On my 2001 SE, I had done some intake and exhaust enhancements, and while it sounded better and "felt better", I never really quantified the change.

On my 11, I would of course like to get REAL wheel HP gains, that are effective and worthwhile. I don't want to spend 200-300 bucks for 3 HP.

The BOPs interest me, as does some intake work.

What is the best bang-for-the-buck combo out there with ACTUAL DYNO info, not just butt-dyno...

 

Y-pipe

 

Ive been wanting this info forever but cant seem to get it. I though it was near impossible to dyno teh CVT?

 

you cant dyno the CVT using an RPM dyno because it forcibly goes into the next gear aroudn 6200-6400 RPMs so it cant hold a steady gear for an accurate dyno test.

I've heard you can remove the traction control relay to get it working, or you can dyno using a MPH dyno but other than that I haven't heard any possibilities.

if yall wanna chip in for a dyno ill go get it done but other than that i havent cared enough to go test it. pulls harder - stats wont change my mind on that.

 

Ghozt,

How much do the dyno runs cost?

And do you have your 0-60 times from stock on your actual car, versus what you have now?

 

Even if you could dyno the CVT dyno test results are still skeptical. Every car is different, test conditions, type of dyno, etc. 1/8 or 1/4 mile track times are the for sure test of actual performance gains.

 

The issue is with the CVT, I did a Dyno run and posted the results on this board last year. If you look at CVT Dyno runs you'll see the data jumping up and down as the CVT changes the gear ratios as the RPM's climb, it's impossible to ascertain the results and come up with a solid conclusion of course that's my opinion, we have a vendor on this board that thinks otherwise.

With that said I think the best measure is to use a smartphone app that can measure accurate or in our case accurate enough 0-60 and 1/4 mile times. www.dynolicious is one such app, g-tac is another (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/g-tac/id285540401?mt=8) and many others are available. This has proven to be very accurate and won't break the bank like a vbox system would (http://www.vboxusa.com/products.php#vb20sl3) If you want to be accurate you also need to make sure the elevation and air temps are close to the same for every test and make sure you post those variables with each test. Some apps even take those variables into account just like a real dyno.

 

^ was thinking about hitting up Capitol Raceway near me and getting some 1/4 mile times. I'll keep y'all posted if I do and def post up slips

 

That's great but did you run any times before you added your mods?

 

Nah you'd have to rely on what others have posted with bone stock. Best I saw was 13.9 I think or somethin' like that. I know it's won't be as accurate as we need but really the manufacturers should be doing before and after runs with their parts and posting up 1/4 mile times if they can't dyno it.

 

Let me know when you plan on hitting up CR man. Would like to get some runs in with the intake/exhaust on. Something tells me I won't crack into the 13's like I did bone stock at MIR last October

 

Word? you think your bolt-ons made it worse? That'd be depressing to find out

 

This is what I am worried about. Marketing / Image versus Reality.

eg.: "Gain 10 HP with this air filter!"

Seriously, if that was so easy and realistic, it would be dumb for the manufacturer not to put in things like that as options at purchase time. Unless the gain is not that great in strict testing.

No use spending money for a "maybe" that might shave a couple 10ths off. Or worse, screw up low end or top end to make the mid-range feel better, but actually slow the car down.

 

Well I raced a stock Maxima SV the other day and was several car lengths ahead of them by the time we were hitting 70-80. IMO the car is definitely not slower, but maybe Jay's is.

 

Well, the Eibachs weigh more than the stock coils. Stillen CBE weighs more than stock. Weight penalty could possibly nullify any actual hp gains I may have gotten from SRI and CBE.

Only real way to know is to hit the track in similar 50-55* temps like I ran in last year

 

i ordered Racingline Strutbar and Stillen Intake.. will be installing soon, i hope it doesnt make my car slower like others have posted :S

 

With this trans, it'll never be a 1/4 mile king. I've just accepted that fact

 

True true, how much heavier are they though? Also some parts are lighter than OEM like the Racingline sway and Y pipe. We def need a proper tune to take full advantage of these.

With weight in mind my sub sure isn't helping me. When I go to capital raceway I'ma take out my sub and back seat before i go to help offset any weight changes

 

I’d like to address the original question with some things I was told by a local performance shop owner who’s been in the business for a while. He said these cars are so well designed and built that they are already pretty peaked out in engine performance. He also told me that Nissan encrypts its ECU programming so it’s difficult to make changes to the software. That being said he told me the following:

The car has a CAI and expected it was tuned to more than adequately supply the engine with air. Even if you did change it, he said he wouldn’t be able to tune the ECU to deal with a change in airflow. This is me talking now—it seems we’re left with trying to keep the intake pathway as cool as possible which would lead to insulation or trying to adjust air movement in the engine compartment to keep the intake path as cool as possible. My suspicion is this is moot once the car is moving.

The engine could deal with headers and good exhaust system. He didn’t give an idea of the gain you’d get from it. The CBE system vendors seem to think you can get 10-15 hp gains—not much IMO for $800+. At that point the rationale for a CBE is more personal and sound preference oriented.

That leaves us with saving on weight and power robbers. This makes me look at wheel/tire weight, tire size (diameter of the front tire), smaller pulley wheels, etc.

Finally – I’m not clear on what the Break Out Plates are doing. The values being replaced are there for a reason; is it fuel economy, controlling engine spin-down from off throttle? What do you get from the BOP mod?

 

With modern engines, you should be able to squeeze 100 hp per liter, naturally aspirated. Of course, this would probably wreak havoc with the MPG and emissions (bastards), but it should be possible. Detuned as they are, the engine we have is designed to be powerful but long-lived.

Being FWD, 350 hp would probably overwhelm the tranny and create a torque-steering monster at low speed and WOT.

What I would like would be a supercharger that would give some boost but not really hit until over a certain speed, to tame the torque steer. 0-60 is not as important to me anymore as is passing power and power reserve at hwy speed.

ETA: NISMO needs to bring out ECU programs for our cars.

 

Loll I gave up on performance for this car, in stock form its perfect for me, I think of it more as a luxury sedan. I no longer believe in CBE's, Intakes and such for this car. Savin the mod money for my next ride, until then Ill cruise comfortably and in style in my Max!

 

We're doing intake/plenum spacers next and will be posting up dyno and intake temps before/after. SG may have given up on the VQ but there's a whole lot of us who haven't. You guys are right that without a proper tune these bolt-ons aren't doing what they really could be, we did buy tuners after all..check out UpRev