New member here with an important question

[bn.anderson117]

Hey guys,
Im new here and have a few questions about my 08 a/c 3.5. I recently got exhaust work done and it sounds best when driving manual mode so I've been driving like that ever since. I usually shift around 3500-4000 rpms depending on traffic/speed limit. 1. Is it bad for the car to always drive in manual mode? 2. Is it bad for the engine to be cruising at 3500-4000 rpms for a long time? I usually cruise on the highway in 5th gear around 3500-4000 rpms for a whIle(because my exhaust sounds best and is a little quieter around these rpms). I just need some advice on how to keep my car in good shape as long as possible. Thanks a lot guys

[RicerX]

My best advice to you is this - if you keep the exhaust setup, find a way to get your oil temperature and keep an eye on it to make sure it's not too high. Continual driving with the oil being too hot will cause incremental damage over a long period of time. However, I don't really think that particular RPM range is terrible for the motor as long as you don't run your oil too long (which is really bad for any type of driving). Stay on top of your oil changes.

You will likely experience more wear and tear (and I'm talking seeing 200k miles instead of 250k miles for example - not exact, but just for perspective) just for driving the car around that range constantly when it's designed for much less.

I say get a quality exhaust setup that doesn't drive you nuts at cruising speed and beat up less on your engine and transmission. I take it you went fully custom?

[bn.anderson117]

Thank you for the advice ricerx. and yea I did a fully custom cat back. I dont know too much about exhaust systems so I probably should've waited on customizing it but my taxes were burning a hole in my pocket and I went for it like a tard.

[RicerX]

Typically what you'll find with a custom setup versus off the shelf aftermarket setups (higher quality ones like from Stillen, Greddy, or Tanabe) is that the off the shelf stuff is tuned to help with the drone during cruising speeds, yet letting the car really open up on wide-open-throttle (WOT). You typically run the risk of having the excessive drone and stuff happen with exhausts built in a muffler shop.

I completely understand tax refund money burning a hole in your pocket - I have spent a lot of tax money on car parts in my day

There is an exhaust thread around here somewhere that will show you some examples of what's out there for the Altima - I will try and track it down.

[bn.anderson117]

Thanks a lot, I really appreciate all the help!