Performance tips for '95 Q45.

[jflorence]

Thanks for all the great info on this forum!

About a year ago I purchased a 1995 Q45. It was abused as a child and needed some serious TLC, but it only had 113k miles on it. I picked it up for $2,000, cleaned it up, replaced a few minor things and put some 2003 G35 wheels on it. Now that I have put over 20,000 miles on it I am ready to experiment a little.

I have done a bunch of reading and searching for information on this forum, but am still in need of some tips.

Can any of you recommend any performance upgrades that I can get for this Q? I have seen posts about getting an ECU and TCU from another year, but am not sure what specifically I am looking for to increase performance. Would you recommend a particular aftermarket ECU or TCU (or both) to get a nice increase in power?

I am not particularly pleased with how the transmission behaves at slow speeds. When I roll on the throttle I get very little response until I am wide open throttle (or just about), then it goes like snot. Is there something I can change that will get either more poop at low RPMs or make the transmission shift down sooner?

Also, I am unable to spin the tires unless it is wet out. It seems to have very little power on the bottom end. (until 3,000 RPM or so) Not to be juvenile here, but it seems like this bitchin motor should be able to “boil them hydes” all day long. Just doesn’t seem right.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Sincerely,

Jaime Florence

[qsiguy]

Welcome! Well, there is a huge amount of information available. Everyone is gonna tell you to use the SEARCH button and that is a good idea. For starters here is a link to some great info on performance upgrades. "Elwesso" or Wes Stinson has put together q45.org and compiled lots of info there. Check this out.

http://www.q45.org/performance.html

[CrimsonQ]

Yep what he said:)

Get an ECU, best bang for the $$$

And post some pics!

[maxnix]

If you do a little more reading, I bet you will determine your KS are fried and your underplenum hoses are due.

Get your dealer performed maintenance history, any other maintenance records, and read all of Q45tech's posts. And follow the links.

Then you will understand that the key to performance is impeccable maintenance. Robert's reprogramming is only good if your engine and powertrain are as OEM new condition.

The TCU issue, like the chain guide issue, does not apply to 1994+, as you wil discover in your readings.

[elwesso]

Remember who the car was made for...

We dont want granny rollin around at 30MPH and then pressing the gas halfway and downshifting to 1st... Its made to be as smooth as possible..

In other words, theres no way to cure that... however, with my car i find that generally whatever the TCU decides is the best gear is probably the gear id chose anyway.. Besides, if you dont like it, the gods of nissan gave us the lovely gated shifter... I use it daily, and if your not, your not taking full potential..

TO add to others comments, BEFORE you start messing around with modifying these things you gotta make sure everything else is 100%, otherwise its efforts in futility. You dont wanna start modifying things and have to do stupid tasks like fuel pumps, KS, etc..

Brian is probably right, the KS are likely fried and your needing to do a plenum job.

Also, most Qs will not be abel to spin the tires downlow... at least with stockish trim. Besides, spinning the tires has nothing to do with actual low end power.. I can slap 2 spare tires on the rear and light em up all day ...

[maxnix]

Also, most Qs will not be abel to spin the tires downlow... at least with stockish trim. Besides, spinning the tires has nothing to do with actual low end power.. I can slap 2 spare tires on the rear and light em up all day ...

Really, if that is your criteria for performance, get a nose heavy american car with a solid rear axle, like a mustang.

To get that in a G50, with the correct sticky tires, you will be down a few thousand dollars for modifications that won't crater the engine prematurely.

It's forté is the highway pass from 50 mph - 90 mph.

[Q45tech]

50-98 mph with the modded ecu and personal guts.

2 cars lengths can be significant when a semi is facing you running 75 mph.

[jflorence]

Thanks for the tips guys. I am planning to get a plenum job done, in order to replace the KS and any hoses that are hard or showing signs of age. While I am in there is it time to replace injectors?...I don't have tons of $$$ but while I'm in there anyway I would like to do anything that may need to be done. Any comments would be greatly apreciated.

Per your request, I snapped a picture....although it's not as good looking as most of your cars.

Thanks again,

Jaime

[elwesso]

Man your Q looks REALLY REALLY clean... The G35 wheels are a nice touch as well...

I replied to your email.

[jflorence]

Thanks for the props!...well that is the "good" side, so I cheated a little. The other side has a big ol' dinger in the quater panel and crease in the top of wheel well. Total shame because it would be huge to fix. So that's the side I can use if I have to feed someone a wheel.

[goody90q45]

Nice looking Q and great choice of rims.

Going under the plenum is expensive having to replace brittle hoses, two knock sensors and the KS and FI harnesses at a minimum. A good bit of logic I got from this board is if you can't afford to replace injectors while the plenum is off, then ohm them all (10-14 ohms) and put the 3 worst in the locations (#1, #2, #8) that you can easily get to later without having to remove the plenum. Works great unless you've got more than 3 bum injectors.

I'll be doing the same as you soon and should be able to spread the cost out by following this strategy. Good luck.

[metzgerq45]

Mike:

Just got my '94 Q (76k miles!) from an old lady. It runs good at full throttle, but stumbles sometimes at steady speeds below 50 mph. Any ideas what's wrong?

[goody90q45]

Welcome ot NICO. It's a great club that contains all the information you'll need to keep your Q in perfect running condition.

You're stumbling could be any number of things. This and throttle response are two popular topics. Try cleaning the throttle body, cleaning the MAF, ohming the injectors and knock sensors, replacing the fuel filter, a fuel rail flush, and removing, examining and putting in new spark plugs. Wes and Jesda have a good list of these and other easy items you can do on their web site- Q45.org. You should also search until your eyes hurt in the NICO archives. There's many days of happy reading here.

As a last resort, find out where Wes lives in Indiana and camp outside his front door. School's almost out so he should have tons of free time (LOL). Seriously, if you do some searching the answers to your issues will be there. Post some pics. Good luck.
Modified by goody94q45 at 6:20 AM 5/17/2006

[elwesso]

Haha Mike you already got him hunting me down... I posted in his other thread.. (BTW schools been out for 2 weeks)

[jflorence]

I followed the instructions from Q45.org on cleaning the MAF on my Q45, with one exception...I used CRC Mass Airflow Sensor cleaner that I stumbled accross at the parts store. There was a little bit of clag stuck to the screen at the bottom of the MAF unit, which came off with some spraying. Also I put in a new air filter and bingo my hesitation problem was solved completely. It runs like a champ now!

[maxnix]

Alrighty then!

Keep reading and you will discover many more DIY enhancements!