A witty title that explains everything.
03-13-2012, 04:35 PM
#1
A witty title that explains everything.
Just bought my first car, a 1997 5-speed Maxima. 
I'm in love already and have already been modding it. Though it's my first car, I have worked on others before and do everything with the help of two mechanics of whom I trust. (Girlfriend and sister's fiance). <-seriously, how much cooler does that get?
So far, I have put in just a Warm Air Intake, which has honestly given me a little get up and go. Plans for the next few months/year(s) are:
-Exhaust(next on list, within the next few weeks)
-Includes, lack of muffler, headers and potential straight pipe. Might run open headers just for giggles.
-Gutting
-My plan is just to do what most do, gut the thing and drop as much weight as possible.
-Boost
-Every little boys dream. I do plan on running a single turbo to start. And if I get more serious, potential engine swap from vg30de to a vg30dett. (300zx TT engine)(sisters fiance has two in his garage so easy to get
)
Currently working on some suspension. Front struts and strut mounts, and lower control arm. When I bought the car the struts and mounts were near completely shot. So that had to be done right away. Pictures to come.
--and yes I work at Wendys ;P
I'm in love already and have already been modding it. Though it's my first car, I have worked on others before and do everything with the help of two mechanics of whom I trust. (Girlfriend and sister's fiance). <-seriously, how much cooler does that get?
So far, I have put in just a Warm Air Intake, which has honestly given me a little get up and go. Plans for the next few months/year(s) are:
-Exhaust(next on list, within the next few weeks)
-Includes, lack of muffler, headers and potential straight pipe. Might run open headers just for giggles.
-Gutting
-My plan is just to do what most do, gut the thing and drop as much weight as possible.
-Boost
-Every little boys dream. I do plan on running a single turbo to start. And if I get more serious, potential engine swap from vg30de to a vg30dett. (300zx TT engine)(sisters fiance has two in his garage so easy to get
)Currently working on some suspension. Front struts and strut mounts, and lower control arm. When I bought the car the struts and mounts were near completely shot. So that had to be done right away. Pictures to come
.--and yes I work at Wendys ;P
03-13-2012, 04:37 PM
#2
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Posts: 10,349
Just bought my first car, a 1997 5-speed Maxima.
I'm in love already and have already been modding it. Though it's my first car, I have worked on others before and do everything with the help of two mechanics of whom I trust. (Girlfriend and sister's fiance). <-seriously, how much cooler does that get?
So far, I have put in just a Warm Air Intake, which has honestly given me a little get up and go. Plans for the next few months/year(s) are:
-Exhaust(next on list, within the next few weeks)
-Includes, lack of muffler, headers and potential straight pipe. Might run open headers just for giggles.
-Gutting
-My plan is just to do what most do, gut the thing and drop as much weight as possible.
-Boost
-Every little boys dream. I do plan on running a single turbo to start. And if I get more serious, potential engine swap from vg30de to a vg30dett. (300zx TT engine)(sisters fiance has two in his garage so easy to get)
Currently working on some suspension. Front struts and strut mounts, and lower control arm. When I bought the car the struts and mounts were near completely shot. So that had to be done right away. Pictures to come.
--and yes I work at Wendys ;P
I'm in love already and have already been modding it. Though it's my first car, I have worked on others before and do everything with the help of two mechanics of whom I trust. (Girlfriend and sister's fiance). <-seriously, how much cooler does that get?
So far, I have put in just a Warm Air Intake, which has honestly given me a little get up and go. Plans for the next few months/year(s) are:
-Exhaust(next on list, within the next few weeks)
-Includes, lack of muffler, headers and potential straight pipe. Might run open headers just for giggles.
-Gutting
-My plan is just to do what most do, gut the thing and drop as much weight as possible.
-Boost
-Every little boys dream. I do plan on running a single turbo to start. And if I get more serious, potential engine swap from vg30de to a vg30dett. (300zx TT engine)(sisters fiance has two in his garage so easy to get
)Currently working on some suspension. Front struts and strut mounts, and lower control arm. When I bought the car the struts and mounts were near completely shot. So that had to be done right away. Pictures to come
.--and yes I work at Wendys ;P
03-13-2012, 04:38 PM
#3
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Posts: 10,349
Also, there's no need to swap a VG over. The VQ responds to boost quite nicely. Also, the VG is a much heavier engine. The VQ is all aluminum. I have a friend who has a turbo'd 4th gen and he's currently putting down 350 to the wheels, and still has more fine tuning to do.
