You guys all know how expensive it can be to buy a car. For those of us either just starting out or recently purchased or even want some ideas, what is your favorite or best mod under $100?

Quality is a factor. Don't tell me a set of 4 coilovers for $100 or some junk like that. Nor should it be a convoluted DIY mod.

 

LEDs to replace the regular bulbs, all of them combined prob cost $80ish. Also my B-pipe resonator delete for $25, makes the exhaust a little louder.

 

Fstb......

 

udp

 

hey n3985... do you still have the vid of your exhaust minus the b-pipe that you posted way back when? can you post it again or send me a link to it? tia

 

I was going to make a new one, because somehow the exhaust got louder?

On a cold day start up, the sound is pretty loud and the initial start up sound from the exhaust sounds just like a G35.

 

Under Drive Pulley? What does that do and what would a mod to it do?

 

Energy Suspension motor mount inserts....

 

You replace your crank pulley with a smaller, lighter pulley, but don't worry about it, its doesn't do much.

 

Puppetmaster got it.

 

I'm curious to see if anyone has ever done a REAL Dyno (not a butt dyno) on most of the mods which people do.

I have always been against doing almost any performance mods to any of my cars for the simple reason that essentially.... they don't do anything for the amount of money you are spending. The only ones I could see doing are NOS, Turbo or a blower.. Of course--if you are doing any of those three, you now have to spend more money upgrading intake, fuel, exhaust, etc,... to really appreciate it. now you are running into the thousands.

Intakes, pulleys, cat backs/headers---IMO generally arent worth it to me. I/H/E are what, $400-500? another $100 or two for several other thigns and you have spent close to a grand for what, 15-20hp? Just not worth it. If I wanted tons of power, I wouldnt have purchased a maxima to begin with!!

All that being said, I do enjoy looking and reading about what others do to their cars. I would just rather have a real clean, stock Max--

 

how does this benefit the car if any.. for ex the automatics

 

Plenty of people have done dynos, check the dyno section of the forums.....
I think with a nice amount of bolt ons you can gain more like 40-50 hp IMO it is worth every penny

 

I don't get what you mean by "they don't do anything for the amount your spending" headers for my 5.5 gen were 595 (I think) and i got 30whp out of it. thats a little less than $20 per hp. lets take a turbo setup for a 5.5 gen running like 6500 and you get lets say 120whp out of it that equals $54.17 per hp.


Pretty much samething above. I don't know what kind of 5th gen you have but 5.5 gens get decent amont of power from I/H/E combo..

I love the look of stock car to. Minus the 4x4, red and orange sidmarkers and badges.

 

GAB (ghetto air box) = Free
cattman RSB at the GD =109
clear sides
6k hid bulbs
luminics jdm yellow bulbs

 

these do not work on automatic cars; and yes engine mount inserts are by far the best mod for the money. increase in traction, and more of the power that your engine already puts out will be put to the wheels; less wheel hop too.

 

yes granted they cost less than a hundred dollars. unless you install them yourself you will be spending at least another 80-160 dollars on installation.

 

i know you said 100 but for 109 on the group deal get the RSB (rear sway bar if u didnt know),... bolts right on, you can do it yourself, theres write up's around you can find on it, and its the best bang for your buck, I have never heard 1 negative thing about it

My vote is for a RSB off the GD

 

RSB --- Best mod for about $100.

 

i think it depends on what you want to upgrade...looks, performance, suspension, sounds.....

 

Is it possible to do ES mount inserts for AUTO 5.5 gens?

 

RSB RSB RSB RSB RSB RSB RSB RSB RSB

Get it from Cattman on the Groupo Deal, fast shipping too

 

Luminics suck... they aren't even that yellow and yes I had a pair of those myself.

 

btw, you have to reaim them to make luminics bulbs (or any other halogen yellow fogs) brighter...regular halogen bulbs are still far from irish's lexus HIDtec capsules...but some people don't realize how bright the luminics really are...until you reaim them higher...

 

707 - I think you should invest in the Cattman/Progress RSB from the groupd deal...at $109, you can't go wrong...the rear end will feel more planted in those high speed turns...you can also pick up an ebay FSTB for $20...and they both complement each other well!

i've had an incident, where the ebay fstb broke, however...but i am one out of a few hundred fstb's that broke!

 

I agree with steven88, how do you know that since you don't have fog lights?

 

EDIT: actually, i take that back, he said he HAD luminics...

 

exactly. Do it right the first time and get 3000k H3 HID's.

 

Short ram intake, buy an adapter plate to the MAF and a K&N filter. $60-80?

Anything other than the OEM headlight & fog bulbs $20 and up

AE Headlights

 

Rear sway bar is the best first mod for around $100. It's easy to install and makes a noticeable difference in the handling. The solid motor mounts are nice too but take a little more skill to install.

I've been doing some cheap cosmetic mods recently. I removed the chrome window trim and painted it black, blacked out the headlight housings and cleared the amber turn signal, blacked out the door lock and trunk lock, removed the muffler and painted it flat black with satin black tips and also made a set of custom grill inserts (black of course). All that together can be done for well under $100.

If you want to see the grill inserts they're here. This is before I blacked out the headlights.http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=488890

 

it's almost impossible to find anything AE or TE.

 

Modding with short change is Do it right or go home.

 

gab + advanced timing.

 

no one could have said it better

 

I'm not saying to run out and buy the most expensive things. But optimize your set-up and stick with quality.

 

anything suspension or handling-related should be your first mod. Springs, struts, tie bar, RSB, poly bushings. Several of those can be had for under $100.

 

eh bigger is not always better.
example: hotshot vs. cattman headers...both make similar gains but the price difference is substantial

however there are some things where this applies, such as tires...my god do I wish I would have not been so cheap and bought the falkens. They're good at first but now they suck.

 

Before, I drove like a grandma because I realized very early on that my old civic handled MUCH better than my maxima. Now I love the way my car feels, although it took me more than just a few hundred dollars to get here....

 

I agree but there are still some good quality mods for under $100. Personally I am usually looking for the most bang for the buck with my mods.

FSTB is inexpensive even for a decent quality one, clear marker lights are also well under $100.

I still have my RSB from my 4th Gen kicking around, I should put it on. A lot of guys in the 4G forum thought the sway bar didn't do much with lowering springs, so I took it off. My 5G is on stock springs though.

 

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