Cruise the forums quite a bit but rarely post. Tried doing a search but nothing turned up. Try not to make this long.

There has been a silver Nissan Altima I have ran into twice now on the interstate and he always wanting to play. So we play and it pretty much is a stale mate or he actually pulls on me if we gun it with me in 4th.

Finally went to autotrader.com to see what the specs are and wasnt overly impressed. 3423lbs Curbweight verus my 3241lbs; 270hp to stock 260hp; 258ft-lbs versus stock 302ft-lbs. 3.5L V6 versus a 4.6L V8. Stock wise it should be an even match I guess. I know V6 have gotten alot better in the years but still.

But obviously I have tunes. Not sure if sig still working but I have pretty much all the standard upgrade bolt ons: H-pip, Magna flow exhaust, pullies, thermostat, flywheel, chip tune, high performance transmission, differential and oil fluids, throttle body and plenum, CAI and 3:73 gears. Last time I dynoed before some of the mods I was at 260rwhp(summer I believe). Since then I did the Flywheel and the fluid swap. So maybe a solid 265-270rwhp.

From just cosmetic appearance he has no exhaust but could have other stuff done like tune and CAI. But I would think with the 200lbs of extra weight and the 50ft-lbs of torque difference I would have a slight advantage but we are pretty much even. If anything, the altima has a little more depending on what gear I start in. Do these cars tune well with a chip or just in general? Not complaining cause it is a fun little race and gives me something to do because "ricers" for lack of better terms never want to play.

 

Tourqe gets you of the line, HP gets you home. He is getting you because it is from a roll at highway speeds.

You'll get him from a dig though

 

Also consider the Altima revs higher. So it has more of a power band.

 

two things i didnt really think about or consider. Thanks for the tips. Maybe one day i may run into him at a light and see if he is interested. Again, fun couple races and very close.

Let this be a note that at least the 2007 Altimas have some spunk to them. All these newer cars are starting to show my 2002 Mustangs age...

 

but 270 bhp vs. 270 whp?
doesn't make sense.

ask the dude what he did to his nissan.

 

Has been a while since I dynoed but even on a humid summer day at operating tempatures. I should be putting at least 255rwhp.

"If" the Nissan has no mods and even for benifit of the doubt it is a manual, it would, I assume, put 235rwhp, give or take 5rwhp. My stock dyno i put down 232rwhp. Again, lots of unknown factors and both times we played, it was on the interstate. Havnt talked to him...yet

Also, dont know to much about, but the Altima is FWD. Not sure if that helps getting more power to the tires then a RWD car.

 

Nissans V-6 is nothing to dismiss lightly. In '97 a Nissan Maxima was the reason for me dumping a '97 GT Convertable for a '97 Cobra. That thing almost fed me my breakfast lunch and dinner. We all know the '97 SOHC was probably the weakest iteration of the SOHC but still, I couldn't believe how close it was. I traded that car in shortly thereafter once I decided I wasn't going to try to get that car to run. My GT had less than 6,000 miles on it. It was a new car.

 

I really don't think the car's stock. A number of recent road tests (like this one http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...ima/specs.html) put the 1/4 mile in the 15+ second range. That's a lot of ground to make up if he's running even or better with you. I know you're going at it from a roll, but I still think you can beat a stock Altima. Find out what's he's done to it.

 

Oh Yeah almost forgot, gun it in 3rd not 4th gear next time.

Do some practice runs and you'll see what I'm talking about.

 

get a teminator cobra or an 05+ GT and see if he will still play

 

I agree. 3rd is where i would like to launch from but we never actually slow down and setup. I usually cruise on the interstate at 80mph which, with 3:73 gears for me, is where i shift from 3rd to 4th. If i dropped to 3rd at 80mph, I would be at 5500 to 6000rpms.

Now the first time we played we went at it twice. First time at 80mph or so and it definitely looked though he had the edge. Finally we slowed down and I got to punch it at about 70mph in 3rd and gave me a little bit more of an edge. But still a pretty much even race.

