Hi everybody! I have to say that when I found this website, I just about had an orgasm.

You see, I've been looking at buying a new car to replace my Dodge neon...for safety, luxury, and speed. Been thinking 'bout one of these maximas and am searching for something I can buy.

Anyway, first things first:
How do power windows, sunroofs, other power items hold up over time? Do they still work good even in, say, a 97 Maxima?

Safety...I see in the IIHS Frontal Offset crash the 96 Maxima got horrible ratings: http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/sp...&src=vip#nhtsa

while the '97 got rather good ratings: http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/sp...&src=vip#nhtsa
Is this just coincidence or will I really be much safer driving a 97 or up?

How fast can I get this thing going? I have a car budget of around 6K (including trade-in), and I am setting aside $1,000 for electronics and the rest can be spent on performance. I figure a cold air intake adds about 10hp, and a muffler another 10hp...but honestly I don't know a whole lot and want to get the best bang for my buck. I have experience in electronics, not performance.

 

ok man...i welcome you to the org...and say good choice with choosing a maxima...i have a 96 maxima..no problems with my of the windows, or any power items...well the last owner screwed up sometyhing electrical..but i was able to fix it...i bought it at 94,000 and its at 100,000 right now....runs perfect...no problems...if you maintain it (like any other car)....safety wise.....a chevy suburban hit me at my passanger side....she was making a left turn..and ignored the fact that i was driving by her on the main street..anyway...i suffered no damage and the repair cost wasnt that much....you can get the thing pretty damn fast...new exhaust system all together
(catylitic converter, y pipe, headers) and a CAI (cold air intake)...possibly some other mods that you can do yourself for cheap...lower the car..slam on some 17/18 rims..and dude you got a pretty sweet ride...oh yeah and also to mention..there are ALOT of different websites and places you can buy accessories for maxima...especially if you get a 97..overall...dude it would go with it...if you can find a 97' maxima that you like for a good price..its defintley a reliable car in my opinion.

 

Electronics hold up very well. The bose system can crap out for some, but generally electrical problems are minimal. Some things you'll want to get checked out is the knock sensors and , oxygen sensors.

 

Well, I don't plan on using the stock sound system, any part of it, unless the stock 7" speakers are really good. But aside from that I have my own amps, HU, guitar and subwoofer to put in.

Also, what is a knock sensor?

 

it tells you if someone touhes you car..its like...a shock sensor alarm..

 

Do you mean as in a car accident or as in "hey, step away thief"?

 

yeah..like your not there..and someone sits on your car...then your alarm will go over..because it is feeling the shock of the person

 

Don't pay attention to him, A knock sensor sends an alert to your ecu when engine knock is present. When this part fails, It can result in "loss" of power and crappy gas mileage (especially when knock sensor and o2 sensor are having problems at the same time).

 

for a bunch of good info to start on, and not even 1/4 that's on this site:klsdhskdf
what your KS does:" · What about my knock sensor, doesn't it prevent detonation?
The knock sensor was designed to detect detonation/pinging/knock in you engine. When it detects a ping, the ECU will retard (pull back) the ignition timing to prevent further knocking. You may be asking then why can't I use 87 octane gas since there is this knock sensor. Two main reason: 1) performance will be impacted when the timing is retarded and 2) When the knock sensor does its thing, that means there has already been some knocking that occured. Remember the effects of detonation/knocking is cumulative. It is possible that using low grade gas may not cause any problems, but remember it does not take that many detonations to break your engine. "

 

just a heads up, alot of noob jokes float around. the wonderful knock sensor just being the first. good luck with initiation

 

welcome to the org

read the stickies, they help out a lot.

 

I have a 97. Everything still works like new. Moonroof, Bose CD player, auto climate control, power windows, door locks.

 

A 1997 Maxima is a good choice, that's what I bought two months ago. However, there's no way in hell you'll get 10 horsepower out of a cold air intake. There are, however, lots of other power options (including a Y-pipe) that'll give you plenty of hp.

 

Hey,

I would go for a 97 or higher. If you look at a 99 keep in mind that there are some problems with the ignition coils but you can get traction control with this year, which may or may not be a benefit to you. Haven't had any problems with my ignition coils yet, but a lot of other people on the org have. I chose my Maxima due to the fact that it has better crash tests than the 95/96 models and it also has second generation airbags which are a little safer. There was a thread a few months ago where somebody's Maxima was in a huge accident and rolled over several times. Amazingly enough, the safety cage was still intact and the driver was okay. I feel pretty confident driving one of these cars. Good luck shopping!

