There are more than a few threads praising it, but is there anybody here who is honestly NOT satisfied with the engine?

Does it always have enough get-up-and-go for you during daily driving? Do you have to flog it out above 4000rpm just to keep up with traffic or make a simple passing maneuver? (And if so are you sure that you don't have knock sensor or coil issues? )

Just curious. This is mainly directed at the automagic guys. I've been more than pleased with mine, but I have a 5spd which makes a big difference.

 

Im happy with the engine's performance. The engine has alot of power, but I find myself bringing it up to 4500-5000 very often, but thats just because I have a lead foot.

 

i love the vq, but hte 4speed auto.....well you know
look at thread about hte 5speed auto to replace the 4speed

 

I wasn't.
I also had an automatic at the time. However I have driven lots of 5spd maximas since then and I am still not content with the power.
Which is why I sold my max.

But I haven't driven a 3.5 maxima yet so, anyone want to let me drive their 6spd max? I can then give you my evaluation.

Ant

 

This is about 3 liter engines not 3.5 and I love my engine, plenty of power for me and I'm nowhere near done with it.

 

I'm please with how solid the engine is along with the low end torque but I'm not happy with the fact that Nissan "half did" stuff with this engine. The way I think about it is that we shouldn't have to added the VI, find a programmable ECU and add a y-pipe because we want to get 50 horses out of the existing setup.

 

i love the motor, just wished the 4th gens had a better auto tranny, that problem is fixxed now though in the newer nissans/infinitis

 

I agree, don't know why the american version maxima got screwed out of things like the mevi and such

 

i don't think they had VI in 95 for hte vq

 

I am 98% satisfied with mine and i'm an auto. I just wish the engine had more power above 85mph. VQ30 is all good except the weak top end. Well thats what the s2000 is for! when I wanna be a highway racer I'll take out the s2k !

 

I truly love my VQ especially since i have a 5spd, i just wish i had RWD or AWD as opposed to FWD and an extra 50hp and 50tq N/A would be plain SICK! I also find myself above 4k in order to get that extra umph in this hot weather.

 

I'm satisfied with the power especially after 3k rpm with OD off, the auto sucks though but it is within its' capabilities for what the intent was when Nissan designed it for.

The auto is aimed at more a luxury feel than all out sport like the 95/96 but if you torquebrake and then slam the pedal you get a nice tire screech and after 3k it just pulls and pulls

Not to mention I think my engine is better now than it was when brand new and I have over 136K with no engine problems at all. Thank God

 

I would have to agree with most of you. Personally, I love the VQ. It out does any engine in its class for all those years. It not only had the HP, but it had the TQ to back it up. Of course some engines back then in its class did have near the same HP, but their TQ was much below the HP level. And yes, the stock US VQ was jipped out of the MEVI, but for what you got, you can't ask for any more. Some things were an issue in the past (ie no high-end power, restrictive exhaust, etc) but those are not necessarily "engine/VQ" things. The actual engine is great and came out way before its time (which is why Nissan almost went bankrupt designing it in the early 90's). All in all, once some little things are/were fixed, the VQ is a very dependable, proven engine.....(ie holding up to 550 on a "stock" block)......

 

I like cheese

 

I LOVE the -K. I thought about trading for the 3.5 torque monster, but I just love to feel the pull ALL THE WAY to redline. That is my preference though. The 3.0 has lots of torque even in 5th gear, so I don't have to downshift like other cars which is extremely nice for lazy/bad shifters such as myself.

My Max has MORE then enough power stock to get me into trouble, ie 100+mph is too easy, but of course I always want more of a good thing.

 

I love the vq. It has a great ammount of low end, compared to my 96 dohc v6 taurus which has no power until 3500rpm.

 

i'm not satisfied when the auto bogs on certain rpms and downshifts at the wrong times

 

I think its just fine.

 

The 3.0VQ is silky smooth and quiet from the factory. It has nice punch from 2000rpm up when mated to a 5spd. Being that i'm obsessed with torque, I think it would be really cool to have a 5.0L VQ. For a little 3.0L back in '95 the VQ was the world's best V6 and made impressive torque, but just imagine if it had two more liters/cylinders back in '95. My guess would be 275hp/345tq.

 

Then it would have letters like "xi" in front of the model # or the letter "C" and the word "4Matic"

So many misconceptions--the latter costs about a grand more than a loaded 2k4 Maxima and has a 35.4' turning circle--hunh?? AWD and 35.4? Also about 97 hp less.

Again, Honda Pilot AWD is a FWD system. Toyota 4Runner AWD is a RWD system. Making a Maxima into AWD, short of redesigning the entire vehicle and reintroducing that product, it is STILL FWD. WRX is basically a RWD car. No wonder so many people are going to it.

