Introducing my next car! 2008 Nissan Altima 2.5S CVT

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by 19bonestock88

Well, it turns out I was doing it wrong... In manual mode, 6th gear, at 50mph the engine turns 1600 RPM or so... Shift into drive, and it drops to right at 1500...

Interesting! I didn't think to try that in the couple of CVT's with manual shift modes that I've driven. I only confirmed that manual mode would get into the next gear sooner than default auto mode. But didn't look at cruising RPM in the top "gear".

Something to watch out for in the future.

[ECO-AKJ]

When I was driving the Versa Rental with CVT, I set cruise at 25MPH and would bump it up 1MPH every 2 seconds to maximize mileage up to 50MPH, ended up getting almost 44MPG

[19bonestock88]

That's dedication right there... I don't take that log to accelerate to 50mph... Been getting better at keeping the revs down... With the engine warm, it's not hard to keep it under 2000 RPM as I accelerate, and actually using moderate throttle... It seems that if you apply throttle just right at under 20mph, it'll shift and drop under 2k, and then you can give it a little more without it winding up...

I'll admit, my problem on that first tank was enjoying this cars way better power/weight ratio over the last one...

A quick comparison
Altima. Malibu
3076lb. 3155lb
175hp. 145hp

As a result,Mathis car is much more fun to drive than the last one... It was all too fun to punch it and feel that (seemingly) massive torque swell as the tach shoots up past 4K...

[19bonestock88]

It's started... I'm working on grille blocks, Im anxious to improve my mileage... I'd love to get a nice comfortable 600 mile tank this summer...


The upper is around 70% blocked, and the lower is about 20%, but I didn't actually block any radiator area, just the extraneous portion of the lower grille...

Ideally, I would buy some .070 HDPE sheet to make my lower block out of and make it flush with the outer contour of the bumper cover, but I'm cheap lol so I'm using black strapping tape from work(which is free and oddly enough matches the factory black plastic pretty well)

[19bonestock88]

So, I've made an intake for the Altima... Basically replaced the factory rubber TB to airbox elbow(with 2" corrugated section for flexibility) with a solid plastic section with silicone couplers on either end, and removed the "ram air" portion that feeds the airbox... Now, It's just a 3.5-4" hole sucking engine bay air lol

Drove home from Gassaway in above configuration, got around 39mpg indicated on the UG... I still need to actually mount it so I can closely monitor throttle position and stop using cruise control to hold speed...

[19bonestock88]

I haven't disappeared, I swear! I've just been busy doing other stuff lol

I've done two full round trips from home to Mt Storm and back... First thing I learned is that my grille blocking material doesn't take gravel very well; I was following a car through mountains, road covered in cinders, and by the time I was done, my grille blocking had been split in three places... So, I piled on more tape for thickness(I'll also get a pic, as I revised my lower block) and kept going... I also fabricated a piece to replace the missing front belly pan piece too, it's held on with zip ties... Believe it or not, I still haven't mounted my UG though...

[pete c]

I rented a similar car in Cali on vacation. I think it was an '09. Fun car to drive in the twisties, especially when using the simulated 6 speed mode. You would think that since it is just a matter of writing code, they would have given it a 7 or 8 speed! Left in full auto, it does the low rev drone which I find very annoying, but I suspect may give the best mpg. Recently, I drove a CVT Rogue. Nissan has done their homework. That thing did a pretty good impression of a 7 or 8 speed all by itself. What I found particularly interesting is that when you put your foot in it, it would "shift" in steps, but each time it up shifts, it seems to slowly lower the ratio, after shifting. This results in the illusion that it is accelerating quicker thn it is because the revs rise quickly. Very clever.

[ThermionicScott]

For your signature, but a [IMG] in front of the link, and a [/IMG] right afterward to turn that into a graphic.

[19bonestock88]

Thanks! I've always wondered how to do that lol... Didn't think of IMG tags

[19bonestock88]

Hey, I got a question, my car has the factory spoiler, it seems to be a large "lip" spoiler, what's the opinion on this as far as FE?