Im sure there's an answer to this somewhere on the forum, but Im gonna take advantage of being a noob and ask here...

is there a short throw kit out there that actually lowers the height of my '02 shift ****? That thing is too tall and kinda goofy lookin...it'd be nice to drop it a bit...

Gimme answers maxima.org!!
tyia.

I recently totaled my old car in an accident. Thankfully nobody was hurt and the other party was at fault.

I found a 2002 Maxima SE with all the available options minus the navigation system, 44k miles, one owner, CARFAX report looks good, for $13,300. Assuming there's nothing concerning about the car when I go inspect it and test drive it, I plan on buying. This car is from a small used car dealership in the DFW area. KBB lists the retail of this car at $16,000.

I wanted to run my situation by the Maxima experts and ask if there is anything in particular I should investigate before buying. Also, the low price is a double edged sword because it has me slightly concerned.

Thank you for your time and I look forward to any replies.

thanks for the links...ive searched around myself and havent had much luck looking for clutches. It seems like nobody upgrades the 5.5 gen clutches??? My car has 66,000 miles on it and the clutch is starting to slip alittle and smell after normal driving...I guess its time for something alittle better LOL

Andrew

I don't believe so. Short throw kits typically shorten the throw of the shifter, not the height of it...

Most 5.5gen guys haven't had to replace their clutches (most 5.0 gen guys haven't either), hence the lack of information.

I would check in the drag-1/4mile forum here and see what the guys in there are running, as the guys with the very high power probably have upgraded clutches.

that, or post a new thread in teh 5G forum, since it's not a question that comes up too much, obviously, and you might attract someone's attention for an answer.

Thanks again for all the great feedback - man, I'm learning so much on this Forum.

More questions: Your comment suggests that the 235/50s will perform worse than the 225/50s on the 7-inch rim. The 7-inch rim is "in spec" for the 235/50s, so why would there be a handling difference? Would that suggest that this tire size would also handle sub-optimally on an 8-inch or larger rim, even if within the manufacturer spec, i.e., on anything other than the reference rim size?

Don't get me wrong - I'm not opposed to the 225/50s. I just thought the wider tire would be a bit of an "upgrade" from the stock 225/50s for a 17/7 rim and liked the earlier suggestion of the look of the wider and slightly larger diameter tire. Per the tire calculators referenced in other threads on the Forum, the larger size tire size will result in a 1.5% difference in speedo reading - well within what I understand to be the +/-3% recommended for tire upsizing (of note, the difference between the 225/50/17 and the 215/55 that is standard on the 16-inch rims for the 2K Maxima is 2.1% in the other direction).

I had also thought - erroneously perhaps - that wider tires would provide better grip, particularly on wet roads. I recognize that you want narrower tires in snow so that the tires don't "float." I had assumed that any concern over hydroplaning with the wider tire would be offset by the increased traction of more rubber on road and the inherent water-handling capabilities of the Toros. Along the coast of Western WA, where i live, we have three wet seasons and one dry one. We get snow only a couple days a year, but rain almost perpetually (sounds enticing, eh?). My thought was the wider tire would be better for my location. Set me straight if my thinking is all screwed up.

So, have I totally overthought this tire purchase beyond the rational and started to tick off my Forum-mates with discussions that border on the argumentative? Yeah, I was afraid of that.

the "50" is an aspect ratio (i.e. 50% of the treadwidth) regarding the sidewall height. therefore, the 235/50 has a taller sidewall than a 225/50. Taller sidewall = more sidewall flex = not as good handling (generally speaking). It's not a HUGE difference, but it is a difference.

If you are lowered (or plan to), the extra height could result in rubbing too (depending on what springs you use)

the speedo difference isn't much, but when I bought my maxima the one next to it had 235 (or 245)/50/17 tires and they looked like balloon tires

The width difference is made up with wider tread blocks (not wider channels) usually, so there is really no performance difference at all in wet conditions the way i see it. The traction on dry would be slightly better with th 235s due to more "rubber on the road" (literally). In any case, the proxes are absolutely awesome in the rain, so either size will be great.

when there is no arguing to do, the forum gets boring

My suggestions:
If you're sticking with stock rims, go with 225/50/17. For a "wider" look, get a 15mm spacer in the back and 5mm spacer out front. It will make the car look like it has significantly wider tires, if look are what you're going for.

Plus, the wider track will help with handling, and the tires will be perfectly in spec for the rim in terms of safety and handling.

night.

