Most Maxima's on here are modded in some way or another and we are comparing the same car just a different year not a Neon lol. The only way you can tell my car is not a 5/5 is under the hood. As far as reliability goes 3.0 > 3.5 and im saying that not because i have one. I have had and love both and all i can say is i wouldn't want a bolted 3.0 but a bolted 3.5 6MT is one of the funner cars i have owned

 

It's a tough call, I agree. The 3.0 will handle more upgrades, but the 3.5 will acheive more power with less upgrades, and it'll get way better mileage while doing it..... Not to mention higher resale value, more options, and again, the marginally better transmission (arguably, I suppose).

And true, same car to same car, but you were talking about handling, etc, which shouldn't really change by any notable amount between the 5.0 and 5.5 gen.

I hear you about people thinking my car is a 5.5

And to be honest, I've got no idea which way your vote is swaying at this juncture? Or are you playing the fence?

I know personally, after experiencing the Torque band on the 3.5 liter, even considering EVERYTHING else that could be wrong with it, I would no doubt choose it over the 3.0, any day.

the 3.0 liter is dead on the bottom half of the revs by comparison. It's a lot easier to pull out higher RPM power than it is to gain low end power through modding. The 3.5 is the better engine from a performance standpoint, period.

 

I agree with you there, a bolted 3.5 > a bolted 3.0 all day

I only meant by handling me having CO's it would out handle a stock 5.5 or pretty much the same as a 5.5 with coils as they are the same chassis.

I don't hate on either engine because i like them both.

Stock for stock the 3.5 is a better engine performance wise naturally. That's why i bought one that looked like a 5/5 that was supercharged. Now i have the look of a 5/5 with the reliability of the 3.0 but with the blower on it there isn't a bolted 5/5 that will touch it. Now supercharging a 3.5 that's a different story.

 

Is the 3.5 really that much better, or was Nissan accepting the fact the the gen 5 body was bigger n heavier (and the bigger rims too) then the gen 4 and needed a bigger motor to keep up the enthusiastic performance?


Notice how the 3.0 lasted for 2 years on the gen 5 body.
I'm just sayin. The 3.0 was no slouch.
It just had a bigger n heavier body to deal with.


we all know its all about power to weight ratio, so of course a Gen5 3.0 will be weak compared to a Gen5 3.5



This is history repeating itself with the power/weight ratio. Why was the 97-99 Max SE a little bit slower than the 95-96 Max SE? Bigger rims.


DW

 

 

I've owned my 01 5MT ( non Anniv. Edition) for 6 yrs. Bought mine w 47000 miles on it and can genuinely say I despise my 5 speed. Maybe there is something wrong as in defective wrong because I'm 42 and drive spiritedly sometimes and baby it 95% of the time. I've only owned sticks from 240z's to acuras, hondas, and toyotas and this is the worst, least enjoyable I've had. Unforgiving, jerky, and clunky. I run an airport parking facility and get to drive about any car you can think of. BMW makes the best I have felt, difficult to get it to jerk, buttery clutch. The 350z's and Altima sticks I have gotten feel somewhat smoother w better clutch uptake, good but by no means great. Wish Nissan would have spent more time on the tranny.

 

That mileage was calculated between fill ups, not by the dash. My dash info doesn't work since I replaced the headunit

 

i would go with 6 speed for 5th gen

 

Ehhhh....... Your car needs some maintenance w/ quality products, that's what that statement screams to me.

The 5MT has a great feel to the shifter, something very few FWD cars offer these days. As long as your engine mounts, clutch, pressure plate, hydraulic lines are all good quality and functioning properly the Maxima 5MT is a good lil car to shift around.

Edit: HOW IN DA FCK DID WE START TALKING ABOUT MOTORS IN A 5MT/6MT THREAD?!

 

( -_-)!!!!!

 

Lol... this....

 

If this doesn't improve, it may need to be at rest.