03-13-2012, 04:38 PM
#4
03-13-2012, 04:49 PM
#5
Also, there's no need to swap a VG over. The VQ responds to boost quite nicely. Also, the VG is a much heavier engine. The VQ is all aluminum. I have a friend who has a turbo'd 4th gen and he's currently putting down 350 to the wheels, and still has more fine tuning to do.
That's true yeah, but there's a lot of potential for both. I know the vq loves boost, but I'm interested in learning a lot of things that go along with a swap. My car is a full project car, from learning to tear it down to build it up. A swap includes that.
. But again, there are potential plans to do the swap. A turbo setup goes for a lot more money than I currently have, haha.
03-13-2012, 04:49 PM
#6
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Posts: 10,349
People have been modding Maxima's for years, so whatever you want to do has been done. Make sure to read the sticky's and to read and research. If you start asking a bunch of noob questions you will be told to search, so just giving you a head's up.
03-14-2012, 12:39 PM
#7
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Worcester, MA
Posts: 4,011
03-15-2012, 11:28 PM
#8
Just bought my first car, a 1997 5-speed Maxima.
I'm in love already and have already been modding it. Though it's my first car, I have worked on others before and do everything with the help of two mechanics of whom I trust. (Girlfriend and sister's fiance). <-seriously, how much cooler does that get?
So far, I have put in just a Warm Air Intake, which has honestly given me a little get up and go. Plans for the next few months/year(s) are:
-Exhaust(next on list, within the next few weeks)
-Includes, lack of muffler, headers and potential straight pipe. Might run open headers just for giggles.
-Gutting
-My plan is just to do what most do, gut the thing and drop as much weight as possible.
-Boost
-Every little boys dream. I do plan on running a single turbo to start. And if I get more serious, potential engine swap from vg30de to a vg30dett. (300zx TT engine)(sisters fiance has two in his garage so easy to get)
Currently working on some suspension. Front struts and strut mounts, and lower control arm. When I bought the car the struts and mounts were near completely shot. So that had to be done right away. Pictures to come.
--and yes I work at Wendys ;P
I'm in love already and have already been modding it. Though it's my first car, I have worked on others before and do everything with the help of two mechanics of whom I trust. (Girlfriend and sister's fiance). <-seriously, how much cooler does that get?
So far, I have put in just a Warm Air Intake, which has honestly given me a little get up and go. Plans for the next few months/year(s) are:
-Exhaust(next on list, within the next few weeks)
-Includes, lack of muffler, headers and potential straight pipe. Might run open headers just for giggles.
-Gutting
-My plan is just to do what most do, gut the thing and drop as much weight as possible.
-Boost
-Every little boys dream. I do plan on running a single turbo to start. And if I get more serious, potential engine swap from vg30de to a vg30dett. (300zx TT engine)(sisters fiance has two in his garage so easy to get
)Currently working on some suspension. Front struts and strut mounts, and lower control arm. When I bought the car the struts and mounts were near completely shot. So that had to be done right away. Pictures to come
.--and yes I work at Wendys ;P
don't bullsh*t with a vg. they sound like ***.
swap in a vq35de. pair it with a 6 speed. and boost it. that's gonna be the best we can do in a 4th gen max.
no, we can't swap in an rb26, 2jz, or a vq35hr (g35/07+ 350z engine). they won't fit. and to make it fit, it requires frame work, which is a lot more work than what it's worth.
03-16-2012, 02:10 AM
#9
I'll save you a bunch of time and hassle.
don't bullsh*t with a vg. they sound like ***.
swap in a vq35de. pair it with a 6 speed. and boost it. that's gonna be the best we can do in a 4th gen max.
no, we can't swap in an rb26, 2jz, or a vq35hr (g35/07+ 350z engine). they won't fit. and to make it fit, it requires frame work, which is a lot more work than what it's worth.
don't bullsh*t with a vg. they sound like ***.
swap in a vq35de. pair it with a 6 speed. and boost it. that's gonna be the best we can do in a 4th gen max.
no, we can't swap in an rb26, 2jz, or a vq35hr (g35/07+ 350z engine). they won't fit. and to make it fit, it requires frame work, which is a lot more work than what it's worth.
VQ35 with 6speed and boost in a 4th gen =
doesn't get much better.And welcome to the forum.