Here is a review on the Maxima. Not sure sure how familiar you are with the car, but I always use this website to find out more.

 

Best bang for the buck performance mod is a y-pipe. I have a Budget stainless steel y-pipe and quite like it. I've had no electrical problems with the car whatsoever.

When I bought my car new, Road & Track or Car and Driver had an article stating the top speed of a 95SE with 5-speed is 143 mph. I can attest to that having been there and done that.

 

good luck getting 10hp out of an intake or a muffler. muffler is jsut for sound & looks. maybe if it has really good flow you get 1 hp out of it. but yeah def get a y pipe if you want performance

 

All I gotta say is the maxima will seem like a rolls royce compared to a neon. GOOD CHOICE NOOB!

 

A maxima can last well over 250K if properly maintained. That goes for any car. Your going to get worse MPG. Its a 3.0 V6 and not that little 1.4 or w/e 4cylinder motor your neon has. The power is more but not like WOW I have a 14 sec car...

Some facts:
-95/96 maximas are lighter/faster than 97/99.

-AutoTRAGIC sucks Stick to 5-speed if you can...

-They suck at crash ratings because they are lighter and dont have re-enforced front and rear ends. (but nothing to worry about unlike your neon which is smaller and weaker)

-Knock sensors, detect how much knock the motor makes. The cheaper the gas you put in the more knock it detects the ****ter you run. (93 octane is great, try using 91)

-o2 sensors the Car has 3 of them. BE preparied to replace them if the car has about 80k with original parts.

-At 90k your looking at a full tune up, Platinum plug is the way to go.

-Bose is an awsome system but Would I keep it??? NO

-As in for performance... Y-pipe with a Short ram intake. CAI can hydrolock your engine and the cone gets dirty faster than a short ram intake. Exhaust over sound and performance stick to a Gready.

-Wheel bearings go pretty quick on these cars.

-I believe 97's had a recall on alternators. If you have 100k with a stock one, save up to replace it. It will crap out on you.

-Belts the Car has 2 of them with a timming chain which is suppose to last the life of the motor. Get the belts replace and the timming chain alone.

-TB, Clean it up with some TB cleaner. Most noticable diff.

-Dont use FAKE hid lights you will burn the **** out of your harness. Get the real deal then back it up with a heavy duty 9004 kit.

-5speed maximas USE ONLY GL-4!!! Dont put anything else in there.
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Thats it in a nutshell. Check the axles they tend to go as well. The rear valve cover gasket tends to leak. I have 106k On my maxima the body is spotless the engine bay is spotless everything is pretty much like new. Ask me the things ive replaced in the past 7 months, and ill write you a novel. But since I did everything the car will last longer.

 

Try and find a 97 or 98, 5-speed, that hasn't spent its entire life enduring Minnesota winters. Also try and get the maintenance history on the car.

 

SMX... beautiful post. A summary of everything ive learned on the org in the last few months

 

saved to notepad

 

you: "...here are some facts guys. Listen here are some facts: One of them is that the 95/96 are faster than the 97/99. HAHA, isn't that a cool fact? THanks, no need to congratulate. People with 95/96 Maximas run 14.715 bone stock. Those with 97+ run 14.720. HAHA. see? They're faster."

 

Faster and lighter!

 

Dude! I'm new too. I'm also planning to get a maxima, although i'm probably going to go with a 96.

 

well ive had my 95 in the family since it was new off the showroom floor in '94, it runs like new. needs a horrible TB cleaning, but thats coming as soon as i get out of school. summer=overhaul

 

your facts are wrong. Ask anyone on the org, 95-96 weigh less, hints it's faster you moron. Its like weight reduction. And not its not .010 of a sec faster. Its not as safe to a 97-99 because they have re-enforced the whole frame making it a safer car. From your facts your telling me will the extra weight 97-99 have it's less than 100LBS diff? 100LBs is .10 of a sec off your time....Weren't you ban for just saying ramdon thing's without any knowledge to support your facts?

 

thank you thank you

 

thanks bro!

 

Alright, few questions:

Is detenation common in cars? See, to me that sounds terrible.

As far as the Y-Pipe - is this what I am looking for?: here
Is this what I am looking for for a Short Ram Intake: here

Alright, so say I buy a 97 Maxima with around 140K on the engine:

Replace knock sensor - $50? (guessing)
Replace O2 sensors - $???
Replace Alternator - Free because of recall?

