New car! ****Updated 5/11/09

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: exdeath

Originally posted by: Jeff7181
*EDIT* Oh by the way... torque steer is almost non-existent. Nissan did a wonderful job with that.

Lol you're not going to see torque steer with the 2.5.

Try the 3.5 or any car with 270+ HP to the front wheels and you'll get some torque steer.

I didn't notice any torque steer while driving the 3.5 Sedan either.

I did notice it, however, in my old Mirage with a 110 HP 1.8L I4.
My mom's 2001 Sable has noticeable torque steer.
The 2.4L Dodge Avenger has noticeable torque steer.

Nissan made an effort to reduce torque steer in the '08 model year with equal length half shafts and the engine/transaxle mounted lower in the chassis to keep the half shafts closer to parallel with the ground. Speaking as someone who owns the car, the effort is noticeable.

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: Aikouka
Finally got to look at the pics... boo hiss it's not black .

I would have gotten black if this beautiful blue wasn't available.

 

[Aikouka]

Originally posted by: Jeff7181
Nissan made an effort to reduce torque steer in the '08 model year with equal length half shafts and the engine/transaxle mounted lower in the chassis to keep the half shafts closer to parallel with the ground. Speaking as someone who owns the car, the effort is noticeable.

This started in the '07 model actually with that redesign.

I do have to actively minutely turn the wheel (almost constant back and forth) to keep myself at the certain placement in the road that I prefer though... but I'm not so sure if this because the 3.5SL is the only Altima to be drive-by-wire. I might assume that since there's no physical connection to the road, the wheel doesn't necessarily react to small movements in the wheel. I donno, just a guess if anyone else can possibly offer insight.

 

[Jeff7181]

Doesn't sound like a design flaw, sounds like a mechanical problem unless the '08 model year or the Coupe is just that much better. The steering is very tight, no slop at all.

I'm not so sure it's actually drive-by-wire, either. I know they all come with throttle-by-wire now but as far as I know the steering is just electronic power assist.

Either way, that's a different subject. Wander and torque steer aren't necessarily related.

 

[Aikouka]

Originally posted by: Jeff7181
Doesn't sound like a design flaw, sounds like a mechanical problem unless the '08 model year or the Coupe is just that much better. The steering is very tight, no slop at all.

I'm not so sure it's actually drive-by-wire, either. I know they all come with throttle-by-wire now but as far as I know the steering is just electronic power assist.

Either way, that's a different subject. Wander and torque steer aren't necessarily related.

As listed online at Nissan's website, the 3.5SL is the only model to have "Vehicle speed-sensitive electric steering." I've tried your non-standard alignment tests (i.e. flat land, let go of the wheel, see where it goes ) and it passes with no problem, but I've never had so much of a problem keeping a car where I want it except with this one.

I'm not talking about torque steer though, I'm talking about an issue with the drive-by-wire steering. Seems like it's either too sensitive or not sensitive enough. I've always driven cars with rack and pinion based steering, so I'm used to that .

 

[Jeff7181]

In that case I can imagine that the computer doesn't always predict the type of sensitivity you want accurately. Glad mine doesn't have that.

 

[Aikouka]

Originally posted by: Jeff7181
In that case I can imagine that the computer doesn't always predict the type of sensitivity you want accurately. Glad mine doesn't have that.

Hah, it makes me want to just recommend the SE with all the packages, which pretty much makes it the SL with sport suspension.

I was actually doing a bit of testing yesterday, but since I was just driving on the expressway, I couldn't do anything extravagant. My goal was to turn the wheel to dead center (or as close as you can possibly get) and ensure that every time I did this, the car wouldn't drift to the left or the right. It seems it was about a 50/50 thing where half the time when I turned it back to dead center, the car would drift still. To fix this, you very slightly turn it the opposing direction of the drift and then turn it back to dead center and the car would go straight.

One thing to keep in mind is that the car uses a resistance system to make it harder to turn the wheel at higher speeds to simulate mechanical steering characteristics... whether or not these actually screw up the system at time is unknown... I mean, my "testing" was quite rudimentary.

 

[Jeff7181]

Slight drifting is going to happen. Roads aren't perfect... and even 5 mph crosswind will make a car drift a bit. What I like about mine is that when I turn the steering wheel, it responds.

I took it in for the 1,000 mile checkup today. No problems. They didn't change the oil though. I thought they would because it's a new engine and it's still breaking in. He said I didn't need to though.

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: SearchMaster
Keep us updated. I'm interested in how it is as a daily driver, what kind of mileage you get real world, etc.

With 2000 miles on it I'm getting 29-30 mpg now. Mix of city and highway driving. I'm not exactly driving with gas savings in mind either... I can't resist the sound of the engine at 5500 RPM when I have some open road.

 

[Blackjack200]

Congrats; it looks really nice. The thing about the cruise control seems really odd, I've never seen a CC vary at all... are you sure it's not in some kind of automatic following mode (maintains distance from the car in front of you)?

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: Blackjack200
Congrats; it looks really nice. The thing about the cruise control seems really odd, I've never seen a CC vary at all... are you sure it's not in some kind of automatic following mode (maintains distance from the car in front of you)?

Yep, I'm sure. My car doesn't have that feature. Besides, I've tested it with no cars in sight too. It only happens on hilly roads... not flat ones.

 

[Blackjack200]

Maybe that's why, I've only used CC on relatively flat highways, sometimes graded, but not a lot of quick up and down stuff.

 

[imported_Shivetya]

Altima's, in both 2-door and 4-door are very nice looking cars. The CVT is an interesting transmission, had one on the Murano I owned, that makes you wonder why people use regular automatics anymore.

