I don't personally want any stuff. My lenses are fine. Just in to see what Scott does, is all.

The OP details cars for a living. I'm thinking he knows just fine how to use a clay bar, and is more intimate with the Maxima finish than 99% of the people here.

 

I think this is what he's talking about:



Kind of a neat look. But...my steering wheel is too worn to do this. Unfortunately.

 

I guess I'll try it out. My wheel is gone to hell on the top part anyways... couldn't make it worse if I tried.

But I hope to get mine wrapped in Alcantara / Leather soon like the M wheels... 150 grit to worn leather isn't the same.

 

I just think our wheels lack the "sportiness" factor to pull something like this off. It might look good, I don't know.

I, personally, want a 350z wheel in my Maxima.

 

Thicker wheel wrapped in black leather with red stitching, and it will definitely be much better. I dislike the standard Z33 wheel, but the JDM Momo wheel that DeusExMaxima put on his 6th gen... *drool*

 

I agree, the Z33's steering wheel looks like hell. Our steering wheels look nice, just a tad big but a nice S. wheel. Looked at prices and our wheels are one of the most expensive Max S. wheels, only the 09-11 Wheel rivals it in price new. All other gens and models S.Wheels are less.

 

You stole my car....Detailed it, and posted pics on the org.? Petty

 

great find op, at least you know our Maximas can take a hit

 

Usually spray an all purpose cleaner in a microfiber towel and then wipe the headliner down. Don't get the headliner itself any wetter than absolutely necessary to get it clean.

phatboislim-32:1 dilution is what BioKleen recommends. With regards to Water/Woolite for the leather and vinyl, mostly trial and error. Got the tip from the leather care tag on a Cadillac I was detailing when I was just starting out. Works great. Ottawa leather, who supplies most the OEM leather, simply recommends using a mild soap and water. What's more mild than Woolite?

ilacuss-I paid $5000 for the car, plus tax, title and license. I saw several with similar mileage and poorly repaired collision damage, bad tires, etc for more than I paid for this one.

maximus nismo-probably just clean the engine bay real good. Need to replace the battery tray, not complete trash but looks like it has some corrosion.

Rochester-usually just polish then with whatever I polish the car with. Generally don't have to wetsand Nissan/Infiniti headlights.

Child_uv_KoRn-don't think I'll take a chance on that. No telling what kind of inspection is done once the car is picked up. Armrests pop up in classifieds all the time, or I can look into the Redline stuff that was recommended.

trooplewis-same paint thickness as Mercedes, about 3.8 to 4.0 mils. Nissan paint is pretty hard too. I can hit it hard with a rotary and be okay on paint thickness.

The6spdMax-so I hear. Changed the transmission oil out with Royal Purple (all I could find locally), shifts smoother now but the throws are way too long. Need to do the short shifter mod. Soon.

 

Very cool that you're having fun, Scott. Something good has come from this trauma.

 

Welcome back ! Feels good to hear that roar again eh ?

 

probably missed it somewhere, but how many miles does your new baby have?

 

was this thread made with my inlfuence??? (make me feel important )...... anyways im loving the cleanliness of the ride... i wish my black leather was as fresh

 

There's a thread here titled for you with over 30k posts. You want more??????

 

You don't have young kids, do you? Your car looks awesome, but if I put the time and effort into doing that with my car I'd have to kill the first person who let a speck of dust into the car. With a 3yr old my back seat looks like Armageddon has begun.

 

Really like driving the car so far. Amazing to get on the freeway and see the mpg average jump up the way it does compared to my 4AT '02. Also like the added acceleration from 30-55 or so because of the tighter gearing-really noticeable around town.

FrankA33-already did the GAB mod to get that roar!

ewakefield-150k miles, something like 45k less than my other one had. Good struts too, the ones in my old one were shot. Drive train ought to have at least 100k miles left.

Grand_hustle17-didn't have anyone in mind when I made the thread, no.

Maxident-my youngest kid is 22, my oldest (I have just the two) turns 24 on Thursday.

 

That is a clean 5.5. Glad everything worked out for you and no one was hurt.

 

The issue with your shift **** is probably in the **** itself, having been over-tightened by the previous owner. And although using thread-tape might very well address it, you could also just purchase a new 6MT **** from the dealership for like $60.

I bought a new one last year after seeing what a brand new one looked like; (thanks, MaximusTi.) At the time, I wasn't even aware of how worn my original shifter **** was.

