Ok, i made a new thread because i found out the deal about the different intake. It's actually the intake off of the VG30 pathfinder. Here is the e-mail that was sent to me
"Mark,
If you mean the Pathfinder intake, it's actually from a VG30 that we're talking about. I do not know if the VG33 Pathfinder intake is the same, but it probably is. All of the SOHC VG intakes will interchange between engines so you can mix-n-match. With most early intakes you can just swap the upper half. With the Pathfinder, the fuel rails are differant and you have to use the whole intake, top and bottom. You also have to use the Pathfinder distributor as it has the only cap that will clear the intake. This distributor uses a differant type of crank angle sensor and is not compatible with the early Z31 electronics (found that out the expensive way!). I'm not sure if I've answered your questions, please let me know if I need to better explain or if you have any further questions.
David Carroll
Experimental Engineering
Seattle Washington USA"

 

i don't think swapping the intake itself is going to make much of a difference. i'm really interested to see if the manifolds etc would swap over for better flow.

 

here's the new e-mail i got. i guess they do flow better but there is some trouble with the crank angle sensor and i'm not sure how to fix it. i don't think they even know, or they just won't tell
They had to do some modifying to make the intake clear the 510 hood so i asked him if it would work on a maxima and he said it would be hard but we could probably do the same thing they did to the intake to make it fit the 510 so it would fit ours. After getting this e-mail i'm trying to figure out why they even have this listed as a mod if they are having such trouble with the crank angle sensor.

"Mark,
I seriously doubt the Pathfinder intake will clear a Maxima hood. It's a really tall intake that puts the throttle body over the LH valve cover.The upper plenum can be reversed, so you might be able to point it rearward. You should really go look at a Pathfinder next to your Maxima to see if it's even in the realm of possibility. I was not aware of a difference between manual and auto on these intakes. I was told the crank angle sensors work on a differant principle between the Z31 and the Pathfinder and they cannot be made to work together. I have not checked this out myself but the customer who told me tried everything and called everyone trying to make it work."