There is alot of love for the skylines, I go badgless, to each his own.

 

Yeah I get what you mean. Personally I'm not going to even attempt to make more than 175WHP if that, mostly because at the end of the day it is FWD (a very good older FWD, but still FWD). But I know what you mean about pride in your car. I know, for example, another member who HATES the chrome on GXEs, whereas I think it's nice, and in route to making an "SXE" of sorts, I will maintain the chrome while otherwise giving it the SE treatment. And while everyone I know tells me "don't waste your money on that stupid old car, man" I want to look them in the eye and say "shut up and go drive your camry/accord/blah. I've got a 4DSC." And even if nobody else on Maxima.org likes what I've created when it's (more or less) all said and done, as long as I can stand back and say "man, what a car", that's all that matters.

 

thats my new favorite ignorant quote.

next you're going to tell me chevys american, ha!

 

The big issue is that the GT-R is a true supercar. It's exclusively priced, has exclusive handling and performance, and it's exclusive in its rarity. a true GT-R is a rare being that has cult status, Just like a Ferrari or AMG or ///M or RUF..
No Maxima- no matter how modded it is- will EVER attain that type of status or capability on the track. Which is why yhe GT-R badge should be reserved for only the truly capable. anything less is rice, IMO.

and the purest definition of rice (in the import scene) is a car masked or badged to be something it's not.


If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it's a duck. but if it looks like a duck and doesn't walk or quack like a duck, it's just a poor imitation.... Thus rice.

 

well said. Personally I want my car to be very well recognizeable as what it is - a 3rd gen 4dsc Max. I'm not into all the debadging and stuff, because I want my car to have identity. And I want the appearance elements (performance parts.. different story) to be mostly-stock, with the exception of a few notable brands of aftermarket wheels that I'm fond of, but there are more than a few styles of Nissan OEM wheels that would suit me just fine. I say, Maxima to the Max, let your car be as much of what it is as it can be.. therefore...

If it looks like a Max, darts like a Max, and barks like a Max... then you can bet your @$$ it's a Max.

ps - and yes I know I'm corny... that's just me

 

Well put...

 

maximas ARE NOT imports. They were delivered locally by nissan in both america and australia. In AUS we define an import as a car that was not delivered locally by the manufacturer and you have to import it yourself. I dont understand how you guys seem to think the maxima is a sports car either its a luxury family car i guess you guys have a lack of fast cars in america. In Aus most of our 4 door family cars are faster than the max and then we have all the sports cars here that absolutly rip every car. I see more skylines (gtrs included theres heaps of them near my house, r32, r33 and r34) and silvias (see at least 10 s15's a day) than maximas. The holden commodore (a locally produced family car) and ford falcon both beat the maxima and they are just standard family cars lol.

Dont get me wrong i love my maxima its a great car and i do drive it hard through the twisties (about the only place i can go faster than other cars) im just saying this car isnt an import and it certainlty isnt fast compared to aus standards so i would be removing those gtr badges ASAP. With the r33 lights i can appreciate the effort you put into them just they arent my cup of tea. They dont look like they are fitted cleanly and dont match the rest of the car sorry. With a bit of work i reckon you could make them look alright but the paint is mismatched, they dont sit flish with the 1/4 panels or the boot. I personally think it would have looked better if you used r32 lights and moulded them in a bit better.

Sorry if i come across as bit of an ******* but i dont believe in making my car into something its not i dont see any one putting **** like silvia or 350z badges on their car so why put a gtr badge on your car when clearly it isnt? you might as well put a ford badge on as well

 

i see your point about badges that dont make sense, but i hate to break it to you gen3blumax, but your car and my car are both imports.

ill have wiki help us out here...
"an import is any good or commodity, brought into one country from another country in a legitimate fashion, typically for use in trade. Import goods or services are provided to domestic consumers by foreign producers."

basically since the car is made by nissan(japanese company) and its sent to the USA or AUS, then its an import. im sure you can figure out what a domestic car is by now....

 

3rd Generation Maxima
Production 1989–1994
Assembly Oppama, Japan
Body style 4-door sedan
Layout FF layout
Engine 3.0 L VG30E V6
3.0 L VE30DE V6
Transmission 5-speed manual
4-speed automatic with overdrive
Wheelbase 104.3 in
Length 187.6 in
Width 69.3 in
Height 55.1 in

 

the AMERICAN definition of an import is a car sold by a company that was not based here originally.
Any car that is not manufactured in the US is considered an import, however the lines have blurred because most domestics aren't made in the USA, and most imports are!

