| verse214 |
Hi, I'm a new owner of a 2007 SL Murano. I've been searching the web for performance add-ons for the Murano and I haven't been able to really find anything that I would feel safe with putting on my car knowing that it would not damage the engine. I don't know too much about car engines in general. Would anyone be able to help me out by listing general performance modules that I should look into? I've been looking for either a cold-air intake/short ram but I don't know what other parts would help with performance.
I went to autocarparts.com and entered my vehicle as a 2007 murano SL and i was wondering if the parts that are listed after i set my vehicle are the parts that would fit a 2007 murano engine. Also does anyone know why nismo doesn't make parts for the murano? or would the nismo parts for an altima fit on a murano?
Sorry to ask so many questions, being a newcomer and all. Pretty much I was wondering what some basic performance parts would be good to add onto my murano and where I could find them. Any reponse would be much appreciated. I look forward to spending time on this forum and I'm sure that you guys have a lot of knowledge to impart to me. Thanks for your time!
-alan |
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| Pickles |
Welcome Alan
Congrats on the new 07...I looked at one last week and I had to talk my hubby out of trading my 04 in. Boy, it was nice!!! Next time, I am gonna get more bells and whistles. I noticed they still don't have many cup holders.
I'm sorry I can't help you on your question but I would think a brand new one would perform pretty darn good and wouldn't need anything to help it. You can't change perfection, can you?:2:
Mostly just wanted to welcome you to our "garage" away from our garage.
:roadtrip: |
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| Tyler_Canada |
If things haven't changed much, you can use parts for any year Murano (the parts would be the same, but not yet listed as available for the 2007).
You can get a number of intakes (I have the warm air intake made by JWT, the Pop Charger). |
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| Halo |
| What are you trying to achieve? Better lap times on a circuit? A hundredth of a second off the quarter? A tenth of a mph trap? I'm being dead serious. This is a 4,000 lb crossover. A claimed gain of 2-3 PEAK hp by some aftermarket part is not going to amount to any measurable increase in performance. Noise, yes. Performance, no. |
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| sobamanismo |
I'm with Halo, I've modded the heck out of a bunch of cars but the Mo isn't one of them.
You can change out the intake, will give you a throatier growl when you step on the gas. You can change out your exhaust and it will add some of that "performance sound". That's probably truely about it. I doubt you are willing to go to the lengths it would take to turn your brand new Mo into a screamer (and if you were you probably should have looked at a different vehicle to start with). Furthermore, anything you could to that would actually make you feel HP gains would most likely not only void your warrantee but mutilate your nice creamy CVT :).
If I had to wage a guess you are really wanting to modify just to "customize" your car right? Sorry to be a downer, but if you are looking to mod your Mo I would say stick to Exhaust & Wheel/Tire upgrades. |
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| njjoe |
verse214-
Read through some of the earlier threads and you will see that virtually no one has added any serious performance mods to their MO - no turbos, no superchargers, no NOX, no cams, no performance chips, nothing. If you bought the MO with the intention of adding serious performance mods then you bought the wrong car.
The MOs weak link is the CVT. Rumor has that the 245 horsepower of the MO's VQ is at the upper limit of the CVT's operating parameters.
Could you add a blower, and NOX, and other mods to your MO? Sure, but I doubt you would have the CVT for long.
Hey, maybe I am wrong. Give it a shot and let us know. ;)
-njjoe |
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| verse214 |
Thanks for the quick responses. I figured that the cvt would be a determining factor in adding performance parts. I also noticed how very few people have performance parts on their MO's. So i'm concluding that and intake and exhaust would only add performance sound w very little hp gain? Would an intake lower the fuel economy? And it would only add 2-3 hp? Would the exhaust system add 5 hp or is it just for more sound?
