Another departure from the AC family... (and a small review)

All things Altima Coupe.
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RicerX
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Oh wait... from the 2008 AC family, that is. :biggrin:

I traded for a 2010 last friday! Here are a couple Blackberry pics:

Both cars (my old 08 and new 10) at the dealer's delivery bay:

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In my new garage:

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I did end up getting promotional financing and after it was said and done, I'm saving $30 a month on the new one combined after switching up insurance to bundle in with my homeowner's.

Here's my own little review on the true differences that I've noticed going from my 2008 3.5SE w/ Premium Pkg to the 2010 3.5SR w/ Premium (Bose, Bluetooth, Backup Camera) + Leather (HIDs, Heated Seats, Red Leather variant):

1) Backup Camera Win. I can back into parking spots like a damn pro. Didn't think I'd care for this feature as much, but man it sure is nice.

2) The leather's stitching is white. SO CLASSY LOOKING, imho. Even more awesome on the steering wheel with the new white gauge rings that replaced the orange rings. Gives the car a very nice flow. All the new vented holes in the leather make for a much sportier look as well. Much higher end looking leather seats than my 08.

3) The doors automatically lock once you hit 15mph. They also automatically unlock once you turn off the car. Very nice feature. My 08 didn't do this (though from what I understand this is a programmable feature in the 09s?)

4) 18" wheels are, in my opinion, the perfect size wheel for this car for a daily driver. They're much better looking than the 17s on my 08. The Michelin Pilot HXMX tires are much better than Bridgestone Turanza (pretty sure they were S rated. For SUCKASS) tires that were equipped on the 08, especially in the rain. 19s are a good size if you get an aftermarket wheel with a lip, but the 18s just look so much better to me. I probably won't replace them (but am looking into getting a custom finish inline with the anodized gunmetal finish found on the 40th anniversary 370Z).

5) The color matched rear splitter thing at the bottom of the rear fascia is very classy looking on black. Not so much on white. I still might prefer the matte gray finish on it if I had gotten any other color.

6) The HIDs on the 2010 aren't as blueish as they were on my 2008, but when you mix in the MUCH BETTER headlights with projectors on my 2010, it's easily overlooked.

7) Premium Fuel is NO LONGER REQUIRED on the 2010 3.5! I made 31.5 MPG with my new coupe driving bw 75-80mph (never used cruise, mind you) from Knoxville TN to HSV, AL on 87 Octane gas. This is going to save me tons of money, as I never used anything besides Shell V-Power fuel for all 33,000 miles of my 2008. I'll still mix in 93 octane every other tank, but now I'm not guilted into doing it for every tank.

8) The 2010 CVT is what the 2008s needed. I no longer have a hankering for a manual transmission (which makes it a lot easier to find an AC with the stuff you want in it if you're willing to give up the stick). The car now has three transmission settings - Drive (economy, same as regular drive in 08-09 AC CVTs), Drive (sport), and Manual mode. Drive sport is FUN. The same thing that the Maxima offers... keeps the RPMs up if you're driving spiritedly, which is especially awesome for powering out of corners. the Ds mode is so much more responsive to throttle input, and it removes the lag of power delivery that you feel in the prior CVTs when you're in non-manual mode. If you punch it from a dig, Ds offers a wider gap between shifts and kicks pretty hard between "gears", giving you a feeling of shifting a manumatic a la GTR (though not quite that awesome).

9) IPOD interface win. When you plug it into the USB port found inside the center console, even your iPod screen goes white and says NISSAN on it. I thought that was a cool little hack. Only problem is you can't change your iPod EQ settings from the Bose interface (this is tested with my 3rd gen Nano), so if you want to change your EQ to better suit the output to the stereo, you need to unplug it, change it, then hook it back up. I also recommend changing your peak volume output in the settings as well, because if you don't, you might get a bit of clipping as the interface automatically puts the iPod at max volume output. Only little peeve I have is that if you use Bluetooth to talk, it does not pause the music on your iPod while you're in a call.

