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I don't know if you guys have looked at it, but maybe the Juke can give you guys some ideas regarding how their turbo is wired and how turbo acts on a CVT. Supposedly, the CVT models for the Nismo Juke RS has our Maxima CVTs in them, so that might be something to try out if there's one near you.
I'm no expert on these things but I'll try and brainstorm other avenues to check. Hopefully your electrical guy can figure it all out!
Hmm, that is good to know, thanks for the information. Since the car doesn't work at all consistently outside of boost, something is wrong that once we fix it I imagine everything will go back to functioning as normal and we can go back to tuning it. When we had it tuned it was driving great honestly, but then we ran into this which made us back track like crazy.
Electronics shop went through basically all of the wiring on the car, ripped out my Viper completely to test on a stock electrical system, made some slight adjustments to some grounds but ultimately nothing was really found that could be causing my issues. This is helpful, because it eliminated a good portion of possibilities. Also I got to have my Viper re-installed correctly (last stop did a horrendous job apparently) and I think this resolved a parasitic drain with my battery. That's one bonus, that was driving me crazy.
Also, I took some parts from my car that we suspected were broken or having issues and put them on another Maxima - other Max drove fine with them so that also helped us eliminate many issues.
My OBD port has been having some issues lately, Nissan wasn't able to effectively pull codes from it, so I got a completely new one soldered in that resolved all my issues there.
From there we reviewed the codes being pulled again, still popping this drivetrain code related to the trans but now having eliminated all of the electrical possibilities that left us with 1 thing left.
CVT.
I confirmed it with several Nissan master techs that if my wiring looks good and nothing has been damaged or melted/etc, that the only way the car is going to pop drivetrain codes related to line pressure is if the transmission is actually suffering from those problems. That means CVT got damaged, most likely from when the car was over boosting to 10 PSI which explains why it happened back in June when I was driving it showing it off. Could have been the tune as well, or even just the CVT's weak point breaking since this happens to Murano's all the damn time and they have no turbos. Codes are P0868 and P0746.
So, the CVT is getting swapped out next week. Going to get the car back on the road finally and just drive it with a safety tune for a bit. Once I'm sure the car is running normally, reliably, again I will have a couple shops review my entire build and see if they can discover anything that needs to be adjusted/tweaked/fixed before proceeding to the tuning stage again. Will be pursuing a 3 PSI spring in the wastegate this time around, which yeah is kinda weak, but I'd rather get this functional at the lowest boost we can do and if it works reliably maybe bump it up to 5. I'm gonna treat this like a show car now instead of any potential track car to set records with; at least for now. Just nice to finally have what looks like the answer, good lord.
I'm glad you were able to track the problem down. It's too bad that you had to replace the transmission. I'm hoping that with a conservative boost you can start enjoying your ride once again.
Keep your head held high dude. Im glad you went through all the electronics for us all who were biting our teeth wondering. I had a 99 cavalier show car with a viper alarm. Once the car was broken in to and they cut the battery cable, that car was never the same. I had to have it completely ripped out. But man its still a sic ride. Its gonna take me like 2 years just to get to your level. Now to get my credit cards paid off haha. Im sitting at my dealef in Vegas right now getting my oil changed and ignition timing advanced to 17 degrees. And i got my first icy warning today. Its frraking cold here. But nuff bout me. Keep it going man and let us know how the cvt replacement is going. :-)
Star Trek reference: You're "boldly going where no man has gone before." You're the guy who gets to find the weak points with a boosted 7th Gen. The car will still be fun at 3 psi, but hopefully 5 psi will be ok in the end. Has any shops related to this project expressed interest in trying to produce aftermarket options to make the CVT stronger? It would be a niche market for sure, but there are enough cars these days with CVT's in them.
Yup. Was the trans. Had it replaced the past week, just picked up the car today, car drives like a brand new vehicle. Back to the drawing board on this turbo idea. Safety tune for now limiting my RPMs.
