OK guys and gals, I have officially been bitten by the mod bug.

I told myself that I would be "just looking" for new wheels..."just looking" at a drop, and "just looking" at upgrades like a Y-pipe...but I found myself going from "just looking" to almost buying on some H&R lowering springs yesterday.

Is there a cure? Aside from selling the max and going back to a Grand Am, I mean



So if I do lower, I want a nice little drop. NO slammage or hellaflush crap or anything like that...just a nice understated appearance. The H&R sport springs I almost bought were around 250 bucks, and lower the car about 1.5". This seems about right with regard to drop. At this low level of drop, do I need new struts? Or are my stock 12 year old ones fine? On another note, should I be replacing my 12 year old struts anyhow due to age? And while I'm there, should I change the bushings out or anything else? I don't wanna drop a grand into it right now, but... if I could convince the wife, it might help more... :-)

And I was also looking at a y-pipe. If I end up with one, it'll either be warpspeed or cattman. The cattman one is pricier (350 vs 200 or so)...is it worth the cost difference? In my research I have found the 99 is cali spec...but the 99.5 can be Fed spec? I will check the plate on my car at lunch to see what I am...but if I am in fact Cali spec (99 car, bought in late 98) it seems like nobody wants to touch installing the y-pipe since it removes a pre-cat.

Wheels. I am running stock SE 5 spokes with new Conti DWS tires. I just dropped over 500 into these when I bought the car, so I am not sure parting with them would be wise at this juncture. But I see everyone else's sig with the 6 spokes and the 350Z wheels and all that and I want 'em!. I will probably be able to hold myself back from buying new wheels until I need a new set of tires...


It's all your fault for making me want this stuff!!!

 

You'll need new struts with any sort of drop.

The Warpspeed y-pipe will be fine. I don't think Cattman's y-pipe is worth the extra money IMHO.

Keep your wheels.

 

Your responses are biased.

You just want me to save my $$ up for a headlight retrofit, Chris. Don't deny it!

Thanks man. Chances are, realistically, I will be keeping the stock wheels. Maybe getting one extra so I can switch out my spare to a full-size.

 

Not biased at all lol

Your hella aged struts will blow with any drop.

The y-pipe is pretty mich identical to Cattman's for a cheaper price.

You're not going to get back what you paid for the tires.

 

After reading your struts are 12 years old then I second that as a future necessity so you might as well do it now before buying stuff you dont actually need

 

granted the struts are old as eve's cooter, i wouldnt say it'd blow with any drop, at least no immediately, but i'm on the bandwagon of do it right the first time, with that thought, i still say coilovers...BUT!!!!! spring/struts will be fine if you insist, but it can run you about the same price as a set of decent used coilovers

 

i know right!?!?!! i was perfectly fine with my car the way it was until i came on here....now alot of money later....i still want it to be better! lol

i'd say hold off on rims.....or u can buy a nice set and use the se as a winter setup. for budget minded, the tokico hp's come as a strut srping combo for around $500 ($425 on amazon) 1.4 front and 1.25 rear, that may help you out

 

TOKIKO HP eh? I'll check that out! That's a good price, too...do you have those? how's the ride?

 

Go with ground control. Adjustable height and Eibach makes some damn good springs. Just make sure you have a grinder because the sleeves wont fit over most of the struts you get them made for. I had em made for AGX's and had to grind down the cap at the base of the cylinder something serious. About $300 for the sleeves and the struts you need anyways. Just make sure you actually go through Ground Control so you can tell them specifically what spring rate you want

 

I liked my Illumina and S-tech combo. Some say its a bit harsh but I liked the handling and the stiff feeling. It was around 2.25" front and back drop. It only bottoms on stuff if you aren't paying attention and take speed bumps straight on, or drive up a steep driveway from the road quickly.

Warpspeed Y pipe is a must.

Also recommend energy suspension motor mount bushings, they are a pain to install but worth it.

 

I think 2" is too low for me. Doing a little research into the Tokiko HP (blues), I'm finding a lot of love/hate with this setup. Price is a factor of course, but I don't want to regret what I get (if anything) becuase I wanted to save fity bucks or so.

I am re-thinking the setup, now thinking about H&R springs with the Tokico Illumina struts, but I only see the Illumina shocks. *n00b alert* Are these the same damned thing?

The H&R / Illumina combo seems to be well-received by a LOT of folks judging by past .org posts...

 

OK... I am pretty sure that *if* I do a drop, it'll be with the Tokiko Illumina shocks/struts paired with the H&R springs.

