot that shows it. The RED and GREEN runs are the two Fed spec cars (Max Gators and mine) while the BLUE run is the Cali spec with the Y-pipe and Stillen intake, as well as the aforementioned aftermarket wheels which skewed the results somewhat.

Tye midrange on the Cali spec is notably lower. Ive driven this particular car at the track and could definitely feel it.

http://homestead.juno.com/madmax2k/f...ynooct2000.jpg