If i could get him on a road and punch it in 2nd at about 35mph, i would think I would hurt him....2nd gear is fun! 3rd gear is my preferred choice on the interstate but usually not going 65-70mph for that gear.

Next time I see him, if, I will try to get him down to about 65mph if on the interstate. Funny, cause when I saw he wanted to race I was kinda thinking "ok, sure Altima...wth" and he was probably thinking "hmm, GT, minor bolt-ons like exhaust and tune, I got this" and neither one of us pulls on the other. I love it.

My fiancee's brothers wife has an '06 or '07 Maxima. Little heavier then the Altima I think but would like to race in a similar scenario to see what happens. Automatic though.

 

The Nissan VQ engine is a pretty solidly engineered powerplant all through the powerband. My fiancee has an 06 Auto V6 altima, and I've gotten in a few runs against her stock vs. stock. When I was learning stick, we were pretty much neck and neck when launching from a stop.

 

the altima SE-R has a v6 and a 6 speed trans FWD it beats the 350z stock they run like mid 14's or so. so don't feel bad. you could have lost to a rusted shadow.

 

I've driven a couple of the R's. They are pretty darn quick cars. On the highway that higher rpm VQ wouldn't be all that easy to beat. The torque steer makes em quite clumsy and annoying at times in 1st/2nd though. Even the standard 3.5 Altima is quick too. Not bad cars for the $$(after they overhauled the interiors in 05).

I was playing with one with a great driver with my old 00(all hopped up on Steeda crack) on a country road. He knew the road much better then me and I could barely keep up with him. We both kinda mutually slowed down as it was getting hairy(120+ in a 40) and talked for a few minutes. My passenger who was all 'go for it' was getting a bit green anyway, don't think he was ready for some real backroads running. Pretty capeable car, great driver in that one. Me and the other driver were giving props and were more or less '**** we were gettin a little nuts there'

 

Its all good. Always good to have a good race every once in a while. Again, cant get to many of the Fast and the Fury cars to play. I am ok with new sports cars like the Vett, Cobras, Chrysler's, Chargers, GTO's, the newer Mustang GT's and what not being faster....but it hurts when Sedan Family cars i.e. Altima are now giving me a run.

lol, when i was young and riding in our family car, the car barely probably had 250hp and that wasnt until my parents leased an Oldsmobile Aurora. But that car weighed 4000lbs before passengers.

Not gonna trade in for a newer car either. Fiancee wouldnt allow it and no car payment on mine currently. Saves us $400 a month

D@mn new cars!

 

Why buy new, when you can buy "newer". lol Get an 03/04 Cobra and call it a day!

 

i think the mustang GT weights more than a 3.5 se altima.

 

Before I bought the pony a couple years back I test drove the last Gen Altima. I had always liked the car and felt it was probably the best performing 4 door on the market. The VQ engine is really awesome and with a 5 speed its even better.

Anyway, that car was VERY fast, both off the line and the street start. I test drove a new 07 last week with no leash thanks to a car dealer friend and I will say this much: I think either gen Altima stock is VERY close to a stock 2000-2004 GT. 2005 and up it doesn't have a prayer, but that last gen 4.6 really really got outpaced in the last 4 or 5 years of its run (yes, even as a 6 cylinder).

That being said, there is no replacement for displacement and I think a GT would easily take the Altima off the line because of that. And keep in mind the 6 at full out stomped down acceleration sounds like its straining; the V-8 could care less.

 

I am betting that there are no mods on his car at all. engines are only the start of speed. the power has to be transfered to the ground. The V6 altimas come with standard close ratio 6 speeds, or the more probable in this senario the optional CVT. the nissan CVT is awesome. It will keep the RPMs at nearly redline from the moment you floor it and keep it there until you let off. so while your mustang was winding up in 4th, the nissan was wound and firing. this seems like a case of old fashion muscle being pushed aside by technology. I wouldn't want a CVT in the mustang tho. It just doesn't feel right when you car doesn't ever shift. Good luck and watch out for that guy.