Quick question: Have any of you driven a 6th gen? I bought (technically, "am buying tomorrow") an '05 6-speed stuffed with bling to replace my beloved, deceased '02 6MT and HOLY CRAPS this bloated 6th gen revs like a freaking bike. The gas pedal is insanely, horribly sensitive and makes me suspicious that maybe Rochester sneaked down to Lexington, KY to fit a Sprint Booster onto it! Sensitive as in, embarrassed myself test-driving it because I couldn't smoothly rev-match with the clutch fully disengaged and drew stares from pedestrians and the cop sitting next to me at the light. I know the ratios are shorter on the 6th gen and definitely noticed the difference in RPM cruising around the city, but that should only matter when you're in gear with the clutch fully engaged, right?

I asked a friend about it and he said the 6th gens have super-sensitive pedals for some reason, across the board, but I'm wondering if mine has an upgraded clutch+flywheel combo, as the clutch feels significantly heavier than mine and the aforementioned revving. CarFax shows that the transmission was replaced (why, I have no idea) at 45K miles and other than the bushings being worn out so 5th is difficult to find, it shifts like butter and feels much tougher than my previous 6-speed.

If the transmission has already been dropped, I figure there's an opportunity for them to drop beefier parts into it. But since it was under warranty then, I would find it kind of odd for that to have been done. But I'm just super-confused, because I thought that the '04+ VQ35DE just has a few more emissions parts than the '02-'03 VQ35DE and is otherwise identical. Save whatever that thing is about chain tensioners going bad on 6th gens.

I bought my '02 with 118K and killed it at 134K and the '05 has 95K miles. I'm figuring there can't be THAT much difference between 95 and 134, right..?

Put my insane thoughts at ease and tell me that there is a bigger difference between the 5th and 6th generation Maximas with six-speeds than I thought.

 

I drove a CVT but never the 6speed- needless to say, I wasn't impressed.

They may have a claimed 10 extra HP stock but they are well over 200 lbs heavier.

I usually hate on the 6gen quite often because that's where I think the Maxima really started to go wrong but, I have seen some nice 6gens and they do have potential. If the price and condition is right go for it! It just may require a little more work.

 

Well, it was either pick up an insanely over-priced '02/'03 with 20K+ more miles or this '05. I got it for $9875, book is ~$14K. Silver, gray leather, Bose, Navigation, 4 heated leather buckets, the 5-spoke 18" chrome wheels (miss my '02 SE wheels. ), power folding mirrors, heated steering wheel, heated side mirrors, moonroof, magic auto-tinting windows... Literally every option offered, I think, if you discount the mohawk moonroof.

Some '03s with low-miles are going for more than $10K! I was NOT going to pay $7500+ for another 5.5 gen that didn't even have leather and stuff (mine didn't). I can't find any work that needs to be done on it either, which is a plus. The brakes weren't as grabby as the ones on my '02, so maybe I'll slap brakes on it before summer ends, just to make myself feel useful.

 

might want to check if the previous owner had the timing chain tensioner fixed, otherwise its a huge repair...look up Ntb07-042

 

Does your 5.5 gen burn oil? Nonetheless sounds like a good upgrade to me, I will go for it!

 

yes, i drove a 05 6spd, very sensitive and I felt the same embarrassment

what happened to your 5th gen !

 

HotShot: Haven't run the VIN through a dealer yet to check for recalls and whatnot, but I figured the tensioners would already be howling by 95K miles, right?

Prophecy: Yeah, my '02 burned oil. Ranged from 1 qt/800 miles to 1qt/2000 miles depending on the barometric pressure in France.

What happened to my 5th gen is that I was mad at a lady for driving so slowly through my parents' neighborhood that I couldn't even stay in 3rd gear. Or 2nd gear. When she finally pulled over in front of a house I floored it to pass her (had to drop into 1st gear a few houses back) and she decided to turn left into a cul-de-sac across from said house instead of parking in front of it. Instead of braking, I just kept my foot pressed down, confident she would stop turning and yield to my righteous fury. She didn't.

I tore the bumper half off her Acura MDX and she knocked my passenger-side front wheel hard enough to bend the LCA and knock the axle into the transmission. The police report said I "failed to yield." My insurance company paid me $7700 for my car, which I was okay with at the time, not realizing just how rare a CLEAN, good-condition 5.5 gen is. =/ The only reason I didn't buy it back from them was the paint didn't exactly match on all the doors, someone had whacked a pole somethin' fierce with the driver side door before I got the car, and I thought I could just buy another for around the same price I paid for mine last March ($5700). Ha. Ha ha.

Moral of the story? Don't act like a 22-year-old.

I already bought the 6th gen, I'm just asking whether or not it's normal for it to rev way, way faster than the 5.5 gen and have a super-sensitive pedal to boot.

 

Make a video? But the way you make it sound like is that the car has a Fidanza flywheel?

 

My ex had an 04 6 speed and it had an extremly sensitive clutch and gas pedal feel,more so than my 03.Gears are shorter and stock for stock it felt faster than my 03 but i think it had alot to do with the transmission final drive.

 

Hey! Leave me out of it, man. (I miss my SB.)

Same here. I've driven the 6.5 Gen twice, and as you know, the CVT sucks on those cars. I don't recall the pedal being sensitive, just stupid when matched with that crappy transmission.

But I can't speak to the 6.0 Gen 6MT. Everything I've read points to a great car, and a better transmission than our 5.5 gens.

Go for it, Eirik.

 

What do you mean by "sensitive" clutch feel? The pedal requires much more effort to push in than my '02's. The clutch pedal on the 5.5 gens feels just a squidge heavier than the gas pedal, whereas this '05 has a clutch somewhere in between that clutch and the clutch on 26K lb box trucks. Not nearly as heavy as a full-blown semi's clutch, but not too much lighter than the medium-duty commercial trucks. Maybe the clutch pedal needs to be greased..?

I haven't flogged it at all, really, except when I was trying to take off in 1st and revved the engine past 4K with the clutch disengaged.

@Rochester: You know I jest! I didn't know/remember that you took off your SB. Why for?

 

I removed it for Winter, and the retainer clip broke. Couldn't figure out a way to secure it without the clip, and I wasn't about to drive around in fear that it would separate and suddenly lose the accelerator signal. That's just not safe.

As appealing as I found the thing, it's not interesting enough to pay full retail for. So, I'm done.

 

What do you mean by "sensitive" clutch feel? The pedal requires much more effort to push in than my '02's. The clutch pedal on the 5.5 gens feels just a squidge heavier than the gas pedal, whereas this '05 has a clutch somewhere in between that clutch and the clutch on 26K lb box trucks. Not nearly as heavy as a full-blown semi's clutch, but not too much lighter than the medium-duty commercial trucks. Maybe the clutch pedal needs to be greased..?

No i just meant it seemed to grab better and have a much better pedal feel than my 5.5 and had alot more resistance.I't used to effortlessly spin the tires going into 3rd gear.I have been unsucessfull in my attempts to get mine to feel that way lol.That car took a serious beating from 11k miles till she sold it with 135 ish on it and served it's purpose well.