Maxima is FWD always (don't go all the way back to 1982 most of us weren't even born then).

 

If I had a 5spd, then I probably would be satisfy with it. However, since I have a crappy auto, hell no! It's ok, I don't plan to mod the car anymore.

 

You know what...I have been thinking of this for a little while now.. and No im not satisfied with the power. I mean for an auto its alright, I can pull better then most crappy @ss ricers on the road but dont really care about that anymore, besides Ive had enough trouble with the law

I was gonna get a 6spd but looks like its not gonna happen, **** just didnt work out not to mention non left Btw Ice- have you driven the 6spd 3.5? all it has is pull at the top end and gobs of torque in the low-mid.
Back on subject, I was considering getting a 5spd swap but I REALLY dont have the time to do it considering its gonna tie up a rack at work for a while and I need a car to get to work I had Boost ect... all on the agenda, now ive come to a point were I might just get the 2k2 Hids and finish up the looks and system and be done with it, atleast it will still stay RELIABLE and I can keep it for a while as a daily driver and get me a SS or something and mod the hell out of that Nothing has been decided yet but I think im leaning toward just keeping mine a daily driver auto and just have the show and ehhh some go.

 

well i can't complain since the vq is pretty much better than any other engine in it's class..if i wanted something more, then i wouldn't have been able to afford it..but for the money, nothing's better than the VQ..i just wish i have a 5spd and knew how to drive one

 

i wish i had a better clutch, drives good but i had so much more pull with the act i had on my first max....

 

I am a satisfied VQ driver. Right from the beginning when it stock to now, it has impressed me day in and day out. With some modding, the VQ can beat majority of the cars above, within and below our class, i.e from Civics to Cameros. The VQ's been proven just from the people on this org alone, how well it was built and how fast we can get these "4 door sedans" to do a 1/4 mile. We have a perfect sleeper and overall great package of a car, so I have no complaints.

 

No complaints here. My previous car was a '91 Toyota Tercel though.

The Maxima has brought me much pleasure these past 3 years.

 

I'm just PO'd at the lousy drop in the torque curve in the DE-K as opposed to the DE.

 

Dude, cheese is a gift from God.

On topic: I don't mind the power on the 3.0VQ...I'm just miffed that it's attached to a car which handles like a minivan.

 

Hmmm, what dont I like? After 5300rpm the power drops way off. But, a Y-pipe has mostly taken care of that. My car is faster now at 170k miles than it has ever been. I feel like this engine is still getting properly broken in.

I know the auto sucks some of the fun, but if you know how to work with it, it can still haul you around pretty quickly

 

 

Our torque/hp curve is pretty smooth...

 

I was expecting to nut myself but didnt

 

Geez...how much do you want out of a 3.0 DOHC V6?

If you want them to wring it out like an NSX/S2000 then you'll whine about the extra cost needed to do so.

 

 

I like the engine but i HATE the Auto tranny! i would trade my 3.0 in a heartbeat for a car with the new VQ35 and 5speed auto or manual.

 

I'm happy with my Max, its been nothing but reliable and the power curve is daily driver friendly, I can drive all day merging on freeways without shifting above 3000, I can lope stop light to stop light in 4th or even 5th- I have yet needed to downshift on the freeway to pass someone...

and... with boost, it only gets better

 

agreed that compared to engines of it's class, it's darn good. However, it needs more torque in the low range. I tend to keep rpms between 2-3 and find myself downshifting to keep rpms above 4 when I need power on tap.

Also, above 4.5 is uneventful...I'm always waiting for the awesome kick I get outta other cars when playing near redline, but it's just not there in the VQ. This's great engineering, but goes against my intuition.

I'm happy with the fuel economy. Even when I'm floggin a whole tank, I stay above 20mpg. And on a good drive, I'm close to 30mpg. Anybody read the SRT4 review where they got 14mpg? That was soooo hilarious.

Well, enuf about the engine...my goal for the car is the ultimate handling v6 5sp 4dr car.

Jae

 

The engine doesn't make music like an Accord V6 or a Eclipse GT V6, that my only grip.

 

The transmission in the 2k2 is a big improvement, and after driving my parents car (2k2) I really noticed how much the 4th gens suck. Well, the gearing isnt all that impressive in the 5th gens but I'm sure the 6th gen 5spd auto fixed that. It's kinda hard to compare the VQ30DE to newer engines just because they are.. uhm, new. At the time, it was really quite good, but I've found myself wanting a lot more power. I'd say that I am satisfied because if I had the money for boost, my engine would be able to handle it no problem, and my hp problem would be solved.

 

Everything is good except the power does not keep coming to redline. That lack of good breathing due to the lack of VI offered eslewhere.