# Is it me or it's a normal problem for a Sentra?



## joeli16 (Nov 19, 2004)

When I was driving my Sentra uphill,the climbing power is pretty weak.For those stiff slopes,I even need to use the second gear with around 30 miles/hr all the way to the top because the third gear is not strong enough to go.And obviously, the performance to accelerate uphill is a weakness.One of my friend got a B14 auto and his car is also weak at climbing up hills.Is it me or it's normal for Sentras?


----------



## Cgamboa (Nov 12, 2004)

You just answered your own question man...Accelerating uphill with the sentra/200sx will make it difficult to climb if youre running at 30mph(depending on the slope of the hill) I live on an uphill and it sucks to wake up everymorning to that hill. TRY going a little fastergoing up the hill before switching to 3rd gear. 30mph is kinda low for 3rd gear uphill...


----------



## BikerFry (Jul 31, 2003)

Your car (and mine) is probably putting about 85 ft-lbs or torque to the wheels at it's peak. That's why doing anything that requires much power is difficult. I'm not saying we have bad motors, because we don't. They have good potential and are very durable, but they aren't the most powerful in stock form.


----------



## Avshi750 (Jan 13, 2003)

to get my GA up a hill on the freeway i usually use between 45-5500 rpms to get around, sometimes a bit more in the city. freeflowing intake and exhaust helps the little engines A LOT!


----------



## joeli16 (Nov 19, 2004)

Cgamboa said:


> You just answered your own question man...Accelerating uphill with the sentra/200sx will make it difficult to climb if youre running at 30mph(depending on the slope of the hill) I live on an uphill and it sucks to wake up everymorning to that hill. TRY going a little fastergoing up the hill before switching to 3rd gear. 30mph is kinda low for 3rd gear uphill...


What I mean is that I am using the third gear around 35-40mph before going up the hill,but when it is climbing,the speed dropped and I needed to switch into the second gear in order to keep up the speed.The slope is kinda stiff.

Usually I can speed up a little on the third,but compare to the traffic,I feel like my car is accelerating pretty slow.

I don't usually hit the accelerator all the way down.I guess that's bad for my car and I would smell something(gas I think)if I don't that.


----------



## jmann98 (Aug 20, 2004)

joeli16 said:


> Usually I can speed up a little on the third,but compare to the traffic,I feel like my car is accelerating pretty slow.QUOTE]
> 
> Sorry, but the bottom line is that your driving a car with a relatively small engine, a 1.6 litre. Typical engines range from 1.5 to 6 litres, so you can see where you sit in that range. And going uphill makes it worse because you're fighting a greater degree of gravity, essentially making your car heavier, requiring more torque, which the GA engine does not have a lot of. The other cars in traffic simply have larger engines than you. Pretty much every automaker has gone mad lately making huge, high output engines. I read yesterday that the new M5 has 507 hp!
> 
> All this must be because of recent low gas prices and our good relations with countries in the Middle East... :wtf:


----------



## BikerFry (Jul 31, 2003)

joeli16 said:


> I don't usually hit the accelerator all the way down.I guess that's bad for my car and I would smell something(gas I think)if I don't that.


There's nothing wrong with flooring it once in a while! :thumbup: Your engine was designed to be used across it's full range of operation. I actually try to redline my car at least once a week (in the appropriate place, with the engine fully warmed up.) If you drive it like a granny you'll get nasty carbon buildup in the combustion chambers after a while.


----------



## Catman (May 21, 2004)

BikerFry said:


> There's nothing wrong with flooring it once in a while! :thumbup: Your engine was designed to be used across it's full range of operation. I actually try to redline my car at least once a week (in the appropriate place, with the engine fully warmed up.) If you drive it like a granny you'll get nasty carbon buildup in the combustion chambers after a while.


That ^ is my experience. Don't know if I redline it, but since I have been doing more highway driving I can tell a difference. It gives me opportunities to floor it and blow out the carbon. Just runs better opening it up on a regular basis. I used to drive it mostly city, that is when I had the carbon problems.

