Altima SE V-6 vs. Accord LX V-6

On paper these should have pretty even performance #'s but the Altima beats
the Accord soundly when comparing auto trannys, and trounces it when it
comes to the 6 speed. Were talking 1/2 second in the quarter and 0-60 in
the autos, and a full second for the 6 speed. What gives with the Honda?
Either the hp #'s are off or it is a lot heavier than the Altima. And why
oh why doesn't Honda make the 4 door and an LX version of a coupe in the 6
speed? I really want a Honda due to the high resale and past ownership, but
have had an older Maxima that I loved. The new Altima is very nice looking,
but I've heard the interiors are cheap. Now I haven't driven either of them
yet, so I guess I should really save judgement until then. What are your
thoughts?

 

the accord has a 240hp 3 liter engine, the altima has an extra half
liter and 10 more horses.

 

the accord has a 240hp 3 liter engine, the altima has an extra half
liter and 10 more horses.

 

The interior of the Altima was updated for 2005.

 

The interior of the Altima was updated for 2005.

 

Look around at used Accords and Altimas, see which looks better and has the
higher resale and owner satifaction. Stay with Honda

 

I drove both of them and bought the Accord V6. The altima definitely is
faster but I elected to go with the Honda for more practical reasons:

1. Better resale value
2. Better Value overall
3. Better Qulaity as borne out by JD powers and the 200 Japanese engineers
sent to the stateside Nissan plant to shore up quality.

The V6 accord is a nice car that definitely will get out of its own way but
it is by no means the rocket that the Altima is.

 

I drove both of them and bought the Accord V6. The altima definitely is
faster but I elected to go with the Honda for more practical reasons:

1. Better resale value
2. Better Value overall
3. Better Qulaity as borne out by JD powers and the 200 Japanese engineers
sent to the stateside Nissan plant to shore up quality.

The V6 accord is a nice car that definitely will get out of its own way but
it is by no means the rocket that the Altima is.

 

A lot more comes into play then just pure horsepower. Curb weight, overall
torque/HP/RPM curves and tranny reduction ratios are three things that
immediately come to mind.

I bought the Honda V6. The Nissan was one of the comparable models I was
looking at.

 

A lot more comes into play then just pure horsepower. Curb weight, overall
torque/HP/RPM curves and tranny reduction ratios are three things that
immediately come to mind.

I bought the Honda V6. The Nissan was one of the comparable models I was
looking at.

 

Horsepower is not everything. The Honda falls behind primarily due to less
torque. Accord has 240hp/212tq while the Altima has 250hp/249tq. Torque
affects acceleration directly by the sheer ability to move mass. With 15%
less torque, it should be obvious why the Altima will out accelerate the
Accord. Gearing would also play a part.

That would be a judgement call on your part. The majority of cars out there
have plastic and vinyl interiors, whether one looks cheaper than the other
or even if that matters much is up to the consumer.

 

Horsepower is not everything. The Honda falls behind primarily due to less
torque. Accord has 240hp/212tq while the Altima has 250hp/249tq. Torque
affects acceleration directly by the sheer ability to move mass. With 15%
less torque, it should be obvious why the Altima will out accelerate the
Accord. Gearing would also play a part.

That would be a judgement call on your part. The majority of cars out there
have plastic and vinyl interiors, whether one looks cheaper than the other
or even if that matters much is up to the consumer.

 

I also bought the Accord EX V6 in February. It runs on REGULAR gas,
unlike the 3.5 liter Altima.

If you want a faster Accord, you need the $30,000 made-in-Japan '05
hybrid. Apparently it'll spin the wheels from a stop just fine.

JM

 

I also bought the Accord EX V6 in February. It runs on REGULAR gas,
unlike the 3.5 liter Altima.

If you want a faster Accord, you need the $30,000 made-in-Japan '05
hybrid. Apparently it'll spin the wheels from a stop just fine.

JM

 

I also bought the Accord EX V6 in February. It runs on REGULAR gas,
unlike the 3.5 liter Altima.

If you want a faster Accord, you need the $30,000 made-in-Japan '05
hybrid. Apparently it'll spin the wheels from a stop just fine.

JM

 

I also bought the Accord EX V6 in February. It runs on REGULAR gas,
unlike the 3.5 liter Altima.

If you want a faster Accord, you need the $30,000 made-in-Japan '05
hybrid. Apparently it'll spin the wheels from a stop just fine.

JM

 

You are so wrong. Horsepower is everything. Since the Altima has a 3.5 L vs the
Accord's 3.0 L, the Altima has more low end power. It would take off at the line
faster. Every gear changes reduce the engine's rpm. This benefit bigger engines
because they have more hp at lower rpm.

At 1000 rpm, a 4 L engine would make 2x as much torque as a 2 L engine. But, for
some reason beyond my comprehension, people don't realize that it make as much
as 2x the power too. Torque only twist, but power moves things.

I could make more torque on my bicycle than the Altima's engine, but there is no
way my 1/3 hp could move the Altima as fast.

 

You are so wrong. Horsepower is everything. Since the Altima has a 3.5 L vs the
Accord's 3.0 L, the Altima has more low end power. It would take off at the line
faster. Every gear changes reduce the engine's rpm. This benefit bigger engines
because they have more hp at lower rpm.

At 1000 rpm, a 4 L engine would make 2x as much torque as a 2 L engine. But, for
some reason beyond my comprehension, people don't realize that it make as much
as 2x the power too. Torque only twist, but power moves things.

I could make more torque on my bicycle than the Altima's engine, but there is no
way my 1/3 hp could move the Altima as fast.

 

"seanny"@ (Sean Dinh)
wrote:

I wonder what the difference is in each car's gas mileage/gallon. Did
Honda manufacture the Accord with fuel saving in mind?

My husband's new TL gets really good gas mileage and is fast to boot.
I'm still trying to figure out how they've achieved both!

 

Actually torque is much more important at the lower rpm than you seem to
understand. In fact, that low end power you are thinking of is actually
more torque than anything else. Torque *is* a specific measurement of the
vehicle's ability to push/pull an object/weight from a stop or lower speed.
You will reach the peak torque of an engine in the lower rpm range, exactly
where most of your acceleration occurs, while your peak horsepower occurs in
the upper rpm range, where you will accelerate slower. Don't beleive me?
Look at Horsepower and Torque charts and you will see where the peaks occur.

Why does this occur? You want to drop your rpms to a point where you can
take the most advantage of torque and horsepower, usually around 5200rpm, to
accelerate. Not saying that horsepower does nothing, in fact it does help
sustain and increase speed at the upper rpm when the vehicle is already
moving. Think of horsepower as related to the top speed of the vehicle.
BTW, just because an engine is bigger, doesn't mean it has more power.

Actually, just because and engine is twice the size of another doesn't mean
that it is twice as powerful. Much of an engines abilitly is based on it's
design. If your idea held true, all 2 liter engines would put out the same
power. BTW, what do you think torque is twisting? I would say it's the
axles which is connected to the wheels which moves a car forward. How does
horsepower move the car?

I highly doubt you could produce more torque than the VQ35DE on your
bicycle.

If you want to get a little more technical:
http://www.datsuns.com/Tech/tech_dept.htm