prettyboymax

I own a 94se 5spd the car is stock and mechanically sound. I have another car I use as my daily driver. I was thinking of making the max into my weekend warrior and taking it to the track on occasions. I have 5k budget and I’m feeling a little hesitant with modding the car. I always loved my 3rd gen but I’m wondering if this vehicle can be performer. For those of you that are heavily modded is the 3rd gen’s a good platform or should I sell it and look for something a little more capable?

Matt93SE

iTrader: (44)

Coming from a guy that's got one of the most modded and track-ready 3 gens out here....


If you want a track car, take that $5k and buy an S13 or cheap S14 240SX.
do the basic bolt-ons on it..
Car- $2500
GOOD coilovers (Not Megan Racing, Ksport, D2, or any ebay crap like that. I'm talking Tein, Tanabe, KTS, etc.)- $1100
sway bars, rear camber arms, and FSTB- $500
good brake pads- $150 (keep the stock rotors and calipers.. just get some good pads like Hawk Blue for the track and some HPS for the street.)
intake, exhaust, cams, possibly ECU- $1000
wheels & track tires- $1500

That's $6750 and you'll have a car that's infinitely more capable on the track than the Maxima will ever be. I don' thave the ***** to drive mine to the limit and the above is basically what I've done to mine.

I've done WAY more to the Maxima and spent way more. the Max is faster in a straight line, but my lap times at the track are the same as my 240 because the 240 handles better in the corners. I also eat through tires on the Max like you wouldn't believe. I'll go through a set of slicks in a weekend at the track, where the same tires will last me a year of track events on the 240.

The hard truth of it is the Maxima is a heavy FWD car. it's not made to be a track car. you can go much faster with less money elsewhere.

TWINTRBO

You would do much better to get a last gen F body Firebird or Camaro with an LT-1 engine. You would be able to do easy 12's for 5k. Try that with a maxima!

Jeff92se

iTrader: (82)

I could probably do 12s with an XR4Ti w/ less than 5k

Cliff Clavin

iTrader: (11)

are you talking about drag racing or road course/autocross?

Either way, the Max isn't a very good choice. There isn't much to choose from on the aftermarket and Matt's post explains a lot.

Maximas are a compromise car -- it seats four comfortably and handles fairly well and is fairly quick for it's size. If you like the room and maybe have kids or haul people, it is a great sedan.

If you want a track ****, you don't really need to compromise, though.

Sell your Maxima and buy something better equipped for the type of driving you want to do. Another car that can be had cheap is the 91-94 Sentra SE-R. You can find one for maybe $1000 to $2500 and have a fwd SR20DET installed for about $3500. You can get it cheaper if you do it yourself, that is the quote I got from a shop. I have been thinking about buying one.

You can even do bolt ons to the stock engine and be in the same area as the Maxima, with better handling and more room for improvement.

Maximahappy22

iTrader: (4)

I should be around 12's next track season, ive only spent about 3-4k for car, mods, and maintinance...

Maximan190

iTrader: (8)

the beauty with these cars is you can mod it to your choice - straight line drag car or a good twisties/road course car. Theres a ton of suspension upgrades available to do either with. Id like to get my camaro to a drag and twisties track eventually. Funny thing, i remember putting on my FSTB in the maxima a long time ago and i thought i was king of cloverleafs, fast forward to now having the F body with SFCs...

hadman

iTrader: (21)

I agree with most of the above - especially if you are talking about circuit and not drag strip. It's no secret there is more to be had out there performance wise, and greater after market support.
I love the 3rd gen for what it is. It's a special car, and makes for a fun project and a decent compromise if you want to stay in a sedan world, haul kids, groceries, own a mild little sleeper, etc...
My personal goal isn't about gaining respect from anyone outside of this forum. You can't get it from 4th gen owners let alone the average Joe on the street. My goals are personal - I like my Maxima and I want to get the best from it. I'll enjoy an occasional trip to the drag strip, mod as I go to shave a few tenths, and then put the baby seat back in lol.
Personal victories.
How often will you track it? I plan to continue lightly modding, and with a car of this age... maintaining, but I'll draw the line before $5k.
I'm just happy to have owned this car since 1996 and still turn heads with it.

dazedmaxima93

go for it! i'm gonna spend around 15k on my 93 max.

xx-Marshall-xx

iTrader: (15)

uhhh...if your gonna spend 15k.... get a 5.5 gen dude seriously, what I would do

Maximahappy22

iTrader: (4)

CapedCadaver

iTrader: (8)

that's harsh reality right there

a guy on the security team at my morning job recognized my degadged car, because he had wanted to get one when he was my age (i assume that was in the early 90s when they were still in production). So he's got respect for it, as an automotive person himself, but you're right, most people are going to be like "hey nice sentra. maxima? haha whatever man."