once again thanks for the responses and i'll take a look at everyone else's rides to get customization ideas... Take care |
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| Eric L. |
quote:
Originally posted by verse214
Thanks for the quick responses. I figured that the cvt would be a determining factor in adding performance parts. I also noticed how very few people have performance parts on their MO's. So i'm concluding that and intake and exhaust would only add performance sound w very little hp gain? Would an intake lower the fuel economy? And it would only add 2-3 hp? Would the exhaust system add 5 hp or is it just for more sound?
once again thanks for the responses and i'll take a look at everyone else's rides to get customization ideas... Take care
I'd say most exhaust mods (that includes the intake) would be for sound only. Its almost impossible to feel a 5hp increase at 6000rpm. |
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| sobamanismo |
It COULD lower fuel economy in that our cars now have very sophisticated engine management computers monitoring fuel mixture, oxygen, etc and it could determine that you are now getting more o2 in so you need more fuel. However, once again what we are talking about here are gains and losses so slight that you really won't see or feel them to be honest.
If you like the sound of a CAI or more open exhaust, by all means go for it and enjoy it (it's your vehicle it should sound, look, act like you want it to)!
An old 140hp Civic that I had felt substantially different after adding an Intake, Header & Exhaust adding up to maybe 15-20hp (a big blue bottle of Nitros felt even better but that's a different story), but start w/ a car having close to double that and limit some of your gains w/ computer control and a power-masking CVT and you will unfortunately not feel much |
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| Halo |
One 'mod' that is so commonly overlooked but does make a difference is weight reduction. For several reasons (not fun, no bling, impairs utility) most people aren't willing to resort to weight reduction and would rather ADD stuff to the car... perfectly understandable.
But, consider that just removing the spare, jack and tools and replacing with a can of fix-a-flat and a 12V compressor, removing all unecessary crap from the luggage compartment, roof rack/cross bars and whatnot could give you as much lb/hp improvement as adding a thousand or two of bolt-ons. |
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| sxmdaniel |
| Well said Halo weight reduction is the way to go , i've looked in to all those things like crazy in the beginning , you know when you just get your baby for the first time and after days of searching it turns out that their are no modules , and the CVT would probably take a serious beating if not an early death with too much extra horsepower , I' ve decided to change my intake with a Z tube and JWT pop charger and a flowmaster exhaust , more for the sound than the HP just love that sound , Parts are still on their way so i'll let you in on my impressions when it'll all be finished |
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| mgthe3 |
Yep.
I had a 76 rally sport I dropped a 350 4 bolt main into with pink rods and a steel crank....etc etc etc (can you say 9000 rpm?) and raced anything. I was beat buy 2 cars, one a turbo carrera and the other a 67 chevelle. At 140 (usually my bye bye sweet spot) he left me like I was putting on the brakes. I had to follow the chevelle to see what made it so wicked. He pulled into a service station so I could take a peek.
I looked inside.
Only a driver's seat, made out of aluminum.
No back seat, no passenger seat. The doors were gutted and the glass was replaced with plexiglass. The hood and trunk lid were thin fiberglass. Even the bumpers were plastic painted like chrome.
Of course, it did have a nice big fat rat 454 with all the goodies. I had raced rats before though and kicked their ass. GTX? No problem.
440 cuda, no problem. Vettes and transams were a joke.
It was his lightened chevelle that won. I dare say it was the super light weight of the carrera that did me in as well. |
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| sxmdaniel |
Agreed , when i raced I had a 1984 Peugeot 104 zs , completely gutted only drivers seat , tachometer , water temp gage , oil pressure light , no dash or door panels and plexiglass all aroud etc , etc ...
Those days are over now i want looks , comfort , but i still don't mind a little growl coming from the Engine room :21: |
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| verse214 |
thanks for all of your recommendations...
I've been doing research here at the forum and also on the web (and let me remind you again that I am not an engineer nor a mechanic)..
So everyone agrees that the CVT wouldn't be able to handle noticable performance boosts and anyone who thinks that it could is too scared to try it on their own murano (and I don't blame them)..
