anyone attempt a 5 speed auto in a 4th gen? maybe from a newer maxima or altima?

 

no

auto swap = not worth it
MT > AT
/end thread

 

4Spd Auto eats up power to the ground bad enough as it is. Sitckin a auto tranny with 5 gears? oh god! 5spd manual or diaf!

 

With the amount of work that would take I *think* you'd end up wishing to God you had done a manual swap. Please, by all means prove us all wrong though. I'm not being sarcastic.

 

your sig is ricerific.

 

5AT = same 1-3 (1/4 mile) gearing (2-3% diff) as 5MT.

MPH @ at 6500 redline

-------5A---5M
1st ----44---40
2nd ----67---70
3rd ----103--102
4th----152---137
5th ---201---164


RPM @ 75 mph cruising


5A--------2420
5M--------2961


http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=231171
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?threadid=192726
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=402818

 

I fail to see why all of you are downplaying that 5 speed auto.

 

I was thinking the same thing. It wouldn't be much slower in the 1/4 mile mod for mod, if it was any slower at all IMO. Comparable gear ratios + quicker shifts might give a 5-speed MT a run for it's money. Reduce drivetrain loss by getting rid of some slippage and you have a faster 1/4 mile car mod for mod.

 

It will give the 6spd manual a run for it's money.

If I ever get the chance to do a VQ35 swap in a B13 or NX2000 I will most likely use that 5spd auto.

 

How do you reach 102 in 3rd for a 5M? I can only get around 95.

 

Wireing would be a mess

 

By the time this year is over there will be a couple of N/A 4 speed auto's that will make you guys wish you had one.

 

But most people aren't going to go to the extent you are Jim with their daily driver/street cars (you know what I'm talking about).

I don't disagree that the 5AT may pose a good threat to a MT car at the dragstrip however for a daily driver/street-driven car I don't think I'd ever go auto. I just like driving a manual a whole lot better. But that's just me of course.

 

It's theoretical.

 

There are a few guys on here that are already lighter than mine is going to be and remember I have that heavy ol auto to deal with.

Funny how diehard we get on trannies. My first new car was a 1970 Challenger with a 340 that I ordered from the factory, guess what it was an auto and I fried a lot of 4 speeds with it too. Besides I like being the underdog especially at the import races but also fun going up against the new mustangs and cameros as well, the look on their faces is priceless.

 

I'm not aware of anyone who's lighter than 2500 unless you're talking about guys who stripped a spare Max just for track use. (My point was about the majority of daily drivers with autos not going that far). But I'd love to know who you're thinking of...


Yeah, it's funny. My first car was a gutless auto and the second was a gutless manual. lol. But everything since has been manual. I don't know, I just prefer it more as far as the driving experience goes...

However, I would agree that for drag racing, a manual is not necessarily better if the auto is geared properly... look at a lot of the high power muscle cars for instance (but I know you're well aware of this).

 

The majority of daily drivers with auto's don't reduce weight at all. I haven't hit 2500 yet, thats my goal but not sure I can do it and still have full interior which is what I'm trying to do. Its funny how people react when they see even the rear seat removed (its gutted) so I want to at least have the appearance of a full interior.

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....ight+reduction

Fanaticrockford is at 2450 and still has a list as long as my arm to do. Guess I need some lessons. Maybe he has a magic scale.

What I am really trying to do it hit 11 sec's N/A and then I'm gonna spray it.

 

Ok well I guess I don't really consider him a real daily driver per se... borderline, even though he has the interior still. When you first mentioned it the only guys I could think of that were that light were him and Plurco (who was definitely a track-only car IIRC).

But the reason I didn't think of Fanatic as a typical daily driver is b/c he's removed the following items:

-all emissions
-all heating and a/c
-ebrake
-rear bumper support

Once you do those things (and leave them removed always) to me it's not really much of a street car anymore. In many areas for example 3 of those 4 things are illegal and will not pass a safety or emissions test not to mention if you get pulled over without an e-brake the car could potentially get impounded on the spot. (Don't get pulled over with your Lexan either BTW.. lol) And if someone plans on driving in the cold months without heat (albeit he may not be doing that, who knows)... well I personally wouldn't go that far with a daily driver. Plus from what he himself said it doesn't sound like a real daily driver, just a spare car to play around with...

It's one of those iffy things...he's past 2500 and *maybe* a daily driver, but borderline at best IMO.

Anyways, I don't mean to split hairs Jim. If you get to 2500 that will be awesome but looking at his list and knowing some of the things you've mentioned I suspect you might just get a little bit further (unless they actually were magic scales.. lol). Running 11's N/A would be awesome; hopefully I'm there to see it! That will be my goal also once I have a VQ35. But for now (this coming season) I'm after some VQ30 benchmarks as you know. hehe.

