Hey guys,

Sry if this is an old topic for you guys but its new to me. A friend of mine has an 09 in white with the prem package. I've shown him everything I did on my 5.5 and he is interested in doing some modding.

Just wondering what products are out for this car that can boost up the HP close to 350, thats the goal anyways.

So we were looking at stillen exhaust, custom short ram intake, is anybody selling headers for this car yet? What else would you guys recommend? I was wondering if NWP spacers or VAIS delete apply to this engine?

Is there anything else that we can do to it? Lightweight pulley? Lighter rims, test pipe, tuning device?

I was thinking bigger injectors and fuel pump too but I dont know much about the new max and need some experienced advice.

thanks alot in advance!

 

Also, we want to hit the 350 mark NA so no boost whatsoever, if that is even an option on this car it's not something we are considering.

 

Here is an interesting question I hope someone can answer ( lightonthehill, maxloveraz just to put you two on the spot). With this CVT transmission one problem they were having in the past was the amount of HP and torque it was able to handle without breaking. People were impressed when they first put the CVT with the power the Murano has. They steped it up and put it with our Maxima. My question is how much HP/torque can a person SAFLEY add by modding their 7th gen? Would you think you can over do the HP/torque that this transmission can safley handle without having problems? Might that be the reason they did not put their new 3.7 liter engine on the totally redesigned 7th gen because of what the tranny can handle?

 

since the CVT uses a belt (a steel belt), it's capability to transmit torque (HP is a factor but not as important) depends largly on two factors. 1. The friction between the CVT pulleys and the steel belt and 2. the mechanical stregnth of the steel belt.

I'd wager that the friction between the pulleys and the belts will be your weak link. Nissan already uses a special fluid with lubricating AND frictional characteristics (which, oddly enough, almost always directly contradict one another).

One thing I have ZERO doubt about is that a tranny that uses gears will have a capabilty beyond the CVT to transmitt larger than normal torque loads.

Even if one could make the engine output 350HP and who knows what kind of torque, you likely will blow up the CVT. and unlike a geared tranny, you can't swap out the parts for stronger parts.

Good Luck!

 

Yeah, and that's a great way to void out the 120,000 mile warrantee on this CVT if it turns out they can prove the excess power is what caused it to fail within the warrantee period...

That said, 350hp is not that much of an increase to the existing 280...so I'm not sure why everyone's so skeptical...

 

Corrected for you...

 

I think 350 at the engine shouldn't be an issue, 350 WHP well that might be an issue as I think you would be on the upper end of it's limits. JATCO makes all of the transmissions for Nissan, fact is the Japanese Automatic Transmission Company (in case you didn't know that) was originally started by Nissan and it was initially named "transtech" and in 2002 it was spun off and renamed. Today Nissan has a 75% ownership stake, they make transmissions for Suzuki, Mazda, Jeep/Dodge, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Ford, Renault, MG, Land Rover, Jaguar, Hyundai, Isuzu and VW. I recently heard that BMW was licensing the technology for some developmental vehicles.

They actually made a 8-speed RWD CVT in 2001 with the model series "V35" Skyline but only in Japan. It was largely ignored by the tuner crowd for obvious reasons however it's the only RWD CVT I've ever heard of for a passenger car.

They've been in the CVT market longer than anyone, they are considered the leader on the CVT segment however I think DCT is the future. DCT works with Hybrids, to golf carts to super cars...

http://www.dctfacts.com/default.aspx


Here are a few links I had saved a few years ago about JATCO, etc I think they all still work:

https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=h...rticle_105.pdf

http://www.jatco.co.jp/ENGLISH/index.html
http://www.jatco-usa.com/home.htm
http://www.jatco.co.jp/ENGLISH/CVT/JF010E.html (our CVT)


http://autospeed.com.au/cms/title_Pe...7/article.html

JDM Nissan Skyline 350GT-8

 

okay so I've learned a lot about the cvt... I think 350 wont hurt it that much...

Back to my original question, what parts are available for this car to hit a mark like that?

 

For tuning check out uprev, the support the 7th gens!

 

To tell you the truth our aftermarket support is lacking right now. We are struggling to get some decent quality bolt-ons let alone picking which one to choose from. But of course that is to be expected with a brand new vehicle that isn't in the running for a WRC title or hasn't been seen on Fast and Furious. All the engine mods from previous VQ35DEs aren't neccessarily transferable either. 350WHP right now would be quite the accomplishment with what is available.

