I can imagine this is not a question that comes up too often in this forum, but I'd like to turn over the keys to my 2002 SE to a new driver, but as it is now, it is too fast for him.

(It's had some suspension upgrades, but nothing has been to the engine)

So, the question is, is there a way to reduce the engine power, using a method that won't hurt the car, until he's had some on-the-road experience?

For example, a "Fuel Saver Chip".

?????????????

As always, thanks for your expertise!

Jim

 

Tell him to stay out of the pedal.

 

Unplug 2 coilpacks?

 

IMO its better he learns the real way...

 

I had that same problem when my 16 yr old son became a licensed driver. I was all primed to hand him the keys to the Maxima when I had an epiphany. Me and my mechanic discussed this for several days and we finally came up with the perfect solution.

It cost me a little over $3800 and in the end my son got the keys to a green 1998 Honda Accord DX; (a 4 cylinder) and I got to keep the Maxima. It's worked out great for us, and should work for you as well. Good luck.

 

lol or just get a 3 banger Geo Metro or 3 Banger Pontiac Firefly, i think those things are double digit HP

EDIT- yep

G10: 1.0 L3
In the United States a single engine was available from 1989 through 1994: a 1.0 L I3 engine. Rated at 55 hp

 

+1.
I'd say either you teach him how to drive safely in a powerful vehicle, (maybe a defensive driving course?) or buy him a beater like Maxgig suggested.

 

You could throw on a massive BBK package front and rear, put on 20" wheels, and keep sand bags in the trunk. Or install a monster rear wing.

 

Blow up the MAF.

2500 RPM rev-limit FTW.

 

My parents handed me my 95 when I was 16 (17 now). I drive my dads Infiniti M, my bosses Audi S6 and S8 and theyve never had problems trusting me. Hell, I drove my dads M off the lot so he could drive the Max one last time. Just teach him not to floor it everywhere. Maybe put him in a driving class for a session or 2.

 

Jim, this problem is very much like the old adage about guns. In this case, cars aren't dangerous, drivers are. (And you know that bone-stock Maxima isn't all that, so don't go blaming the old 4-door.)

Your best move would be to enroll the kid in some driving lessons. Better yet, attend a Safe Driving course together, so that you both take it seriously, and shave some $$ off your insurance.

The solution is right in front of you, and it isn't the car.

 

yeah driving classes are a good idea, best part with mine was back in the day i was my instructors last student before he quit so we went drifting in the companies car

 

In all seriousness, I agree with the "best to teach him the right way." Let him drive the car as it sits, with the agreement that if anything happens, he's going to pay off all speeding tickets, cost of repairs to the vehicle if he wrecks it, and increase in insurance rates.

I didn't understand until I wrecked one of my cars. $1500 in car repairs later, I understand why driving stupid on the road is...well...stupid.

 

I should add that my dad makes me pay part of my insurance. So if i get a ticket, its money outta my pocket

 

Disconnect the KS.

 

poor kid..i wish i had the 3.5 power.

 

Its a Maxima not a Carrera gt....


...I'm not even legal to drink yet ...its not that big of a deal

 

dont need to reduce the power... just put one of those dumb gps trackers that record speeds, acceleration n stuff like that... itll scare him into driving normal lol... and then if you still dont trust him... you can prove it...

 

Just teach him as is

 

Silly. No logic. What is 'the real way'? And whoever said that an 02 Max wasn't powerful isn't remembering that this is a first time driver. If you did notice that, you don't know what you're talking about. Name one top fuel driver that didn't learn with less power. There's a reason you can't.


Did that work for you? My dad taught me how to drive a manual transmission 4 cyl when I was 14. When I had my license I didn't always adhere to the common sense he repeatedly attempted to instill in me. Neither does the majority.


On principle I want to agree with your statement, but it isn't exactly accurate. It is the car in some respects. Just like handing a 50 cal canon to someone who has never handled a weapon.

&
You need to think beyond financial consequences. What if your child was injured or harmed? What if they injured or harmed someone else? Lessen the power, lessen the probability.

Therefore, this is the best answer IMO:
EDIT:
This is also a very good idea. Let him know that you know. Brilliant!