 

the 6spd is a better trans overall. the only thing i like better about the 5spd is that has a rod linkage instead of cable, and there are aftermarket gears and diffs available for it if you're into that sort of thing (most people aren't).

that said the OP's question makes no sense, you're talking about 2 different engines attached to the transmissions in question, and then talking about 2 different body styles. I'd be more concerned with what engine my car had and what body style I was buying than making my decision based upon whether it had a 5spd or 6spd in it.

 

Precisely what I was saying, and why this thread went IMO THE RIGHT direction into talking about the engines.

Well said sir. I suppose the Linkage/cable is more of a preference. I rather like the cable (first one I've ever had on my G35). Less slopping around and everything seems much smoother, although, for track applications I'd assume that the linkage would be prefferred due to 'feel'

 

I wish Nealoc187 could be in every thread like this.

 

 

Ha ha ha ha... you would think that, NnexMAX.

However, I distinctly remember my gut reaction back in 2001-2002, when I was driving a 1999 Maxima SE 5MT and I happened to look inside a 2002 SE 6MT parked near where I worked at the time. It was... a gut reaction. I really, really, really wanted that 6MT. And for the life of me, I couldn't articulate why.

Because Racecar.

 

Yes, he's amazing. I really like his haircut too.





Because at that time it was probably one of very few 6 speeds out there. they were new(ish), especially in North America. They were cool, simple as that. IMO, still are, just not as big of a deal as they used to be.

 

Good point, Tuner.

Now that I think about it, I remember having that exact same reaction back in 1983, when Chevy started putting that Borg-Warner 5MT in the Z28. It seemed so exotic, having 5 forward gears.

 

No more 3 on the tree? Or 4 on the floor?

 

I'd love to drive a 3 on a tree

Hands near the steering wheel ftw.

 

Now that's a term I haven't heard in a long, long time. The last time I drove a column-shifter MT was an old Jeep.

Good one, Tuner.

 

Ah but have you ever driven a twin-stick?

Whoa! OT police

 

No, never have.

Have you ever driven with a lightning-rod shifter?

 

Three on the tree is interesting for sure. Last time I drove that setup it was an old Ford F-100 with no power steering or power brakes... Talk about driving something sketchy!

At least with the three on the tree, probably 99% of thieves that would want to steal your ride wouldn't be able to drive it!

 

I have. My old boss' dodge colt turbo had one. **** was crazy.

 

Thanks for all the responses, guys. This has been very helpful, especially the details on different gear ratios of each year, mechanicals/reliability of the HLSD, cable vs. rod, etc.

People are questioning why I said I would be interested in 00-04. Well, it really is just the price range that is landing me there. The manual transmission is my main concern, from there it is just details. :-)

 

Yeah it took some talent to run them. I'm not ashamed to say I couldn't pull it off. Granted that was in an old Freightliner Cab-Over with over 1.5 million miles on it...... Not the smoothest beast!



to the OP, you got a lot of good info shelled out dude, take it with you in your venture. I should think this has pointed you toward the 2002,2003,2004 6 speed (should have anyways IMO)

The 2004 is the most reliable on the transmission end, but you have to deal with the 6th gen body style, which, I suppose, isn't THAT bad........

 

10 more hp... 200 more lbs... altima on steroids.

 

4.133 FD

 

MR TECHNICAL over here is that different from the 5.5 6spd?


i do like some things about the 6th gen. they're just few and far between.

 

3.812

Although, the taller A34 tires/wheel combo might make up for it. Maybe.

I'm just a bit upset @ Nissan for not giving us the option for the 5AT.

 

For what it's worth, I like my 02 Maxima 6MT. It really shines on the highway...its so smooth and has plenty of torque in 6th gear...I can get up most hills without downshifting. In addition, I tow a double wide jet ski trailer. This car accelerates like a champ with the trailer attached (braking and clutch wear is a bit of a different story, as you'd expect) but nonetheless, it's been a fantastic jack of all trades for me. However, I think this will be my last Maxima. IMO, The torque steer is unbearable and dangerous under heavy acceleration. A proper sport sedan ought to be RWD, IMO.