Best price I've found so far:
H&R Sport Springs (p/n 53059) - 240 shipped (importrp.com)
Front Illumina shocks (TOBB3102 (FR) & 3103 (FL)) - 185 ea - 390 total shipped (importrp.com)
Rear Illumina shocks (TOBU2905) - 89 ea - 178 total shipped (importrp.com)

So just for parts, I'm looking at 240+390+178= 808.00

Gotta pay to play, eh? LOL and this is just for the parts, not including installation (I will likely have anything I get like this professionally installed to preserve warranties).

Hmm...maybe stock ride right now isn't bad, and I'll have something to save up for in the future.


Anyone have a used set of Illuminas they wanna get rid of?

 

$808 spring setup<$800 coilover setup

 

yeah yeah.


so the whole hooplah with coilovers is what...? better handling then springs? I know it's completely adjustable with regard to stiffness and firmness, but so are the Illuminas...do coilovers only allow height adjustment as well?

 

So... I think I have a FED-SPEC MAXIMA!


According to the faq... the 12th character in the model info line designates emission spec... V for cali and U for US, non cali.

I have the U...hense I have a fed spec 99 yes??

 

Go with H&R and KYB GR2. I ran that for quite some time with no complaints at all, felt nicer than stock. Yes, Illuminas are great, but you probably won't need the different settings/adjustments of them. I'll probably go back to that setup when we have kids.

But, if you want your car to look like you lowered it, or have others be able to tell you lowered it, you're going to need other springs. When I had the H&R's, nobody thought it was lowered, except other Maxima owners.

 

Oh, and the cure for the mod bug is to start looking at newer cars. It's working for me. I don't plan on doing much more to my car as I hope to get a new car in a few years. Maintenance is enough work and money as it is.

 

Lol thanks Dave

My max IS a newer car...2 years younger than the grand am I replaced. I don't plan on getting a newer car for another 100 or 150k miles...the wifes car, on the other hand...will be newer...like an 06 or something...but she's specific on what she wants and it does NOT involve mods

 

Slam it, toss the stocks for some 18s, straight pipe that bit°ch

Do it, welcome to the org....

 

My wife got a new '10 Mazda3 at the end of '10, so it got me wanting something newer with all the fancy stuff and no dents, dings, rock chips, etc. Don't get me wrong, I love my car, but I've had a 4th gen almost 10 years and I'm ready for something else. But, I do hope to keep my maxima for as long as it drives, or until it costs more to fix than it's worth.

 

Any pics of the davemobile?

 

How about instead of getting the just the ypipe go for the OBX-R headers and ypipe for $330.00. You get all the gains you would with a y-pipe plus even more gain with equal length long tube headers.

Drop it, replace the struts. You don't need huge 18's to make it look good. I'd like to upgrade to some 17's but the stock S14 16's I have look good on my 2" drop and dunlop tires.

Unfortunately I have not found a cure to the mod bug. It's bitten me hard the last year.

 

Trusssst meeee! Lol

 

Lol u guys are great


Can anyone confirm my above thought of having a FED-spec max? I was under the impression all 99s were cali...

 

just save the old piping for when you have to smog. Who cares lol

 

I like my setup, I'm on kyb agx's an tein s-techs



It is a little ruff but that's expected with a drop.

An to answer your question of is there a cure? No there isnt lol actually there's 2 stop looking at mods or hit the lottery Lol

 

QFT!!!

the adjustability of dampening and height, you will highly appreciate it..ESPECIALLY!!!!!!! if you end up like i did...i bought a spring/strut combo for my 5th gen, thought i was satisfied until my hunger to go lower owned me....i bought a coilover setup and sold my spring/strut combo..never recooped what i paid for on it. do it right the first time, you'll probably thank us later

 

You talkin to me?

 

there is no cure for the mod bug. once you finish one thing your mind will start racing to and for the next mod. the only thing that i suggest is to draw up a plan and stick to it.Never impulse buy cause then you'll be stuck with crap you cant give away! good luck & happy modding

 

What setup are u referring to for 800? New?

This must be for a used setup.

I know a used setup can work, but im against used suspension. Recommend to get new components.

This.

mod bug cure is a new car, fo real!!

I got tokico HPs/H&Rs. Its a good setup. Not much harder than stock. Never bone jarring. Good ride quality suitable for female passengers (which is the main factor, IMO ).

Illuiminas would have been better cuz u can make the ride a little softer up front which would make for an ideal ride IMO. Go with blues in the back, illuminas up front and that ride is RIGHT!!!

Coilovers are good for 2+" drop. If u not dropping it more than no need for the coilovers, IMO.