Need to get it tested for boost leaks and might try to get it running at 2-3 psi if I can, but otherwise I think the CVT boost project was and simply will be a failure. Ended up speaking with the new owner of the CVT Altima that was boosted by SpeedForceRacing - he ended up having to convert to manual cause 4-5 psi over a long term stretched the belt in the CVT from the torque.
Once Darren Surratt figures out that manual swap, that'll be an option. For now I'm just glad to have a working vehicle back.
Yup. Was the trans. Had it replaced the past week, just picked up the car today, car drives like a brand new vehicle. Back to the drawing board on this turbo idea. Safety tune for now limiting my RPMs.
Need to get it tested for boost leaks and might try to get it running at 2-3 psi if I can, but otherwise I think the CVT boost project was and simply will be a failure. Ended up speaking with the new owner of the CVT Altima that was boosted by SpeedForceRacing - he ended up having to convert to manual cause 4-5 psi over a long term stretched the belt in the CVT from the torque.
Once Darren Surratt figures out that manual swap, that'll be an option. For now I'm just glad to have a working vehicle back.
Yup. Was the trans. Had it replaced the past week, just picked up the car today, car drives like a brand new vehicle. Back to the drawing board on this turbo idea. Safety tune for now limiting my RPMs.
Need to get it tested for boost leaks and might try to get it running at 2-3 psi if I can, but otherwise I think the CVT boost project was and simply will be a failure. Ended up speaking with the new owner of the CVT Altima that was boosted by SpeedForceRacing - he ended up having to convert to manual cause 4-5 psi over a long term stretched the belt in the CVT from the torque.
Once Darren Surratt figures out that manual swap, that'll be an option. For now I'm just glad to have a working vehicle back.
You'll be waiting a long time for him to figure out the swap for you. This one you will have to do yourself, just have to be creative and resourceful. The actual swapping of the transmissions will not be a problem that has been covered i dunno how many times its the same procedure from 4th gens on up right down to the parts:
+04 SpecV HLSD 6sp: $300-400
02-05 maxima 6spd bell housing: $250
6spd shifter cables: $100
6spd shifter assembly: $100
6spd trans and frame mount: $160
6spd axles: $200
mod the axle carrier if necessary: free
The 2 things we know is the transmission is the limiting factor and the ECU is a PITA to work around because it is calibrated for the CVT. The only thing Surra could possibly do for you is get your car setup on a haltech standalone. The other possible option would be an Altima 3.5 MT ECU recoded for your key and run Uprev on it. If you can crack that ECU which with the success as of lately with cracking these nissan ECUs should not be very difficult put creativity is the key. After than the 7th gen almost instantly becomes very mod-able. After 4K in just electronics and transmission parts but still lol.
Good Luck
Last edited by Crusher103; 01-10-2015 at 08:53 PM.
Outstanding! Glad to hear she's back in action. Now I may actually get the opportunity to see and hear that thing in person for once. Please resist the urge to boost it until I can get a look at it! LOL
You'll be waiting a long time for him to figure out the swap for you. This one you will have to do yourself, just have to be creative and resourceful. The actual swapping of the transmissions will not be a problem that has been covered i dunno how many times its the same procedure from 4th gens on up right down to the parts:
+04 SpecV HLSD 6sp: $300-400
02-05 maxima 6spd bell housing: $250
6spd shifter cables: $100
6spd shifter assembly: $100
6spd trans and frame mount: $160
6spd axles: $200
mod the axle carrier if necessary: free
The 2 things we know is the transmission is the limiting factor and the ECU is a PITA to work around because it is calibrated for the CVT. The only thing Surra could possibly do for you is get your car setup on a haltech standalone. The other possible option would be an Altima 3.5 MT ECU recoded for your key and run Uprev on it. If you can crack that ECU which with the success as of lately with cracking these nissan ECUs should not be very difficult put creativity is the key. After than the 7th gen almost instantly becomes very mod-able. After 4K in just electronics and transmission parts but still lol.
