What up all! im looking to upgrade. What should i do first??
1. Stillen Intake with Y Pipe from Cattmann?

2. Front and Rear Tower Sway Bars with clear corner lights and brighter headlights?

3. Full Aero Kit by stillen?

Any suggestions for this. What are some priceranges for some of these upgrades. Thanks for the input!!

Sabe,
BlackMax 98 SE 5sp

 

As far as performance/costs:
1. Plane Racing CAI ($225)
2. Y-Pipe ($300-$500)
3. R/T Cat ($189)
4. Courtesy FSTB ($80) Stillen ($170)
5. Stillen RSB ($225?) Addco RSB ($120-$180)
6. Stillen RSTB ($170 or so)
7. Courtesy Clear Corners ($50)
8. Stillen Aero Kit ($750 or so)

 

I agree with synki to some extent. As a new Maxima owner(98SE 5spd) I am just starting to look at upgrades. First thing I will do is a FSTB, then maybe a RSB. I don't see any use for cosmetics unless you have something to backup the "I'm fast" look. Outside of those two enhancements I am very cautious about suspension and engine upgrades. My previous car had alot of upgrades that made life miserable on the crappy Dallas roads here. The suspension upgrades undoubtably saved my butt many times from the sheer stupidity of the metroplex drivers but took a huge toll on my nerves and the car. The resulting rattles from the constant jarring, hard ride are also very annoying and will be much more so in a car the is quiet like the 4th gen Maxima. Right now the tires are 225/50/16VR which causes a small penalty in ride but is very well worth it. My Pontiac Grand AM had a prototype Borla exuast that was loud as hell, talk about annoying. The drone was so bad at 3k plus rpm you never wanted to drive over 75 for long. Every driver thinks you are trying to race them cause the thing is so loud even reving to 3,000-3,500 rpm with part throttle.

The Maxima engine is very sweet sounding and almost transparent in daily use until you stomp on it. I am really aprehensive about changing intake and/or exaust for that reason. Sure an extra 20hp would be great, but if it is going to drone, I don't want it. Maybe the Stillen supercharger is the answer???? Having a quiet cabin is a sheer joy for me now, the stereo sounds better and my ears enjoy the silence. The Maxima has the feel of a luxury car for much less, with the performance of a sports car and that makes it an awsome daily driver. Am I just getting old or does anyone else out their appreciate the nice, quite ride?

 

I appreciate all the info but i definately want to get some upgrades for performance. Does anyone else seem to have problems with any of the upgrades such as Y pipe and intake. Does it really make the car that much louder??
anyone got any sound samples. Thanks for the input though but im ready to mod.

Sabe

 

I enjoy a quite and nice ride. My JWT intake isn't loud until I really hit the gas pedal. I'm not even considering any suspension upgrades, except for fstb and rsb, cuz my car will just fall apart on Boston roads.



[Edited by AndyXXL on 11-26-2000 at 06:43 PM]

 

Well I haven't done the intake yet, but the Y-pipe I had made didn't make the sound very much louder. It's a little, but during daily driving it's barely noticeable. During WOT however, it's pretty loud, but that's how your car should be. Nice and quiet, then if you drop the hammer, it roars like a beast hehe

 

everyone has different priorities, but here's my list:

<LI>aftermarket semi-metallic brake pads
<LI>SS brake lines
<LI>DOT 4 brake fluid
<LI>brighter fog light bulbs (stock suck)
<LI>JWT intake
<LI>RSB
<LI>FSTB
<LI>Y PIpe of your choice
<LI>catback exhaust
<LI>100 shot of NOS

You gotta stop before you can go fast. The stock Nissan brakes are insufficient, even for stock hp levels.

The intake is a good bang for the buck. Not only does it make the engine sound more aggressive, you also increase the combustion chamber's volumetric efficiency, so you gain hp AND increase mpg the mod pays for itself after a year from the mpg increase...haha.

The rest of the stuff is self-explanatory.

 

100hp shot of NOS? Who wouldn't want that? However, very $$$. Plus, I assume you can't install that and keep the internals stock. Probably need to upgrade spark plugs, fuel pump, what else? Mucho dinero.

 

I have modded and unmodded my car so many times, I think I can give you some suggestions. I have had just about every mod on my car at one time or another. I have had 3 different intakes, 2 different RSBs, 3 sets of wheels/tires, yada yada yada. The best upgrade I have made was getting H&R springs and Koni shocks. Stock Maxima handling is kind of scary. Spring/Shocks change the whole feel of the car. And a great feel it is. I'll list the other upgrades in recommended order-
-STB & RSB (ADDCO is inexpensive, Stillen seems a better performer)
-JWT, Stillen intake or inexpensive cone filter (CAI is not worth $215, heck my car ran like crap with it. Ditched it for the Stillen, car runs much better)
-brake pads (Porterfield R4S are great stoppers, but dust is crazy bad)
-Y pipe
-RT cat
-B pipe
-17" rims w/ z-rated rubber
-cosmetic stuff (lights, etc)

I'm sure I left some stuff out, but you get the idea. Just spend your cash on worthwhile mods first.

 

I looked at your profile. I guess Crapsachusetts = Massachusetts, hehe. Where in MA do u live?

Andy

 

hehe

What's up Andy? I just noticed the "Boston" in your post.

I'm in Boston weekdays and suburbs on the weekends.

Get H&R springs. I've had them for 2 years, the big-dig hasn't claimed them yet. Just make sure you get Konis, Tokicos died after only 6 months. Really, the ride is not bad at all. The whole character of the car changed with the upgraded suspension. Feels much more competent now. The big worry is if you plus size your rims. I'm running 17"s and worry. I can't believe the people driving around B-town w/ 18", 19". The wheel repair places must have lots of business.

