i have a 89 se and i am looking for some reasonable mods that will raise my power in all ranges. and something thats not so hard to install i have looked at mufflers and a cai but wondering what else is there. my enigine has 130k miles on it and i dont want to mess to much with it internaly

 

I recommend a K&N air filter. This will increase your hp up to 10%. Size up on your tires(if you haven't) to 215-60r-15 for traction control. Once in a while you can use 104octane boost(or something similar) and this will increase your performance a little bit. K&N's run for the maxima about $45. The octane boost runs about $3.50 per tank of gas. That is some of the little stuff you can do and takes no time to do. If you hear of any different ideas, let me know.

Scott

 

Are you talking about the K&N drop in filters? If so 10%is a little off, more like .005%. The stock airbox is the restrictive part in the intake. Octane booster will not give you any better performance, it's like using premium instead of regular. If you understand the concept of what an octane number means then you would know that a higher number doesn't mean better performance.


Anyway, in reply to slick's post. You can get a cone air filter pretty cheap. Most rice shops sell MAF adapters, you want the one for a Nissan V6, and then any cone filter with a 3" inlet will work. You could also buy a non-mandrel bent Y-pipe from Warpspeed Performance, they are only $200, give almost as much hp as the mandrel bent pipe but is a lot less $$.

 

yellow stickers.......I have about 20 of them and I just beat a C5 yeasterday!

 

and bulbs.....my maxima is helluva fast!!!!!! ha da-max that mr t stuff is good stuff

 

If i were you id go with the CAI or if its too expensive get just a regular cone intake but dont get the k&n drop in filter it wont do anything b/c you still have the air box on!

 

tints work too...

 

I'm right witcha, slick-dub!

What about spark plugs/wires? Do they help at all with power?

And should you go with the intake before the y-pipe/catback system/muffler setup? I took the pipe leading to the airbox off of my car, which already had a drop-in K&N Filtercharger in it. It seemed to make a bit of a difference, but, of course, I wanna do more because most folks SLEEP on our 3rd Gens - especially the stock-looking ones!

peace2u

 

Actually, I do understand what the octane number means and the higher octane will burn better, which in reality will give you better performance. If you don't believe this, take a car that requires premium gas and drop to the regular 87 octane and watch what happens. Your car will be a little more sluggish at times, you will feel a little power loss on heavy excelleration, and your car will probably start pinging or keep running momentarily when you turn it off. I don't know what your definition of performance is. Now, I'm not talking about making your car perform like a supercharged car. There is not that much difference, but there is some and I think we we are looking for inexpensive performance boost, which brings up another point. The K&N states performance boose UP TO 10%. The design is 100 times better than a standard filter, which increases air intake and where there is an increase in air flowing through the system you will find better performance.

 

I do agree with you somewhat about octane. I definitely noticed a difference with my VG (89GXE) when I would run 93 instead of 87 or 91. Maybe a little bit more power, but definitely smoother. I have always used premium in my 93se. I think it runs better and if not, it at least gives you a little peace of mind

as for the K&N filters, if you get a cone intake, you will notice a slight inrease; but the drop in filter replacements will give you 1-2HP max. The cars they test those things on to give you 10% gain with just the panel filter must have been using cardboard or something like that before as the filter.
even so, the K&N is nice and doesn't need replacement (just occasional cleaning)
be careful though, when I put the panel one in my 89GXE, the idle got really weird and I've heard several other people with this problem so keep your stock filter just in case

also, there are a couple rewires on my page that make decent cheap (almost free) mods

enjoy your new max

 

The easiest mod I did to my '91 SE is I bumped the timing to 20 degrees. The only drawback of this mod is that you'll have to use premium gas only, otherwise your timing will be retarted everytime you hit the gas pedal. I did it 20k miles ago and so far there weren't any problems with pinging. Also, if you drive a stick shift, put the Redline Oil ($10 per bottle) in the tranny and you'll be amazed how it will change its feel. Since the tranny will shift quicker, you'll lose a couple of tenths off your 0-60 time too.
I also have a K&N drop-in panel ($30 at Pep Boys) but I doubt it made any difference except that the intake growls at around 3500 rpms which can be ok for some people.

 

What performance gains do you get by boosting the timing? And how hard is this to do?

 

I haven't ran it on a dyno, but you'll definitely feel it right away. Advanced timing always means better engine response until you hit the dreaded knock... Actually, it's a very common technique in motorsports. My other car is a sports car (no offense but Maxima is a nice family hauler ) and the timing bump alone produced better results then the CAI, header, and free-flowing exhaust combined.
Since the 3rd gen Maxima isn't OBDC II compliant, you can retard or advance timing by as much as you want without triggering the computer off. The procedure itself is very simple, all you need is a timing gun, 10mm socket and 10 mins to spare. However, if you haven't seen how it's done, I'd recommend taking to a shop since all shops do it.