[ravenmore]

Vin Diesel's "breakout" movie was Pitch Black. Pretty good movie that just never got a lot of attention. He was also in Saving Private Ryan - he was the guy who got shot and killed by the sniper while trying to get to the little girl(Pretty sure, but I'd need to go back and watch it again ). I heard they wrote that part in for him. I THINK he was also the voice of one of the characters in that animated movie about the giant robot from outer space....what was it called, Iron Giant I think?

[dieselboy]

That new Altima is gonna be a monster....! Yeah, Nissan's really gonna beef it up, but if they're doing that to the Altima, think about what they'd do to the Maxima?! 3.2L, 260 crank HP maybe? That's CL-S territory! Time for me to get that 5.0L Mustang conversion and a Vortech supercharger....LOL

[ravenmore]

haven't heard anything on the new maxima yet, but yeah, I wondered about that as well! Apparently the v6 Nissan is using in the altima is going to come from their infinity line. I've liked the nissan product for some time as I feel you get a LOT of car for what you pay for. Wonder how much more the new altimas are gonna be? Mine's brand new and the sticker on it was $23k (didn't pay that though).

-Mike

[dieselboy]

LOL, I don't wanna know what the new Altima is gonna cost! OTOH, I'm thinking the powerplant *may* be from the old J30's....? I agree, Nissans are VERY underrated, and have been for awhile. A buddy of mine has an SE-R which has a quick 150 ponies stock. After the mods, he was hitting close to 190...One other friend has a newer Altima like yours. Drove it for a bit...nice torque across the powerband! Seriously though, you've got a good torquey car already, and the best part of it all is that your Altima can more than likely smoke most of the modded, riced-out Civics in stock form..... What's the tranny on your car? Auto or 5-speed? Cuz if you want some serious pull, it can be done...for a price...!

[Bojinx]

along with some small indie films Vin Diesel appeared in the following...

Saving Private Ryan
The Iron Giant (he was the giant's voice)
Boiler Room
Pitch Black
The Fast and the Furious

After initial screen tests for TFATF were very positive, Universal Studio's has alread started writing it's sequel and Vin Diesel has signed on. WooHoo

[Bojinx]

I can't wait to see the 2002 Nissan Sentra at the dealers. They have a 180horse SE-R Spec V model with a 6 speed, helical limited-slip, 17in. rims and Skiline-like bucket seats.... sweet

[ravenmore]

I had a '99 SE limited edition 5 speed that I just traded for a '01 SE with auto trans. I have to admit, though I love the performance of the 5 speed, I've gotten spoiled to the automatic.

[ravenmore]

dang - maybe I'll go for that sentra instead!!! 17" wheels! Ya gotta be kidding!

Nissan's having a really rough time right now. They've acheived the amazing feet of producing some of the best mass production cars in the world and going bankrupt in the process. The only reason I can see for this is how their cars "look" - they're generally perceived as boring. However, they've brought a new designer on board. Witness the latest frontier pickup. Talk about a bold design statement! The trucks are selling like hot cakes, and now it looks like they're working on revamping the altima and sentra. Can't wait to see what they do with the maxima.

-Mike

[dieselboy]

Auto tranny? one word: supercharger! No turbo lag, instant boost linear with RPM's (somewhat, depending on design)! That would be the way to go...for the most part, they're set-and-forget, needing little maintenance, and last for a long time....with gobs of low end torque for pulling, no, "flying" away at red light encounters....show those Civic's what Altima taillights look like...

[afishybusiness]

What a pimpy shot. This movie is the coolest ever. I can't wait to get going on my car again. Anybody know of any other fan websites other than thefastandthefurious.com? If so let me know!
Jon

[ravenmore]

cool shot - I think that's right when they're about to drag the ferrari....

Diesel - I'm a newbie when it comes to car mods. Where would I look into getting a supercharger? Any good brands you'd recommend? I need to research before I start tinkering. (great, another expensive hobby.....)

-Mike

[dieselboy]

LOL, tell me about it....I'm cursed with having TWO of the most expensive hobbies known....

Well, off the top of my head, there's Jackson Racing, Vortech, Kenne Bell, Paxton, .....there's a lot more out there, but that's all I can remember right now....I do know that JR has a 100,000 mile warranty, but not too sure if they have applications for your car....I think maybe doing a search will get you some quick results, but just the same, I'll check it out for you in the next few days, and I'll let you know what I find....

[icemark]

ravenmore,

However, they've brought a new designer on board. Witness the latest frontier pickup

Nissan Design Studio in San Diego did the remodel on the Frontier Truck, not some new designers. Its the same team that did the last 300zx, the Altima, the HardBody Pickup and the previous two gens of the Maxima. They had to do something when the Japanese styled version had lower sales than even the Hard Body pick up it replaced.

Nissan problems result in quality, overpriceing and stale designs. There are very very few Nissans that look contemporay after 4 years. (The last 300zx and two gen's back Maxima are the exceptions). They are consitantly rated the lowest of the Japanese makers in quality and only on par with most of American manufactures.