 

great idea... not flush enough

 

i'm glad you brought it up because i was about to. because of the luxury tax bs added onto imported goods a good chuck of US IMPORTS are actually made here, but ironically, US DOMESTICS have been produced in mejico and canada egh? imports are trying to cut down on tax bs by having it built here, and american car manufacturers never really cared about quality, so theyre made in cheaper labor countries. next, we'll get them from africa.

but i definately agree with the aussie. sporty looking car, but not a sports car by any means. dont fool yourselves. believing the 4dsc sticker makes it a sports car is almost as bad as believing a gt-r badge makes your car a gt-r.

 

yeah going along with what someone else said, the north american definition of an import car is one made somewhere else and shipped here, to a dealership, and sold. the dealership imports them, and sells them locally. the only cars that americans import theirselves are cars that are so rare, there is no dealership for it, such as if someone wanted a Bugatti or Lambo or Ferrari, there are almost no dealerships around here so you buy it overseas and send it over here yourself. That's generally called "having a car shipped" rather than "buying an import". Though I wouldn't mind 'importing' a Holden Monaro...

 

I hear what everybody says, it is all point of view isn't it?

I have done many mods. She no longer handles. performs or looks like a factory SE any more. That is why I put it there. I like the way it looks. SE-R badges don't look decent or even fit my vision..to me. If that is rice to you....so be, it is not to me. It is just expression. I am not saying it is, or even compares to a Skyline. I am just using a Nissan badge on a Nissan product. To me "rice" is stickers, a coffee can muffler, a mile high wing and no performance added. All comic book image and nothing else.

To go with your addage Matt. If it doesn't look entirely like a duck, doesn't perform like a duck did originally, doesn't sound like a duck, What is it?

Originally an "import" was manufactured in another country and "imported" in to this one. 3rd gen Maximas are imports. That line has been severly blurred for a few years with "import" brands being assembled in the states and "domestic" brands being assembled elsewhere. Now "import" is a brand that originated in another country.

 

It may be the wacky weed, or the 2 24's of icehouse, but I see a 1973 chevy monte carlo azz end.

 

now they are often called "american cars" and "foreign cars", since the imported-ness is somewhat... not correct anymore. Or they just say the paren't company's country (japan, germany, korean, wherever) no matter where the car was built.

 

I think we have ventured way OT here.

 

yer sorry for that, i guess just here in aussieland we have lots of jap brands and not many locally produced cars we only call the rare ones imports haha. I think it would look smoother if you could fit a r33 rear bar on as well but that would be a **** load of work lol

 

Mine's 10 in. off the deck, not huge for a max. I do hate when a spoiler towers above the top of a car though lol, it goes against aerodynamics which defeats the point of having it.

 

Even the green Maxima's tail light are off, which I like better.

I think what you had done was a great move into your unique interest. This in itself is genuine. Well done for a few hundo's.

When self interest doesn't = what's done, you need to pick up the grinder. It'll be alot easier now than if you did it from the get....

 

eh, I'm going more for the stock 89-91 SE look (even though I actually have a GXE). I'm actually getting some of that from jonmandude, but I still need to locate a stock light-colored spoiler to paint CH0.

 

I have now found a spoiler. I emailed a someone last week asking if they would make me custom pedestals for there spoiler. I wanted 3" tall pedestals rather than 5". Yesterday they responded with an offer to sell me a 5" tall carbon fiber spoiler for $299. The list price is $599 and the jobber price is $379. I lucked into a deal because they only had one left on the shelf. Heck for that price if I think it is too tall I can make new peds.

 

At night i bet it looks badazz, but the day shots just don't look right. The lights just look real funny. Nice job though.

 

Wings belong on race cars and spoilers belong on daily drivers. Which is yours?

~Alex

 

It's a daily-driven racecar

 

No offense but @ 42, i'm surprised to see you completely ricing out your max. The skyline tails are one thing because they can look good if installed correctly. Unfortunately they weren't. Do what you want, but it seems to me you're spending a lot of money turning your car into something that most people are going to laugh at. I'm all for a quality r33 tail conversion, but leave it how it is man, don't throw some ugly overpriced gran turismo tv antennea on the trunk.

 

I donno why every one uses R33's. They aren't even close to matching our max's body lines. R32's yes. R34's, not as nice but much better then R33's.

~Alex

 

One would think that would be a clue as to whether or not it should be done.

I'm not feeling it (read: I hate it) but if you like it, +1 one man.