10) The new Bluetooth synced all 176 of my Blackberry Tour's contacts directly to the unit upon initial pairing. On top of that, recording yourself saying the name of the phone numbers is no longer necessary (I had to record the phone numbers and name of contacts individually in my 2008, bc for some reason I could not sync my contacts any of the times I tried). The car automatically knows how to pronounce the names of all your contacts. This in turn makes the process of dialing someone by voice a bit more cumbersome, as I can't chain commands like I did on my 2008. (I.E., 2008: Button, <menu> "Dial Buddy", <confirm prompt>, "Yes", dials. On the 2010 it's: button, <menu> "dial" <prompt> "buddy", <confirm prompt>, "yes", dials) It just seems a bit more tedius, but it's still a very nice feature. Also - big improvement with the BT - VOLUME MEMORY. On my 08, I always had to turn up the volume to 25 every time I used BT, but the new unit leaves your BT volume where it was previously set.

Overall, I absolutely love the new car. The spoiler also helps complete the look of the car when combined with the new front end and bigger wheels. There's very little, if anything, I will do for cosmetics. I transferred my Tanabe exhaust over already, and am waiting for a good weekend to do the Y-Pipe and Intake (after I get a fresh filter from AEM).

Sorry for the long winded post, but wanted to share a bit of detail on the jump from a 2008 to a 2010! I'll post more pics throughout the thread a bit later! :mike


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toxik
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nice review and good looking car!

i just can't believe the gas thing. from what i understand common rule of thumb is if it is a v6, 89+ is a must. I'd be worried about engine performance on a v6 with 87 octane.

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RicerX
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Thanks man! You've got a pretty slick new ride yourself. You should add it to your sig somehow.

I've since refilled with 89; I'm totally with ya on that rule of thumb. The dealership I bought from put a full tank of Chevron 87 in while I was closing the sale (before I had the opportunity to specify).

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toxik
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XenonSE-R wrote:Thanks man! You've got a pretty slick new ride yourself. You should add it to your sig somehow.

I've since refilled with 89; I'm totally with ya on that rule of thumb. The dealership I bought from put a full tank of Chevron 87 in while I was closing the sale (before I had the opportunity to specify).
hehe ironically enough, when I was at the dealership picking up my Z, it was being washed next to a brand new 2010 black 3.5SR coupe (someone was getting it delivered after me). I thought to myself, you know not for nothing the new AC is pretty good looking car.. especially all new and shiny

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dangeris
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Very Nice and I'm sure you'll love all the amenities it comes with. Now you need to mod your new 3.5 and by chance I have a set of eibach springs for a 3.5 :naughty: PM me if you're interested! :yesnod

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SHIFT_COUPE
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Welcome to the 2010 club! Glad you traded up! All the new amenities certainly do make the car much better! After owning a 2008, the 2010 refresh is nice.

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RicerX
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Yezzir Tyler! Thanks much!

D - unfortunately, I am going the route of BCR coils... (that unfortunately is for the sale of your eibachs and the thinning out of my wallet. lol). But if something changes in the near future, I'll definitely let you know, sir!

Toxik - Nissan is on the ball for this model year. They really are. The 2010 AC in black, I feel, could totally be rebadged as an Infiniti of some type. I think the lines are just that classy. VERY similar to the swooping body lines of the G coupe and sedan.

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SHIFT_COUPE
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BTW, post some pics of the red leather! I think there is only one other thread around here that has them on a black car but they aren't very good.

Its interesting. Our past three cars have been the same, aside from the colors. I had a 2004 Spec-V in sapphire blue prior to the first Altima Coupe.

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08coupedriver
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First let me say, congrats on the new 2010
I like the informative post you put about the 2010 especially about the 3 drive settings thats pretty awesome
The black and red leather is a must! i have always liked the red leather
And if you are thinking about selling Y-pipe I would be your first customer =D
If not im pretty sure the y-pipe will add to the better performance of the car
btw the car looks pretty nice

DAAN.
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if you got the HID, take a pic of the projection

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PHENOMenalVinyl
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wow we should save this thread its very imformative, very well put too. This makes me want this car lol who knows maybe wen i swich cars ill get it lol

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PHENOMenalVinyl
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wow we should save this thread its very imformative, very well put too. This makes me want this car lol who knows maybe wen i swich cars ill get it lol

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mcheddadi
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more pics of the spoiler please XenonSE-R

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Infinite-T
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Smexy as hell. It does seem like Nissan really listened to what A/C owners had to say about the first batch and did it up right. The grill, the headlights, the CVT, and a few extra tweeks here and there, my best bud is goin to be getting a 2010 A/C soon. /Covet! :boink:

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Kanard
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how u go about trading a 08 for a 2010!? cuz im likin the new alti's lol pm me!! lol

Wyatt/pa
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Good buy, congrats. I the second car I bought in my life was last summer, a 2008 AC 2.5, and I started wanting a 3.5 in the fall so after failed attempts to find a 08-09 3.5 6 speed, I bought a 2010 and I love this car. I have the same package as you do except for the red leather and CVT. The 2010's are very nice. Have fun

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RicerX
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Yo guys.