 

I like the driving school idea that others have suggested. A teenager who's been taught how to drive properly and knows to take driving seriously is no more dangerous in a Maxima than he is in a Metro. My parents made a point to have me drive a slow car for a few years when I first started, and it did no good. I still took part in some driving antics that weren't very safe, but I was always as aware of exactly how fast I was going as I would have been in any other car. And when I totaled that '96 Outback on a deer, I was pissed that the car had such crappy brakes, headlights, and handling.

I've been involved in a couple of at-fault accidents since then, one in the same car and one in a '99 Outback, and neither was because of speeding or doing anything particularly dangerous. I'm convinced that I could have avoided both accidents if I had a car that handled and braked worth a crap. I think I was also a little too comfortable in those cars. They didn't do anything to scare me. When the Maxima chirps a tire on dry pavement and I'm not even driving it hard, it reminds me of how little traction I really have. My Maxima scares me a little bit, and it keeps me in line.

My point in telling you all this is, if you've taught your teenager properly the dangers of driving like an idiot, it won't matter how much power his car has. He'll be safest in a car that can stop and turn well when there's trouble. He might even be safer in a car that will break traction easily on acceleration than in one that won't.

All that being said, none of us know your new driver (son?) as well as you do. Maybe you know that he's got a speed addiction that he still needs to learn how to tame. I have an idea for safely reducing power, if we haven't convinced you yet that it's the wrong way to go. You could place something in the intake to restrict the flow. Basically, I'm envisioning an restrictor plate in the airbox. Less air = less power.

 

 

Any car is capeable of hitting 100mph these days, so what difference does it make how fast you get there in a FWD sub-260hp platform?

Instead of worrying about acceleration, why dont you try and make the car SAFER? We all know the stock brakes and suspension is pathetic. Why dont you get a nice 2" drop, a bbk and some wider wheels and tires to make the car more responsive and planted?

wether u like it or not, he will do his share of experiment and stunt driving on the road, thats how we all learned our lesson anyways right?

a fast going predictable car > slow moving mess all over the road.

 

Place a block under the accelerator pedal so he doesn't ever get a WOT condition.....

 

yep yep! thats what i would do personally... and to add to that, get him some sort of hands free for his phone... he will probably text anyways but if he listens to you and just makes a call it will keep your mind at ease and his hands on the wheel! oh, and like QT1 said, nice brakes and tires wouldnt hurt... youve already dealt with suspension so just a little more for some added ease! $.02

 

Or at the throttle body.

 

That'll be kinda hard with it being an electronic throttle (no mechanical lever), I would shot some screws thru the gas pedal into a small 1"-2" wood block (paint it flat black he'll never see it).......

 

Thanks Everyone!

Actually, I was looking for a technical solution to this situation.

I didn't want to bore everyone with the non-tech background, but I feel I shouldn't let your excellent suggestions appear to have been ignored.

So:
1. The Max suspension and brakes are set up for 'Track Days' at Summit Point, the local track,
2. All my kids in the past have gone through the on-track 'Driver's Ed' at Summit Point, once they've had a license for a year,
3. As a 20 year volunteer paramedic I've seen many, many accidents involving teenagers. A disproportionate number of these tragedies happened in cars too powerful for inexperienced drivers.
4. I'm not a 'speed kills' paranoid. I've had a road racing license since Mario was a rookie, so I've had personal experience with "Force = Mass x Acceleration". :-)

(Personally, I like the "Put a block beneath the gas pedal idea!)

Thanks again,
Jim

 

I'm in agreement with everyone else. It really is the driver, not the car. I'm 18 years old and I drive a 2003. I split driving time between a large SUV and a slow, large sedan for two years before I got the Maxima. For the first two weeks I had the Maxima I was very frustrated with the gas pedal. I felt like I didn't have control over my acceleration because every time I hit the gas the car took off. It wasn't that the car was uncontrollable, it was simply because it was much faster than what I had been used to. However, I adjusted and am now very comfortable driving it. It's just a learning process.

That being said, there's a two-part process for a young driver to learn to drive this car. First, it's learning to handle it. The car can really take off, but it also has a poor stock suspension. This is a bad combination and it's best to learn early how to manage it. Turns need to be taken slow. Quick, jerky maneuvers need to be at a minimum.