 

Thats pretty much what I figured... so all you can really get is intake, exhaust and tuning at this point then? I wonder if any other vq35 headers could be modified to fit on the 7g

 

Yeah pretty much but even the ones available are questionable though. I'm sure a shop could custom fab him a set with a better quality exhaust to go with it too. Try the exhaust shop out in Strathmore.

 

What's the crossmember look like underneath? If it's like the 6th gens I'll bet some Cattman headers will fit. 3" (single outlet) cat-back will def add some power.

You should be able to put the JWT VQ35 cams (any spec) in there. Yall CVT guys could take advantage of some fairly aggressive ones seeing as how you don't risk falling out of the powerband in between your "shifts"

Then upgrade the injectors and hook up an SAFC1/SAFC2 to tune the AFR back to normal (this will add more ignition timing as well since you're bending the MAF signal).

What else...

 

The Racingline Ypipe for the 09+ Maxima will yield a 13+WHP gain. It is in stock and available now. Plus it adds a nice light growl to the car

 

oh nos a pusher found the thread LOL jk ypipe... I dunno, we're up in canada so headers is a more persuasive option for me right now, if I can find something....


Mreim, where you at? Calgary? Do you know the name of the exhaust shop in strathmore, are they good? and have I already talked to you about the calgary maxima club? if ur interested Im starting the club and have about 10 people interested so far. Race city is open now so Im going to be hitting them up every friday I can afford to go, we should meet up. Shoot me a pm if u want.

 

Racingline is also in Canada. Headers (non yet exist) will no doubt make more power but you'll likely have CEL's and spent well over $1000 for parts plus install. The Maxima engine bay is EXTREMELY tight for space and the labour would take at least 6 hours for a really good mechanic familiar with the car already. The 6th gen also has these issues and the 7th gen is even tighter to work on.......

 

is there any plans on making headers for the 7th gens tho?

 

WHP > CEL

Someone on the seventh gen forums needs to get the JWT C2 cams that are FS on here. HR valve springs, hook up an AFC and run some 370cc injectors like I mentioned. CVT is hard to dyno but we can gauge the power gains by how many unsuspecting actual sports cars it leaves behind on "a closed course when operated by professional qualified stuntmen in a 3D rendered CGI environment in the Baja desert"

 

would those even fit in our 7th gen vq engines?

 

Hmm. I think yall have HR heads, correct?

Some JWT/Nismo/BC/Tomei anything that works for HR will work in your VQ35.

All VQ35 cams work in VQ30s so I don't see why not we should confirm the type of heads yall have.

 

thats a great point you bring up here about the cams, not sure what type of heads we have tho....but if some type of cams would work that would be a huge step for us 7th genners since theres barely any performance mods out there.

 

here is somthing I found in wikipedia. It says they have made a supercharged VQ35DE once on a concept. Would this ever be possible for a 7th gen?

Wikipedia- "A modified version of the VQ35DE, called the S1, is produced by Nismo (Nissan's motorsports and performance division) for the Fairlady Z S-Tune GT. It produces 300*PS (220*kW; 300*hp) at 7,200*rpm, a higher rev-limit than that of the original VQ35DE. The 350Z GT-S concept has a VQ35DE equipped with a switchable Novidem supercharger, producing around 382*PS (281*kW; 377*hp) with the supercharger switched on."

 

possible yes!,theres plently of vq35 maximas that are boosted (mostly 5th gens)

Matter of fact speaking of a boosted 3.5 with a cvt, i remember a while back there was a cvt altima coupe with a turbo setup and he blew his tranny, hes somewhere on the altima forums, I cant find the link but if someone does please post it,

again it all comes down if our cvt tranny can handle the extra horsepower

 

The only way to get to 350 whp is to boost, the car is only 290HP stock and that's not whp, so we're probably pushing 260ish range on whp due to drivetrain loss. SCing would be the safest way to go with only about 5lbs of boost just to ensure you don't blow the CVT.

 

you know i have a question; how can you guys tell for sure how much power these CVT max's put down since they can't be dynoed accurately?

 

i think hes talking about 350 hp to the wheels, the 290 hp the 7th gen comes with isnt to the wheels, that car maybe putting down 240-250 to the wheels. so to add 100whp is quite a big jump, for the trans to handle.