03-16-2012, 09:38 AM
#10
lol @ swapping a rear wheel drive VG30DETT into a 4th gen maxima... good luck with that. by the way your car has a VQ30DE in it currently, not a VG30DE in it. VG30DE was in the n/a 300zx and infiniti J30. the VG and the VQ share nothing in common. Probably should be aware of what motor your car has before you go trying to turbocharge it or try to swap in an even less appropriate motor.
open headers, hah. that'll last about 3 minutes before you want to blow your own brains out or you get ticketed by the cops.
you've got a lot to learn. glad you like the car though.
open headers, hah. that'll last about 3 minutes before you want to blow your own brains out or you get ticketed by the cops.
you've got a lot to learn. glad you like the car though.
03-16-2012, 12:52 PM
#12
03-16-2012, 12:57 PM
#13
Welcoome to the family, there are a lot of smart people on here to help you out with questions and what not... always search first though before making a thread for a single question....good luck with modding have fun!
03-21-2012, 04:12 PM
#14
To those with the positive feedback. Kthx <3.
Yeah I suppose it was kinda silly of me to mess up the engine and the swapping. And open headers is something I've heard on my brother in laws ka24de, which was louder than all hell, but a nice thing to hear for awhile. Yeah it got annoying but it was fun. Like I said, it wouldn't be permanent. Just for kicks.
We finally finished the stupid struts though, nice of Pepboys to compress and switch out the struts with the springs for free and jump us to the front of the line.
Thanks again to all.
P.S. Might be switching exhausts with a friend, due to certain handicaps, he shouldn't be driving a 300zx with a loud exhaust. *cough* no license. Though, we'll see soon enough. Once I get my damn tax refund headers are going onto this car. One way or another...
Yeah I suppose it was kinda silly of me to mess up the engine and the swapping. And open headers is something I've heard on my brother in laws ka24de, which was louder than all hell, but a nice thing to hear for awhile. Yeah it got annoying but it was fun. Like I said, it wouldn't be permanent. Just for kicks.
We finally finished the stupid struts though, nice of Pepboys to compress and switch out the struts with the springs for free and jump us to the front of the line
. Thanks again to all
.P.S. Might be switching exhausts with a friend, due to certain handicaps, he shouldn't be driving a 300zx with a loud exhaust. *cough* no license. Though, we'll see soon enough. Once I get my damn tax refund headers are going onto this car. One way or another...
03-21-2012, 05:41 PM
#15
Protip #1: Don't expect much out of a maxima without dumping a bunch of money into the car that you'll never get back.
You could just drive the damn thing and not worry about souping it up, since it's your first car. When you can afford a real (sports) car then go that route.
Oh, and loud does not equal fast. Leave the exhaust alone. Other than replacing the y-pipe it's a complete waste of money.
You could just drive the damn thing and not worry about souping it up, since it's your first car. When you can afford a real (sports) car then go that route.
Oh, and loud does not equal fast. Leave the exhaust alone. Other than replacing the y-pipe it's a complete waste of money.
Last edited by beegeezy; 03-21-2012 at 05:47 PM.
03-21-2012, 05:46 PM
#16
The exhaust adds quite a bit of HP to the VQ engine. Def not a waste of time. But you are correct, the Y is the best bang for your buck and should probably be the first exhaust mod. IT was mine technically by a few minutes lol
Last edited by ShocknAwe; 03-21-2012 at 05:57 PM.
03-21-2012, 05:54 PM
#17
The y-pipe is the only exhaust mod that will free up any hp on a 4th gen...unless the car is boosted or running a vq35. Headers and cat-back systems just make the car louder, and only free up AT MOST 1-2 hp. You will NEVER see a real world performance gain with 1-2 hp. Noise, that's it. Don't get me wrong, I like the way an aftermarket exhaust sounds. If you have plenty of money then sure, why not? The OP works at Wendy's...do you really think headers and a cat-back system should be the first thing he replaces?
03-21-2012, 06:02 PM
#19
If i had to start from scratch on a 4th gen and had money to blow I would honestly begin with making it feel more solid by reinforcing the chassis. That and suspension (which you're doing) + brakes would work wonders in making the more enjoyable to drive on a daily basis. A y-pipe or headers would be the cherry on top.
The mushy frame is probably the A32's biggest handicap, of which there are quite a few. Oh, and welcome to the .orgy.
The mushy frame is probably the A32's biggest handicap, of which there are quite a few. Oh, and welcome to the .orgy.
03-21-2012, 06:06 PM
#20
Exhaust work will not make too much of a difference if you don't already have the muscle up front. You'll only see the true benefits of a high-quality exhaust once you really get into increasing engine power and proper tuning.