Nissans salvation will only come when they figure out that a car has to have feel again, cars like the rear drive 200/240sx and the 300zx need to be thier image cars. Not high powered front drive Sentras.

The pricing has been solved by dealers dropping the prices (2001 Maximas are going for 8 to 10 grand less than window sticker in my area). Frankly a Maxima at $17000 is a great car, but at $26000 (window sticker) there are a lot better cars out there.

[ravenmore]

Alrrighty, here's what I've done so far.....



yeah, I wish! That's a Q45 (I think) with an Indy race car engine! Something like 650HP....some people have too much time, and cash, on their hands.

Icemark-
Actually Jerry Hirshberg stepped down this past year as the head of Nissan Design International located in CA. There's a new lead design influence in house now, but I'll be darned if I can find his/her name. I may be incorrect on one thing though - Jerry might have had his hand in the 2001 frontier pickup and I'm pretty sure he did in the 2002 altima. So, if that's the case, my bad there.

I've also not heard of any problems with Nissan quality, and in fact, several automotive sites I went to alluded to Nissan's high quality rep, esp. on the altima, being the reason their cars sold during the mid to late 90's. Carpoint is one site I can specifically remember right now, but there were others. Also, JD Powers and associates named the 2001 altima #1 in class in its initial quality survey. The same study in 2000 mentioned the Toyota Avalon and Nissan Maxima as highlights in the study. Sooooooooo, long story short, I've never heard of any quality issues with Nissans products. I've owned 2 of their cars and never had a problem. Also, everyone I know who owns one has not had any problems either..... so I was suprised to hear you siting quality as a Nissan prob. Again, I could be wrong but my experiences and the few things I've read indicated the opposite.

I still feel like the car gives you a lot of bang for the buck. I compared the altima with the toyota camry and the honda accord and liked the Altima the best of the 3. JMO

-Mike

[Bojinx]

Originally posted by icemark
ravenmore,


Nissans salvation will only come when they figure out that a car has to have feel again, cars like the rear drive 200/240sx and the 300zx need to be thier image cars. Not high powered front drive Sentras.

I tend to disagree... not only is the Sentra in a 'key' market (sports/compact), it is prepared to take over that market. Why should this not be considered an 'image' car when it is poised to be at the top of this important market.

On another note... get ready for the return of the Z car. The Z-concept had be set for production and promises to destroy all in its class. This is includes the BMW Z3, Porsche Boxter, Mazda Miata, Honda S2000 and other roadsters. The best part is that Nissan has promised to release the car for under $30K. sweet.

[petpoor]

Just got back and I gotta say cool movie. Granted that the sports cars are hot little cars but I guess I am just old and old school. "Injection is nice but I'd rather be blown" how bout that RT? Just gotta love the sound of a blown big block.

Dieselboy,
I can relate to the expensive hobby, we had a full tube chassis 69 Z-28 all glass except the roof and turtle hull. Had a 482 C.I. with a glide ran the best of 9.67 @ 140mph at the Texas Motoplex. Then I found out I have a degenerating disc in my neck and the doctor and wife decided that was not going to sit well with racing(that really sucked). So we sold the car last July still miss it to this day. Guess that's why I am partial to big C.I. V-8's. Still a very cool movie.
Tom

[Bamm Bamm]

Yeah the movie was pretty sweet.. I do drag race and street I love my new 2001 GTP injection and a blower can't beat that I can swap pulleys on the blower in less than an hour and add guaranteed horsepower..Can't beat that!!!I lvoe it..Its slow compared to my show/race truck...but hey Iam gettign rod of the truck and my GTP should be in the low 13's soon..

[dieselboy]

DAMN PETPOOR, 9.67 in the 1320?! Holy $hit!!! <sigh>

Raven, I finally did some looking, and there is a small blower (Rotrex?)you can get, but seems like your own with the piping and such, so it's might be some kind of a ghetto-rig kinda thing if you wanna do it for cheap. I couldn't find a bolt-on kit....don't think one is available. However, you *may* be able to get away with a Maxima engine swap, I *think* they'll fit in the Altima...should cost you the same, maybe a little more than a supercharger...

BTW, I came across a site for you...might be kinda ricey, but it should give you a good primer on some mods you may want to do...and just some FAQ's and stuuf like that.....www.altimas.net

HTH

[petpoor]

dieselboy,
It (9.67) still wasn't enough but due to funds or lack thereof had to be happy with that. I had a friend that had a Blown big block late model Vette that ran in the low,low 8's I think he had a best of 8.04 and real close to 180 mph. Now that would be a RIDE! then he sold it turnkey to get a dragster,bummer, I think a really fast doorcar is way more impressive than any dragster but that is just my opinion. Now I kinda wish I'd never sold our car and just had the surgery but oh well I was a poorboy in a rich man's sport.
Tom

[dieselboy]

LOL...you and me both petpoor! Only thing is, you OWNED a 9 sec. car, and I've only RIDDEN in a 11 sec. car...LOL This AND reef tanks? I wonder what my affinity is to expensive hobbies.....hmmm, maybe I should play the lottery today...