Hey all of you 7th gen. owners. Before you ask why and start yelling at me, this is just for my own curiosity. Anyhow here is the question, I was wondering if it would be physically possible to swap the CVT transmission with a 6th gen. manual. I know it has been done on the 3rd 4th 5th and 6th gen. So just wanted to see if it were possible for the 09s

Thanks ....

 

It could be done, but with the complextity of todays mechanics plus the different platform, I doubt it(that is with the 6th gen of course). But I think I could bet money that you could do it with a six speed altima sine they share the same platform.

 

yea true a six speed altima tranny would most likely be the one to fit

 

Thanks for the replies ... Hrm. interesting to see a 7th gen manual as a lot of people whinning that Nissan didn't include this option. I wonder how it would turn out... I'd also wonder if it would slow down the car, with shifting and all instead of the CVT that's on there right now.

 

Are you kidding??? It would speed up the car.

 

A manual would be more fun, but would slow the car down slightly. Any tranny that shifts has a slight pause at each shift point where no power is being applied and no accelleration is taking place. The CVT avoids this by having no shift points, hence is always in a power curve and accellerating. This is the reason the manual/paddle option on the '09 CVT is not as fast as the simple Drive setting.

 

STOP RIGHT THERE! That is the exact reason CVT owns anyother auto or manual transmission out there! If only people could realize that concept there wouldn't be any pointless thread about why manual is better that CVT(no offense OP)

 

CVT's and autos still have a torque converter. This is where the loss comes from.

Now a CVT with a clutch that would be used only for initial take off would be nice.

 

Far from it actually.

 

Can all the people saying the CVT is faster please explain why the current Altima is faster with the manual??

 

if im not mistaking dont the 09 maximas have a slightly different cvt from the altimas to handle the more power the maximas have

 

The '09 Maxima CVT was completely redesigned, and is definitely better than the CVTs that are in the Altima and that were in previous Maximas.

There are some situations where manuals accelerate better than automatic trannies or CVTs in some vehicles because the designers figure buyers preferring a manual are more interested in performance than in efficiency, so give the manual vehicles a faster axle ratio for quicker pickup. Of course this results in lower fuel efficiency when at speed, as the RPMs are higher because of the axle ratio being designed for acceleration.

But all this discussion is really meaningless, as anyone who managed to squeak through high school physics has to understand that, ALL ELSE BEING EQUAL, and assuming the CVT is a tight and efficient design (no slop), a tranny that does NOT have to shift will give faster acceleration and be more fuel efficient than a tranny that DOES have to shift. EVERY shift point is an instant where the motor is running, fuel is being used, but there is NO acceleration taking place.

 

Future dibs on your 09 engine!!! lol!

 

you guys are not addressing the point that the CVT like an auto has a torque converter that adds to the powertrain loss in the drivetrain...

 

Even nissan used in a 7 speed auto in their sports car instead of a CVT...When someone actually starts using CVTs in RWD cars because they cars faster I'll believe in them. They make sense in theory but so does Communism.

 

No more than a regular automatic. Anyway until you can dyno one we have no idea how much parasitic loss loss we may have. Just because it has a torque converter doesn't automatically imply it's less efficient in power delivery or parasitic loss I've seen manuals with more loss than autos on the dyno before.

The 370Z auto 7 speed is quicker than my manual 6 speed, the biggest reason is I can't shift as fast and not lose forward momentum and the other is it's just as efficient in delivering the power via the drive train as the manual.

 

They could but in order to handle the torque and abuse of RWD the CVT would have a circumference of a murano...

But on a serious note Jatco the actual manufacturer of the CVT just released a RWD CVT so it maybe in the future...

JR006E Toroidal CVT for medium and large vehicles * World's first
* High torque capacity * Provides smooth driving and uncompromising response to acceleration and deceleration * Improved fuel economy

 

We will see, come to think of it Lexus used a CVT a while back but went back to a regular auto.

 

A CVT in a Lexus? I never thought of Lexus as a brand where efficiency would be a factor to be considered. Lexus has very few FWD vehicles, instead emphasizing RWD and AWD. The ES (Camry based) is probably their only FWD sedan.

I would feel Lexus's CVT probably reached the level Nissan did with their CVT in the Altima and '07 and '08 Maximas, and wasn't totally happy with it. Since they had only one RWD sedan in which the CVT would be applicable (the ES), it would not have been worth their while to do further CVT engineering.

