New Member - a few questions about my Sentra

macros56 · Oct 4th, 2004, 11:31 AM

Hey there everyone, I'm a new member (as you could have guessed!), and I have a few questions about the Sentra:

I bought my first car (a 2004 Sentra) in 9/03 and I loved it.

I'd driven a few other cars (family and friends' cars), but nothing was as good as the Sentra. However, I have a few questions that no one seems to be able to answer (and I can't find an answer online):

I have a habit of turning overdrive off as I am accelerating up a hill (Waukegan & Gurnee are very hilly). I feel the "punch" as the rpms kick up a few thousand and the car can move. Is that dangerous to the car? Will it damage it to turn the overdrive off as I am moving and/or accelerating? (just what the heck is overdrive anyway?)

Also, I have a nasty habit of accelerating very fast, sometimes up to 6000rpm - I suppose that is not good for the engine, but no one seems to really know for sure...does that damage my engine? I assume it is not good for the fuel economy either, but I usually get about 27mpg anyway.

Thanks for any advice you can give me. I want my Sentra to last as long as my boyfriend's did (he had his 10 years).

Blank · Oct 4th, 2004, 11:54 AM

the overdrive thing should be fine, it is just an extra gear on top, so turning it off will in essence "downshift" the car...

the revving is another story... calm down of over revving your car for the first few thousand miles to break in the seals... after that as long as you don't hold redline every time out there, you will be fine... any revs under redline are safe for your car, thats the point of the red line... to give you a point where the RPM's start getting too high.

Radioaktiv · Oct 4th, 2004, 02:26 PM

welcome to NF

like Blank said, just dont romp on it too hard for the first 6 mos or so to give it a chance to break in

Token Moron · Oct 4th, 2004, 02:32 PM

hey whats up, i know all about waukegean....i got fam there. let me clear ur two issues up

1. overdrive is safe to use, u should take OD off when going uphill because it will put u in a lower gear..and that punch of power u feel is normal

2.revving the motor up at high RPM's is ok, in fact.....its sometimes recommended on 4cyl motors.

macros56 · Oct 4th, 2004, 07:28 PM

Thanks for all the info and advice!

By chance, I didn't start really accelerating hard until I got about 11000 on the car (I've got 18000 now, after a year), then my driving habits kind of changed, but I think I might stop accelerating so hard...at the very least, during wet weather (I don't have traction control), accelerating hard usually makes my car spin out anyway..

Thanks guys!

B11sleeper · Oct 4th, 2004, 08:08 PM

not to complicate things here. I've read things that suggest beating the heck out of the engine from the get go, supposedly it makes things work better. of you search there was a post with a link to the article. I dunno. Clutches and brakes need to be broken in, engines might.

pathfound1 · Oct 4th, 2004, 08:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by macros56

Hey there everyone, I'm a new member (as you could have guessed!), and I have a few questions about the Sentra:

I bought my first car (a 2004 Sentra) in 9/03 and I loved it.

I'd driven a few other cars (family and friends' cars), but nothing was as good as the Sentra. However, I have a few questions that no one seems to be able to answer (and I can't find an answer online):

I have a habit of turning overdrive off as I am accelerating up a hill (Waukegan & Gurnee are very hilly). I feel the "punch" as the rpms kick up a few thousand and the car can move. Is that dangerous to the car? Will it damage it to turn the overdrive off as I am moving and/or accelerating? (just what the heck is overdrive anyway?)

Also, I have a nasty habit of accelerating very fast, sometimes up to 6000rpm - I suppose that is not good for the engine, but no one seems to really know for sure...does that damage my engine? I assume it is not good for the fuel economy either, but I usually get about 27mpg anyway.

Thanks for any advice you can give me. I want my Sentra to last as long as my boyfriend's did (he had his 10 years).

i dont think it would be dangerous to ur car..but it will give u a lil boost. cauze i tried that with ma maxima and ma rpm jumped and i gained speed quick..i would say its fine..but dont over do it? uhhh 6000 rpm...shieeee you ripping that sentra..i would have to say stop it unless you on the line and about to race another car...i have a maxima and a pathfinder and i have never gone more than 3500-4000 rpm.

MyNutzOnYurChin · Oct 4th, 2004, 09:26 PM

Hey if you need more info on your 2004, join www.b15sentra.net

a lot of useful info there.

**chimmike** · Oct 4th, 2004, 09:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MyNutzOnYurChin

Hey if you need more info on your 2004, join www.b15sentra.net

a lot of useful info there.

there's a ton of useful info here, thank you.

hell, I wrote a tuning guide specifically for his engine.

asleepz · Oct 4th, 2004, 09:42 PM

6000 RPM with 18K miles on it is just fine. Just stay under the redline. 3500 to 4000 is VERY conservative.

macros56 · Oct 6th, 2004, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SKD_Tech

6000 RPM with 18K miles on it is just fine. Just stay under the redline. 3500 to 4000 is VERY conservative.

Red-line is 6500. I took a really good look at my acceleration, and I found that I don't reach 6000 that often, just usually when I'm merging into the highway so I can get up to speed faster. I found I usually go between 3500 - 5000 on the road when I'm accelerating from a stop...