I was reading about the GT-C that they have right now and, correct me if I am wrong, but it seems that it has the same CVT as our MO's right? I see that the GT-C has all of the cooling applications that we might not have but doesn't this mean that the CVT would NOT fail if one were to apply performance parts that would not bring about hp and torque gains like a turbo?
I'm apologize if some of these questions would take alot more than just a reply post to explain. Every since I have bought this MO i have been craving to learn alot more about car engines and how they run so I understand if my questions require hours of learning on my part.
I'm gonna do some more studying on this forum but is there a simple and quick explanation as to why certain performance applications such as an intake or exhaust do not boost an MO as much as they would another car?
Everyone's time and effort into enlightening me is greatly appreciated...
-alan |
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| Eric L. |
quote:
Originally posted by verse214
thanks for all of your recommendations...
I've been doing research here at the forum and also on the web (and let me remind you again that I am not an engineer nor a mechanic)..
So everyone agrees that the CVT wouldn't be able to handle noticable performance boosts and anyone who thinks that it could is too scared to try it on their own murano (and I don't blame them)..
I was reading about the GT-C that they have right now and, correct me if I am wrong, but it seems that it has the same CVT as our MO's right? I see that the GT-C has all of the cooling applications that we might not have but doesn't this mean that the CVT would NOT fail if one were to apply performance parts that would not bring about hp and torque gains like a turbo?
I'm apologize if some of these questions would take alot more than just a reply post to explain. Every since I have bought this MO i have been craving to learn alot more about car engines and how they run so I understand if my questions require hours of learning on my part.
I'm gonna do some more studying on this forum but is there a simple and quick explanation as to why certain performance applications such as an intake or exhaust do not boost an MO as much as they would another car?
Everyone's time and effort into enlightening me is greatly appreciated...
-alan
The explaination is simple, actually.
The GT-C has carefully tuned torque characteristics - notice max torque is 265 lb/ft while horsepower is way up there at 340hp. Websites claim this horsepower peak is at 6000rpm, but thats impossible due to the math of how hp is calculated - its probably closer to 6700rpm, conveniently also the VQ's redline.
Since the CVT cannot "feel" horsepower, and torque is the only measurable output from an engine, the GT-C was limited to 265 lb/ft, presumably as a design limitation of the CVT. |
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| njjoe |
verse214-
The 340 horsepower, twin-turbo, intercooled AWD Murano GT-C is a one-off concept car. It does not have to be reliable, nor low maintenance, nor be able to rack up 100,000 miles. It just needs to look good on paper and at the auto shows.
Can the MO's CVT handle 340 horsepower? I am sure it can... in the hands of a Nissan test driver who is aware of the limitations of this purpose-built show-car (and who also has a supply of spare CVTs and X-fer cases at his disposal).
Can that same CVT handle 340 horsepower while being driven day in and day out for several years by the likes of Gonzo? Doubtful.
If you read closely you will see that the published 7-second 0 - 60 times for the GT-C are not actual times, but are estimates. That leads me to believe Nissan is afraid to release the ponies at a full gallop.
Maybe I am wrong. Time will tell.
-njjoe |
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| sobamanismo |
quote:
Originally posted by verse214
I'm apologize if some of these questions would take alot more than just a reply post to explain. Every since I have bought this MO i have been craving to learn alot more about car engines and how they run so I understand if my questions require hours of learning on my part.
I'm gonna do some more studying on this forum but is there a simple and quick explanation as to why certain performance applications such as an intake or exhaust do not boost an MO as much as they would another car?
-alan
Don't apologize, questions are how we gain knowledge (or screwing stuff up, but don't ask me how I know).
The other guys covered your GTC questions perfectly, but as far as your Intake/Exhaust questions go:
The answer is that they will boost performance in theory similar to any other modern computer controlled car. BUT, at this level of power you won't necessarily "feel" much of a gain in the "butt dyno".