I'll take a couple more BB pictures during lunch break and post em up. I have to use my BB for now as my camera is dead, but I'll do a better photo shoot after I clean her up this weekend.

I should have something up by 12 noon CDT. Werd! :mike

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RicerX
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Alright a couple more things I wanted to note that I realized when I started shopping for this thing.

For anyone shopping for a 2010 and you currently own an 08 or 09 - the packages have split. I'm sure many of you know this, but something I have an issue with is that the "Leather Package" is a bit misleading in its title.

With the "Leather Package", you actually get the following:
- of course, leather seats.
- HID headlights (no, this is NOT standard on the base SR trim as it was with the SE base trim in the 08-09s (standard features with the base SE coupes included sunroof and HIDs, to my recollection). while you automatically get projectors with an SR, you do NOT get HIDs unless you get the leather package).
- Homelink mirror (this used to be a part of the Premium package, but it has since been migrated.)

This is all on Nissan's website of course, but it's in the fine print with the package info and nobody really reads into the "leather" package because it's easy to assume you just get leather seats and the aluminum/wood trim (whichever is applicable).

Now for the goods. (Apologies for the crap Blackberry camera pics, but it's the best I can do for now.)

Spoiler pics:
Image
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A front quarter shot to get a feel of it:
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Interior shots:

iPod interface.
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Red Leather Seats:
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Steering Wheel Stitching Detail:
Image

Door Panel:
Image

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SHIFT_COUPE
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Red leather goodness! How do you like the Tanabe?

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RicerX
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Dude I have to say... I can't imagine really wanting another exhaust. It gives off the G35 sound pretty nicely. It's the perfect exhaust for a daily driver, because you can't really hear it at all during cruising speeds on the highway, but when you get on it, it's got a great presence.

Jonnyess09
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Subtle changes from the prior model for sure...all improvements.

Nissan seems to be 'paying attention', as the 2010 lost the silly chrome mustache, added a more aggressive yet tasteful (non-whale-tail) wing, which looks a lot like my 2008 aftermarket mod from Spoiler Solutions. Stock 18" wheels are perfect for the flow of the AC as well...

IMO the grille could have been tweaked a bit more.

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RicerX
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Yeah I like the grill, but I'm definitely keeping an eye out for the 2010 Cmod grille, which is supposed to be out here fairly soon from what I've read. I'm interested to see how it'll look.

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White_SR
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Hey congrats on the 2010, looks great! The stock exhaust was nice but I wanted something a bit more aggressive which is why I went with the Nismo setup. As for the color matched rear diffuser I definitely prefer it being color matched instead of that matte grey color that was on the previous years. Helps give a better flowing look the the rear of the car imo. As for the CVT hell yeah I love mine too and I'm glad I went with it over the 6mt too. I'm not diggin the spoiler too much but damn the black cars look so sexy lol. Ok now......what's your first mod gonna be? :biggrin:

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RicerX
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Well I already have the Tanabe from my 08 on there (it's in the picture). I need to reinstall my y-pipe and my AEM intake from my 08 as well.

So the obvious answer to your question is BC Coils. haha

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White_SR
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I'm jealous! lol

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Infinite-T
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XenonSE-R wrote: Image
That is pure smexyness! SO much better than the cheap looking leather in the 08 (I have it)

+5 HP for the red bull! :woot:

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mcheddadi
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true dat! I've said it from the start that the 2010 was awesome. if I didn't care for rwd I might have bought another 2010 model!

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IBCoupe
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Infinite-T wrote:
XenonSE-R wrote: Image
That is pure smexyness! SO much better than the cheap looking leather in the 08 (I have it)

+5 HP for the red bull! :woot:
This.

I can has?

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LongBeachCoupe
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Great review!
Enjoy it!

I couldnt do the red leather though...

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Desire1314
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Has anyone confirmed whether the 10' headlights will fit 08's and 09's? Sorry for thread jacking.


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