Greetings everyone !

This is my first thread on here as I am recently the new owner of a 2K3 Polished Titanium 6spd HLSD Max. Being no stranger to the Maxima (as I have owned 2 others) I was looking for a fun/weekend car to drive on my off time and give my truck a break for long distance road trips.

My search didn't take too long, but the only Maxima I was open too was exactly the one I bought, A fully loaded TE in Polished Titanium. The car itself isn't perfect (its got its share of door dings, minor scrapes etc...) but I paid a reasonable price so I am happy regardless.

Next were the mods and extracting exactly what I wanted from the car. Initially the car seemed to work well but as I drove it I noticed it was really slowing down and lacking in power above 5K rpm. The handling was also typical Maxima sloppy and it felt loose and disconnected in the twisties.

After some research and reading I decided to do the following:

Maintenance:

MAF
Ignition Coils
Plugs
Cabin Filters
Coolant return line

Performance:

Progress RSB
Progress Springs
KYB GR2 Shocks
KYB Strut mounts
Yokohama S.Drive Tires
JWT POP Charger
NWP Manifold Spacers
NWP VIAS delete
NWP Torque Link
Cattman Headers and Y-pipe
Cattman Fast Cat
Cattman 3" Exhaust
TS F-Spec Flash

Visual:

10% Tint all around
De-badged Trunk lid
3M Treatment for the Headlights

So, I finally got the car back this past Sunday and all I can say is WOW !
The difference is huge and the results are exactly what I wanted/expected as far as performance is concerned. I was not expecting to sheer volume of sound from the exhaust...granted its brand new and needs time to carbon up a little to soften the tone but I may be doing something about this later on.

Power is really an immense improvement. My goal was to be a mid-high 13's car and I believe I am getting close to that. My plans for the future aren't much in this year but maybe next year I'll look into some light 17s, a clutch and flywheel.

Anyways, Pics to follow and I hope I can contribute something to the forum that I have already learned so much from.

Markus.

 

well 1st off congrats on the (beautiful?) ride. since there are no ics: to confirm this i can only imagine.
looks like your wish list is off to a good start though.

 

with all your mods and good driving, low 13s high 12s is possible. congrats on the purchase, and welcome

 

on low 13 ETs being a possibility, as long as you can nail a good 60 foot time.

 

Pretty sweet list and to throw it all on at once must of been a drastic transformation!!

 

That's no "wishlist", Beater. He did all these mods at once. Yikes!

Markus and I have been PM'ing for a while now... I'm guessing his car was at his mechanic's for about a month between waiting on parts and all the various installs.

OP, if you have them, I'd like to see pics of the ECU removal/re-install. I've never seen good photos of that process.

Are you considering getting the car up on the dynometer for some perspective on the change in WHP? To that end, can anyone speak up with the baseline WHP on a stock 5.5 6MT? (Crank HP was 255.)

 

On a 5.5 6MT with spacers, headers, 3" Cattman, VIAS-delete, engine brace, and a TS Flash... you should be knocking out mid-to-high 13's in that car without even breaking a sweat.

 

stock whp on a 5.5 6mt is in the 200-210 range john..

 

wow! i must've mis-read his post! that one hell of a transformation! now i really am curious to see some #'s and pics!

 

[quote=
Are you considering getting the car up on the dynometer for some perspective on the change in WHP? To that end, can anyone speak up with the baseline WHP on a stock 5.5 6MT? (Crank HP was 255.)[/quote]

I would like to get the car on a dyno at some point but I do not have any definate plans to do so as of yet. Truth be told I am just enjoying driving so much right now I haven't put much thought into the process. Also, up here in the sticks a dyno is hard to come by.

I am expecting 240-260whp and I think that is a reasonable goal. The car does pull really well and it continues to surprise me. What I'm most shocked at though is traction and the ability to put that power down. It really hooks like a bastard when you drive it right.

Pictures are coming, I am working on getting them added to my album but something about a security code? is holding me back...currently pming with admins.

 

I posted this years ago but here it is again. These are stock runs when the car was about 6 months old.

 

Not sure why they aren't showing but you can retrieve them yourself from:
http://home.comcast.net/~ahearn4john...aximaDyno1.pdf
http://home.comcast.net/~ahearn4john...aximaDyno2.pdf
http://home.comcast.net/~ahearn4john...aximaDyno3.pdf

 

In short: 205, 206 and 208 whp. Nice. That's right about where Hotshot suggested.

OP, north of 240 is probably realistic with your mods. Over 250 maybe since you've got the TS flash. HP gains aren't simple aggregates. You can't just add them up by adding up anticipated numbers for each mod.

I know how my car behaves with my mods... man I'd love to see what your TE does with yours. (I'm a little jealous, truth be told.)

How's the torque steer?

 

Aside from the torgue steer you also have to watch out for wheel hop. I swapped my wheels out for a set of 225/45/18's wrapped in BS PolePositions and I occasionally get some bad hop. More TQ is going to make that more likely.

 

Torque steer doesn't really seem to be much of an issue. I think the HLSD must be helping out big time with that since my 2000 SE with minor bolt on bits had a much worse tug at the wheel.

And yes, I realize that you can't just add up different expected HP numbers and come up with some huge result. Also the peak number isn't as much my goal as having a nice fat power-band is. I think my VIAS must have been dead and or not functioning while it was stock because there seems to be a real surge in power from 3800+. From 5-5500 there is a real increase yet again...

No need for jealousy John. Your car seems to be very well sorted.

 

dont talk to john about the hlsd...

 

Wheel hop is a factor of tires, pavement, and engine stability. Increased HP might expose those conditions as wheel-hop, but isn't the cause of it.


It's the paint, man. Polished Titanium... Free the Whales.


What? Is it snowing already?