If you have derived that we used to get more power from these mods that's true to a point. I might be dating myself but we used to tinker w/ cars that had these things called Carborators and then Fuel Injection but much less monitored than we have today. When you gave these older cars a more efficient method of "breathing" they produced notable power at the expense of noise (and more particulate intake). Now the computers "see" through a bevy of sensors that there is better breathing going on and trys to optimize that but not necessarily in the way you wanted.
And then the other half is my earlier point, a lot of it has to do w/ perspective, get used to driving a car w/ 60hp and give it an extra 20 more and it "feels like" it screams (1974 Karmann Ghia :D), give that same 20hp to something starting out w/ 240hp and you might not notice so much. |
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| sxmdaniel |
| And what about weight ratio ??? , i'm sure that the difference in weight also affects the strain that is put on the CVT |
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| GripperDon |
| tech type BUT are you good with fiberglas or molding. How about makeing some light-weight doors and hood? :2: |
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| dborla01 |
glad you like your 07. We sold our 03 SE AWD after 62K troublefree miles.
Also, best mod was a switch to Toyo Proxes ST's after stock tires wore out. A much better handling car and beefier looking, also.
Only mods were a switch to synthetic oil and a k@n air filter.
After breakin, a switch to Royal Purple oil will probably give you a noticably smoother engine, a bit more mpg and a bit more kick at higher rpm. This is the only chemical that has delivered on it's claim as advertised, in my many years of supporting the additive industry.:rolleyes:
The opinions of others as to your question is right on the ball. MO"s most neat techno" is the cvt and dohc engine-mate. However, I would never feel comfortable with increasing strain on cvt. Your warranty would be screwed.
We get our boy-racer outlet with our Si and 280ZX. Both respond nicely to mods. Darrell.:) |
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| verse214 |
once again, thanks for the replies, as they were extremely knowledgable.
On a side note, my friend was watching a discovery channel show last night after midnight. I am trying to get the name of the series because the show they had on last night discussed v6 SUV's and how to increase their performance. My friend told me that in the show they discussed how people were trying to dump hundreds of dollars for performance upgrades with only hp boosts that were negligible. On this show they suggested "hacking" or altering the car's computer and when they did it they were able to bring about a 40 hp.
I HATE my friend for not remembering the name of the show but he said it was on one of the discovery channels (either discovery times, science, or just the original channel) and when he pressed the info button on his remote the discription just read "autos". he thinks it was "building the ultimate" but I think he's wrong because i've been looking frantically for the show he might have seen to get some more info.
Does anyone think they know what the show was referring to? They said that it would cost pennies in comparison to the hundreds of dollars spent on purchasing parts when one would just have to change a setting in the car's computer. I'll do some more searching and keep everyone updated unless someone knows what they could've been referring to..
Thanks for everyone's time...
-alan |
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| verse214 |
I was looking through the forums right after I posted my previous post and I was looking at the thread about the performance 'module" available on ebay...
I'm starting to think my friend just watched an infomertial for that "miracle" product... i hope i'm wrong... but i'm thinking i'm right cause there was a "paid program" scheduled right after midnight last night on the discovery channel.... |
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| verse214 |
my friend swear's it wasn't an infomercial... he goes into detail saying that the show said that the factory settings could be "hacked" and changed....
still hunting.. |
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| Eric L. |
quote:
Originally posted by verse214
my friend swear's it wasn't an infomercial... he goes into detail saying that the show said that the factory settings could be "hacked" and changed....
still hunting..
Yeah its called adding a 75 cent resistor to fool the mass air flow sensor into thinking the air flow is higher - the ECU will compensate by adding more fuel, and the rich mixture gives you a temporary boost in power, not to mention making your vehicle non emissions compliant. These are the $50 mods that add "20hp" to the car. What they don't tell you is that the ECU will compensate and the horsepower gain is fleeting. Worst case, you'll jack up your MAF sensor, and pay $600 to replace it. |
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| verse214 |
| Is it what you guys are talking about in the performance chip thread? |
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| sobamanismo |
There are some vehicles that have a "chip" available that sets different parameters to the ECU's air/fuel mixture, timing, etc... but while I don't know for sure if there's one for the Murano I doubt it.