Second, the consequences of poor driving need to be presented at the very beginning. Throw some numbers out there on the cost of an accident. This was done for me when I learned to drive and it really helped I think. It surprised me when I was 16 to see that a minor fender bender can easily add up to cost you $10,000 in the long run.

You are the one who knows your new driver best. If you really think that the car is too much for them to handle, I agree with the second post: get a different car. The point I'm trying to make is that as an 18-year-old Maxima driver, I think this car is very manageable to drive as it is. All it takes is some practice and and adjustment period.

 

lock the ecu in safe mode (2500rpm redline)... top speed of around 60mph, good enough for highway driving. and it will help him learn smooth acceleration. though, i do not know how exactly to do this.. all i know, is that my grandad had a 99 GLE when i was 10 and ive wanted a max ever since... i now have an 02 at 23 yrs old and have more than enough respect for the car than to *uck around and crash it.... make him love the max, like a small child, and he will not abuse it and call it a *****.

 

I know the horrific accidents you see first hand, I'm kinda going thru the samething with my 18 yr old daughter.....I don't want to get her a Honda cause they don't offer any protection in event of an accident....I don't want to give her my 3rd Gen cause it's way to fast for a kid.... I don't wanna get anything to small , too low, too fast, or too slow, too unreliable, or with too much room inside ( hauling around too many friends or having a sex machine on wheels), so I'm seroiusly thinking about getting her an old school GM fwd, or pickup truck just incase she's in high water or jumps a curb, she'll be ok....

 

the real way= no limiters or anything. thats how i bet 98% of the people on here learned to drive.

my 3rd gen was my first car too and i got it when i even just had my learners i dont care about top fuel drivers, i know what im talking about. honestly at 16 all it took for me to not do anything crazy is see those crash videos in drivers ed and pay for my own insurance and thats it. i never did anything stupid until i was 18 and i could understand the consequences and even now only do stupid stuff where only i am in danger and nobody else.

making a kid learn on a tiny 4 banger is like making a kid ride a bike with training wheels until theyre 16, you have to let go and let them learn for themselves.

teaching a kid consequences and letting them learn on a faster car>giving them a tiny 4 banger

 

the kid is gonna speed whether you want to or not... if u want him to drive slower i'd say give him or her another car thats slower... like most said, teach him safety and hope for the best, i understand its a dad thing and only want the best for your kid and safety first but its like me, i was never a troubled or stubborn kid according to my parents but i cant get a car and keep it stock, if i was 16 there was nothing my parents gonna do to stop me from modding my car or speed, however i do still remember all the lessons taught (not about cars as non of them taught me nothing there)

 

lol so he can take the turns even faster?

 

Spend some time with him while he drives the car. I think a fast car in the wrong hands can be dangerous of course, but a car that can't get out of it's own way (maybe because it's been "parental controlled") can be dangerous as well. If it were my child, I'd strongly suggest a cheap, slower car if you think the Max would be too much.

 

Its not a fast car. SO trust him. Im sure you brought him up right and he ill be fine!!

 

I bet 98% of the people on here did NOT learn to drive with a first car over 250 hp.

That's you. And if it were true of the majority of teenagers, the statistics would be different.

Ridiculous argument. You DO teach a kid with training wheels. I didn't say the kid could never work their way up to a faster car. Only that it was better to start with less power. You wouldn't give a 4 yr old a Suzuki Hayabusa in order to teach them to ride on two wheels.

 

seriously now lol. It seems like you have good moral judgement, from what i have seen you type, he is going to follow in your footsteps and be fine.

 

Then again I learned to drive on relatively slow cars so I could go WOT every time from stop signs and stop lights, now with the maxima I still want to go WOT off the line.

 

I ahve driven two different ~600hp cars on my own and I'm only 17. My dads got a M35s that I drive and I have my lightly modded 4th gen.

I came out fine... If you teach your kid how to drive and teach him that speed isnt everything and TRUST him, he will do fine. I agree that giving a kid a car with alotta power as a first car may not be the best thing todo, but believe it or not, some kids come out just fine.