Introducing my next car! 2008 Nissan Altima 2.5S CVT
 

Well guys, you know that I totaled the old Malibu on a deer, and was looking at replacing it... I bought another car, and here it is! My next car is a 2008 Nissan Altima 2.5S... Its a CVT car(on its second trans), with just shy of 166k miles... Runs/drives great, and looks pretty good too, plus I'll be able to Uber in it again, once I clear up a cosmetic defect near where the front plate mount was...
http://i1140.photobucket.com/albums/...skjvwh4qn.jpeg

http://i1140.photobucket.com/albums/...sx6swfwx6.jpeg

First thing I done today in the light(after I went to town and filled the fuel tank) was check the tire pressure... Turns out I had been driving around with the tires at 22-26psi average, and the cars trip computer had climbed to almost 32mpg(I reset it upon purchase, it showed 29.4 beforehand)... I inflated to 45psi(max was listed at 51psi), and it feels like it rolls easier...Looking forward to mounting my UltraGauge so I can get back into hypermiling...

Congrats!

Take care of that CVT. Can you do uber with a manual? I think so, but not sure.

Yeah, you can uber with a manual, but the city I drive in has lots of steep hills, and there are a couple intersections in particular which involve taking off on a 15+% grade... Not impossible with a manual, but certainly not easy to do and not spin or stall(which passengers wouldn't like)... Also, most of the cars I looked at were too old to be used, hence my decision to go over budget to also keep my secondary income...

I plan to change the CVT fluid as often as other owners advise to do... Nissan doesn't say it's required to change the fluid, but other owners advise it as a 30k service... My trans doesn't whine, but occasionally has a vibration at low engine speed, and it "hiccuped" once on moderate acceleration... Not perfect by any means, but it IS a 2008... I do enjoy that it has a "manual" mode though, I can lock it into one ratio and lug the engine down to almost 1000 RPM coming out of tight turns...

Kewl. uber is outlawed here lol.

you need a taxi licence.

It seems that as they're called a ride sharing service, it comes off as basically letting my friends ride with me and sharing the fuel cost... They do carry commercial insurance on me though...

We don't have those here in finland.

Gas is very expensive, but we still hail to personal vehicles *cough*

While doing research on similar year Rogues, I found a software update for the 8-10 Rogues on the CVT about a vibration, might be good to see if it's been done if it applies to the Altima as well.

Glanced at a 2012 Altima to replace the Stratus higher than I am planning on spending but really nice car for $10,000 94,000 miles. The 09 $7100 AWD Rogue was gone, waited too long.

Potential fuel saving tip:

The handful of CVT's I've driven that have had a manual mode, I could force earlier "shifts" under light/partial throttle than the computer would otherwise do in automatic mode.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ing-21149.html

(Sounds like that's what you already discovered.)

Basically, I mostly just let the trans do its thing as I surge up to around 35-40mph, then switch to manual mode and upshift to "6th", dropping to around 1250 RPM...

I read on nissanclub about such a vibration, basically the update just forces the engine out of the RPM range in which the vibration occurs(usually below 2k RPM)... I read about an owner taking a 5-6mpg hit after getting the vibration stopped... I'm in favor of just living with the occasional vibration(at parking lots speeds and sometimes around 40mph)

The car really needs a belly pan, even the factory front piece is gone... Averaging about 32mpg according to the cars computer, which isn't bad, but it's way down compared to the Malibu...

An update of sorts...

I'm learning this car slowly, and am finding a couple of quirks that I really don't like...

When I start up a hill below 2000 RPM, no matter what gear I have selected, the trans will start to raise engine speed to gain torque... It's actually more effective(control of the trans-wise) to downshift to 5th at the bottom of the hill and climb at 2k-2250RPM(the engine ends up there anyway)... Sadly, once I crest the hill, I'll drive maybe 2-300 feet before the trans will let me have full control again, so I spend a fair amount of time just waiting for the upshift...The Malibu only had a four speed auto, and would let me lug it uphill as long as I kept a light right foot, and would immediately shift into overdrive as soon as speed/TPS criteria were met...

Due to this quirk, and my not being able to EOC, and the frigid cold, I'm only getting 30-31mpg on the computer... Still need to mount my UltraGauge so I can start really trying to be better...

"downshift to 5th"??

Oh - does this car do "fake shifts" to make it feel somewhat like a stepped gear automatic?

No, when I'm just in drive it just goes like a normal CVT, I was referring to driving in manual mode, it acts like a six speed, unless climbing a big hill, then it'll slowly wind the engine up from the "6th" ratio, to the "5th" ratio, or sometimes the "4th" ratio... Strangely, when climbing a hill in town, it stayed locked into 5th...