I replaced the MAF and my car ran so good for about 2 days. Now it sputters and jerks VERY BAD during takeoff and around 60mph also idles very high at startup (around 2500rpm).

In reality,it runs worse than before minus the stalling. The consensus is that ECU reprogramming isn't needed just leave the battery loose for a few hours. Did That. Ran good for about 20 min. and was back to the sputtering.

Nissan says they want to do a diagnostic because 'he's not sure what it can be'

Someone please steer me in the right direction because i dont know WTF to do from here!

P.s. could it be the fuel filter?

almost definitely a bad coil. Get a OBDII scanner and read the code. It should tell you which cylinder has the bad coil.

Heres another im a newbie so dont roast me kinda question...

Ive noticed when the lights are on the dash glows brighter when im accelerating, and the heater fan goes stronger at this point too, it feels like theres a shot of power thats missing unless im accelerating. The dash lights at idle are fairly dim. There is a slight misfire too, its not terribly noticable, but im thinking plugs or wires? Could these problems be related? Any help is good

thanks

well...we don't have spark plug wires. The maxima uses coil packs on the plugs.

It sounds to me like you either have a bad battery or a bad alternator. I'd get those two things tested first, and then move on to other things.

The slight misfire could be a bad coil - common on these cars. Check the coils and see if they have a gray dot painted on them. those are "updated" coils. If not, get the updated coils.

Thanks ill have a look into it and update, shows my knowledge on this car, used to my chrysler built garbage i had before it

neither of these codes list cat as a possible cause. P0139 indicates that it takes longer then expected for the sensor to respond between lean and rich conditions and P0140 indicates that voltage is too high. It seems like there is a pretty high chance that you need to check the sensor harness or more likely get that one sensor replaced. Bad cat would give you slightly different codes...

Hi, I hear rattle from the engine when starting the car after the engine was warm and car drove for a while as in going to multiple stores within 2 hours and starting the engine 5 times or more. This only happens when the car is warm, cold startups are normal, if the car sits there for 2 hours then the next startup is fine too. I think I do see the oil lamp blinking a bit when it happens. The rpms at this point are at the 650 by the book and they don't go up and down much, there is no hesitation or there is not enough time to feel it, just unpleasant rattle. The rattle goes away and engine sounds normal after about 5 seconds. There are no error codes or pending error codes stored in the ECU. No oil loss.

This symptom makes me worry...

Lots of engine maintenance was done, TB is clean, IACV is new, ECU is new, MAF is new, washable air filter, fuel filter is new(yes, the one in the gas tank), front pre-cat is new, both front O2 sensors are new, all coils are new, spark plugs have 25K miles on them.

I can think of several things:
1. oil was mostly changed with aftermarket filters, I heard something about check valves inside the oil filter, can that be the cause, should I get a stock filter or even some other expensive one next time?
2. I saw oil on one spark plug a long time ago. At that time oil gaskets, spark plug tube seals, manifold gasket were replaced and EGR valve tube cleaned, which fixed a lot of hesitation and pinging I had in cold whether. Is it possible that the current symptoms are remnants of the past?

Can anyone suggest what to do here or how to diagnose this issues, may be I should get some safisticated readings such as oil and fuel pressures? Thanks for your help.

This code is for IACV, Idle Air Control Valve, it's below the throttle body, you need to remove all air duct to get to it. With air duct removed, turn ignition key On and Off and listen for buzzing sound from the valve. No sound - need new valve. The dealer will charge $220 for the part and $200 for labor...

Will someone post some links to vendors that have large selections of max performance parts (other than stillen, jim wolf, cattman)?

check the stickies and look around a little bit

What other 'performance' parts are you looking for?

According to their website, they don't offer one for the 2001 Maxima. Any other places to check?

the stillen will work...00 and 01 are the same

Thanks!

I'm slowly finding out that I have more to learn about Nissans than I thought. I've always been old school Chevy, then I started getting into modular Fords, and now I'm getting into Nissans. It never ends!

Other than trim, etc., are there any significant differences between the 5th gen GXE, GLE & SE that affect performance? Been trolling posts, but haven't seen where this is addressed.

My goal is to increase performance of my GLE - and add a little bling - but maintain a reasonable degree of ride comfort. I'm thinking SFTB, RSB and Air Intake, then upgrade Y-pipe and/or Cat-back and shock/strut/spring setup (nothing too drastic) as my OEM wears out.

Any thoughts?

