It could come from a lot of places, but I would guess most of it is in the tune/intake/exhaust.

 

i want to know this as well. I'm tired of people comparing and saying that altima 3.5 and maximas are just as fast and will whoop me at the track. It's so annoying. Usually i dont' say anything back since i really don't know the difference is besides fwd and rwd and that it has diff intake manifolds.

 

The Z has an infinitely better chassis, however the power differences are fairly insignificant especially when you consider how much a Z weighs. I have seen quite a few Max's & Alti's run Z's. It comes down to drivers most of the time. On a track a properly setup Z should never lose, in a straight line it could be a toss up though. I've certainly beat Z's before while driving a Maxima.

 

very tru...it comes down to weight and experience on a strait shot.... and with a circut track its a diff story!....

 

The exhaust on a altima will hurt its performance greatly. The Y gets flatened right after they join. This puts a big restriction on the exhaust. I don't know if it would be 17 hp worth, but I'm sure it hurts.

 

Yes it does!!! I had an 02 and with I/H/E. The power was pretty close to my stock 06 G. As for swapping ECU's........ forget it. You can get yourself a Greddy Emanage Ultimate and you should be good with the rest of the normal bolt on's. Yes there is a difference in cams also, nothing huge but noticeable. Traction will be a problem for you since you have an open diff, well you used to, but some have good skills to overcome this. Like the above poster said the exhaust is crimped as causes exhaust flow to be too slow. I'd do this first if I were modding it again. Hope it helps you............ you 4 door Who^e!!

 

I would assume by your name that you drive a 07' Altima. While it is labeled a VQ35DE it is actually quite different than the DE's that previous generation Altima's and Maxima's run. ECU swapping will not work because it was changed for 07' and outside of that there is no difference besides minor programing. The differences in HP come from intake, exhaust, and changes to the ECU program. As I have no experience with the new ECU's or top ends of the new series of motors I will speak of the 04-06 range of VQ's. If you look at an 06 MREV Z, 06 Maxima, 06 Altima the differences are few. Internally the motors are identical. Obviously since the Z is RWD the intake manifold is different, same goes for the exhaust. This is where most of your power is coming from. The FWD exhaust manifolds are extremely restrictive and are a huge boost in power if swapped for headers. As stated the ECU programming is also more aggressive but you can slap a piggyback on and tune it to the same degree as you would a Z. Hope this is the information your looking for!

 

well... being that my comment was so obvious and redundant for you; i guess the lack of common sense lies on you. you see, if its obviously a vq35de, then the differences are in fact, only.. the weight, programming, and slight restrictions that are cheap to swap out, ie: exhaust and intake.

Here's a better question. why buy a sedan and attempt to bring it to a sports setting. you'll spend twice the money you would have spent by simply purchasing a sports car of some sort. if its 4 door that you like, then get a neon srt4, if budget is an issue, buy an evo of some sort, or a sti. i know you said for your own chits an gigles.. but umm.. it will be for your own majorly over priced exspences.

its like those who buy 4dr civics and slap a muffler and intake on it with some neon lights and want to race the first thing they see.

dont like the tone of my text? ... then dont quote an then comment on someone when they are simply tryn to help you.

not meant to disrespect...

now..putting a stock Z computer inside your car.... yes it would work, but it wont run properly. the cars weight is not set, nor are the parameters regarding fuel, air, and so on.

If i were you, and my goals were the same... i would match those upgrades of the maxima, being that the weight similarities are somewhat close. inquire on what maximas do for upgrades... you'll find better answers there!