Good Luck
thanks, already been talking to him about it for quite a while now and I know he still has to get a 7th gen first. im in no rush. and im definitely not pioneering anything anymore, im gonna let someone else absorb the R&D in terms of $$$ and heartache. someone else's turn to do something for the Max community.
thanks, already been talking to him about it for quite a while now and I know he still has to get a 7th gen first. im in no rush. and im definitely not pioneering anything anymore, im gonna let someone else absorb the R&D in terms of $$$ and heartache. someone else's turn to do something for the Max community.
Outstanding! Glad to hear she's back in action. Now I may actually get the opportunity to see and hear that thing in person for once. Please resist the urge to boost it until I can get a look at it! LOL
hahah seriously, every single time you've come by the car has been MIA
Yup. Was the trans. Had it replaced the past week, just picked up the car today, car drives like a brand new vehicle. Back to the drawing board on this turbo idea. Safety tune for now limiting my RPMs.
Need to get it tested for boost leaks and might try to get it running at 2-3 psi if I can, but otherwise I think the CVT boost project was and simply will be a failure. Ended up speaking with the new owner of the CVT Altima that was boosted by SpeedForceRacing - he ended up having to convert to manual cause 4-5 psi over a long term stretched the belt in the CVT from the torque.
Once Darren Surratt figures out that manual swap, that'll be an option. For now I'm just glad to have a working vehicle back.
They claim the new cvt is "performance oriented" not sure what that means as far as internal components. It's supposed to support a wider ratio and has performance features in the programming, but not sure if it might be strong enough for boost. Might be something worth checking out instead of going manual since it's probably easier.
great car, and what ever happens remember even other cars with big power have problems, Blaze your trail, have fun be safe! there are people who say it can not be done then get showed up by the people who did it!
Look for a 02-03 open diff 6spd. swap the HLSD from an 02-06 SpecV transmission and install the the open diffs Final drive onto the HLSD and pop the whole thing in your car.
The only thing is the electronics how to get the maxima ECU to not lock up the motor. In the toyota world they lock the trans in park but the car will still work normally with the manual transmission. But those are 90s ECUs and todays ECU are a lot more sophisticated, maybe if you can install switch from park to neutral(I'd use the E-brake as the switch). Because it will not be weird to the car to see it moving in neutral but park could be an issue.
OR alternatively use the altima's 6spd ECU and run uprev on it, that is if it will work with maxima components. only one way to find that out, first look at the pinouts make sure they match up then.....plug it up and pray.
only over boosted a little. but I've been boosting it while driving, nothing crazy didn't go over 50-60% throttle and 5 PSI was still pretty fun to drive. starting to slip though.
I'm guessing not really a "upgrade". More a way of life.
pretty much. I wouldn't waste your money with a turbo unless you swap the transmission out to something else first. there's a reason there are no long term working turbocharged CVT VQ35 powered cars. the Juke works because its a lower horsepower engine.
So Darren convinced me to put a 6 speed in it, and he's finishing the build up soon. Turbo CVT Max project = failure. Turbo 6MT Max now. Just need to get used to driving stick again, ha
Yeah should have done the 6 speed swap first. With the first CVT we wanted to see how strong it really was, and when it broke, I wasn't sure if it was cause the first shop fked up or the trans was weak so I got another one. Second one lasted 18 months going easy on it, and then ultimately broke again. Really a blower, but I guess someone had to figure this **** out. Ultimately going to end up with a much more fun car to drive than I ever planned on, so we're making lemonade outta lemons over here.
6 speed swap complete. Turbo kit completely rebuilt/overhauled/upgraded. Tuning done, just getting finishing touches wrapped up. Dyno vids incoming, we put down around 410 to the wheels with 9 PSI. Custom interior almost finished as well.
11-10-2014, 02:57 PM
