well its cold and im broke so im looking for some cheap projects to do on my car until i can save up some cash for big stuff.

i want to get rid of the ugly amber bumper lights but do know whether i should black or clear. i had all clear on my white 4th gen and it looked good and im planning on blacking out the headlights as well. so...black or clear?

also can some one point me to a thread explaining how to black them out. (yes ive searched)

also is it possible to get my 2k2 tails to look like the AE tails (those are the black ones right?)? (again searched)

Thanks for the help

B

 

ebay for the tails

 

Inexpensive things to play with:

• Burn a can of Seafoam through the engine.
• Wire the side-markers into the turn signals.
• Do a serious interior detail, carpet cleaning, etc.
• Start replacing rusted bolts in the engine bay.
• Do a serious engine detail; (that will keep you busy).
• Research and play with LED replacement bulbs.
• Research and play with fog light bulbs.
• Flush your brake lines.
• Replace the burger on your engine cover; (I bet it's all wrinkled up).
• Apply some sweet 4DSC decals...

 

They're not specific to the AE's. They're on all 00-01 SE's and AE's. You can try and paint the ones you have, but I think the OEM 00-01's look better than trying to modify the 02-03's. Best bet is either ebay or 5th gen classifieds here. I've seen a set or two for sale recently.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but...

• The 2001 AE and 2003 TE were only in SE trim.
• The 5.0 GLE and GXE had red tails; the SE had black tails.
• The 5.5 gen had clear tails, all trims levels.

And I don't know what "ugly amber bumper lights" are. They could only be the front running lights, front side-markers, or rear turn signals. I think you mean, "amber lights that I think are ugly"... I say that since I dig the amber.

 

i would dig the amber with a different color car i think but ive hated them since the ugly amber color on my 93 altima (i swear it looked more like....well just not right)

B

 

If you are going to black out the headlights and get the '01 SE tails, definitely go with smoked bumper lights. The clears would look really out of place.

You can either spray the OEM bumper lights with VHT Nightshades, or just buy some smoked on ebay.

http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trk...All-Categories

You can spray paint black on your '02 tail lights, but you will still have the orange blinker and it wont look as good. The '01 SE tails have an almost carbon fiber look in the dark part. I would personally try to find '01 SE tails on ebay or in the classifieds section.

 

anyone like these?

i think they look good and would look awesome on a black car. mine is blue but close enough

B

 

The picture could be better... too black and white, and there's no context for the photo. It's hard to say definitively, but I like the OEM tails on the 5.5 gen, so no, I don't care for those.

I thought you were looking for cheap projects? It reads like you already decided that your winter project will be tails.

 

meh.. you dont want those black and clear ones.. they look too ricey,..plus you wont reflect red and that can be dangerous..

here what i would do if i had your exact car...

1. black out your window trim--there is a ''tape'' you can buy its like 2-4 bucks a roll (you def dont need more then 2 prob only 1) and you overlay it on your chrome window trim and tuck and cut it away with a razor blade,.. its very easy.. very cheap.. and helps the car flow much better.. plus can look stock..

2.black out headlights/remove amber lense- There are alot of how-to's .. the best one i found is on http://shiftice.com/ that site... prob cost you less then 10-20 bucks in paint.. and it would look awsome on your car..

3. Black out the grill-- you can use the leftover paint from the headlights and black out your grill.. its easy to remove.. 4 bolts i think..and it will flow great with the headlights and color of your car...

4. sidemarkers-- If you have never messed with VHT nightshades.. or dont have alot of paint experience i wouldnt.. you'll prob never get it to exactly what you want..or you will get runs or bubbles.. but if you are willing you can black out your sidemarkers for the cost of 1 can...do alot of reading on the application of it.. and i would see if you can use some kind of plastic adhesion promoter with it...

5. Engine cover- Paint your engine cover a dark blue or black to match your car...i would have this be one of your first painting car projects if your not great at painting that way if you mess anything up at least its under the hood ,.. again .. just the cost of 2 cans.. color and clear coat..

6. Rewire the fogs to come on with only running lights- just the cost of the wire taps..trust me you want the taps to do this,.. as there is not enought room to splice them in.. 3-5 bucks at radio shack

7. Fix the rear window noise-- there is a TSB about it.. and you can buy foam for prob 5 bucks and fix it ...

8. Clean your in cabin filter (free)-- its behind your glovebox,... the box removes pretty easy.. and there is a writeup on housecors site.. and its washable..


that should keep you busy...

 

I would like to do this one. Do you have anymore details? what's the name of the tape?

 

There's a write-up somewhere on here, I believe. Don't feel like looking for it at the moment. Search around and you might find it.