Now, the Lineartronic CVT in my wife's Subaru Impreza does do that fake shifting stuff... Actually hides some of the CVT character, which makes it more likable to her...

What speed do you travel up the hill?

When I drove a 2016 Versa CVT, I was able to climb hill at speed of 25MPH and set cruise, no revving to 2000 RPM but also a different car, might be worth a try.
http://ecomodder.com/forum/images/smilies/turtle.gif

The hills I'm climbing on my commute are started at 55mph, and I slowly let speed bleed off as I climb... Even so, the trans decides that 1750 RPM(or slightly decreasing based on speed) isn't enough and slowly creeps up to 2k, and then 2250... Would it behave differently if I dug into the throttle to hold speed? I dunno, hadn't tried that yet...

Have you confirmed that manual mode lets you get to a lower engine RPM sooner for a given road speed?

It does under certain circumstances... In town, it's better to keep a really light foot while in drive(car stays under 2k) and then change to manual mode once up to speed so as to avoid a downshift later on if more throttle is required...

On country roads, I can wait until around 30-35mph, change to manual, and force a shift into 6th, and drop to 1250 RPM...

The confusing thing is, under some conditions, I push the lever forward for an upshift and the car basically politely tells me to wait(it shows 6th as selected for example but stays in a ratio seeming more like 5th), and eventually will shift...

I connected my UltraGauge(but still not mounted so I can't view it real time), and averaged 35.8mpg indicated on the trip home from Gassaway, with one overtake(though it was a big one)... Temp was 26* indicated by the car... Not yet holding speed by DWL, but using the cruise control since I can't view TPS data real time

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... Also, if you keep a light enough right foot(and the engine is warm), you can accelerate from a stop all the way to 55mph, and never see 2000 RPM... Manual mode still comes in handy from time to time to keep revs low when I desire to use heavy throttle coming out of a corner, or if I drop below 40mph(likes to spin the engine up if not careful)

Two thoughts: How about synthetic auto trans fluid? And secondly, the big killer of auto trans is usually heat; so how about adding an auxiliary trans cooler? Might save you a trans.

I would definitely like to do a trans cooler, these CVT don't like the heat... Wouldn't know what other fluid to use(Nissan NS-2 is specified)

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.

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

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...

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...
http://i1140.photobucket.com/albums/...s2dnsnvid.jpeg

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)

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...

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...

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.

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

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

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?

It may help, it might hurt. Tuft testing is probably the best way to know for sure.

Okay, so I just made some great progress with the car recently...
First, I revised my grille block, now blocking off the fog light holes and blocking a cavity in the top of the upper grille for smoother flow...
http://i1140.photobucket.com/albums/...s6qowjbk2.jpeg

And I finally got my UltraGauge mounted! It's not in absolutely optimum viewing position, but at least I can view it and grab data on the fly...

http://i1140.photobucket.com/albums/...suiukl0xx.jpeg

So far, I've learned that between 7 and 9% throttle(measured at the pedal, not the throttle plate) will hold speed at 50 to 55mph, with flash readings in the low to mid forties(MPG)

I've also learned that my Intake mod has resulted in IATs at around 10* above ambient, which isn't bad for a near free mod

As soon as i started driving with the UG, the onboard MPG readout(which was zeroed out when I bought the car) immediately started climbing... That's nice to see such a drastic change, since I've put like 3500 miles on the car...

I had my Ultragauge mounted in front of the vent and if I ran the heater on high the device started overheating.

That's part of why I'm so dissatisfied with my UG mounting location, but short of drilling my dash pad, I haven't got any other options

Just bought a 2008 Nissan Altima 2.5s CVT
 

I'm new to CVT not sure if I missed it but what was the best way to accelerate in "D" for city driving. Also have you found an optimal cruising speed for highway driving. Besides highest speed at lowest rpm. Any quarks unique to this car I should prepare myself for? Lastly do you think the cars mpg gauge is accurate? I never really figured out how to fully set up my scanguge 2.

Did you figure out what the vibration was. I got a 2008 Altima and when I accelerate relatively slow I get what feels like a rotating vibration for a second or two. Never notice it if i accelerate a bit faster though.

Hey! I've been gone a while... As to your question, there is a vibration in a lot of these Altimas, when accelerating at around 1200 RPM... I've just gotten used to it

On a side note, my car is showing early symptoms of CVT failure, so...

Noooo!

What are you going to do??

Well, I've removed the grille blocking and I'm gonna sell the car while it still drives... the casual buyer won't notice an issue and may get another 10-15k before complete failure...

I'm gonna try to buy a Saturn Ion just due to having free parts available and having Ecotec engine knowledge...

It's nice to have the luxury of a bit of time to locate a good candidate.

Auto or manual?