03-21-2012, 06:07 PM
#21
Don't think because I work at wendy's means i don't have some money stashed up. But, the original idea was to just muffler delete, catback and headers, it's not a total hp gain, but loud is nice to me. loud doesn't equal fast right, but i am planning to dump quite a bit of money into this car. first one or not. I am interested in doing this, very much so. small gain is still gain. It being a noticeable change isn't my concern. I'm not aiming for a car that will take out anything in the world. I am aiming for something I can call my own and be proud of because I put in the hours, blood, sweat and potential tears. That's what this car is to me.
03-21-2012, 06:07 PM
#22
If i had to start from scratch on a 4th gen and had money to blow I would honestly begin with making it feel more solid by reinforcing the chassis. That and suspension (which you're doing) + brakes would work wonders in making the more enjoyable to drive on a daily basis. A y-pipe or headers would be the cherry on top.
The mushy frame is probably the A32's biggest handicap, of which there are quite a few. Oh, and welcome to the .orgy.
The mushy frame is probably the A32's biggest handicap, of which there are quite a few. Oh, and welcome to the .orgy.
03-21-2012, 06:20 PM
#23
Don't think because I work at wendy's means i don't have some money stashed up. But, the original idea was to just muffler delete, catback and headers, it's not a total hp gain, but loud is nice to me. loud doesn't equal fast right, but i am planning to dump quite a bit of money into this car. first one or not. I am interested in doing this, very much so. small gain is still gain. It being a noticeable change isn't my concern. I'm not aiming for a car that will take out anything in the world. I am aiming for something I can call my own and be proud of because I put in the hours, blood, sweat and potential tears. That's what this car is to me.
I would much rather start with a car that has some aftermarket support, like a 240sx. Hell, if you really want a fast car that is cheap (though fwd), find a B13 se-r and do a det or vvl swap.
If you do mess with the exhaust, replace the y-pipe first.
03-21-2012, 06:20 PM
#24
03-22-2012, 09:37 AM
#25
Don't think because I work at wendy's means i don't have some money stashed up. But, the original idea was to just muffler delete, catback and headers, it's not a total hp gain, but loud is nice to me. loud doesn't equal fast right, but i am planning to dump quite a bit of money into this car. first one or not. I am interested in doing this, very much so. small gain is still gain. It being a noticeable change isn't my concern. I'm not aiming for a car that will take out anything in the world. I am aiming for something I can call my own and be proud of because I put in the hours, blood, sweat and potential tears. That's what this car is to me.
ohh there will be tears lol. there are some jobs that are a pain on the maxi, and about making the car your own, i say do it up thats wats important.
The thing that a cat back does is flow better due to bigger pipes/ mandrel bends, thats were the power comes from. that being said i cant really say how much power youll get cuzz ive yet to put an exhaust on mine. but the better the gasses flow the easier the engine works so id say the exhaust would be beneficial. and good luck not being pulled over with the headers lol.
welcome to the .org
03-22-2012, 03:31 PM
#26
Thanks - and like I said, I don't plan on running open headers more than a few minutes. Just to hear that sound. My brother in law ran it on his ka24de and I fell in love with that and it's a 4 banger. couldn't imagine what it'd sound like with the v6 instead. A long job, but still worth the money and time I plan to put into it.
03-22-2012, 03:32 PM
#27
And we are working on some suspension as we've already started. Might as well keep going a bit. The frame and body are in mint condition. Barely any rust at all. I'll post pictures and videos of the car soon.
03-24-2012, 08:00 AM
#30
03-24-2012, 08:29 AM
#31
lol i remember these days...then the car desided it wanted to revolt, and bent me over like no ones business, but its back now, and to the op listen to what most of the org has to say, there are alot of pioneers of the a32 and alot of people who know these cars like the back of there hand, use the org right and SEARCH as well as the stickys, and you will learn enough to run in the 12's safely and turn hard enough to snap a neck lol jk welcome to the org.
03-24-2012, 09:02 AM
#32
lol i remember these days...then the car desided it wanted to revolt, and bent me over like no ones business, but its back now, and to the op listen to what most of the org has to say, there are alot of pioneers of the a32 and alot of people who know these cars like the back of there hand, use the org right and SEARCH as well as the stickys, and you will learn enough to run in the 12's safely and turn hard enough to snap a neck lol jk welcome to the org.
I plan to search a lot. I'm using the .org for a somewhat e-diary of my car and progress. I don't know much about cars in general, besides regular maintenance, so with pictures and videos I get to remind myself how I've learned on my car and with my car. It's sentimental
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