The few Maxima magazine reviews that I've read over the past handful of years seem to have concluded in the exact same way: "The maxima is a good car but save your money a bit longer and opt for the better-in-every-way Infiniti G35."

This is what I intend to do.

 

Hey I have a question regarding the OT


So I've done some reading and understand that the Sentra Spec-V 6MT is better than the Max 6MT and also easier to find. Also read that to do so you have to mount the Sentra tranny to the Max bellhousing.

I've seen some comments like "oh this gear is good on the Max vs that gear on the Sentra"

When you reassemble a tranny can you mix and match gears to get the configuration you wanted? How hard is it to rebuild a tranny? I remember reading the directions for the 5 speed on motorvate.ca some years ago but just curious if anyone has experience doing it themselves.

 

they are the same transmissions. they just have some different gear ratio options and the sentra has a different bolt pattern on the bell housing because it was bolted to a different engine. one is not "better" than the other but the HSLD option in the maxima was standard in the sentra Spec-V, so maybe that's what you're referring to?

you can mix and match gears between them because they are the same trans.

 

You are exactly right, it was because of the HLSD option that I recalled it, thanks for the refresher.

 

Like Neal said, it's because these are the same transmission model and the parts are interchangeable. You just have to know which parts need to be interchanged when you want to mix and match.

Gearing from an entirely different trans model will not fit. Plus some of the gears are integral to the shaft, so if you wanted to change, say, 1st gear you'll have to change 2nd too because both 1st and 2nd pinions are integral to the input shaft.

Motorvate.ca showed the replacement of diff bearings. It was a "rebuild" because the main issue with the transmission was worn diff bearings. He did not get into any of the change gears, shift linkages, changing other bearings, or shift forks.

Changing gearsets requires taking it all apart to the finest level. It doubles the amount of work involved compared to the diff bearing replacement. Have a look at the factory service manual. If you have access to plenty of shop tools it's a lot more manageable. I do my rebuilds at home and so I had to accumulate a lot of tools and tricks.

 

^And a good amount of unmolested bench space

 

Back to the original topic, I think both the 5-speed and 6-speed transmissions are great options. The 5 speed is a test platform and it drives very well. The shifter isn't the snickest thing ever but neither is the cable shift of the 6 speed.

There is an ever-so-slight gain in mpg with the 6 speed but I expect that the reason the 5.5 gens have it is to offset the fuel consumption of the larger 3.5 and to have more sales floor appeal. The reality is that while 5 speeds were better for highway cruising than 4 speeds, 6 is not really better than a 5 speeds. The reason is because 6 speeds tend to have the same spread of ratios, just more of them closer together. (Check the ratios.) So with a 6 speed, you'll shift more often and end up in the same place at 75mph. Last year I replaced my 97 Maxima 5 speed with a 2008 Jetta 2.5L 5 speed. I test drove various 5 and 6 speed model vehicles and in the end it didn't matter.

For the person who hates their 5 speed I have to assume there is something wrong with it. Since no specifics were provided I can't guess what it is. That said, the durability of the transmission and gear engagement is almost entirely based on how many bad shifts (driver errors) it's seen. Grinding gears makes more than just a bad sound - each grind abuses the shift teeth and makes the shift quality go down.

 

Thank you thank you for keeping it real.
The opinions on this thread would probably have the OP believe that the 6speed is God's gift to the maxima and the 5 speed is old crap. They both have their pluses and minuses, and while I agree that the 6 speed is better, it's not night and day better.

Basically the 6 has a little more ratio, but the 5 has a rod shifter.

Plus, the 5 speed is older. It was last available on the 2001 3.0 Maxima.
The newer 6-speed was available on 2002 to 2004 Maximas, all 3.5 motors.

DW