Performance or Handling mods, which one would you do first?
 

I've owned my car (03 SE) for little over a year now. I used to own a beater in college... so this is my "first" car ... I am not an auto geek like a lot of you here, some of you are so crazy that I just have to :bowdown:.

Anyway, my impression of maxima is that it has PLENTY of power for a daily driver (that's me). The low end power and torque are pretty impressive. I did however find that the handling on our car sucks big time. This is where most of our money should go, in my opinion.Handling more than performance is what I enjoy the most. Unlike most of you that spend $hit load of money to gain nickle and dime horses, I am investing my "mod cash" on handling (and related) parts.

So far, I put money on JIC A2's, Light weight rims, brembo rotors, Performance tires, LTB, RSB, FSTB... (the only ones that are currently installed on my car are RSB and FSTB, I can't wait until others are installed).

I am taking a different route than most of you here. I will do Handling mods first, then a couple of appearance mods, then audio mods. I don't think I will be spending much mulah on performance mods. Majority of the performance mods you guys do are really not worth a lot IMHO. I don't go to track, I never dyno'ed my car. If I really feel the need for speed, I will go straight for a turbo (when its affordable). I will be skipping all these performance mods that give nickle and dime gains in power. I will instead save all my performance mod money for a turbo.

Feel free to comment, I want to know if you feel the same way as I do... if not, why? Remember, this is my "first" car, so I am eager to hear you veterans...

Not a 5th gen guy but I totally agree with you. Handling and brakes before more power. Almost any car on the road has enough power to get into trouble but it's a lot more rare to find one that actually handle well enough to get you out of trouble.

:thumbsup:

I'd go for power first. Since I don't drive my car that hard on the street, I don't have a problem to get in trouble with power. Most of my power gets out on the track - straight line. Not much handling need there, at least for me. Breaks - that's another story. Never hurts to have good breaks.

You guys think our handling sucks? Try driving a camry :)

Dude...we don't turbocharge or supercharged our car because of the consequences that are pretty much bound to happen. Who wants to waste $2500 on a sure fire way to blow a transmission? Performance mods such as new intakes, exhausts, pipes, and etc. don't just give you a nickel and dime as you so eloquently put it. If you hook a Max up with a nice CAI, new muffler, hotshot headers w/ y-pipe, light rims, among other lighter mods, then you'll be able to gain over a full second on your 1/4 mile runs. That's a lot, dude.

This isn't Fast and the Furious, dude. You can't just throw "turbo" into your car and call it a day. You're still going to need certain performance mods that'll make it easier for the car to handle the "turbo". And as I said before, TCing or SCing a car...not smart. Was it Hamy whose blown his transmission like three times already?

What I'd do is mix performance upgrades with handling mods. I'd save up a lot of money, get a y-pipe, muffler, and cool air-intake first. And then right away drop the car, get new brakes/rotors and tires. That's about $2000 right there. 1000 for performance. 1000 for handling.

Mix it up.

I started with the drop/suspension. To me it just makes the car look/feel a whole lot better. When all that was done go performance mods.

What good are performance mods if you can't take full advantage of them with good handling. I vote handling mods first.

Everybody's welcome do what they want to their ride - after all it's your own car. At one point all I had was clear corners. Years later I'm now fabricating custom suspension mounts. I do love power and having 25%+ over stock N/A is a blast.

Yeah, exactly. A lot of people also say "why didn't you just buy a faster car?" And my answer is always because 'my Maxima looks hotter than 90% of faster 4-door cars out there'. The only sports sedans that compare to the looks of the 5th gen is the current Subaru Impreza WRX/STi, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo, Nissan Altima SE-R (even though it isn't even out yet) and the Acura TL.

I'm always hard pressed to think of any other quick sedans that don't have this stuck up, super-plain look to them like Camrys and Accords have -- even though Honda is trying to get in on the "4DSC" action with the new gens. Lousy honda. :P

...yea dude...

I have done only handling mods. nothing performance wise except for the berk air intake.

as it stands, I have an fstb, rsb, and JIC's.

performance can wait. I have a slower vehicle and when I get into my max, I already appreciate the power that it has stock. will I go anymore for performance? maybe just headers, and cams. we'll see, but I want to put on some mileage and pay more of this car off first before I put anything else on it.

my mods in order of purchase/install:

1. springs/strut upgrade
2. ftsb, rsb
3. wider wheels, better tires
4. 13.1 inch big brake kit
5. intake

I feel "safer" knowing my car can handle going fast. Doesn't matter how often i'm driving fast, the maxima needs refinement in certain areas... especially the small brakes

I agree, suspension mods make a dramatic improvement in overall feel of the car.
FSTB and RSB improve even a stock suspension.
Springs/Shocks or coilovers put a Maxima into a different world of handling.
The stock brakes and tires cry for attention. At the least, get better pads and summer tires (almost anything is better than the RE92).

Whichever you have money for... :)

My 02 would be to balance it out. Do one of each at a time. This way, you won't feel you are lagging behind.

If I had a 02+ Maxima, then I'd agree that a quality suspension and tire upgrade should be the first order of business because the drivetrain is pretty strong. Concerning brakes, the OEM rotor/caliper set up is great for normal driving. Just invest in some high quality STREET pads. The only reason you need to upgrade to better rotors/calipers is if you road race. Big brake kits rarely slow you down quicker during normal driving (sub 80mph). Big brake kits are made to reduce brake fad after mulitple uses and to slow you down better from 100+mph. If you want to improve your stopping on the street, get high performance summer rubber and good street pads. Big brake kits have to be one of the most misunderstood modifications. Like throttle bodies, exhaust piping, and rims, bigger is not always better.

you need speed/power/accelleration some of the time. the maxima is plenty fast for daily driving. More power just gets you in trouble :)

you need handling and braking ALL THE TIME.
Braking and handling upgrades are what KEEP YOU OUT OF TROUBLE.

so you decide which is more important.

Definetly Handling/suspension mods 1st. Intake and exhaust for sound, and headers for more power! :thumbsup:

handling first

Another reason to get dropped first: Get rid of that fugly wheel gap. :Puke:


~limsandy