EDIT:

Im sure Sutter will be here talkin his usual KONIs speech. He is right tho. KONIs FTW!

 

Fixed
Cheapest I've seen new coilovers. http://www.ultrarev.com/cns040-kp.html

Blues are stock replacements, don't get them if your dropping it.

...So improved handling and reduced unsprung weight is irrelevant unless you are dropped 2"+??

Also, if you get a new car, wouldn't you just end up wanting to mod that?

 

bottom line for me is that no matter what I do, it's going to be pricey. around a grand total with installation and what not. SO....with that in mind, I will be saving up over the next few months for this, and watching for sales. I would have no problem buying piece by piece over months, so long as I make a final decision on what I'm going to end up with. Something keeps me coming back to the Illuminas/H&R combo...

I'm thinking now of just doing the tint and maybe a new head unit. I like the LED work I did in my current stock one, but it does look old and I may just end up changing that one out. Looking at this one right now:

http://www.amazon.com/JVC-KWR500-KW-...753905&sr=1-18

I would end up buying it from Crutchfield though. same price but with installation freebies

 

Yo you guys been holding out on the coilover pricees!!!! lol..

Gotta disagree with the the statement that blues are stock replacements.
Tokico says the HP struts are performance and can be lowered 1.3"F.

Now, if u sd KYB were stock replacements, then i wd agree with that. On their website, KYB does NOT say their GR2s are performance struts. KYB says their GR2s are stock replacements.

Its well documented that either strut can be lowered on.

Coilovers are better than struts for the exact reasons u stated and based on the pricing u gave vs the cost for Illuminas, the coilovers is a no brainer.

And u are also correct sir about me modding any newer car i would buy. but the OP sd, he had a problem modding THIS current maxima. The cure for THAT is to buy a new car and mod that lol

 

You gonna like the illuminas/H&R setup trust me.

Im not sayin the blues/H&R is bad, actually the setup is good. Its jus that, knowing what i know now, Illuminas are better. I bet u can get near stock-like ride WHILE being lowered, which is tremendous.

I think it was NJ that said, the illuminas on setting 2 front and 4 for the rear is a comfy/sporty ride. I believe that too now.

That Head unit u posted is cool. But why JVC? hit up crutchfield and get a sony or alpine. Although, the double din is nice

 

Agreed...

 

I am anti-Sony. I have never liked them, from their PCs to their TVs to their car audio. I'm sure they're great, but I have not had good experiences with them. Hell, even their cell phones suck (for me).

I like Alpine and Pioneer the best, followed closely by JVC and then Kenwood. Just observations based on my personal experiences with car audio setups, I've got Pioneer (Premier) in the wife's outback, and I *had* a Pioneer in the Grand Am when I sold it. Unfortunately, Alpine doesn't have any double-din HU that I can see.

 

WHAT???!!!!!!


Im rocking a sony smartphone right now (always had a sony phone ) and they are the shiznit!!!!!

Got sony HU, sony surround sound, sony mp3, sony speakers, sony subwoofer, sony amp. All flawless man (knock on wood of course lol)

I had JVC HU before and they good. Jus make sure u know what u buying. The difference between JVC and Sony is that Sony gives you good stuff standard. JVC, u have to read the specs and make sure what u want will be included.

 

I have had several Sony phones and they never lasted more than 4 months. The nokia I bought afterwards lasted 2 years. Rocking a HTC right now... I've had sony car audio setups and the basic ones (I never do the amp/sub thing) sound tinny to me. Never really got comfortable. Sony TVs are overpriced imo, Squeaker and I have mainly samsung electronics in the house. Samsung TVs, DVD player, Surround Sound... The main thing seems to be price. Sony is always pricey for what you get.

Regarding research - oh yeah I always do... I prefer Pioneer over JVC but so far I have yet to find a Pioneer HU style that I like. That's teh problem with online shopping though...I have no qualms about buying online, but I have to actually LOOK and FEEL and TOUCH things in person regarding stuff like car audio/phones/etc...

 

I thought I was done with the mod bug two years ago when I sold my S13 and S14 that both had SR's in them untill it hit me again in January. I was only going to spend money on new struts and springs but then I got the idea of coilovers, then stillen classic lip, then 6 gen brake upgrade with EBC slotted rotors, then the racingline strut bar, the stillen rear strut bar, NWP torque link and Intake manifold spacers. Then last week I put a down payment on cattman headers. So yeah the mod bug bit me hard!!!

 

My mistake, I thought the blues were stock replacements like GR-2s