slick

did any one hear about the new engine nissan's going to start putting in the 2002 max? motortrend says its gonna be a 3.5 liter 260hp v-6. sounds sweet, but i also heard that there gonna redesign the maxima for 2002 also. i'm afraid that there gonna make it bigger cause of the engine. i think that would make it more like an infiniti q45? what do you guys think they will do with it?

dvyuan

I think you might be right, getting the larger engine will probaly mean a bigger car. I think there are rumors that Nissan wants to take the Maxima to compete with bigger sedans and move the Altima up to where the Maxima is. We'll see in time.

Paul6speed

Here's what I've heard...

New engine and slight refresh for 2002 and new 3.5 265 HP
New body for 2003, get's larger and heavier

nizmomx

here's another rumor. A buddy of mine told me that they are putting together a two door maxima. That's on the table at Nissan HQ. What do u guys think of that?

warrlocked

Yes it looks as though they will add the 3.5 L in 2002 and probably a slight refresh and longer hood.

But, I doubt VERY highly that Nissan will drop the current body and do a complete redesign in 2003! Especially after going through the trouble of adding the 3.5 L and a refresh. I would look for the current body to stay pretty much as it is (except for the refresh) until at least the end of 2004! I would expect a completely new Maxima in 2005-2006.

01PearlGLEMAX

They might change the Max for 02 because Nissan is just that way...however all generations of Max's lasted 3-5 years without change....and why would they make a bigger engine when the 222 just cam out??? i think it would be a stupid mistake for nissan to change that, but mayeb that because i have a loaded 01, well have to see what happens!

FASTMAX

sascuderi

Because the 222 engine is really the same engine they have been using in the Max since 1995!

01PearlGLEMAX

it has? oh...how come it has more HP then?

Thump

FACT: We will be building the new Maxima and Altima at the Smyrna Nissan Plant. They will share platforms. They will have the 3.5 265 HP new engine and the body style will change.

Rumor: They will be the same vehicle except the Maxima will be a more luxurious while the Altima will be more on the sporty end.

01PearlGLEMAX

And where did you get this information??

warrlocked

I am not sure where you got your information ..but I have trouble believing some of it. For one thing I wouldn't be surprised to see Nissan eventually build the Maxima in the U.S.....but probably not until a complete redesign in about 2005.
Why would Nissan go through the trouble (not to mention very high retooling cost) to put the 3.5 L in the 2002 if they are coming out with a new model in 2003? A new redesign for 2003 isn't going to happen! They will install the 3.5 L and do a refresh for 2002 and I wouldn't look for the Maxima to change too much after that until about 2005-2006! Car companies do not just throw a 2 year old platform in the can!! A NEW CAR FROM THE GROUND UP COSTS HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS! The Honda Accord, for example, is scheduled to run the current body for six years. The 4th generation Max went 5 years and I promise you all this one will stay around at least that long!!
I also doubt though, that the Altima will get the 3.5 L engine. Sharing the same materials is one thing, (Remember the Stanza of the early 90's?) but I would suspect the next Altima wll get some rendition of the 3.0L in the current Maxima.

madmax2k

Basically revised engine management with a variable intake manifold and variable exhaust system. The 5th gen engine "feels" pretty much the same as the 4th gen engine at low rpm. After 5000 rpm is the big difference, and where you will find the added 32 rated hp.

Thump

I don't recall mentioning any year now did I. (reread my post) I was just giving the facts. Believe them or not they are true.

timmeyers

Just remember everyone...The 3.5 liter is based on the exsiting Maxima 3.0. They punched it out to 3.5. in the Pathfinder and QX-4. Installing the 3.5 engine wouldn't require a retool to put the engine in the Maxima. The only issue would be the durability of the 5-speed tranny with that much power. Most of the cars these days go to an AWD configuration when the horsepower gets that high.

I would it would be more expensive for Nissan to keep making two versions of the same engine than putting the 3.5 engine in all the models that could accept it....Again remember it's dollars that counts, and Nissan has had huge losses in the past few years so needs to save money by consolidating platforms and engines as much as possible.

The Altima is definately from all reports getting upsized and the Maxima is as well. It's just a matter of exactly when for the Maxima..the Altima's already been announced for next year.

Thump

I went back and checked the HP rating. I was wrong. It is will be 240 HP not 265 HP. I was thinking of the new Z when it comes out. The Altima will have clears on the back end and dual exhaust. Whether it is true dual or not we don't know yet.

warrlocked

Hey man...I wasn't referring to your post when mentioned the next year the Max will be totally redesigned...no hard feelings.

But, please let us know where you are getting the information you have about the next Altima and Maxima! Do you work for Nissan?

It is a llittle hard to believe that they would put the 3.5L in the next Altima...Man if they do, the next Altima will probably out-perform the current Maxima!

There was a web site called "Fresh Alloy" that doesn't exist now..don't know what happened to it..but about 2 months ago I was reading something about the next Altima being very far and away from what it is now. Supposedly they are anticipating it to have just as big a following as the New Beetle and the Chrysler PT Cruiser. We will see.