-I'd use 5w30 oil, 93 octane gasoline?
-also, I must buy a 5spd manual because if I dont I will be raped by members of this board?

 

Stay away from Stone Mountain products. Many members have had fitment issues. Do some searches for more info as to why I say this. For the best bang for the dollar go with either a Budget Y-pipe (www.lssexhaust.com) or a warpspeed y-pipe (www.warpspeedperformance.com)

Pick any intake you like. Read the stickies and search for more info.

5w30 for colder climates (east coast) and 5w30 or optional 10w30 for hotter climates is fine. Always use Premium (highest grade) 91+

Get a 5spd if you're going for performance. Not that you will be raped by members on this board, it's because you'll want to rape yourself later on for not going with a 5spd.

 

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1.No, Dont buy that setup its a waist of time and money.. There is no real gains that headers put out more than a y-pipe. That setup doesnt do anything... (Get a warpspeed, Budget, Or STILLEN)

2. No, that intake is no good. It has a franklen midpipe well not really the one but same looking and everyone knows you get no GAINS with it. Get a stillen intake.

3.Knock sensors there is a Groupdeal on these right now for 90 bucks new shipped to your door.

4.www.autopartsauthority.com or www.bosch4less.com. You will get them for a way better price than at a dealership.

5.Yes im sure you can do the recall if it hasnt been done already.

6. You dont need to use 93 I use it just because I need my car to last me another 2 years.

7. As far as oil. Im debating on to still use lucas with GTX Startup or to Use moblie 1Drive clean NON synthetic without lucas. My teachers at school keep saying with motors at 100k try using thicker oil. So maybe try 10w-30

 

For my .02, I have a 99SE and wouldn't trade it for anything right now. It's got 140650 miles on it and still pounds the little four bangers into the dust as well as most sixes. There's quite a selection of mods for under $500(suspension, engine, body) as well as a good amount over $500 like N2O, Turbo, Super, engine swap.
http://maxmods.dyndns.org/index.php is the BEST site I've found aside from the org for information.

 

<spam> blah blah spamming to 15 posts</spam>

u just got my maxima. so far im happy with it. we have similar questions, so youve helped me.... now if i could only post my thread

 

If you're planning on working with the sound system, don't bother trying to find the Bose. The speakers of the Bose have their own individual amplifiers (the head unit doesn't have a built in amplifier like most do), so it's just more stuff to rip out if you want to replace everything. If you get the non-Bose, you'll probably want to replace the speakers as well as the stock ones are not the greatest. Also, the stock speakers are 6 3/4", not 7".

As for the 95-96 vs. 97-99, I would recommend the 97-99 because you seem to care about the safety aspect. Also, one big difference that I'm surprised I didn't really see anyone mention is the styling. Along with the added support under the bumpers came a different design of bumpers. Most people on here (myself included, even though I have a 96) seem to prefer the 97-99 style, but that's a matter of personal preference. On that note, like everything with the car, whether it's exterior style, auto vs. 5spd, looks vs. performance, etc., do what you want to do, not what everyone else wants. Sure, it's good to get advice as to what manufacturers make good products (such as the advice to stay away from Stone Mountain headers) and to look at maxmods.dyndns.org and such, it all comes down to it being your money and your tastes.

That said, you'll love the max compared to the neon. Best of luck!

 

Well, Alright, so I plan on spending around 4500 for the actual car, 1000 for electronics, so I guess the rest of the 6K budget will be spent on Knock sensors $90 + O2 sensors $110 + Y-Pipe $200 + Stillen intake $150...how does that sound?

 

The stock speakers...theyre literally paper cones. Thats the first thing you have to throw out of your to-be amazing ride.

 

My 97 has 110k miles. Original KS, original O2 sensors. They'll go bad eventually, but mine are still fine. Every car is different

 

Decker87, just curious if you've driven a Maxima yet?

 

I wouldn't characterize the Bose system quite that harshly. My volume **** is funky sometimes and my skip backward button is broke, but it still sounds quite good for a stock system. And like someone mentioned, you cannot just change the speakers by themselves because of the Ohm issue.

Other than that, try to get a 5 speed!

 

Wow, Bose lost a lot of respect from me...

Anyway, and maybe this is naive, but I'm getting the impression that there are a lot of problems with maximas from all the threads about it...it IS more reliable than most cars, right?