Altima CVT to Manual Swap, The Final Results

[Ranga14]

So this is a long overdue post so I figured I'd create a thread for this and put in some general information regarding this and my long road from having an Altima CVT to an Altima Manual transmission car.

I began the process back on November 22, 2011 and the swap was officially complete as of December 22, 2012, a full 1 year and 1 month from the date of beginning the swap. It would have been a more speedy process if the first shop (The Transmission Shop) hadn't botched certain aspects of the job, namely forgetting to put in certain wiring harnesses, leading me in the wrong direction on what to do with the existing ECU, installing an incorrect flywheel and also most unfortunately cutting an incorrect hole for the master cylinder to go through which alone cost $2,200 extra to fix!

PRT Performance is the shop my car has been at since the first one failed to deliver and they are really awesome in the work they do. They fixed every lingering issue even though I provided a lot of confusion for them over time in ordering incorrect parts or telling them something I heard 2nd hand that should be done a certain way, lol. I also must give props to Jay, a Nissan Master Tech that guided me along the way as well in the process. He remoted into my laptop and used the Consult 3 diagnostic tool I purchased to help figure out certain problems at times. That was a great help too.

So without further adieu, I'll sum up the results and also post part information regarding the swap, although if you're really interested on EVERY detail of the swap then you should just go over and check out my updates thread here;
http://forums.carmod.net/index.php?/top ... ge-thread/

The Results

I was finally able to get the car on the dyno last night. The results weren't what I expected.





I ended up putting down 280whp @ 7psi of boost, a far cry from the 437whp @ 9psi that Ricky(the first cvt to mt swapper) had put down and also a hair less than the highest naturally aspirated dyno I've seen. Although PRT does utilize a Mustang Dyno so you have to add 10% to those numbers so the final tally would be 308whp.

PRT said that something is restricting me. I believe a big part of it could be my exhaust in that it is 2.5 inches and goes to 2 inches in certain areas and certain portions of it are crushed instead of correct smooth mandrel bends. The other issue is that I have a stock clutch and flywheel as opposed to the custom clutch and flywheel Ricky had made for him. That was another problem, I thought SPEC made them for our car but it turns out they didn't fit so there is no option for that right now. Maybe we should petition SPEC or another manufacturer for a kit?

The Parts

First I will say that you shouldn't do this unless you're crazy and have money to waste but here is the list, lol...

- Manual Transaxle (the mt trans)
- MT Axles (this will hurt your wallet)
- MT ECU
- MT Engine Harness
- MT Main Body Harness (contains the fuse box)
- MT Dash Harness
- MT Clutch & Flywheel
- MT Starter
- MT ABS Control Unit
- Gear Linkage & Shifter
- New Center Console
- Stop Lamp Switch, Safety Start switch, Neutral Switch
- MT Transmission "single" Mount
- Clutch Pedal & Assembly
- Master Cylinder (along with the template to drill hole for MC, this is crucial!!!!)
- MT Brake Pedal w/sensor
- MT Brake Assembly along with the Plastic Reservoir (holds brake and master cylinder fluid)
- Hydraulic Lines
- A number of misc brackets and bolts
*HLSD
*Short throw shift kit
*UpRev License & Tune

*Denotes optional items but recommended if you can find them.

I'll provide exact part numbers later so don't take this list as final.

Also, not a part here but you will need your NATS security system reflashed to work with the new ECU. Either Nissan or a mobile tech service can do this. Or you can buy the Nissan Consult 3 diagnostic tool with security card off of ebay but that runs around $1000+.

So that's my story, I'll more than likely be updating this thread with new pics and video soon.

----
Helpful links:
http://www.alldatadiy.com/alldatadiy/DI ... /165290694 (for figuring out how to program the bcm)
http://car-part.com/ (for finding used car parts)
http://www.teamviewer.com/ (for remoting into a car)

[DJ_B_Easy]

WOW. I would have given up after a few months.
So after a year and $XX,XXX.XX are you satisified? I would be a little disappointed with WHP numbers after so much time, money, and effort.

We need more people doing things like this, rather than plastidipping wheels.

[Ranga14]

I won't deny that I'm feeling a bit down today after those numbers but I'm sure I'll be able to work out whatever it is at some point but for now I'm taking a bit of a break from it and am just going to appreciate the car for what it is now.

[DJ_B_Easy]

There has to be a reasonable explanation, thats a large difference from Ricky C's.

Well best of luck figuring it out. Glad to see the work.

[RicerX]

Man. After all this time. That is hard. I would enjoy the driveability of the altima for a while.

I'm wondering if the MT car was more expensive to produce than the CVT (this being said with a full disregard of production volume for each - it is obvious that taking production volume into account for each would totally make the MT more expensive).

I hate that you got jerked around by a shop that didn't know wtf they were doing.

[Ranga14]

Yeah, here's the botched Master Cylinder hole the previous shop cut, they even cut some of the Master Cylinder itself in a failed attempt to make it fit;




The piece of firewall we cut from a junk yard altima;



The template and work being done to cut the correct hole;



The finished product;

[CoupeVQ35CVT]

280 whp @ 7 PSI

Dat gay yo. shuda bot a loded G37 lol noob.

In ada nooz, 2" NIZMO exost iz da pooty tang...


...on B15 Sentra SE-R.

[el_blacky06]

I'm almost in disbelief that you only made 280whp. I remember one of the coupe owners on a 2.5 turbo made that same amount of power back like 2 years ago

[Ranga14]

I'm almost in disbelief that you only made 280whp. I remember one of the coupe owners on a 2.5 turbo made that same amount of power back like 2 years ago

Yes, I can't remember his exact numbers but I'm pretty sure he was at a higher psi.