By contrast, Nissan, even under their early name of Datsun, has always been know for efficient vehicles. And Nissan has several FWD vehicles that would be more efficient with a CVT. So it was very worth Nissan's time and effort to improve the CVT to where it would be more efficient than a manual or automatic tranny.

We must remember that early on in the '09 Maxima's life, Nissan told us their testing and computer research was telling them this new CVT would be more efficient and effective in the '09 than either a manual or automatic. The fact several here on tha ORG last summer exceeded 30 MPH on freeway trips in this '09 with its 290 HP motor tends to verify what Nissan told us.

 

I would certainly hope that with 290 HP, it could exceed 30 MPH!
Seriously, I get over 30 MPG on the freeway, so where is the extra efficiency?

 

When an Automatic/ Manual shifts, there isn't any acceleration takin.......whatever, Light already explained it.

 

Well keep your f'n yugo and go have fun.

 

The new CVT is more efficient because it delivers 35 more HP than the previous generation and gets 1 mpg better on the highway. Its also quicker 0-60 (~6.2 sec)

 

hell, I'm getting ~38 mpg highway in my 1st gen. it's auto trans has a sweet sweet overdrive... @ 70 mph, I'm turning only 1800 rpms LOLZ but then again, our cars are really nothing alike lol anways....

my understanding of the cvt is , when you want to accelerate quickly, say full throttle, the engine will go to the rpm where it makes the most power, stay at that rpm, and the cvt is continouslly changes the gear ratio (hence the name, right?) , causing acceleration... where in a manual, you going up through the rpms for each gear, seems that the difference is, your accelerating the motor to speed up the car each time you go through a gear. and in a cvt it's alot simpler, it revs the motor to the peak of power, keeps it there, and "make the trans do all the work" of accelerating the car. faster? maybe, but like was said before, the variables are vast.

just my .02

 

Even if its slightly modified to handle more power, that same power will also be available through the manual.

Still no explanation for why the CVT Altima is slower than the Manual.

 

Nissan tuned the Altima's Manual transmission's Axle Ratio is higher because the Altima clientele, as a whole, leans toward performance. That's why Manual is faster than the CVT in the Altima.

 

On the highway you don't typically accelerate, but go at constant speed, so the CVT offers no advantage. I'd be willing to bet my manual '06 will get at least as good highway mileage as an '09 on the highway!

 

Is that so....hey look over there!

 

Cool I guess you now have bragging rights that your 265HP Max can get better mileage than a 7th Gen 290HP.

 

So if the same is applied to the Manual transmission in the Max it will be faster than the CVT...correct?

 

Your premise on the manual tranny vs the CVT is not true.

The CVT drops the RPMs way down while cruising at constant speed with no acceleration, but a manual is locked into whatever RPMs its highest gear turns at any particular speed, no matter whether acceleration is happening or not. That factor is why Nissan said their testing and computer analysis showed the '09 Maxima would get better highway fuel efficiency with their newly redesigned CVT than with either the manual or automatic Nissan could have used.

If your '06 manual did happen to get better MPG than the '09, it will be because of other factors such as a 35 HP weaker engine, different axle ratio, vehicle weight variation, different tire psi, different tire rolling resistance, driving style, etc.

Make no mistake, the CVT has passed the manual tranny in efficiency, and will continue to widen the gap as it is improved even more.

 

Yup.

 

Really how the F*%$ do you know that? Are you a power train engineer at Nissan? If you are I have a few questions about why my 09 370Z is slower than the auto....

 

Lol, wouldn't that suck if he was in fact a power train engineer! Chooooo Choooo!

 

If they can build a 6 speed manual thats faster than the CVT for the Altima then what makes u think they cant do that for the Max??

 

www.atfspeed.com

www.level10.com

im sure these guys can beef up the CVTs if your looking for more power.

Im still old fashion and like to shift myself,

ATF is currently doing the 6spd swap for my 6th gen.. I do belive its the first 6th gen to be converted over

 

Sorry, you're wrong on this one. The CVT can't drop RPMs below what the tallest gearing of the transmission is. What you can't do with the CVT is to short-shift it if you're going for mileage. Once you are at the tallest gear ratio, there is no more efficiency to be gotten from the transmission--remaining efficiency would have to come from the engine.

Anyway, this has gotten off the track. The simple fact is that some folks would like to have more control over the car than an automatic provides, and that was the question of the OP.

 

Guys, tone it down some. Don't cross the line with personal attacks here.