Hi, getting an AE 5-speed if all goes well. I've had several 4th gen maxes, wondering how this will compare? How's the Bose in comparison? Any common major problems I should check out before buying? How about mods, what are some good cheap mods to do? I'm guessing intake and Y-pipe? Does the Y make as much power on the 5th gens as the 4th? Anything else I should know?

 

Searching is fun ... ...

It seems as if you're into performance ... so with that said .. I'd rather get an 02+

 

Run through the stickies, LOTS of info...... My sister has a 4th gen and my car seems to be faster and more comfortable. Just my.02

 

I agree...I would go with 02 or 03 since it comes with the 3.5...Plus it has some noticable changes...my opinion......Good luck though if u do decide to get it.

 

yea...well id go with an 00-01'. I feel there is more room to play with performance parts. SC,Turbo,Mevi,etc... I know some people have made turbo kits for the 5.5gens but its not really out in the public yet. But either case a maxima is a great car to get. Good Luck!

 

Oxymoron .. 00vi > MEVI.

 

lol...my bad late night. im half asleep.

 

Ya me too .. I feel like a zombie ...

 

sometimes i kinda wish i have gotten the 2000-01 maxima instead cuz the 3.5 eats a lot of gas it seems =/ i'm going broke filling her up lol but then as i drive around the power makes up for it

 

There are a LOT of reasons why I'm not going with an '02-'03.

1)Better gas mileage
2)Smoother engine (trust me, I have a G35 and I know that the engine, though a beast, is nowhere near as smooth as the 3.0)
3)No fear of stolen headlights
4)The AE is the best looking stock 5th gen, hands down
5)5.5 gen Maximas are EVERYWHERE around here, there is only ONE other AE in town--exclusivity and uniqueness means something in my book
6)It's the Anniversary Edition! Having had FOUR 4th gens in the past, that's more a sentimental thing than anything
7)COST--I would have to pay several thousand more to get a fully loaded '02 or '03...I'm getting a pretty good price on the AE
8)Not as much torque steer--Limited-Slip is standard!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the only real advantages I see to the 5.5 gens are more power and an extra gear. Oh, and a 6-disc changer in dash and the OPTION of Navigation, though what like 0.1% of them actually have it?

 

Having had an AE I agree with pretty much all your reasons...

one thing to be careful of...watch those front seats...I had my driver's seat start cracking and tearing TWICE in under 60K miles of use...and those perforated seats are VERY expensive to replace. Fortunately, the dealer I had found a way to warranty cover them both times.

Good luck and enjoy!

 

Well with that said.. I'd go with the AE 5MT .. they're the sweetest looking 5MT Maxima evAr.

 

Good choice going with the AE. I think they are one of the best looking stock Maximas.

 

ae's are the **** you will love it...

 

The AE's do not suffer from as much common 5th gen problems... maybe because they were produced later on down the line (late 2000-2001).

They are however cali-spec and some of the weird P0420 codes could happen with them, such as mine until I got it fixed at the dealer

 

for AE

Getting the last version of 3.0 engine that was made for years before that means you will be getting an engine where most, if not all, bugs have been worked out and designers have got the most out of it...

 

I agree with the more refined engine, mine has better gas mileage than most, even being so porky (fully loaded SE - heated leather seats, sunroof, etc)

I'm at 24-27 mpg. 1hr highway in the morning and 2 hr gridlock traffic in the afternoon

 

Im interested on how you got the dealer to warranty the leather, i have tried at a few different places with no luck. Let me know how you did it, that would be awsome...

 

yea i wanna know too.

 

of course! excellent choice...what color?

 

It's the burgandy, don't know the technical name.

 

I love my AE, with a nice drop they look very sweet, thanks to the body kit. I have over 90K on mine and my seats are perfect and the only problems I've had were O2 sensors and MAF and the compressor went out on me a few months back. Other than that I say definately do it!!!!!

 

Merlot, this color looks AWESOME with a nice detail job, you can check out my pics on my cardomain page!

 

wow, talk about rare. Merlot AE 5spd

 

I would disagree on the gas mileage: 5.5 gen 6spd has a tall high gear, which allows for the engine to revv less at the same speed, consuming less fuel. So if you drive mainly on hwy, get 5.5 6spd

 

Good luck with the AE! Sweet car right out of the box.

 

but the engine is larger so it would consume more gas?

 

NevAr

 

i got merlot AE and no problems with the vehicle so far...great choice...good for mods...but wanted to make sure, what Larrio said, AEs are cali-spec or fed-spec? just wanna make sure... thank you.

 

All 01's are cali spec, all AE's are made for the 01 year, therefore all AE's are cali spec

 

waaaaitt..... (sorry im new and just trying to get info) but my 01 is a california emissions car? not AE just 2k1 5 speed- i dont know much about emissions i had jjust figured california cars were cali-spec and all the other ones were federal spec-

 

As of '01, all Maxima's were built to California specs.

 

Well, The first time was under 36K miles...apparently I had developed a decent relationship with the service guys from previous issues (o2 sensor, couple of oil changes, etc.)...he wrote it up as a warranty repair and noted the miles so the paperwork would be within the 3/36 (from what I remember). Even though it took like 8 weeks to get the seat covers from Japan, he honored the original miles we had documented and had it done for free. When the back seat cover of the new set started to crack and tear, somehow, someway he talked his service manager into replacing that set under warranty and they put all over the paperwork for Nissan stuff like 'defective part', etc.

Don't know exactly how I 'lucked' out, but I wasn' arguing with it!!