I might put the car on another dyno to have two sets of results to confirm.

[atikovi]

Maybe I just don't get it, but what's point? I can understand putting a manual into a car that never came with one and I've had in my mind to do that with a 2003+ Mercedes E-class or a Crown Vic, but if you have an Altima CVT why not just sell it and use the money to buy one with a stick and save yourself all this hassle and having to cobble everything together?


FS: 08 Coupe http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/SE-V6-Co ... v4exp=true

[Ranga14]

I went through that, believe me, I weighed the options at the time and it came out cheaper to go the route of a swap over attempting to fix my CVT which was failing, remove all mods from car and switch to another car after making the purchase. The math just didn't add up, not to mention the possibility of me getting a lemon so I chose to stick with my car.

[atikovi]

Did you factor in the costs of an alternate vehicle for a year and the nearly $2000 in depreciation the car experienced while you couldn't even use it, plus I assume you kept insurance on it as well which was another few hundred. Guess as long as you are happy with it, that's all that counts.

[Ranga14]

Yes and the insurance wasn't that much more for the beater I got. It also saved me a TON on gas so that expense has since been recouped in gas savings. But like I said, there's more to it than just the math. Regardless, I'm not going to debate my actual decision, this thread isn't for that, it's to list what happened and what is needed to do the swap.

[el_blacky06]

I remember QR25DE was at 7psi and the second member that went the turbo route was at 9psi. Maybe another dyno will confirm whether or not you're really making 280whp

[Innovazn]

what the f***.... those are s*** numbers!!! thats such a downer.... be a man, 15psi or no dice

[Ranga14]

what the f***.... those are s*** numbers!!! thats such a downer.... be a man, 15psi or no dice

lol, I don't feel like blowing up my engine. :P

[Innovazn]

what the f***.... those are s*** numbers!!! thats such a downer.... be a man, 15psi or no dice

lol, I don't feel like blowing up my engine. :P

lol good on the swap though dude. now get nos

[wade001]

atikovi- Sometimes it doesnt make sense to buy something new, dont remember when Ranga did his swap and turbo I dont think much was out there, there are not many 6spd 3.5 coupes out there, and their engine condition should always be put in mind when turboing. And then again, it isn't always about the money ...

Ranga- can you show the AFR's and more detail on the tune? I dont know if the exhaust is the complete blame.. And if your too lean the engine can be really damaged.

[SanoSuKe]

This is why I'm into the stance scene lol. But I still I can't believe those numbers.. you should bring this down to JDS. The V6 MT altima we have here is already outputting numbers higher than this with only few performance mods and a tune.

[wade001]

This is why I'm into the stance scene lol. But I still I can't believe those numbers.. you should bring this down to JDS. The V6 MT altima we have here is already outputting numbers higher than this with only few performance mods and a tune.

Can you believe these then?? I'm running my own tune and stock engine, and dyno 236Hp/247TQ....



How about dem apples ??

[SanoSuKe]

Can you believe these then?? I'm running my own tune and stock engine, and dyno 236Hp/247TQ....

yeah I believe ya lol. I was telling him about Zohaib's coupe. His s*** is fast dude and I think they're working on a turbo kit powered by Greddy.

[Mr. Music]

Ranga14,

Props for even attempting the swap in the first place and sticking it out when the first shop botched the work. Glad to see that the car is up and running now. Some more tuning and exhaust work will likely improve those power numbers a lot. How does it feel to drive now?

[Importroller]

congrats on the swap. Sucks that my NA dyno is higher, but i'm sure whatever is causing the problem can be figured out. FYI, be patient on the clutch and flywheel. I'm working with JWT right now on a setup for us. Plan is to have it ready by mid summer (hopefully)

[Ranga14]

congrats on the swap. Sucks that my NA dyno is higher, but i'm sure whatever is causing the problem can be figured out. FYI, be patient on the clutch and flywheel. I'm working with JWT right now on a setup for us. Plan is to have it ready by mid summer (hopefully)

Oh nice! Yeah, I've been compiling a list of MT users on here and other places throughout the web. I know of a few interested parties so maybe we can get something done there!

But yeah, the shop (PRT) says that it is my exhaust that is the restriction but I guess it's possible that it's something else. I won't have the more detailed dyno info until next week regarding that though as the shop owner is out of town.

Btw, Importroller, what's your exhaust system? Single or Dual?

[Importroller]

Mine is single, with a dual split at the rear axle. But your exhaust shouldn't be holding back almost 100hp. something else is not tuned correctly. what size plugs, injectors, and fuel pump are you running?

[Ranga14]

Stock fuel pump, stock plugs and 440c injectors that came with the turbo kit SFR sells, they are from a ford lighting they told me.

[adidas2go]

Something is wrong dude. What was your AFR? You might have a boost leak somewhere. You should have seen easily 20 more hp than that at the wheels. You exhaust might be part of the problem, but not all of it.

[Ranga14]

When on it hard and boosting it stays between 11-12 and just normal driving around 14ish so pretty normal I believe but I need to get a proper gauge instead of using my BD Tuner for it... I'm heading back up to the shop in the next day or two to hopefully fix any lingering issues.

Also, here's a video of the car on the dyno:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8bk9c86I74

[RicerX]

A BLAKE SIGHTING!

[Ranga14]

I believe I conjured him up with my dark magic.