 

I think I can get to around 2600 lbs while being a full daily driver (radio, heater, sunroof, ABS). I've got a manual but the power sunroof and ABS makes up for the weight difference.

It's actually really easy to get the car to 2700 IMO. It was 2850 this year but it goes down another 150 for 2006. Example (my car):

Stock = 3000 lbs flat
VQ35= -35 lbs
All A/C components = -35 lbs
Headers/Cat/Catback (all aftermarket) = -35 lbs
Emptied bumper/fog lights/power steering/miscelanenous engine bay crap = 20 lbs
Floor mats = -10 lbs
Spare/Jack/Trunk = - 40 lbs
Two front racing seats = - 65 lbs
Lightweight battery = -30 lbs
Two lightweight wheels for the slicks = -20 lbs
Coilovers = -40 lbs (mainly for handling and traction but the weight reduction is a nice side effect)

See? Goes down from 3000 to 2670 or so and you've got a car that is 100% a daily driver, gets great gas mileage, has full interior, looks stock, handles much better and the stock brakes do their jobs that much better.

Even there I haven't even gotten into gutting rear doors and putting the door panels back on (nobody ever uses them anyway), CF hood/trunk, lighter rear wheels. And even then we're talking about a car that still has full electric sunroof and ABS.

Dropping 330 lbs from my car is theorically making it roughly .45 seconds faster. That is almost a full HALF-SECOND entirely from weight reduction that is barely noticeable to the eye. The 100 lbs = .1 rule is much too conservative. For sub 3000 lbs cars, it takes more like only 75 lbs to shave a tenth.

When I was at Sanair last summer I realized that Jime's auto 5.5 gen weighted the same as my manual 95. And it looked stock. So, if someone can get a max to 2500 and still look stock, it's Jime.

 

is the change to 5sp manual a hard thing to do? or can i just get one at local junk yard and it matches perfect?

 

Check the stickys at the top of this forum as well as the 4th gen FAQ's.

 

i was thinking about a valve body job on my auto - does this make a diff in how hard the tras shifts?

 

Yes. .

 

Well I've never driven a manual car in my life and this 5AT sounds pretty promising. Now if I were to swap 4AT with a 5AT and did the DR mod would it make much of a difference. Also I'm pretty sure doing a VB mod on the 5AT would make it almost as good if not better than a 5MT correct?

 

It wont put down as much power.

 

Unless you are putting down some serious power, ie 3.5 swap, headers etc etc or some form of boost it isn't going to help at all.

Even then the difference between the 4AT and 5AT will be minimal. This is not something you would do to gain some serious changes in et it would be something you would do after you have exhausted most of the other avenues of going quicker.

 

Gotcha. I am thinking of doing a 3.5 swap to my car sometime and keeping it auto. So I may consider this option when I am ready for a new tranny. I am one of the few auto supporters.

 

I wonder why...


Drive a manual, then make your decision.

 

You are not alone.

We are "the few, the proud, the automatic" , or "we win automatically"....

Plus now an automatic gives us the "Edge" - torque converter, that is...



13.61 ET 101.9 MPH

 

so what does the valve body job do for 1st to 2nd shifting? my shifts are slow and was wondering if this will help speed them up a bit kinda like a shift kit would do?

 

Yes it will.

 

so ive heard u need a trans cooler if u plan on using the valve body mod. my question is what cooler do we use? or is the cooler that comes with the car efficient enough?

 

I don't have one. You don't need one.

But if you want cheap insurance, try Hayden, B&M among other brands.

 

[QUOTE=NmexMAX]I don't have one. You don't need one.
QUOTE]

im pretty sure the maximas come standard with a trans cooler.

 

And your point?

 

[QUOTE=wadecarlson]
yea its built into the radiator...i put a trans cooler on my auto when i had it....just for auto-x purposes

 

i think an external auto tranny cooler is very cheap insurance (kinda like an in-case-ish-gets-too-hot)

but the biggest issues i see (That Nobody Has Pointed Out Yet) with putting in the 5AT is:
1. TCM (transmission control module--the auto computer)... are you going to use stock 98 ecu? which TCM will you be using 98? 2002? does it have output for 5 gear signals or for only 4??

2. tranny mount.. will the 4AT mount fit and support the 5AT? and similarly will the 5AT mount fit in 4th gen mount location?

3. bolt pattern... how are the 4at and 5at bolt patterns different?

4. flywheel and torque converter.. i think this might be the biggest issue, the differences between the 3.5L 5AT flywheel and the 3.0L 4AT flywheel. the torque converter will have to go with whichever flywheel is used. As somebody mentioned before EDGE makes them

i think the easiest way to put a 5AT into a 4th gen will be to use a 3.5L engine and the 5AT tranny controlled by the 3.5L ECU (also the wiring harness plus sensors, NVIS, 2002-3 ingnition key etc.)
essentially just drop in the whole package and be able to use the VTC via 2002-3 ECU as a bonus.