i finally bought my 5gen max after owning my 98 se for two years....it's a 00 se auto with 42k, it's loaded with heated seats, leather, etc....color is dark gray i forgot what nissan call it...can't wait to finish with paper work tomorrow and pick it up and start mod it, was wondering i know 00-01 is known for ignition coil going bad and wrap rotors...what else should i look for in terms of problems? few of my first mods are:

1. Y-pipe
2. Suspension
3. Tint
4. Rims (might not since it's got stock 17')

what you guys think of these mods to start out with?

 

let me be the first to congratulate you on your purchase. as for the ignition coil problem i remembered the car shaking while driving and the SES light came on. and don't forget to get a CAI. im saving $$ for a Berk intake

 

Start with some tint and clear side markers. If the white bulbs are illegal where you live save yourself the hassle of trying to find red bulb that don't look pink and order the LED bulbs mentioned in another tread.

 

Start with the damn brakes. This is the most annoying problem you will definitely have. Get the BlehmCo kit at www.mattblehm.com. It's the affordable alternative to a true big brake kit and I love it on mine. Also looks good.

Your "other" first mod should be a rear sway bar (RSB). There are good RSBs made by Stillen, Addco, Cattman, and Progress (plus a few more). The RSB is the single best handling feature you can do to the car short of possibly coilovers (which cost $$) RSB is $100-250 and is a GREAT easy, cheap mod that give immediate positive effect to make your max handle like a sports sedan not a family sedan!

welcome to the org.

BTW perry what is "Zaino"?

 

congratutlations on joining the 5th gen family. I think that you will really enjoy this car, especially if you add the right mods. I have a 00 5spd that i have put some dough into... these are my OPINIONS on what mods would give you the desired results.

first off, for performance, the y-pipe is a great investment on 3.0 maximas. It gives it a few more horses but more importantly, it improves driveability immensly. for me, it took away alot of the balkiness and studdering that i encountered at low speeds. it felt like my max wasn't trying to exhale from a straw anymore.as far as which one to get, there are a lot of different opinions on that. i went cattman b/c i know that the quality is top notch and the rest of my exhaust is also cattman. but there are cheaper alternatives out there that might be just as good, just shop around & find out. make your own decision.

as far as brakes, irish is right. the stock brakes SUCK. they warp easy and are just low quality. again there are many options to this problem. as irish said, the blemco kit seems to be a great deal. I just orded powerslot rotors for both front and back with hawk pads though. i didn't see the blemco kit until after i had already orded the powerslots. I will have them tomorrow and have them installed in a week, so i will post results.

suspension is more of the same. there are alot of different alternatives as to what you can do. it really depends on your tastes and how you like your car to handle. first off you really need a front strut bar and an adjustable rear sway bar. those have almost a given in a well handling max. coilovers are great b/c you can adjust the height of your car at will but they are very expensive. some springs like maxspeed offer a stock like feel with a moderate drop, but i couldn't stand a "stock like feel". I went with sprint springs, which gave me a 2" drop all the way around and tokico blue shocks. Now i would go with tokico illuminas since they are adjustable. the ride is harsh at times but my car handles like a true sports car now. alot of people don't like such a harsh ride, but i like it. Again, shop around and see what you like.

you will also need an intake to compliment your y-pipe/ exhaust. there are many options, but i like a cai (cold air intake) over the other ones. I went with a place racing cai. it requires some extra work to install, but to me it was worth it. but there are other options as well.

as far as rims, if you have 17 inchers stock, i would worry about that later, when you have taken care of the other things. rims are a big investment that really don't help performance but just looks. If your performace minded, i think rims are one of the last things that you should worry about, especially if you already have nice ones.

anyway, these are just my ideas, i hope that i've helped a little. like i said, you're going to hear alot of different opinions on everything, you just have to decide what path you want to take with your max. good luck and happy modding!

mad2kmax.

 

Y-Pipe is an excelent mod for your year.

 

the org sticker adds 15HP..

 

i think blehmco has 2 brake kits for sale..which specific one did you guys buy? thanks

 

mad2kmax, that was a really nice post. it wasn't addressed to me, but i'm in almost the same boat, and the things you said were really helpful. here's an unexpected thank you.

 

your very welcome. I can remember when i first got my max and wanting to mod but not knowing very much about the car and what mods were available. The org has been a great place to learn and research these things. It's good to see other people's experiences with products instead of having to rely on advertising that's often misleading. so feel free to ask any questions, most of us here are happy to share what we know.

mad2kmax

 

There are two choices....one uses 300ZX calipers and 2k4 Maxima rotors. This kit can only be used by you if you have aftermarket rims that have enough clearance (18's and up and maybe a few 17's). This is because the 300ZX calipers are bigger than your OEM calipers so they need more clearance.

The other kit, which I have, uses 2k4 rotors with your factory calipers. These will fit under your OEM 17's (with about 1/2 inch to spare at most) but I don't think they'll fit if you have OEM 16's. Might want to ask Matt Blehm about that.

 

hopefully my enkeis 17x8 35 offset will fit

 

I don't think he's into that sticker thing

 

Anyone have any experience with these? Which one is the best for the dollar? And where to purchase from? I think this is what I want to do next.

 

i recently posted about the rear sway bars and i will reitterate what i was talking about just because i think that everyone should know about this, especially people with no experience with rsbs.

like i posted earlier, this has pretty much become a standard mod to make on our supensions. and with good reason. it makes or max not feel like such a boat of a car. i have taken it off a couple of time for different reasons and i am always glad to have it back on. when on, your back end doesn't seem to want to dip and tilt so much, making the car much flatter during the turn, if that makes any since.

that being said, there is also a downside that people should be aware of. most of the rsb's that i know of are adjustable , such as addco (progress), and stillen. i have an addco rsb and had it adjusted to the max. car handled great. absolutely felt like a true sports car now. then, one night driving home from work, i took a 90 degree turn, one that i make everyday, but the road was wet from rain. mid way thru the turn, my back end came loose and came around. i ended up doing a 180 in the middle of the road, but i wasn't going to fast and there was no harm done, other than the fact that it startled the crap out of me. after that, i did some research here on the org and found out that loosing control in bad conditions was something to look out for with a rear sway bar.
basically, the rsb makes the max oversteer in certain instances and it's hard to control your back end comming around in a front wheel drive car.
in my opionion, the pros outweigh the cons, by a long shot, just know that sharp turns can be dangerous with a rsb equipped in wet weather.

 

Your sig is hurting my eyes.......... so blue and bright