nismology

iTrader: (8)

Even if those numbers are fake?? LOLZ j/k

Kevlo911

iTrader: (36)

A number is a number is a number

clive

"GM's newly developed 3.5-liter V6 delivers 200 horsepower"
-from a review of the 2005 Chevy Malibu, see http://www.automotive.com/2005/43/ch...ons/index.html
- correct me if I'm wrong, but that is 10HP more than my Max. Which is why I am not exactly keen on trying my luck against Malibus. This town is infested with them.

nismology

iTrader: (8)

For someone that supposedly knows so much about cars you have ZERO concept of area under the curve, TQ/lbs, etc.

Kevlo911

iTrader: (36)

Peak HP is all that matter yOo

Frank Fontaine

I think HP does matter, and more is better, to a limit. My new car is 255/220, which is pretty wimpy and bordering on unacceptable given the price. A while back, I got completely stuck in the snow, despite having 4 snows on my RWD. At that time, I felt pretty stupid with a brand-new car, with everybody and their CR-V driving their 160 HP bad-boys like there was no tomorrow. My i-Drive, sport seats, 6 man, whatever were useless as my car could not move short of being towed. Sometimes I wonder if I shoulda opted for the AWD model, but I wanted to be a purist. And active steering or EPS was not available in the AWD model.

My point is you need to be able to deliver the power to the road. And it matters how you do that. I'd rather have a 4th gen Maxima over a 2k6 Malibu, but that's me.

RHMax

Do you also wear your Manolo spike heels in the mud?

Weimar Ben

iTrader: (5)

You can't compare output from engines back in the day to current engines. As others have said, the HP was measured differently. In addition, there was no emmissions or fuel economy standards to speak of and leaded high octane gas was available which allowed engines to have higher compression ratios and more aggressive timing.

Area under the curve is probably the best comparison between two engines. It's not that difficult to build a high-revving high output engine. The formula one engines were 3.0L until this year and got up to 950hp. Money is no object with these engines either.

Those motors aren't very streetable though. Their low end torque sucks so much **** that the pit crew has to push the car to get it moving. In addition, those motors only have to last 1 race and aren't subject to emmissions and fuel economy standards.

The Honda S2000 had 250hp out of 2.0L, but it sucks to drive in the city with it. The thing has no low end torque and feels like any other POS 4 banger until 7-8k rpm.

Engineering is all about compromises. The VQ happens to be one of the best examples of compromise between cost, durability, output, emissions, and fuel economy.

MrGone

iTrader: (30)

Why would offering a 4 cylinder Maxima be smart? To make the Altima worthless?

MrGone

iTrader: (30)

dude, you just don't get it, it's his Nismo radiator cap












I still laugh at "factory freak" Maxima's. Sure, maybe if you were dynoing stock 6th gens that were all broken in the same way, or are fresh off the truck and one somehow consistantly pulled significatly higher numbers than the rest and eliminating as many variables as possible then sure.

But considering most people here are not the original owners of their cars, and I find it hard to believe line workers at Nissan pulled random engines aside to work them over, I'll just continue laughing.

MrGone

iTrader: (30)

Up till recently (2005-2006ish) it has been pretty easy to keep up with new cars, but by the time 07-08 rolls around it's going to get closer and closer. There will also be an increase of "I got owned by a stock (insert some pickup truck here)" threads.

D-Bo

iTrader: (9)

Definitely an interesting trend. The last decade (5 years especially) has seen a marked increase in power and even the Japanese couldn't hold to their gentlemen's agreement.

Weimar Ben

iTrader: (5)

The problem is that along with that increase in power, cars became more and more obese, just like the people that drive them. Why can't cars be like sport bikes, which get lighter and more powerful all the time.

Guinader

iTrader: (1)

This thread is gay yo.....!!!

WHY OOH WHY GOD!!! did you bother us with this poor soul, by telling him that our maximas suck..Bla bla bla... it only makes us depressed...

You know what is funny, this guy is comparing a car which used to compete in "LE MAnS" ............................shouldn't that be enough to make him understand that he is trying to compare oranges and apples, it is like saying, my old Ferrari if faster then you 95 maxima..... of course it is, it is a freaking 100K car com-pared to a 20K car.... people knew how to make power of the car then just like they know how to make power now... the difference is.... environment, people didn't care about gasoline, etc

Have you never seen "Sea biscuit" -> (can't spell) horse racing movie form 2 years ago....they dude learned that if you cool down the engine with water, it would produce a ton of more power...

Engines are all figure it out, all engineers do is, try different set ups... That is all.

Frank Fontaine

Yep, a coworker got a new Escalade, and you may have guessed--that thing broke the 400 HP barrier. There are times when I do think we get what we deserve for wasting resources--we're back to $3 gal for premium at some stations. Another coworker makes his own biodiesel, pretty interesting. He gets used cooking oil from Chinese restaurants and turns it into fuel.

As far as the Maxima goes, I'm satisfied with the 190/205 setup in the 4th gen. In my new car, sure, 333 HP would be nice like the E46, but the E90 will probably have 400+, but will be priced way beyond what I can or would pay.

