RB in Maxima?

[dandaman0139]

Has anyone ever seen a RB26DETT or RB25DETT in a 4th gen maxima?

[Maxima Girl]

I don't see how they can since that motor is for a RWD.... I may be mistaken but seems unreasonable. Plus the motor sits way different. I cannot image fabricating motor mounts and fitting the RB in the maximas engine bay. I am not even sure how it would work with the chasiss. Am I mistaken? I have heard of 300Z swaps but those are RW too?

[Beancooker]

With enough time and money, anything is possible. That is just not worth it. Since a Maxima was not designed as a RWD car, you would risk twisting the sub frame to s**t if you were to RWD it. If you fabbed it to be a FWD, that would be quite an accomplishment. For the price you would spend, you could buy the Skyline in it's entirety, and still have some $$$ left over.

[A.Tech]

^ Exactly. It just would not make a lot of sense even if it were possible. The power of that engine plus with additional mods needed just would not be worth it on the A32 FF platform. Mainly price wise. The subframe would twist too much as bean mentioned and it would need to be framed up with frame supports...

Although it woud be pretty cool to just pull up to any car in a Maxima. And just look like you have 200HP 15 sec car and end up having a 400+HP 11-13 sec car.

[VQMatt]

No one has ever seen it because it has never been done, nor will it ever be done. If you are even contemplating a motor swap, the vq is lighter by hundreds of lbs bcuz the vq is aluminum...and it bolts right in. but at the end of the day, it is still going to be a fwd family sedan that cant handle compared to many other worthy options. It just wasnt born to be a sports car. you need a better platform if you are going to mod...g35 sedan, q45, well apparently infiniti has a lot of options to chose from. nissan, doesnt.

[A.Tech]

^ Your pretty wrong there. Eventhough you own one, you quite under estimate a Maxima. It is more of a Sports Sedan. And this is something that pro reviewers including Nissan say. Not what other people think because it is directed towards the family area. In a way it was meant to be a powerful sports sedan that families bought because there was nothing good at the time in terms of power.

[VQMatt]

im going to have to disagree, yes it is not slow by any means, but characteristically speaking its got a ways to go to become a sports car. Which by the way the suspension was designed will NEVER happen. Yes you can make it BETTER, decent at best. But so much money would have to go into making if perform that you start to think..why didnt I just start with a better platform? Im not bashing the max, I love it. But after spending waay to many hours and a ton of money its still not a sports car and I have chosen to accept that. Im not saying you have to. There are much better platforms one can chose to start with if they want a sports car. You can make it quick and look good, and it still can carry 4 other people comfortably. I dont underestimate the max it has good potential and responds to engine bolt ons really well, especially when compared to other cars. When modded I would call it a sports sedan..in its stock state I would not.

back on topic to what I was origionally saying, y in the world would someone spend close to 10 grand or more to get the max set up for rwd, support the frame, try to balance it out, swap the rb26 and make everything work reliably and efficiently when you can start out with something, that in its stock state is not a family sedan, and spend around half that. The rb26 is way expensive by itself anyway.

[Beancooker]

Okay, you are correct about the RB swap being a waste of money.

IMHO, I think you are way off on not considering the Maxima a sports sedan. Not comparable with a Porsche or a Corvette, (which are sports cars, not sedans) but will give any other (currently in production) Chevy, Ford, Toyota or Honda sedan a run for it's money when suspension is concerned. I could take you for a ride (or let you drive) my Maxima and you would see that with the proper suspension set up, that the car handles really well. Granted, I have dumped about $1k into the suspension, but it was well worth the money.

And you say

Yes you can make it BETTER, decent at best.

Mine is way better than decent.

[VQMatt]

ok it can be a "sporty sedan" if you must.. Yes compared to the latter you can get the max to handle nicely. decent was a relative term, it all has to do with what you are comparing it with. With the money yes you can make it a well handling car compared to its stock suspension

[TheKon]

My impala's body roll isn't horrible but the maxima doesn't even compare...I've test driven one or two and they stick to the road pretty well..I'd be excited to see what a full suspension in that car feels like. There is much more power potential in a VQ35DE motor for the money. If you drop $15,000 into an upgraded VQ35DE motor versus $15000 for a stock RB26....the VQ35 will totally outperform the JDM. The other thing is the fact that the car is FWD. You're always going to be limited with a FWD car. Yes you'll smoke any honda that pulls up to ya but you'll need a wheelie bar and racing slicks to impress anyone at a track. I've actually changed my mind with my build to go for an 02 altima (more room) but the car is going to be more for show...yes it will have some engine work done simply because when you look at a "show" car and see a stock motor under the hood...you're very dissapointed..(probobly just invest in a turbo or supercharger)....if you really want an RB26 in your car look into investing into a 240sx and dropping one in there. I've heard of adapter plates that you can use for a VG30DETT transmission. Since the RWD RB26 trannys are extremely rare/expensive. But I have heard of a few Maximas out there that give supra's a good run for their money...so save your pennys and do some research, and do what you think will make you happy. Because at the end of the day...you're going to do what you think is right.

[Beancooker]

There is much more power potential in a VQ35DE motor for the money. If you drop $15,000 into an upgraded VQ35DE motor versus $15000 for a stock RB26....the VQ35 will totally outperform the JDM.

You can get a stock RB26 for way less than $15k. Just as well, if you invest $15k into the RB26 it has the potential to push 800+ HP. I don't care what you do to a VQ35DEK, but you will not be pushing 800+ HP from it.

But I have heard of a few Maximas out there that give supra's a good run for their money.

That is not entirely true. If the supra is turbocharged, it will eat the Maxima for lunch. If the Maxima is turbo and the Supra is too, the Supra still has a better chance. If they're both N/A, the supra doesn't own the Maxima, but has a better chance.

You have to remember weight to HP ratio and the fact that a supra is a sports car, and a Max is a sport sedan. The Maxima weighs in at 3,200 lbs, which is a heavy car.

Trust me, I love my Maxima, and the VQ35 is a decent platform, but the RB26DETT is one of the best engines built. That is not said because I think "JDM is tyte" but because it is a fact.

[MinisterofDOOM]

With enough time and money, ANYTHING can be made to be a beast.Why do you think there are sub-9-second EG civics in the world?By the same token, no car is great at everything.But the Maxima is at least GOOD at everything. That's what I love about the car. It's fun to drive, offers a decent amount of handling prowess and power at the wheels, and looks great while doing it. On top of that, it's a car you can comfortably drive everyday and offers a good amount of amenities. It's also exceptionally reliable. If you build it into a monster, some of these traits will have to be sacrificed. It's the balance. For $200,000+ you might be able to get amazing quantities of all those things. Not for $30k.

[TheKon]

No what I was saying is if you have $15,000 and installed a stock RB26 or used that $15,000 to modify a VQ35 motor a modified VQ35 motor is more powerful than a stock RB26...sorry it's sometimes difficult for me to get my point across without making it confusing.