wsup guys. i have a 4th gen. thinking about going to a 5th gen. anyone else here who upgraded thinks the 5th gen is more fun to drive. im mainly talking about handling wise, b/c the vq 35 is alot more powerful. 5th gens weigh a bit more so i figure it might give up some handling on a 5th gen.

also how much hp can i expect out of a 5th gen with just a y pipe/headers with stock intake and stock exhaust. im kinda quitting the modding stuff unless its a really easy bolt on with noticeable gains. getting too old for anything else.

thanks, i know i should have searched about the y pipe..please no flame. just a case of laziness at work.

 

Have you driven a 5th? I would before deciding.

 

Never too old.

I like the way my A33 handles over my A32. But the A32 does feel more 'willing'/lighter.

Headers alone will give you a lot of hp (Cattman).

 

never driven a 5th. even if i did it would only be like a test drive where u cant really push it too hard.

how much is the norm on those headers. y pipes dont remove precats on a 5th?

is the car still legally smogable after y and headers?

 

Yes it is since you retains the main cat. Actually, Hotshots is having a great sale, and tehy're right next to cattman as fas as performance is concerned. But I know they wont last long that price. HS are 300 now, Cattmans are a tocuh more than twice that.

 

Just last week i drove a 2K2 6spd. and All i can say is WOW that 3.5 really does its job....

 

One thing about the 5th gen is horrible turning radius. My A32 was way better

 

ya that was the first thing i noticed in my friends I35, def. one of the worst turning radius (radii? sp?) out there. Grandit, his car did make me want to get my maxima.

 

ive had 3 nissans. a g20, 240, and my max. the thing i dislike most is the light steering. even on the g20 and 240, cars known for excellent handling, the power assist in the power steering is way too much making it seem very vague..im assuming this carries on to the 5th gen max too?

 

Yes. I went from a 94 to a 99 to a 2002 Max. The 99 was a super upgrade from the 94. The 02... . I gained in power and I lost in agility. Not to say that this car isn't agile, but the 99 seemed sportier. This car seems like it has to work to be agile around highway turns. It was the first thing I noticed driving it home from the dealer. It's bigger, heavier, and you can feel it. However, the other thing I noticed, is HOLY @$#*$@ this car can GETUPANDGO!!!!!!!. On my way home after picking the car up at the dealer, I was on the highway and had to switch into the left to pass the car in front of me. There were cars coming up in the left lane, and I didn't want to inconvenience them, so I went to speed up and was about to shift down to fourth, but when I pushed the pedal down in 6th the car pulled. I didn't even have to downshift, it jumped from 70 to 80 in like 3 seconds in 6th gear. I was very impressed. Just for $hits and grins I found an open stretch and down shifted to third and floored it. I've never driven anything that went from 70 to 100 so fast.

Performance-wise, a HUGE upgrade. Handling wise... I still feel like it's a generous downgrade stock-wise. Sure you can throw on a RSB and FSTB and some new springs/struts, but the point is you have to work to make this car handle as good as the 4th.

my 2 cents

 

5.0 y-pipe removes pre cats. 5.5 gen's have them in the headers opposed to the y-pipe.

 

Truth is, both the A32 & A33 handle like jello when stock. No way can an A32 be considered 'sporty' handling stock, that's just too much of a stretch.

 

But the A32 Stock handled way better. To get into my driveway with my A33, I have to reverse then go in slowly. With my A32, i used to just drive right in without no problems, then when I was slammed with my A32, the same. But my A33, i have to reverse to get in. Horrible turning radius. Same as u-turn, A32 did u turn much better than my A33

 

I wouldn't say because fo the turning radius the A33 has horrible handling....

 

Not always true. CALI spec 5th Gens will still have one precat left even after you install an aftermarket y-pipe. Only the rear bank precat is in the y-pipe. The front bank precat is between the exhaust manifold and y-pipe.

 

I don't really ever race through hair-pin turns on back roads, so I don't know how the car handles in that sense.

I do know that on the highway, the A32 could take highway bends at 80 mph noticably (sp?) more easily and securely than my A33 can.

 

http://forums.maxima.org/showpost.ph...8&postcount=10


Valid point and my thoughts exactly. As my car's current state, it handles better than my A32. But the A32 only has eibachs at the current time.