I see a lot of people on forums asking where to start, and my friends always nag me, what should I do to my car...

well I wrote a small rant here...

Just wanted some opinions, see what others thought...

Mods you can move this, or delete it, just wanted some opinions from people

 

It depends on what's more important to you: looks or performance.
Pick one and go nuts.
Budget is the next thing to consider in your decisions.

 

Yeah, true, I guess I didn't put that in, I get asked a lot by people that want performance. frustrates the hell out of me, when they are throwing a code, and their engine sounds like **** "what should I start with?" "get an exhaust it'll be awesome" They hate it when I tell em fix your car first, then we can start tinkering

 

i understand some cars need brake upgrades but truthfully does the maxima realy need a brake upgrade right off the bat? for the way i drive( and the mods i have) i have never once thought " i wish i had better brakes" . but i do wish my rotors and calipers looks better

 

I have not followed my own advice but the most beneficial mod would be suspension - get that thing carving corners before more power IMO.

 

make it go fast...take advantage of one of the ten best engines EVER and make her breath better. ie: intake, ypipe, cat, etc....
then make it look fast

 

i think first should be y-pipe cheap ad bang for the buck

 

my list of performance mods i did in the order

cai, k sport coilovers, rims, y pipe

 

I totally agree with all,

I'm just saying, safety/performance, the brakes need to be bumped up. Im not talking anything major, just some grippy ceramic pads, and stainless lines (ok, Ive done more to that to my brakes)

with all this power and agility we're adding stopping power can NOT be overlooked. I've had several cars, I have never regretted upping my brakes.

As for other comments... If it were me, Im into carving up mountain passes and road courses, brakes then clutch/flywheel, then suspension, then the rest.

 

Brake up grades are great, but I think alot of people go overboard (larger rotors, double piston calipers etc.) compared to any intended perfomance upgrades. Keep in mind, brakes do not stop your car. The friction between the road and your tires do. The best brakes can't over come sh.t tires,... and vice versa

 

67white goat: thats very true. but even if you dont plan to mod out your car, and you plan to drive uber aggressively, the fade on stock brakes and their performance when red hot is lacking. its commonly a place people overlook.

 

sell your car and buy a more performance oriented base to start out with..

 

that answer doesnt get us anywhere. if I could afford a true performance car, I would. but for whatever reason, money climate whatever we here went with a fourth gen maxima... but since we did..

 

Aside from Nissan 6: I think these comments have been very insightful, To throw in another reason I skipped tires and went for brakes was that most people are quickly going to be swapping out their wheels/tires. hopefully they do their research, but then again, if they did their research, I wouldn't have a rant to begin with...

 

Please note that big brake kits require that you go at least with 17" rims or larger due to clearance requirements. You can't go big brakes with the stock rims.

 

Big brake kits are even a step past, Im just talking about some good rotors, ceramic pads, stainless lines. I just think brakes are so commonly overlooked

 

Technically that's true, but if you've ever driven a car with real brakes you'll know the ones on the Maxima make it comparatively unsafe. My car has 245/45 Hankook RS2s (almost slicks), I recently drove my friend's E46 with 205/55 touring tires. I couldn't corner anywhere NEAR as quickly with the bimmer compared to my car because of the serious lack of traction, but the feel of the brakes made me feel infinitely more safe in the bimmer regardless, those brakes were impeccable.

There's a lot more to brakes performance-wise than just how much friction they can put out, you have to take into account feel and modulation, fade, and feel and modulation under fade.

 

100%. The brakes on our cars are really terrible in comparison to even cars in its class let alone cars like that Bimmer. My winter project was gonna be cosmetic but the more I've thought about it some sorta BBK is in order instead. I figure I love my car, Im gonna keep it for awhile so I'll have plenty of time for other mods...I just really wanna get the brakes outta the way.

 

So this weekend I went out and test drove some possible project cars, and I have to say, brakes are definitely number 1, but a clutch kit will always be second on my list... Just thought I'd share

 

Without realising this, my first mod I guess was brakes. I got ceramic pads when I first got my car, but it was for brake dust. They are begining to squeel so now Ill shop for a better pair instead of the wholesale ones I got the first time.

 

Thats all Im talking about. ok, you did it for dusting, but i bet your braking was improved as well.

 

Don't do anything to a 13 year old Maxima save for something better like a buick rendezvous

 

now I know the buick is fast, but damn man, its a buick. Im saving for a 04+ WRX. I'll probably get a lot of heat from the board for this. but this is my taste. my maxima is just my A-B for now. but it may as well be a fun one