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?

tony kujawa wrote:
> 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.

tony kujawa wrote:

> 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?

The interior of the Altima was updated for 2005.

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.

"tony kujawa" > wrote in message
...
> 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?
>
>

tony kujawa wrote:
> 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?

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.

"tony kujawa" > wrote in message
...
> 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?

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.

> but I've heard the interiors are cheap.

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

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.

Hawaii_SE-R wrote:

> 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.

(Sean=A0Dinh)
wrote:

>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.

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!