A competent tuner would be able to do what you describe using a laptop w/ engine management software and a dyno. There are many tweeks that can be done to eek out more power in this way but be warned, if you don't have someone that COMPLETELY knows what they are doing (and expect to pay them at least a few hundred $$$) they WILL do more harm than good. |
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| Tyler_Canada |
quote:
Originally posted by verse214
my friend swear's it wasn't an infomercial... he goes into detail saying that the show said that the factory settings could be "hacked" and changed....
still hunting..
I'm pretty sure he's referring to companies that take your ECU and modify the fuel/timing maps to get more power (at the expense of REQUIRING high octane gas).
TechnoSquare Inc is the most common company that does this for Nissan's. I emailed them as they don't have an application listed for the Murano. They told me they designed one for a Murano, but won't list it because they were told by Nissan that the CVT couldn't handle it. I asked and was told that they would sell me one if my Murano matched the one they designed it on (SE, AWD, 03, etc). I decided not to as it's a lot of money (~$1k plus another $1k if you want a backup of your original ECU).
http://www.technosquareinc.com/technosquareecu.htm
Just ignore the stuff about "damage", that's just marketing BS. |
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| hfelknor |
On some cars, mostly older ones. you can actually buy a chip. Remove the OEM and insert the new Chip.
I have done this using Fastchip out of Tulsa OK.
Worked good on my Vette.
On other cars you can remove the chip, insert a plug that connects to a small console and tune the parameters.
And like Tyler says, on some cars (newer), like my BMW, it is largely a software solution. They take your ECU and "flash" the chip with a new program and return the ECU to you.
As far as modding intakes etc, most people do not do it correctly.
The engine is an air pump.
The more air you can put thru the engine in a given period of time the more power you will have.
Adding a Cold Air intake, or a free flowing filter, etc is like exercising one leg and expecting to be able to run faster.
You need to do both the intake and the exhaust.
As others have said, this is the wrong car to mod for HP/torque.
However I was hoping for some mods to be developed that might move the torque curve lower, increase throttle response, etc.
But due to the low volume of this car I haven't seen those either. (There might be just a bit of help using some of the CAIs.....because they in effect lengthen the intake......which is good for lower RPMS and in effect move the torque curve lower)
Bottom line: Celebrate the smoothness of the MO and buy a Chevy next time........:2:
Homer |
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| verse214 |
On a side note, i've noticed that whenever I, or anyone else, asks about performance parts for the MO, there are always responses that conclude that the individual should not have bought the MO if they were looking for Modification parts... I think i can speak for most others who ask questions similar to my own... I ask these performance questions not because i demand a method hp/torque increase (although it would be nice) but I ask mostly because this is my first car and I don't know much about cars so it's a way for me to learn more about them..
pretty much, thanks for everyone's patience...
anyway... it's become more than obvious that in order to mod the MO's performance (at least noticably) in anyway one must find a part that must be altered in one way or another so that it would properly fit the MO... basically, there aren't really any parts that can be added on SAFELY with the backing of a well-known company right? To me, this means that one would have to know ALOT about engineering cars correct?
So after i learned of this ECU thing, and flashing and whatnot, it seems like this is only efficient way of doing so but i'm too shook to try it on my own with the limited knowledge I have now... does anyone know of a good website that I'd be able to read up on this? i'd be willing to study and learn.. unless someone would be willing to write up a little guide about car comps (which i strongly doubt)...
I'm just here to try to learn but before I try i want to make sure i know what i'm doing.. and it doesn't matter how long it would take for me to learn it...
or, am i wrong about the ECU and that what is posted in the threads is enough for me to try it on my MO?
