maxramadon

Hey guys,

I bought my Maxima SE right when the 5th Gen. came out (in August/Sept of 1999 I believe).. I've since played the part of the regular old consumer and have never done anything to it (no mods, no tints, no rims, etc.).. However, I'll be starting to work soon and rather than buy a new car, I've decided I love my Max too much to give it up - hence the decision to enter the wonderful world of mods/upgrades..

Here's my problem.. I'm studying for the bar exam (no not the kind of bar I wish it was) and that's taking up most of my free time. I've spent more than a few hours reading through all of the various threads on this forum (and many of them have been extremely helpful), including all of the "How Tos" for the 5th Gen. Max, in an effort to learn both the lingo and exactly what modifications are possible in my price range (approx ~ 2-3k); however, I found both the FAQs and many posts I read just, for lack of a better word(s), "outta my league".. I don't know what a Y-Pipe does.. I don't know if I need to even change my shocks/brakes (and what effect it would have on my performance), I don't know if I should upgrade my 17" inch rims to 18s or 19s (might slow my car down), etc al. Heck, I don't even know what a good tint job is supposed to run (and what % to get)..

I guess the obvious inquiry would be "What am I looking to do?".. Well, I jotted down a list of mods I wanted (from looking at whats available), and most of them focus on aesthetic upgrades: for example, I want to get HID lights on the front (and on my fog lamps) - should I get a HID conversion kit (and what type do I need) or just go with H4 bulbs (cheaper alternative - but do they look nice)? Also, I'm looking at tinting my windows, putting an aluminum dash in, changing my muffler (or should I just get chrome tips? and where do I get them?); whiting out my front and back signal lights (which, from what I've read, seems like a fairly easy mod to do); change my pedals to silver/chrome ones; and finally upgrade my rims, if feasible.. I may consider getting a body kit, but I've seen many types of kits online and I don't know which one is recommended.. what are AE kits? I don't even know what AE stands for..

Finally, I was recently in a fairly minor accident where the other guy ran a red and basically ran into my front passenger-side bumper (thereby raising the hood, damaging my front bumper and front passenger-side lamps (both main and fog), and requiring a replacement of all of the above (and part of the quarter-side panel).. Should I get that fixed by a normal body shop first or should I get my body kit first and then have a store put it on?..

I guess my last question should be: Is there any Modification-type stores that anyone recommends going to in Atlanta, GA? I don't think I should even begin to attempt putting on these mods.. is it possible to just take my Max to one of these places (should they exist) and give them a list of mods and have them do it, or would this be economically impractical?..

Forgive my ignorance (and the length of my questions) - I'm really new to all of this and it just seems overwhelming, especially given my recent time restraints.. Thanks in advance for all of your help (as I really am lost right now)..