I installed a cruise control and the Sentra will loose speed going up steep hills. If I set it at 75, it drops below 70 on depending on the hill. I think you are right about the size of the motor. My Saturn with a 1.9 motor and more torque might drop 2 mph on a steep hill.


----------



## Tavel (Aug 21, 2004)

yep its torque, my two cents follows:

your car is a small inline 4. inline 4's are wicked at the top but have relativly little power below 3-4k. whereas most cars on the road are V6's. V6's are like V8's in that they are made for bottom end torque, they pull more power from the lower rpms than inlines do. 

of course, those cars with v6's are generally much heavier than a sentra. so if you figure the weight vs displacment, they dont really have any proportional displacement over you. so its not just your engine size, its your engine layout. if you had a flat 4(like a V, but flatter) you'd probably be able to go up a hill easier, but you'd loose power at the redline. 

remember, downshifting is not cheating, its just keeping your engine in the powerband.

BTW: im too afraid to floor my car(2.0L), its too fast! but only when im alone. lol. once i start loading passengers its all over...however this doesn't happen so much in my girlfriends 1.6L because it has more torque at the lower rpm's.


----------



## BoominSentra (Nov 14, 2004)

welcome to driving a sentra, we get great gas mileage.. we just don't have alot of horsepower or torque. 

later,
Johnny!


----------



## joeli16 (Nov 19, 2004)

BikerFry said:


> There's nothing wrong with flooring it once in a while! :thumbup: Your engine was designed to be used across it's full range of operation. I actually try to redline my car at least once a week (in the appropriate place, with the engine fully warmed up.) If you drive it like a granny you'll get nasty carbon buildup in the combustion chambers after a while.


Before I bought this Sentra,I had a 86' Subaru GL 5 sp.It got the same problem that the speed dropped climbing slopes.It was like in the fifth gear and I floored it,and then the engine was nearly dead(it got a bad engine anyways.Finally I could drive it only about 45mph on the freeway,so I had to drive on the shoulder )I am afraid I will ruin the engine again so now I don't floor the gas.

If I floor this Sentra going up the hill,it does speed up a little,but the acceleration is not very smooth.However, it will do good driving on the freeway.For climbing steep hills on the freeway,the speed drops and the cruise will quit working.


----------



## Slacky (May 31, 2004)

just get a few bolt on things if u want a little more power, maybe a header back exhaust next time your up for a new set of pipes throw it on there or a easier flowing intake, any power gain is noticable in the 1.6 L sentras like when your friend gets in the car and it just dogs down


----------



## Coheed (Oct 12, 2004)

Slacky said:


> just get a few bolt on things if u want a little more power, maybe a header back exhaust next time your up for a new set of pipes throw it on there or a easier flowing intake, any power gain is noticable in the 1.6 L sentras like when your friend gets in the car and it just dogs down


my friend has a 1.6 sentra and i like it. his car pulls almost as hard as my ser but the ser is stock and his 1.6 has intake and exaust. With the lighter chassis (B13) the little car gets around pretty good and has decent torque on the bottom end because it's so light. Me and him like to mess around on the freeway sometimes and his car is almost as quick as mine. I was shocked to say the least.


----------



## rlstumpe (Nov 22, 2004)

I have noticed with my 94 Sentra 2dr, that going up Raton Pass from New Mexico into Colorado, it is a 6% grade, if I have my cruise on, it shuts off, but I downshift to 4th and still make it up the Pass, and keep up with traffic, its when I get closer to the top of the mountain that I have drop down into 3rd but that is just because usually there is snow on the mountain and I don't want to be part of the mountain, I like to keep my traction, but I don't have a problem with going up the mountains, I just drive, and since I live in the Rockies, you just have to drive. But also I have a caravan, it has a V6, and I have to shift into 3rd on some of the mountains.


----------