Nice to hear from another M*******

 

I must admit I am a little partial to the louder sounding
car, however, my wife was not. The intake is much louder
at WOT and the Y-pipe is louder throughout the RPM band.
The set-up I have is Stillen intake, Y and B pipes and
the stock muffler. It is a little louder than stock, but
when you punch it, the noise is very loud. My car is a
daily driver, but with the traffic in Dallas, I rarely
get to "punch it", except for the 75 Central on-ramps :-)

Best bang for your buck varies, but most agree that
intake and Y-pipe have the MOST effect on adding hp.
I actually modified the handling first (FSTB, RSB, and
new tires) then started adding the hp. Next is the VB
mod Tuesday...(Thanks Don!)

BB

PS: The supercharger would NOT be quieter...

 

I'm running 15" right now, will be running 16" in a week or so. I might think about getting H&Rs and Konis next spring/summer.
Jimbo, I would really like to meet with you some day, check out yer car, get some advices
Oh btw, do u know of any good performance shops in or around Boston? Let me know.

Laterz
Andy

 

to tell u the truth..i kinda regret that i didn't save up for body kit for my first up grade for the fact that...with the body kit..ur car looks so much better!! it kinda makes ur car looks lower! but that's my personaly preference.... the ride will be rough if u change out the shocks and springs...FSTB and RSB are good for handling but if u want to stand out in the crowd..get the body kit

 

Personally, i think the body kit won't look that good with these huge "4x4" wheel gaps.

 

brittb, hope we have a Dallas meet so I can hear your car I would like to upgrade some but I don't want the noise like my Pontiac. I am so spoiled by the civility of the Maxima and the torque is something I never had in that 200hp Quad Four noise maker. I get to punch my Maxima a bit because I live in Irving and drive the 161 and 114. I had to travel to Garland last week and happened to find a BMW Z3 M coupe on my tail as I exited the 161 access to 635 E onramp. By the time I merged with the eastbound traffic with the BMW in tow I was doing over 120(my lawyer told me not to say if it was mph or km/h hehe). I don't suggest that anyone travel at those speeds but I will say the Maxima was very smooth and that being the first time I have pushed the car that hard since I recently bought it...I backed off and let the BMW fly past me. Who needs a ticket anyway right? I made my point I also traveled to Austin in August and netted over 28 MPG cruising at an average of 80+. On the way back a crazy dude in a flying sport ute forced me into tow(I think it's genetic to follow the fastes car on the road, no fun to let people get away with passing you). We cruised at 90 km/h? for a while then a 20 minute jaunt at over 100. Sadly, milage dropped to 25 or so but the car felt as stable and much more quiet than my Pontiac at 20mph less.

I find the engine note almost as sweet as the 328is I tested but I am in no hurry to hear it more often than I do now. I really need to hear what it might be like before I decide. As far as handling goes, on these crappy roads I love the compliant stock suspension but will conceed that less roll would be in order. How effective is the RSB? Has anyone compared it's effect, the effect of mods to the FSB and bushings and the braces? I am definately going to get a FSTB, maybe from Courtesy when I get the chance to drive by, but I would like to know more about the RSTB. Does it help much and does anyone have a picture to post? I don't wanna mess up the trunk! I am turning into an old sissy I guess but I don't even want to add subs to this car! Well, unless I can keep most of the space!! I thought about strapping an 8" Powered Bazooka to the trunk deck....hmmm. All I need is some extra low bass kick righ now. The overal balance of the Bose is excellent although the image is rather spotty....another tradeoff. Has anoyone though about making a plastic or fiberglass sub enclosure that would hang from the deck...maybe a couple inches thick and spanning the surface of the deck? Hehe, I like my Maxima so much as it is am very hesitant to make changes...can you tell?


I do have a problem with the brakes, the right front locks up early, it may just be a caliper sticking so I guess a brake job is in order with some upgraded pads. I tested a 99 with the antilock brakes and dearly wish I had it on this car. it's pretty stupid that a fully equipped car didn't have that single $500 option. I wounder what it would cost to grab the parts to upgrade it to antilock....dare I ask? I never needed antilock with my Pontiac but the Nissan does not modulate well at all. Any ideas here?

 

I had the Stillen body for about a year. About six months of that was with the 16" wheels and stock ride height. It definitely looked a little funny that way. It looked much better when I lowered the car and got some 17"s. I eventually removed the kit because I grew tired of the "snow plow" look of the front.

I concluded that I am not a liker of body kits. The kit does drastically change the look of the car. It changes its classy look into a futuristic kind of spaceship/snow plow look. I only liked that later look for about a year.

This is not a flame on others with the kit. Personally, I just don't dig it anymore. Just make sure you really want it before you fork over the money. The price of the kit plus having it painted and installed can buy you some nice other mods that are more beneficial to your car.

 

thanks for all the input on this. i think im going to go with the FSTB and RSB first and then go with the intake and Y pipe. This should give me some extra ponies. ill upgrade the lights (clear corners) a little later. no ground effects for me. Thanks all

sabe,
Black 98 SE 5sp

 

Yeah the body kit would look great, but then you are going to get people trying to race you all the time, and if you can't back up your appearence then why do you want to look flashy? I'd say improve the handling first, get some added power, and then improve the appearence. The maxima has lots of power stock, so why not improve the handling first (start with the worst things and improve from there). I'd say get the FSTB and RSB first, after that it's your choice.