Hey Craig,

I don't have alot of info as I just became a new Maxima owner myself. I picked up a 2002 SE 6MT with 41K and minimal options for $10.5K on Saturday. I know I got a great deal, so I thought I'd pass along my experience. Sticker price at the dealer was $16K. I'd play hard to get and I'm sure you can get that price down some more.

Good Luck.

- Zack

i just bought projectors last night ( http://forums.nycmaximas.org/showthread.php?t=18717 ) and im looking for info as to how to set them up and fit them for my fogs. i currently have 3000k hid fogs and want to get a nice cut off line. i searched and looked in the how to's but i didnt see any threads or info on this (excuse me if i missed it). can anyone help me out with this or can point me in the direction of a how to/tutorial on the topic. also i was told there would be some cutting necessary, can anyone elaborate on this for me? thanks, i appreciate any info and advice on the topic.

edit: i usually jump head first into these things but i want to get as much knowledge as possible first for a change. also i dont plan on doing it until spring so anyone interested in meeting up and helping out?

-Mike

PM to Dr.Roy..the projector expert.

lol thanks irish i did, he no longer wants to deal with that project as he stated it is incredibly difficult and time consuming which he has none of right now. so... anyone else?

Hey guys,
I was wondering, is it possible to make the clutch length shorter without getting a different clutch? I drove my cousin's STi and compared to my 6 speed, the clutch was much shorter. I know these cars are in two different categories but any insight would be appreciated. Thanks

no, some people have tried but there is almost no adjustment....it's a long throw. You'll get used to it. i used to hate how long the clutch was, but I never notice it anymore.

Bham -

The suspension on the SE is a little stiffer than on the other two, although many (including me) would argue it's not nearly stiff enough for what was purported to be the serious driver's version. Then there's the reverse coloring on speedometer and tach, etc. As I recall, the
20th anniversary edition SE (2001) also had 227 hp as opposed to standard 222, plus some additional cosmetic stuff. Aside from those issues, stock versions whether GL, GXE or SE all driver pretty much the same

Ok, thanks for the advice on the intake. I ordered a berk intake w/apexi filterhead. Now of course its time to move onto my next mod which I think I'll go with a random tech high flow cat, is this a good idea, says 10 hp.. hard to believe.

I'm still wondering.. is frankencar still selling catback systems for 2k2 maximas?

Also I bought one of those cheepo resistors off ebay that you plug in to your IAT, says that when the resistor is installed the ecu will read that the air coming in through the intake is cold air, when the ecu reads this it leans out the air/fuel mixture thus taking in more air and adding more fuel to compensate, produces more power and advancing the timing 1 to 2 degrees. It was only $6.50 lol so we will see.. this could possibly add hp though who knows.

That is not true, but it was cheap so

you just need to learn the engagement point. the movement all the way to the floor is long, but the movement to the engagement point is about half of that.
its all muscle memory. after practice, shifts are quicker and smoother.

dont buy it, its a waste of money. stock cats now days are very free flowing. a "hi flow cat" will give you no power gains.

hmmm, been thinking I might need to replace my stock cat just because its old and built up.. so just go with a stock unit or what about a cheapo hi-flo one off ebay?

if you already need to replace the cat, then get the cheapest. one of the hi-flow cats will be cheaper than a stock one.
just dont buy one of those cats to replace a stock one thats ok. you wont get any performance gains.

I didnt have time to review all posts, so I don't know if this has been covered...For a 2003 GLE -

1. I want to re-wire my lights so I can have my fog lights and parking lights on at the same time. Anyone have links or quick suggestions?

2. I already have a Stillen intake, but I want to do an exhaust next. However I do not want something that looks or sounds much different from stock. Does NISMO make anything like this?

3. I also want to do some chip/computer mods but nothing I have found nothing doing or buying thats worth the money.

Any help is appreciated!

does hotshot still manufacture headers??

ok, just bought my 2000 maxima SE 5-speed, its awesome!!! i love it!!!! puts my old 1990 to shame, lol of course it should though, my question would be, when i first crank it up a belt squeels really loud, which belt would that be?? when the car is warm it doesn't squeel though. And my other question is, my bose cd player does not read cd's, guy never told me that, so am i doing something wrong for it not to be working?? i'm going to install my pioneer soon but i'd like to still listen to my cd's in the mean time, radio signal where i live sucks thats why, and what will i need to install a aftermarket cd player? i already have a DIN kit ordered from crutchfield, just not sure what wiring harness adapter to get

thnx,

Zack

Here is a link on the fog lights,i just did it yesterday.It was cake!
http://www.innerbean.com/housecor/fog_rewire.html