 

search trim-brite black out tape.. IIRC

 

Hmm. Good one, Mist_Max. Over 7 years now, and I have never done this.

Thanks for the tip.

 

Thanks for the information

 

yeah.. it is washable per nissan.. but seeing that it has never been touched,.. dont be suprised if its black and you find leafs twigs and any other thing that floats around the air up there in NY..also.. the replacement from nissan is ~50+ bucks... i think some auto stores carry a replacement for ~40 bucks,.. but.. people have bought a house furance filter from home depot ~5 bucks and cut it to fit,...search google for in cabin filter furance filter or something and see what you get.. i know ive seen threads b4.. someone actually had a thread on here about that now that i think about it..

 

More good advice. You're on a roll. And you're right about price... CourtesyNissan is asking $45 + shipping.

It seems that 3M Filtrete is reference often as a DIY replacement filter material. So that leaves me to question what the MPR (Micro Particle Performance Rating) is for this filter element. Any idea?

[edit] You know what... nevermind. There are dozens of threads referencing the cabin filter. I'll go search and play.

Thanks, man!

 

u could also black out the window trim if that wasnt already mentioned, definitely replace a ton of bulbs with leds like the sidemarkers, gauges, shifter selector, under the climate controls, doors, map lights, dome, plate lights. also u can do the always bright clock mod, rewire the fogs to the parking lights and maybe some debadging

 

whats this mean? the AE iirc had the black tails, and every 02-03 regardless of trim had clears

 

can you elaborate on the always bright clock mod...


on the debadging

 

i dont have this

B

 

i am looking for cheap...new tailights would be about the most i could spend

B

 

thanks for all the tips.

im changing my oil and MT fluid this weekend along with installing the rest of my ES bushings and the STS kit i bought in October.

B

 

ya u cut and tape off the red and blue wire on the plug that goes into the clock and the clock remains bright with the lites on or off

 

I'm just saying that Anniversary Editions are SE's, just like Titanium Editions are all SE's. When AEMAXIMA01 said, "They're on all 00-01 SE's and AE's...", it was redundant.

Was I wrong?

It got confusing with the whole red-black-clear taillight stuff.

In the end, these are not the droids you are looking for.

 

meh..idk. i just know every 02-03 had the clear rears. im not overly concerned with those slow *** 00-01s..

 

Which STS kit did you buy? After you get it installed, can you post some quick thoughts on the installation and performance?

I have been looking for one for a while now.

 

i got the Ralco RZ kit from Cattman (well its made by Ralco but i bought it from Cattman) and yes ill post some pics and thoughts

B

 

Autopartsway. Perfect fit and about $12. Trust me, after 7 years you need a new one.

 

Thanks for the reference. Found them online, and yeah, that's a good enough price not to bother cleaning the original, and just replace it.

Well done, spock. +1 for the link.

http://www.autopartsway.com/autoparts2/index.cfm?fetch=part~ID=2003~Nissan~Maxima%20SE~24 2316

[edit] Whoops! That's $13.23 each, making the purchase $26.50 + shipping. Suddenly, cleaning the OEM filter seems the best, first effort. If that doesn't work out, then this AutoPartsWay price is still half of Nissans.

 

Up here the Stealership want upwards of $70.00 Canadian for a replacement OEM cabin filter, most of the guys are using the made by "Wix" for about the same price as the one on the autopartsway site. Trust me it really isn't worth the effort to clean it and wash it, been there and done that, using an AEM solution for cleaning your air filter. It did cleanup reasonably well but for about $30.00 you can drop in a new one that is 100% efficient. Most of your Amsoil dealers will carry the WIX product line. Here's a link http://www.wixfilters.com/filterlook...&TempYear=2003 part number #24823

 

yes this **** is annoying...i cant find what i need though...havent fully searched yet though...so im sure ill find it.

B

 

I have your exact car with blacked out and cleared headlights, SE black tails, blacked out window trim(painted), and blacked out grill. I also debadged the car. You can do all that for under $20.00

The tails are a good start. Don't get those eBay tails though. They don't have any red and are illegal. You should be able to find someone with the black tails to swap with you. They're a direct swap, just get the bulbs and harness with the lights. The harnesses are different where they plug into the taillight housing but they're the same where they plug into the car.

Also, if you swap the corner lights go with smoked. My car had the clears when I got it and they look out of place with everything blacked out now. I'll be swapping them for smoked soon.

 

Here you go, instructions for fixing the wind noise, blacking out the headlights and lots of other useful info. http://www.shiftice.com/how_to.html

 

thanks man....always seem to forget about that website

B

 

has anyone tried the transluscent paint on the side markers for your color?
That would be nice.
pic for reference

 

ok thats cool!

B