Hey all, I'm new to this forum and new to the world of Nissans. I just bought an 03 Maxima SE, and I was wondering what would be the first thing that you would recommend I get (other than tint and some subs). I am not looking to put a whole lot of money in, or do anything to kill my warranty on my engine, so keep that in mind. Also, can I lower the car on the SE's stock suspension, or do I need new springs? Thanks.

 

Big wheels...and lower it

 

I like the current rims (17's, titanium chrome colored), and new ones would be too much at the moment.

Can I lower it on the current specs that it has, or do I need to buy new springs, etc?

 

You need to buy new springs, that is what lowers it . You can also get new shocks and struts, but to lower it, only a set of new springs is necessary. There is a group deal for Maxspeeds which lowers it.

 

Get a clear bra for the front before the paint chips start to add up. I bought mine from here a couple months ago (just the hood piece) and couldn't be happier. Now they have 20% off, of course. Here's the link:
http://www.invinca-shield.com

Its something you and a friend (for accuracy sake) could install.

Possibly a decent radar detector? Bel 985, Passport 8500 or Valentine 1.

Lastly, I believe you would need new springs to lower the cars, but others will be able to tell you more about that...

 

Thank you kloogy and Uconn.

kloogy, any recommendations for a specific type of spring? Are there big differences in ride quality between the different springs?

Uconn, you think the standard kit will be sufficient?

Also, do you guys recommend putting in a strut bar? It's cheap and I hear it helps greatly in corners..

 

I had my bumper re painted by a quality paint place..its worth it....I hate clear bras....

 

If you want to improve suspension, get a Strut tower bar, Spirings ( I have Maxspeeds ) and a Rear sway bar... get shocks and struts too if you can....

 

Damn, the replies are quick and helpful in this place.. I like.

I will think about the clear bra idea - I have never seen one on a car before, or heard of them, so I am hesitant even with Uconn's blessing.

I think that the first things I will get is tint, front strut and a muffler, all within a few months. After that, I will lower it. I am new to any kind of fast car stuff, as I had an Explorer before this, so I am excited (as you can probably tell), but I cannot let the excitement get to me or else the rest of my hard earned, full time student/part time worker money will disappear, heh.

About how much would the "average" shocks, struts and springs run me, with installation?

 

Tokicos are about 350 ish ..or so....best bet are those... there is a group deal for them too....

 

So ~1k for the whole deal?

 

First off... DON'T get Tokicos. They area OVERRATED. You will read a lot of posts about the KY2s... that is the one to get. Springs vary, but a lot of us are getting the MaxSpeed springs... they are relatively inexpensive and do a good job.

DON'T get the clear bra... I know a lot of people have it, it is just too radical for me. A good ol' nose mask will help (I only use the hood portion).

I would say that the things you mod depend on what you want. If you are going for bling bling, then you get the 18s and the tint and stereo and such... if you are going for performance, get an FSTB, RSB, intake and such.

One thing... don't go cheap with everything. Like an FSTB... you don't have to pay $170 for a Stillen, you can get an OTTO or OBX for only $50 or $60. Some people have fitting problems with the cheapy EBay model. But I would get a Stillen RSB... I know Cattman is just as good too... there are many options (we won't even start on what intake to buy... it varies so much).

You're correct in the money and the planning... when I look at the mods I've done, it's easy to quickly add up over $1000 worth of mods in no time at all.

Anyway... it's all your style, man. Let us know how things go!

=R

 

Congratulations on the purchase! There are 2 things that I would recommend doing right away. They also happen to be the first 2 things I did when I got mine last month because they are inexpensive. I'm in the same boat as you, I don't really want to put a whole lot of money into any serious mods or do anything to mess up the warranty or cause me to have to take a bunch of stuff off before I take it to the dealer for service.

1) Clear corners. No matter what color Max you got, clears look way better than the fugly stock orange and red corners in my opinion. You can get all 4 for around $50-$60 and there's a great How-to on this site for installing them. It's a piece of cake.

2) Put in a K&N air filter. This will cost you about $40...but never needs to be replaced like normal air filters! You can clean and re-use it for the life of the car and it allows more air into the engine than the stock filter does.

And maybe some chrome Maxima door sills if you didn't get the Titanum package with yours. I think you can add them for under $100 and they really are a nice touch. Good luck and enjoy!

 

yo!! thanx for the hookup with the info on that 20% off....worked out great..just ordered my clear bra for the hood!!

back to the topic...get KYB GR-2's...they are GREAT!!! simply awesome ride.. coupled with the Maxspeed springs makes for a great drop...not too low, not 4x4in!!!

 

If you've got a sunroof (you mentioned titanium edition wheels) then take the stupid wind deflector off before it scratches the paint.

 

I forgot all about that. On the advice of many forum members, I took mine off like the 2nd day I had the car...before it did any damage. It's not that much noisier without it.

 

Mine stays. I can repaint if I need to in the future... and there is quite a bit of difference with the noise baffle... are you saying with all four windows closed and the sunroof open there isn't much difference?

 

That's what I'm saying. I never had a car with a wind deflector until I got the Max, and to be honest I was expecting it to be quieter with the thing on than it really was. I could still hear the wind with it on. And after seeing many, many forum members all respond with the same answer (TAKE IF OFF NOW!) I decided to take mine off. It's not just an issue of repainting, some forum members who had them on their cars for years said that the roof is scratched down to the bare metal. Then you have to worry about water getting in there and causing rust. Besides, I think the car looks sleeker without it anyway. But to each his own.

 

Do you notice a lot of baffle with the sunroof open and all the windows closed?

 

Not really. Maybe it's because I'm used to my last car which I drove for 3 years and it didn't have a wind deflector on the sunroof. But I could still hear the wind with the thing on the Maxima, it was just a little bit quieter than it is without it. The sunroof itself has a little thing that raises up when it's opened to help with the wind noise. I'll take a little noise over ruined roof paint any day, especially when I have pearl paint that is hard to match.

 

Is this true that the Wind Deflector will scratch the paint? I just picked up my Max 2 weeks ago and its got the Deflector, please let me know.

 

In the words of that cajun chef on TV, "I can gar-un-tee it!"

It scratches the paint where the rubber gasket meets the roof, all the way around the deflector.

I took mine off, it's got scratches, but I like the look without it and I swear it's quieter with the sunroof open.

 

Is this true about the Wind Deflector? I just got a new Max 2 weeks ago and I have the Deflector. Is it really harful to the paint?

 

In that case, it is coming off tonight!

 

Why is dropping the car in regards to the springs make it any better?
Is it just for looks or does it perform better?

 

I went by what alot of other Forum members were saying. I was here reading about something else and happened to see a thread about the wind deflectors that was started by another member. At the time it had over 10-15 responses. Not one person said to leave it on. I remember one guy in particular saying that he went to take his deflector off after his brand new Maxima was just a few months old and the damage was already done so he had to put it back on to cover it up. It only takes 5 minutes to take it off and put it on so if the wind noise is too much for you without it it won't be a big deal to put it back on. Honestly I don't notice a big difference. And the thought of taking it off a few months or years down the road and seeing bare metal or rust was enough to make me go downstairs and take it off that night!


Here is the thread I was talking about...

https://maxima.org/forums/showthread...hreadid=203927

(WELCOME BACK SEARCH FEATURE! )

 

Thank you all very much for the advice. I guess I will take the wind deflector off today, even though I like the way it looks.

Thanks again!