I wish that i could get a copy of that show bc my friend says he thinks they had the murano on there as one of the cars they modded because he specifically remembers them saying that intakes would only add 2-4 hp and that they were speaking of a suv with a v6 with virtually no performance parts on the market that would increase its performance in a noticable amount...
thanks..
-alan |
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| Eric L. |
quote:
Originally posted by verse214
On a side note, i've noticed that whenever I, or anyone else, asks about performance parts for the MO, there are always responses that conclude that the individual should not have bought the MO if they were looking for Modification parts... I think i can speak for most others who ask questions similar to my own... I ask these performance questions not because i demand a method hp/torque increase (although it would be nice) but I ask mostly because this is my first car and I don't know much about cars so it's a way for me to learn more about them..
pretty much, thanks for everyone's patience...
anyway... it's become more than obvious that in order to mod the MO's performance (at least noticably) in anyway one must find a part that must be altered in one way or another so that it would properly fit the MO... basically, there aren't really any parts that can be added on SAFELY with the backing of a well-known company right? To me, this means that one would have to know ALOT about engineering cars correct?
So after i learned of this ECU thing, and flashing and whatnot, it seems like this is only efficient way of doing so but i'm too shook to try it on my own with the limited knowledge I have now... does anyone know of a good website that I'd be able to read up on this? i'd be willing to study and learn.. unless someone would be willing to write up a little guide about car comps (which i strongly doubt)...
I'm just here to try to learn but before I try i want to make sure i know what i'm doing.. and it doesn't matter how long it would take for me to learn it...
or, am i wrong about the ECU and that what is posted in the threads is enough for me to try it on my MO?
I wish that i could get a copy of that show bc my friend says he thinks they had the murano on there as one of the cars they modded because he specifically remembers them saying that intakes would only add 2-4 hp and that they were speaking of a suv with a v6 with virtually no performance parts on the market that would increase its performance in a noticable amount...
thanks..
-alan
A good source to learn about general automotive performance mods of the bolt on variety would be on websites for more performance minded cars - try the Temple of VTEC (a Honda site), Fresh Alloy (a Nissan site), or any of the WRX sites on the web (you can google it). The best source for mod knowledge is someone who has already done it. Maxima.org is also a pretty good resource - its where I learned pretty much everything I know about cars and mods, during my Maxima days. |
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| Tyler_Canada |
quote:
hfelknorHowever I was hoping for some mods to be developed that might move the torque curve lower, increase throttle response, etc.
But due to the low volume of this car I haven't seen those either. (There might be just a bit of help using some of the CAIs.....because they in effect lengthen the intake......which is good for lower RPMS and in effect move the torque curve lower)
The pop charger will have the opposite effect (although it's a warm air intake, not a cold air intake). It moves the power band slightly (500 rpms) higher and reduces low end torque.
quote:
Originally posted by verse214 So after i learned of this ECU thing, and flashing and whatnot, it seems like this is only efficient way of doing so but i'm too shook to try it on my own with the limited knowledge I have now... does anyone know of a good website that I'd be able to read up on this? i'd be willing to study and learn.. unless someone would be willing to write up a little guide about car comps (which i strongly doubt)...
I'm just here to try to learn but before I try i want to make sure i know what i'm doing.. and it doesn't matter how long it would take for me to learn it...
or, am i wrong about the ECU and that what is posted in the threads is enough for me to try it on my MO?
Automotive ECU's like the Murano have are encrypted to prevent the wrong person from blowing up their engine or worse. It takes a lot of reverse engineering and programming to figure them out, and there's still a risk that one wrong number would destroy your engine. |
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| darrick04 |
Bringing back this thread... does anyone know the manufacturer of those wheels on the Murano GT-C? I had the site bookmarkes last week, and I have lost it... along with the name of those wheels...
I'd really appreciate it if someone could help me in that search. Thanks |
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