Frank Fontaine

If Nissan were that smart, they'd be competing with Toyota, VW, and Honda I guess (Camry, Passat, and Accord all have 4 and 6 offerings). There are people who want the larger car, but don't care about 180-200 vs. 260 HP. Besides, we're talking FWD anyway. From everything coming down the pike, the new Camry is a slam-dunk. More bad news for Maxima sales. Toyota comes out with cars like the RAV4, FJ Cruiser, Camry. Nissan comes out with what? A 350Z that can't handle and a muffler with two pipes to simulate duals?

Weimar Ben

iTrader: (5)

The only "new" engine technology that has come out recently is EFI and variable cam timing. EFI has been around since the 80's and VTEC was born in 1990 or so. Engineers have known how to make good power for a very long time. The trick has been to have an engine that is cost-effective, durable, powerful, has low emissions, and good gas mileage.

There is however some interesting new technologies coming down the pike like the possibility of a 5 stroke engine, electronic valves (solenoids), and more widespread use of direct injection.

nismology

iTrader: (8)

Aaron92se posted about his friend's stock VQ40 6-speed frontier that ran a 14.7 at the track...

pmohr

iTrader: (26)

I've seen a 6 stroke POC (http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dl...60222004/1024), but never 5. Any links for it? Quick google didn't come up with anything.

Kevlo911

iTrader: (36)

Ha yeah but now its getting hard IMO. 13 second stock IS350's AUTO's man. Thats pretty crazy. All these HP wars throughout the brands is crazy. A 26x hp RAV4????? WTF do you need that for. Nissan's next. Watch the next 350z have 320hp and the G35 do the same. Low 13 second cars stock....

RHMax

Are you for real?

Weimar Ben

iTrader: (5)

I meant 6 stroke.

MrGone

iTrader: (30)

I really think they need to pick it up with the Z's

Granted they were always more about being small and well balanced, but still.



Cars are getting a little too powerful for street use, kinda worries me when you think of some of the idiots on the road.

MrGone

iTrader: (30)

Whats so hard about if you want a 4 cylinder buy an Altima?

One of the underlying reasons why Maxima's have always been regarded as rather quick is because there no 4 cylinder Maximas, there is no guesswork. Lets face it, 3rd gens pretty much no one knows there are 2 different engines, and 5th gens people just ask "is that the one with the 6 speed? those are FAST!" (well, used to be the case anyway).

Kevlo911

iTrader: (36)

Yupp that is the problem. Too much power.
Look at the 90's, Maximas had about 190hp, as did the competition. Was that plenty of power? Yes.
Now look at 00-06, power has increased by 40-60HP. Why can't it stay a 50hp increase for all 10 years?

Weimar Ben

iTrader: (5)

Yes, but the VQ30 had much more area under the curve. A FWD V6 car doing 0-60 in the 6's and the 1/4 mile in the high 14s was unheard of in the mid 90's. Only now are other cars in its class competitive with that. In the mid 90's, the only cars (excepting exotics) doing 6's in 0-60 and 14's in the 1/4 mile were the RWD sports cars-mustang, camaro, 300zx, supra, etc.

MrGone

iTrader: (30)

I was extremely happy with the power in my old 93 SE Auto. I wasn't even modding my 92 SE 5spd because I wanted mad powah, I was just modding it because I can't leave anything alone


I say if people want powah make them work for it

Kevlo911

iTrader: (36)

Exactly, make insurance go down and MPG go up

nismology

iTrader: (8)

I second that. I guess turning an 12 second car into a 11 second car is soooooo gratifying...

Larrio

iTrader: (10)

cars have more horsepower nowadays but they also weigh a lot more.

The 04+ maximas have 260hp but weigh 3500 lbs (?)
The 4th gen has 190hp (easily more) but weighs 2900 lbs (give or take)

Fr33way™

iTrader: (23)

This thread is soooo Honda-Tech.

Tyrexx

iTrader: (23)

Stupid thread.

clive

I decided to look up the 0-60 figures for those Malibus.
According to the road test they got 7.9 seconds for 0-60.
From the same source, the 2005 Max got 7.1 seconds.

vansskaterfreek

iTrader: (14)

back to the first post...... put a triumph and a maxima next to eachother, run them hard as ****!!! , and see which motor lasts longer..... or just rev it to the redline for a bout 10 minutes and see which will let loose first..... i bet the maxima will win both

MorpheusZero

iTrader: (10)

Yeah, but I'd consider infinitely variable valve timing (and lift), in addition to BMW's "valvetronic" technology (rendering the TB moot), the whole hybrid concept and FSI "new" engine technologies... I'm sure there are a few more things recently that I'm forgetting. Also the quasiturbine hasn't been widely implemented yet, but I'm sure they'll capitalize on something...

Oh yeah, don't forget the leaf blower supercharger.

SR20DEN

iTrader: (7)

This isn't the best source of info but it was easy to find on short notice;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horsepo...oss_horsepower

http://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z900/default.aspx

I haven't found any data that shows new SAE hp ratings.



"Weight 2280 lbs | 1034.2 kg

Performance
0-60 mph 10.8 seconds."