The coupes are very G35 like in looks. Front wheel drive however and your engine choice just make it more sensible than most people are mature enough to buy.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I like the look of that car. Congrats! :thumbsup:

Should have gotten the 5spd manual version though.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: Aikouka
Well, looking at your mileage, my 3.5L Altima gets 25-27mpg, so I guess the difference isn't too big.

I think the biggest change I had to get used to was the CVT. Not being able to coast down hills and actually having to push on the accelerator to go the speed limit down a hill feels really weird and I'd assume it will negate a decent amount of the bonus mileage you get from the CVT's constant "gear changing."

Congrats on the car.

My Maxima gets 19mpg around town and maybe 25mpg on the freeway (3.5l V6-255hp). Then again I'm in California and the gasoline blends we get here do tend to make cars a little less efficient than the gas used in other parts of the country.

Torque steer is horrible in my car too. I've heard that Nissan did a good job of getting rid of torque steer with the new Altima though. Even with the V6 engine.

I rented a Ford 500 with a CVT and hated it. I also had a Nissan Murano loaner with the CVT and though it wasn't as bad as the Ford, I still didn't care for it. It's like am extra slushy slush box.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: Jeff7181

Originally posted by: Aikouka
Finally got to look at the pics... boo hiss it's not black .

I would have gotten black if this beautiful blue wasn't available.

Black is a PITA to keep clean and looking nice. You made a good choice. I like the color. :thumbsup:

 

[Jeff7181]

I'm not sure what Aikouka was talking about having to push on the accelerator to go the speed limit downhill. The CVT adjusts it's ratios so that you don't necessarily have engine braking as soon as you let off the accelerator unless you're in manual mode, but when in full automatic mode I've found it to be no different than a regular automatic transmission with an overrunning clutch. When you step on the brakes, it adjusts the ratio again so that you DO get engine braking. It's quite intelligent in that respect.

 

[Aikouka]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
Torque steer is horrible in my car too. I've heard that Nissan did a good job of getting rid of torque steer with the new Altima though. Even with the V6 engine.

Well, that's why I'd like someone to try driving my car to see how it feels to them. I have the newer Altima that should be fixed and it still feels awkward. Maybe I push the suspension too hard cornering 90 degree turn at around 25-30mph and that's causing irregularities. I have to take it in for routine maintenance sometime soon, so maybe I'll have them take a peek at it.

Originally posted by: Jeff7181
I'm not sure what Aikouka was talking about having to push on the accelerator to go the speed limit downhill. The CVT adjusts it's ratios so that you don't necessarily have engine braking as soon as you let off the accelerator unless you're in manual mode, but when in full automatic mode I've found it to be no different than a regular automatic transmission with an overrunning clutch. When you step on the brakes, it adjusts the ratio again so that you DO get engine braking. It's quite intelligent in that respect.

Your car may just be different than mine, because it definitely happens. I can reference a road I used to go down in my Stratus where I coasted almost the entire way. I can barely coast at all when I'm in my Altima on that road and I literally have to put the car in neutral to do the same thing. Also, the torque converter locks up on the Altima at 26mph. Your 2.5 might be different, but I can feel the TC unlocking once the car hits that speed and you can tell as the car is slowing down considerably until you hit 26 mph and then the thing will finally roll easier.

 

[SithSolo1]

Originally posted by: Shivetya
The coupes are very G35 like in looks.

Haha, the car doesn't know what it wants to look like:

G35 Coupe
350z
G6 Coupe
Altima Coupe

Nice car though, good choice on the blue. :thumbsup:

 

[Jeff7181]

By the way... I'm running the tank down to empty this week and going to fill up with Premium and see if that makes any noticeable difference in mileage or performance.

 

[Aikouka]

Originally posted by: Jeff7181
By the way... I'm running the tank down to empty this week and going to fill up with Premium and see if that makes any noticeable difference in mileage or performance.

Does your gas cover also say something like, "Premium grade recommended"? I noticed it the other day while filling up (I don't read manuals ), and just shrugged it off. The car doesn't show any sluggish behavior nor does it have any audible knocking from preignition that might be cited to lower-than-ideal octane rating fuel.

 

[Jeff7181]

No, the 2.5 only has 9.5:1 (I believe your 3.5 has 11.3:1?) compression and Regular fuel is recommended, but with as much highway driving as I do I can't help wondering if it would make any difference in fuel mileage since it has with other cars I've tested it with.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: Jeff7181
No, the 2.5 only has 9.5:1 (I believe your 3.5 has 11.3:1?) compression and Regular fuel is recommended, but with as much highway driving as I do I can't help wondering if it would make any difference in fuel mileage since it has with other cars I've tested it with.

You typoed. 10.3:1.

Don't think you could keep a 11.3:1 from pinging in all states of the US.

 

[Jeff7181]

First significant problem with the car... I drove with my stereo off today and noticed a scary sounding rattling/knocking when it's cold. It's a deep, solid metal sound... almost like a bad rod bearing. Only happens below 30 mph and only at certain RPM and only when it's cold. I'm going to take it in next Tuesday for an oil change and I'll have them check that out too.

 

[Aikouka]

My passenger's side front door rattles... I need to get that looked at when I service it next... . I need to get them to look at that and the fact that my car's bluetooth likes to randomly disconnect from my phone (used to happen almost every morning, now it's quite infrequent). One day, it refused to even connect at all after disconnecting. I had my brother try connecting his phone to my car and his phone found nothing. I don't know what's going on, but it's pretty annoying when a $2000 option decides, "Oh, I don't want to work now." It worked again once I turned the car off and turned it back on.

Not surprised though, the 2007 year was the first with this new model if I remember correctly, I'm being the professional tester for Nissan... and at that rate, I should get money off my loan payments .