Hot off the press! Nissan lowers base altima hp rating to 175hp, I35 will also have 255 hp (not 260hp as expected to differentiate it from the 255hp Maxima).

Interesting how Nissan considers the 3.2TL-S a "non standard" version and hence still claims that 255hp gives the I35 the "highest standard hp in its class."


Here is the link:

http://www.auto.com/industry/nissan15_20010815.htm

 

I thought we already knew this...

 

Hmm, Nissan's up to something, and I don't think we'll like it.

 

Might as well wait for the 2003 models to come out...

Maximadave

 

Well for sometime now, Nissan has had cars with class leading horsepower, but not class leading acceleration. For example, the 5th gen Maxima autos have ~30hp advantage over Accord/Camry, yet are not faster. The Q45 has a 50hp advantage over the LS430 but is not appreciably faster either.

 

Someone's been sneaking "Slow Maxima Club" stickers into the factory and hiding them on the cars.

 

It's our $hitty automagic trannies. The 5-spds are real fast but the autos have always lagged. And i wouldn't consider the TL-S standard. The TL is standard and the S is an add on option, so they are right!

 

Hey, I'd like to join the Slow Maxima Club. My car is a real dog. I think all the power my engine makes is magically converted to the static electricity that shocks me when I shut the door. Hence, the rolling tesla coil!

 

I read the road test comparo of these 2 cars. The LS430 beat the Q45 to 60 despite the Q45's 40 hp advantage. But, the LS430 tops out at 130 mph, obviously because of a governor. The Q45 goes all the way to a 150 mph top speed.

This would suggest that Lexus, thinking that since the performance envelope goes only from 0 to 130 mph, the Toyota engineers could dial back the final drive ratio a smidgen to make their car accelerate faster to a lower top speed. With the Q45, the Nissan engineers had to choose the best ratios for the car's rather wide 0 to 150 mph range.

I think Lexus was right. How many owners are gonna take their car to 130, much les 150 mph? It will only be their son's who will do it

DW

 

They also get better EPA mileage by having a higher final drive ratio. Funny, all that horsepower for advertising, not for driving!

 

I don't see why a measly 5 hp is causing such an uproar. It's nearly insignificant ... it just doesn't sound as good against the competition. But Nissan scores points with me for making it known before the cars even hit the dealerships -- unlike Ford with the underpowered '99 Cobra.

 

...and Mazda with the underpowered Miata.

 

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

 

Why is that funny?

 

The standard features of the Special Edition include 1.8L I-4 142HP engine, 6-speed manual transmission with overdrive

That's why, and for 25K

 

Have you ever seen a Miata?.They're funny looking.

 

I don't really care about the 255 vs 260hp issue either. Bottomline is anyone serious about Maxima's will have it modded after the first 1000miles and will be pushing 270HP right away with some bolt ons. Also 246ft/lbs torque "stock" is amazing! With bolt ons that will be closing in on 255+ft/lbs. Those are significant numbers especially when talking about the 6spd manual. This car in manual tranny will easily run with the 430 and q45.

 

I agree....its not a big deal. This 3.5L has TONS of tunning potential from nissan. Why is it that in the pathfinder form is makes only 240hp but a very impressive 268lb-ft of torque. Nissan has already stated that its upcomming z will have 260+ hp. Meaning play with variable cam timing, throw the cam timing on BOTH intake/exhaust, tune the exhaust viola......280hp.

Nissan is gonna let these cars speak for themselves.

A auto I35/Maxima should run around 7 flat(dropping a sec off the current time) and a 6sp should hover right around 6 seconds. Thats pretty damn fast....in either trim. I have a really hard time thing anyone is going to drive an auto 3.5L(both altima or max) and say "gee....this car feels slow". Not gonna happen.

Mike S.

 

I love Nissan to death (1st car a 1989 Sentra E, watch out) but to me they are caught up in silly h.p. wars with Honda/Acura instead of selling a superior product. I think a 240 hp Altima is kinda outta control, what are they trying to prove? Then only 15 more hp for the Max. So next generation we'll have a 300 hp Maxima and then what about Infiniti???

I thought there was a "gentleman's" agreement between auto manufacters about hp but alas no more....

C'mon the killer last M3 had 240 hp????

I am for faster cars, but really it's gonna hurt the value of the more expensive cars that are no or a smidgen faster?

(maybe I'm $hitting in my pants, ha, ha,ha)

BTW this site rocks, I really enjoy the posts and threads here!

 

I happen to like my Miata...

 

There was an agreement on HP, but it is no longer. Honda and Nissan are at war, with mitsubishi right behind.

 

And it's a war we will always win. I just say a S/C S2k that put down a good 296hp and only 176ft-lbs of TQ, at the wheels, and ran a 13.8. pothetic.

 

Looks like Nissan fix the tranny problem on Q45. The new CAR AND DRIVER has a comparison among few lux sedans and Q45 did 0-60 in 6 sec flat.

 

That's a sad driver, not a sad car. Stock S2Ks with a good driver can run that fast.

 

I don't think they get quite that fast stock but i'm sure it's some of both. maybe mid 13's with a good driver.

 

Actually C&D consistently gets lower times than other mags, so I dunno if Nissan really fixed the problem, or if that mag is especially aggressive during its testing. A recent Edmunds.com test showed the Q45 taking 6.7s to 0-60. Usually C&D gets times that are on the order of ~.5s faster for 0-60 than the other mags. Just check out the comparo tests for the luxos in the latest C&D and the V8 sedans in the latest MOtortrend.

 

I think the first tests MAY have been preproduction models, such as Edmunds.com. I always thought that Road and Track had better numbers?

 

also the DOHC pathfinder is a lot slower then the SOHC MDX which have the same HP and the XE sentra is about the same as the civic with like 10 more hp

 

well that one you can chalk up to the fact that the MDX has a 5-spd auto tranny vs. the Pathfinder's 4-spd auto. I would guess that weights are about the same between them.

 

Yeah, that MDX is gonna surprise quite a few cars out there. That 5 speed auto really boosts its performance.