Pearl93VE

iTrader: (14)

Although this was kind of a blatant statement. I kind of agree with him here. I would rather have a fully restored 3rd gen with every bolt on you can find over a 5.5 gen. Don't get me wrong, I do love the oil leaking americanized non-independently suspended, non-autocross out of the box VQ35 beast.

But If money wasn't an option you bet your *** I'd drop $15,000 into a 3rd gen to have it be like a new car again.

internetautomar

iTrader: (30)

what type of weekend warrior are you looking for?
and what type of track usage?
the max isn't ideal for any track usage, but as a non-track fun weekend car it can be especially if you have a family that you want to join in with for the fun.
a true track car will generally be 2 or no doors, anything beyond that is a compromise.
figure out your goal more precisely and then figure out your car.

505max94se

iTrader: (15)

I'd recommend doing the exact same thing.

People think the 240 is just a ricer drift car, but it's not. It's very capable of being an awesome track **** or a drag car as well as a drift car.

About a year ago, I ended up buying an S13 coupe for $800 and man I wish that I bought one long before I started modding my maxima. I figure that I should have about 500 reliable whp in my S13 for about $6500 including the car (doesn't include wheels, tires, brakes, or suspension). I already have a vq30det and most of the necessary stuff to make it run. Engine choices are very abundant for the 240.

CapedCadaver

iTrader: (8)

i know it's oversaid but for 15 grand you really could have a body shop make it a 2door, you could reduce weight, switch to RWD and TT the thing. Not that it's worth the hassle, but for $15k it can be done, not that it should. For 15k you can find a good first-year 350z.

xx-Marshall-xx

iTrader: (15)

theres a 9sec 240 that ran on our crappy "orlando speed world" track. It was sweet watching that thing

Pearl93VE

iTrader: (14)

Yeah, You could get a nice 03/04 350z with modest miles and in good condition. But where is the originality in that? I know maxima's are no supercar and they were never intended to be. Just a nice compromise between comfort, room, and sportiness. But, if choosing between something everyone has, or a dependable, 2 door, turbo'd maxima... I really would keep the max.

A lot of people buy a new car just to have something new, keep up with the joneses, and to not have to worry about reliability issues; all the while dropping a $350+ payment each month for the next six or seven years.

But back On topic... If you want a car that is going to be your track ****, regardless of what kind of track. The most logical thing to do would be to buy something with more potential, a bigger aftermarket scene, and something you won't have to "compromise" with.

But if you want to have a car that is comfortable, seats five, (uncomfortably), and is still able to put down decent numbers and handle like a BMW (with the right mods) then I would go with the max.

maximal

iTrader: (4)

i love my maxima for what it is, and i'm happy with it. i could get a 240 and mod it, but with all of it's potential and huge aftermarket support, i'd always be broke. i know guys with s13's and s14's and they put all of their money into it. that's the one good thing about having little aftermarket support with our 3rd gen...

TWINTRBO

An 88-89 Chrysler Conquest/ Mitsubishi Starion is a great track car too, they did VERY well in the 80's in the SCCA events. My 87 did a 14.4@96 with an EVC, clutch, cat-back and drop in K&N filter. I also did KYB struts with eibach springs and a FSTB, that car handled like you wouldn't believe......I know the engine gets a bad rap but I beat that thing all the time and I put over 100K miles on it.

internetautomar

iTrader: (30)

it's a mitsubishi. you can identify it by the blue smoke from the tail pipe

TWINTRBO

At least the injectors didn't stop firing and the windows dont drop into the doors! Oh SNAP, no he dint!

Seriously though, every car has its issues, I dont care WHO made it. At least Valve seals are easy to change, the head comes right out without disturbing the timing chain. I know what youre getting at though, mitsu is bad with oil burning when the mileage gets up there.

internetautomar

iTrader: (30)

injectors are easy, as are the window regs. I had both done in less time than it takes to redo the seals

TWINTRBO

Are you retarded or what? First of all, it wouldn't be a maxima anymore and I think thats the biggest point besides the rest of the stupidity. Make it a 2 door? Sure you can weld them shut but it doesn't lose weight and probably wont stiffen it much either, so why? Reduce the weight? This isn't a video game, you cant check a box and weight goes away, all the parts are there for a reason and they spend millions to build it as simple as they can. Switch it to RWD? Oh so thats easy? The entire car would have to be reinforced, it was NEVER intended for the loads that would be put on it, never mind the rear end, what rear would just bolt on? And to properly TT the car would take mega money including all new engine internals. Although the sentiment is nice, there is no way this could be done for 15k in parts and labor.