 

First, I am not offended. Your comments reflect your views, not mine. I would guess by your comment that Arlen Ness, at 60, is too old to build choppers? At 42 I have realized something that apparently you have yet to learn, do things for yourself. Try things that spark your interest, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But never do anything based on what others tell you works or doesn't. What you choose to call rice is what many others will call mods. The same way of thinking is applied to lambo doors and yet it is still a very popular item. The people that will laugh are close-minded individuals who just don't see beyond their own likes and dislikes, people who think their way is the only way. Often I see things done that I wouldn't do, I don't criticize, I compliment the desire to do something different. When you stop worrying what others think, then you will start to be an individual.

 

Well put!

 

Good job man. I like that attitude, which is why I said if you like it, +1.


You even get another +1 for that post. Next time I'm going to hit up mad-town, I'll shoot you a PM. I'm up there from time to time.

 

Well, that's what I said, "do what you want". It's not my car... But I don't believe for a second that you don't care what anyone thinks, because if that were the case, you wouldn't have had the tails installed, made a thread about it or mentioned the wing you're going to throw on there. There's nothing wrong with caring what people think about your car, it's perfectly normal. If everybody were an "individual" as you put it, nobody would even wash their car because they wouldn't care about making a good impression.

And you know what I meant about the age thing. That's something at least I associate with young civic owners. Of course I never thought those were cool, so maybe age has nothing to do with it

Anyway dude, maybe the wing isn't as bad as i'm imagining. Post a link to a pic or something..

 

I think we all care what others think to point, we all want to be accepted by our peers. But I do not let it decide what I like or do not like or what I do. Washing the car is probably a bad analogy because most of us (probably including you) just hate filthy cars. Cars are one of those things in life that many people are passionate about, like most art forms it touches the soul. It does for me and apparently it does for you as well. That doesn't mean we have to follow the same artistic vision. If we did we would be followers not individuals.

I posted because I responded to an indivual asking about R33 tails, then a few other members asked to see the finished work. Was I a little hurt by the negative comments, yes, but I was not offended. I shook it off and took it all as a difference of artistic view. No big deal. I have enjoyed our debate though. I hope you have not been offended.

I know what you meant about the age thing. I have heard it before. People expect anyone past the age of 30 to be boring, in a minivan, listening to oldies radio. Well, I am not that way, I enjoy trying new things, I enjoy modding my Maxima and I listen to Disturbed and Avenged Sevenfold. I do not let my age define me. I am just me. My age is just a number not a sentence.

I agree with you on the wing thing. I am not looking for a wing that is cartoonish. I do not know how the wing I am getting will look, it may look tacky, won't know until it is on.

 

being someone who has customized a couple of cars, i can safely say, to maximize your wow factor and make the mods look as seamless as possible, you should, buy some wheels, alter your driving height, modify the body/paint. ascessorise(spoilers etc) IN THAT ORDER

stock wheels with a body kit, body mods or custom paint look horrible

a low car with stock wheels(although looks better than above) :thumsdown

a nice paintjob, wheels and nosebleed height, the least offensive of the three.

havet seen any side shots of your car, but before a wing, if you dont have wheels, invest in them.

 

Well nobody expects you to do what they say should be done, it's more or less a way of expressing their opinion. At least that was my purpose, or at least to persuade you to rethink it before spending $300 on it if you hadn't already paid.

About the age, that's not what I meant at all. I know some very cool people over 30 and up to 65. I wasn't saying "only the young cool kids modify their cars" or something.. I've just never known of anyone close to my Dad's age who would be interested in rice wings.. Now again, I don't know what this wing looks like, and the picture I have in my head is of some other max that had an ugly aluminum wing. So I shouldn't rush to judgement..

Believe it or not, I drive around listening to oldies radio all the time and I don't consider myself boring Phil Spector trial starts soon btw.

 

As someone who has also done more than a couple cars I can say what order you do them in doesn't matter.
I have done (in this order)
Rims
suspension (lower)
engine/trans
exhaust/intake
mores suspension (stiffer)
brakes
E36 conversion
CF hood

Damaged rims (combination crappy roads/cheap rims)

Now tails
next will be spoiler
then will be new rims
then new paint

Forget "wow" factor. Do what pleases you as you can afford it. Try to plan everything out before digging in. Have a plan and see it thru. Don't listen to others, follow your own thoughts.

 

How much did those suckers run you?

 

Don't put them on the car unless you have the part.

~Alex

 

Good on you for doing something new and different!

 

hmm...I have a set of R34's in the basement waiting to be put on. I can't wait to see the response THOSE get....