 

I am doubtful there is that much headroom without a forced induction. The older engines were not as advanced so adding 50 plus horses with bolt-ons and tuning was possible. This engine is probably pretty close to maxed out without going to the HRev heads and/or some extensive internal work. Even then... 350 at the wheels is about 400 at the crank and without boosting, I would doubt it can go there.

As far as I can find, no one has defeated the stock computer and its capability to nullify power mods along with interaction with the CVT computer... so a new computer will be needed to push the engine over about a 10% gain...from all I can find anyway. If anyone knows anything new in this area, please let us know.

 

I would think that the CVT has a limit that is a fine balance between the power the engine is putting out at the crank and the WEIGHT of the vehicle it has to pull with the limiting factor being the CVT.. In the Murano, a heavier vehicle than the 7th gen Max, they probably couldn't go to high on the HP because they probably ran into increased slipping (ie, the special friction lube they use hit its limit and allowed slippage) that over time would wear at the belt...ultimately leading to catastrophic CVT failure.....In the MAX, a lighter vehicle, the balance is shifted a bit to allow for more HP at the crank and thus less likelihood of slipping because not as much deadweight as the Murano to move from a dead start....however....I think that once you start bumping up the HP....the slipping in the CVT belts would probably increase.....thus leading to catastrophic CVT failure at some point.....AND....warranty denial....and the owner will get stuck with a hell of a repair bill for a new tranny....just my $0.02...

 

I think this is a good question but has been asked but never really answered here as far as I know of but I guess the only indication would probably be to at least run a baseline dyno before you add your mods and then 3 runs on the dyno after.

Some would suggest Ricer Math (as someone boldly called it here) but that type never accurately accounts for drivetrain and other parasitic losses.

Maybe a base run at a 1/8 mi track without the mods and then 2 or 3 more at the same track with the mods will surely tell you if you have gained something or not but it still may not be measurable in terms of actual tq and hp numbers.

 

The 2007+ Altima's consistently run in the 240-250whp range, so it's safe to say that the Max (if Nissan's claim to having 20 extra hp could be verified) should put down 250-260 IF the cvt could actually run a consistent baseline in the first place.

Until the cvt issue is worked out your going to just have to use comparative estimates based on baby brother for now. Either way 350WHP is not possible with out either some form of forced induction( as others have said) or an extreme engine rebuild direct from Cosworth that would run very high compression and probably cost 30g's

 

How did you come up with the 13whp for the Y-Pipe? (Im not questioning the HP gain, I am just curious. I do want one)

 

Probably based on what the 6thgens are seeing from it? Not sure.

Anyone have a pic of the 7thgen y-pipe? Never seen on of those.

 

Someone should dyno a CVT.

http://www.rpw.com.au/shop/index.php...=272&Itemid=40

http://forums.evolutionm.net/lancer-...-test-rpw.html (Post #8)

Not sure why you can't...

 

MaxLoverAZ said that they spent a whole day trying... No consistacy.

 

 

The 2009 Maxima engine is based on the same engine in the 2007+ V6 Altima and our Ypipe for the current generation Altima made 13whp and 14wtq. The OEM Ypipes for both cars are nearly identical in design (runner lengths, diameter, overall length cat material and size etc), so it only serves as logical that identical engines flowing through identical exhausts would reap mutual rewards, regardless of the transmission and car they are attached too.

 

There is no doubt that the 7th Gen Max is laying serious hp on the ground. The fact that we cannot measure it is frustrating. Nissan measured it: how else can they advertise 290 hp?

The problem, it seems, is that the CVT will select it's own gearing to accomplish the task. The dyno prefers to have the vehicle in a gear that is close to 1:1. What if we tapped the Max's ecu to get a readout of engine RPM and use this to compute horsepower? Whatever the CVT's instantaneous gear ratio, the dyno can measure torque at the wheel and using engine RPMs, compute hp. You end up with a disjointed curve due to the CVT gear changes. But it should look like a normal hp vs. rpm curve. With this, we can compare performance mods.

 

If you are TRULY his friend, you should encourage him to save his money and put it toward more worthwhile projects. Seriously.

 

290 is the rated engine hp measured on an engine dyno on an engine not installed into a vehicle. The dynos people are talking about here are chassis dynos that measure the amount of power making it to the wheels after drivetrain losses

 

^^^...agree....