Thinking of a 3.5 coupe and have a few questions.

[RSobkowz]

First post on a non-Honda forum so don't run me out of here, LOL. I am borderline in love with the new Altima. Own a 99 Accord coupe and thinking of a new vehicle. Stuck between the Accord and Altima. Not in love with the price of the new Accord. For roughly the same price I can get the V6 in the Altima which is pretty much selling it for me at this point. Have some questions though:

1) If I opt for the V6 and get it in the automatic...am I missing out on a lot? I've never driven a manual but will learn if I'm going to be missing out on performance/fun.

2) I noticed everyone running 8 and 9 inch wide rims...is that the norm? Would a 19x7.5 even be feasible on these cars? Love the C5 rims from RH and I'm not sure if they're available above a 7.5 width.

3) How in the heck do you pull the stock CD player out? I'm a car audio junkie and would want to get my Denon deck into the thing as quickly as possible and that looks like it may be a chore.

4) What type of gains do you guys with the Stillen exhausts, and others, think you got? The car sounded alright with the stock exhaust but if there's some decent HP to be gained I'd swap the exhaust out upon purchase. I don't really feel like spending 600 for the sound alone however.

That's all that's on my mind for now and I thank you guys for the help in advance. I've been trying to find the information through the posts but hadn't managed to yet so I figured I would ask.
Modified by RSobkowz at 7:17 PM 3/29/2008

[bluedragonxtl]

1_ The cvt and with the manual mode is very enjoyable to drive- althought people like the 6speed but i came from a manual car to the cvt and it doesn't bores me at all. Very smooth when you want to (D) when agressive driving is needed, manual mode will do you fine.

3_ This radio is easiest to take out so far. I can now take mine out under 3 minute. There is a thread somewhere around here that will show you how to take it out.

Test drove an 08 accord- Nice steering feels ****ty transmission

Own an 08 altima- nice steering feels CVT baby.

[Kanard]

think that thru before u go get it now.. lol I have a thread with the same issue sort of..*which one to choose* i actually like the accord and altimas TEST DRIVE.. but the interior looking i did during my ride were diff for each whip

[RSobkowz]

I like both cars. Appearance wise I like them both, a lot. The downsides for me are the overall size of the Accord and the front end being kind of bland on the Altima. In my opinion anyway. I didn't get to drive either enough to form an opinion on the cabins. Based solely on styling I would be happier with either car. What's selling it for me right now is the fact I can have 270HP in the Altima V6 for about the same price as only 170HP in the Accord. Now HP isn't the most important thing in the world but every now and then its fun to actually DRIVE a car and not ride in it, if that makes any sense.

[packerjd04]

Quick note - the base accord coupe has 190hp.

[FGFCacoupe]

Definately get the 6 spd homie. I have the automatic, and although I like it, I would recommend the 6 spd.

[Kanard]

it really is about what u think about each car, like personal choice. The altima is just as fun as the accord. .. and the brakes on the one i tested.. wow. bout threw the salesman out the window.. lol they were really firm. The accords were too, but not as hard at the altima. I favor the looks of the AC over the Cord. But does Altima offer XM ? or is that in teh tech pack.. im still in the same boat as u man.lol

[AltiCoupeDriver]

If you do decide to go for the A/C don't go to Wright Nissan.

[quick_shift]

If you do decide to go for the A/C don't go to Wright Nissan.

i went and looked at the Coupe there

Hey RSobkowz, I also live in Butler, order my A/C from Kenny Ross

[rcboy514]

I really love my 3.5 coupe. My last car was a stick and although it was fun after a while you just wanna relax while you drive and not worry about shifting. I have the CVT and imo is great, just cruising with cvt I can get 18-19 mpg but when I really wanna drive the manual mode works excellent! and as for the cord vs coupe, I just think the cord coupe looks like the sedan with 2 less doors while the altima is a specific coupe design. $.02

[AltiCoupeDriver]

I think I've seen your car around the waterfront (homestead) area.... maybe. Anyway Wright Nissan came off very unprofessional to me, and they didn't even know anything about what they were selling!

[quick_shift]

Sadly it wasn't mine, I just ordered mine.

I ordered a Dark Slate 3.5SE 6MT, no packages, and they said 10-12 weeks probably.
Modified by quick_shift at 11:53 AM 3/30/2008

[themalu]

yea the wait sucks...Feb 11 ordered my 2.5 S Dark Slate fully loaded....and ive heard nothing so far from the dealership on an exact date...im betting it will go the full 3 months

[RSobkowz]

i went and looked at the Coupe there

Hey RSobkowz, I also live in Butler, order my A/C from Kenny Ross

I was at Kenny Ross yesterday and they had zero coupes on the lot. The white one inside but it was after hours. Just wanted to oogle it a bit more to see what I thought. Not sure where they all went though. There was 3 or 4 out there last week and none now.

[quick_shift]

I was at Kenny Ross yesterday and they had zero coupes on the lot. The white one inside but it was after hours. Just wanted to oogle it a bit more to see what I thought. Not sure where they all went though. There was 3 or 4 out there last week and none now.

I was there on Sat ordering mine and thought there wasnt any either bc they werent over with all the cars to the right of the building. They actually moved them to the other side, between them and Honday North. There were 3 outside, 1 SE & 2 Ss.

I order the Manual and this will be my first one. I got about 3 lessons from my brother and thats all it took. It still going to take some practice and time getting the feel of the car but it's worth it.

[AltiCoupeDriver]

You should use the 'search dealer inventory' feature on nissanusa.com. Just make sure you do your homework before you go to the dealer. At least aren't marked up as insanely high as last year.

[Kanard]

what homework? lol and how do ya "haggle" a price down? lol i seen a 3.5 again and liked, but 25,---- is not wast i wanted *it was used*

[RSobkowz]

I was there on Sat ordering mine and thought there wasnt any either bc they werent over with all the cars to the right of the building. They actually moved them to the other side, between them and Honday North. There were 3 outside, 1 SE & 2 Ss.

I order the Manual and this will be my first one. I got about 3 lessons from my brother and thats all it took. It still going to take some practice and time getting the feel of the car but it's worth it.

So they went and hid them from me! Dirty trick. I'll run out at check them out again in the next couple days and see what I think. I just wish a test drive was more than a lap around the block.

[quick_shift]

Tell them what I told them, that I am seriously looking at buying the car and you want to take it further than a mile before spending $25K on it.