Pearl93VE

iTrader: (14)

First off: We don't need your condescending rhetorical bashing in your opening sentence. He obviously wasn't serious. He was pointing out with $15,000 to drop into a vehicle, your options are opened much more than to just buy another car. That is all.

TWINTRBO

Angry a little? Read it again, at no point was he NOT serious about it. The guy who started the thread was talking about a $5k investment so it was technically off topic as well. As many others including myself pointed out, there were better options than what he proposed. The point of the forum is to help other owners and not give them crazy ideas or false hope. Obviously money is a concern for people and most of us work damn hard for it and dont want to waste it. Im sure the OP would love to buy a viper but that wasn't in the cards from the onset and still is not a useful suggestion. Im not a forum basher by nature but sometimes people get under my skin, like the Audi tuner I used to know who would lose races all the time and then challenge mustangs to race on a frozen lake because he had Quattro.

Darkwing48

iTrader: (1)

Amen on that brother!!!

Greeny

iTrader: (43)

Settle down folks,this isn't the 4th gen forum..

'90_Maxima

prettyboy: I think it'd be best to find another vehicle for use as a weekend warrior and occasional track use.

I'll be sitting at over $32k invested on a 3rd gen around 3 weeks from now after the car gets out of the paint and body shop. (The original paint is stripped down and it's just sprayed with the self-etching primer right now.) It's nothing fancy, nothing outlandish. Besides the wheels it will look basically bone stock. In fact besides just a few mods it will be. The only thing is that everything on the car is new. Everything is oem besides the few performance mods. But, why the hell would I do it? Do I know what $32k could buy??? Sure I do. I sold my Carrera for less.

The point of modding and rebuilding a car is because it does what you want. This car is perfect for what I wanted for my wife's daily driver. It doesn't attract attention. (Believe me, that isn't always good. In fact, it's usually more of a bad thing.) It has a great platform. The engine we took out had about 300k. There aren't many non-name-brand cars that can get that high. It's a perfect balance of comfort, sportyness, reliability and it has a very classy design. I read an old issue of R&T from '91 when they released the dohc SE and it made me laugh when it didn't score high only because of its' design was "dated." Please. This car has one of the classiest designs I've seen. The spaceship crap everyone is putting out these days look like poo.

Anyway, that's why I threw in more than most would even think to on a car people see as "sub-par." It fits exactly what I wanted. But, for those who want to track it it'll only get you so far. For the money I'd turn elsewhere.

CapedCadaver

iTrader: (8)

I was serious about the fact that for $15 it CAN be done. In no way, shape, form, or derivation thereof was I suggesting that anyone do this regardless of financial standings, or ambition, or sheer stupidity. I just said that it CAN be done. And that it's not worth the hassle. I never said I intended to do it, or that anyone should.

And no I'm not retarded. I just act like it so I can get a "whoa" every so often when I don't.

Someone put a TT LS7 in a Volvo. Someone also put an LS1 into a honda civic. Someone also put an engine in both ends of some sort of VW. The Volvo was done for like $20k. I think the Honda guy was doing it for even less.

TWINTRBO

That could be sig worthy!

I moved my rant to where it belongs, not on this thread because thats not where it belongs. Those who are interested in why the Volvo thing is BS tune in here:

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....20#post6068520

Eenis

I take it you're talking about Volvette? It was a LS1 from a '99 corvette, not a LS7.
Cardomain
Autoblog

Kountz430

for 5 grand you could have a good show piece,unlike that "donk" maxima that was posted a few months back,theres alot that can be done on a budget,you just gotta have a goal in mind as for a track car i would'nt do it.there are so many camaro's mustang's that are for sale.Hypothetical statement here: you can find a mustang or camaro/firebird for say.... 500 bucks now you have 4500 to play with.You can gut the car yourself grab a crate engine and be done with it and put done some respectable numbers.To answer your question for a show car i'd say yeah its worth it especially when the show car scene is flooded with hondas,subbies evo's ,240's etc. etc. for a track car i say no cause you get blown outta da water by Honda's, subbies, evo's 240's etc. etc.

mrkanda

iTrader: (3)

Where is the original poster with his response?

Greeny

iTrader: (43)

prettyboymax

Last Activity: 11-22-2007 11:29 PM