Sup everyone. i have a red 2004 maxima se 5 speed automatic, base. well i always use the manual shift mode, just "feels" quicker and much more fun to drive. well anwyayz, i always shift at pretty high rpms cause i thought it coudnlt hurt the engine since its all electronically done and restricted. but i read somewhere , completely forgot, lol, stupid me, that not shifting right even in a manual shift mode such as a maxima can hurt the engine. I don't redline the engine, i mean i shift around 5-7 rpm's depeneds if im cruising or trying to take some 350z on the highway. so can it really hurt the engine? thanx. -eric

 

As long as you aren't bouncing off the rev limiter you will be fine. Even then the limiter is put in place as just such “to limit you from causing damage.” I'm sure the motor could freely rev higher then the stock limit point. You have to figure for you to cause damage you would need to rev high enough to cause valve tap which is the pistons touching the valves and that can't be done without revving over the limiter.

 

oooo ok good. lol. thanx. i know when im driving and im in manual shift mode it feels a little faster because i push the rpms a little bit more than they would go when in automatic mode. but is it actually quicker?

 

You probably get a little better acceleration with higher RPM's if you are 'gassing' it. But you are artificially raising the RPMs by keeping the engine from upshifting, and if you don't pour in the gas for brisk acceleration, you aren't making full use of the higher RPMs.

You say you shift around 5 - 7 RPMs. As the engine won't even idle at less than several hundred RPMs, I am assumimg you mean 5K to 7K RPMs. If so, you could be abusing the engine unnecessarily at 7K. The redline for this engine is at 6500 RPMs, and no matter what other drivers may say about this being 'fine', it still will not go over well with Nissan if you happen to need engine warranty work. And yes, this will be in the event recorder.

But I may have misunderstood your post, as you say you don't redline the engine, which is very good judgement on your part.

Sure, the Maxima engine is a wonderful machine which will take lots of abuse. I happen to be one who sees no point in abusing an engine unnecessarily. It is possible to drive with verve and spirit, yet not abuse the vehicle. Like you, I never redline.

There is no question that higher RPMs on a regular basis will increase the rate at which your engine wears. The higher RPMs mean the engine has to turn many more revolutions in order for the car to cover the same distance. It also means your gas mileage will suffer noticably.

 

ya....i meant 5k to 7k rpms sorry lol. o alright thanx

 

I'm pretty sure mine automatically shifts up even tho I put it in manual mode.
I didn't push my max to the limit much...except i was racing my friend's
02 TL type-s. I put it in manual mode to shift right at redline, but it
automatically shifted right before redline...

I could hit the rev limiter with 99 prelude sportshift which i traded in for this max.

doesn't your max shift automatically right before redline even in manual mode?

 

depends on some gears. like from 1st to 2cnd , nope, but 2cnd to 3rd yes , 3 to 5, no, and 4-5 yea, maybe it changes on all of them but im not pushing it all the way

 

make sure the car is warmed up before pushing it

 

I shift between 6100-6300 from 1st to 2nd -- and 5800-6000 from 2nd to D. It doesn't hurt the engine unless your constantly hitting the limiter and then shifting.

 

hmm...ic
i still think mine shifts automatically all gears...i'll try it tomorrow...

or...maybe now...

 

mine shifts on its own, up and down, for all gears in manual mode

 

Mine shifts automatically in Manual mode, I assume this is built into the logic to PREVENT damage to the engine. Mine shifts up around the rev limiter, and down if I would be less than around 1500 if I tried to continue at the speed in the higher gear.

 

ya mine does it too, i guess i wasnt really pushing it too much for it to shift by itself