 

Scott...sorry to hear about the accident...glad to see both you and your son walked away from it...especially glad to see you found another 3.5 .

I bought my current 3.5 last year; 03 Titanium 6 with roughly 95K miles on it and a set of 20's and a mesh grille for only $5k! YEA...the guy didn't know what he had. And the sad part about it, I told him to keep the 20's because I didn't want them and he said it's a package deal. Works for me!

Anyway, I've been babying it ever since. No major problems, just minor routine issues so far. But I'm goin HAM on it now!

I agree with Rochester. I would just order another shiftknob. Mine looked worse than that when I got it, so I peeled the leather off and left it at that. Doesn't look bad, but I'm ordering another one from Courtesy anyway.

Ace.

 

I'll either get a new OEM **** or maybe an aftermarket one if I can find one that doesn't look ricey.

 

good luck. if you find a decent shift ****, let me know. nothing wrong with mine, id just like something weighted.

light weight shift ***** on our transmissions =

 

Scott I have a detailer question or maybe just seeking advice-

I used to detail cars way back in highschool(16 yrs ago) and they had the best "tire black" and dash/ plastic polish but it was of course an in-house secret.

What do you recommend using for giving the tires that wet black appearance( a lot of them seem to fade tires after the sheen wears- one guy recommended a little black shoe polish ) and what brands are best for the dash, center consul and plastic areas? ( i like a high shine effect without the greasy feel)

 

Damn that's clean. I can't wait till spring to clean my interior, even if it half as clean as yours I'm happy!

 

The problem with the high shine products is they are petroleum based and not particularly good for the vinyl or rubber. Water based products with a natural sheen and UV protection are much better for your car and will help the rubber and vinyl last longer. For tires I use regular Armor All. Water based and it won't hurt the rubber. Decent amount of gloss but not super shiny. Optimum Protectant Plus is what I used on my car's interior along with my customer's cars. Enough sheen to let you know something was applied without being overly shiny. Plus it has a lot of UV protection in it.

 

I only wish it would warm up already, I really want to try the Optimum No Rinse Wash your video makes it very easy to get a really nice clean surface to work with.

Great video thanks.

 

thank you

 

Glad to see you got a awesome replacement, thats a great looking car.

 

Thanks, I really like it so far.

Finally got on it hard through the first 3 gears tonight. Pulls clean all the way to redline and definitely harder than my 4AT one did. Need to order the NWP block plate for it, couldn't open the hood on my other car (plus insurance finally picked it up today) to grab that one. With the shock tower against the timing cover, probably couldn't have accessed all the bolts anyway. Might end up modding this one more than my last one. Be nice to have a 13 second car again.

Seems to pull every bit as hard as my 1974 Z/28 (4 speed, 3.73 gears) did before I did the intake manifold and swapped the Q-jet carb for a Holley 3310. Looking at old road tests, the 4 speed '74 Z/28s ran 14.60s at around 96 and mine had headers when I bought it, so low 14s at 97-98 sound about right. Never got it to the dragstrip but headers, intake manifold and a somewhat larger carb was usually enough to put them into the high 13s at around 101-102. I'm guessing headers, NWP block plate and spacers ought to at least get the Maxima close.

 

Or some Loctite......Nice find! Get all your bolt-ons NWP especially......and if you swap out some interior piece you really think they would know? Hell no!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

They picked up the car today anyway. I do know they took a lot of pictures of the car while inspecting it so who knows what they might or might not notice missing.

 

what do you use to clean the interior (non leather) like the floor mat area

my interior is terrible cause of all the crappy weather

 

Says what I used in the first post.

 

Congrats with new car - you are back with 5.5 gen.
Great work detailing it too!

 

What method did you use to clean the carpet? Spray on the solution & use a scrub brush; or just spray on and let penetrate & then wet vac off?

 

Nice work! Been following your amazing work for years on OT.

 

I'm glad to hear you have more plans for this car than the last (at least headers )... It'd be a crime not to mod a 6MT like that! Looks like an amazing find.

 

Spray, let dwell 3-5 minutes (if it dries too much I give it another quick spray), scrub with a nylon bristle brush as needed-also have a rotating brush attachment for my DA polisher for extreme cases), the wipe dry with a microfiber towel and re-vacuum.

dustey-rule #1

jowo9-much easier to upgrade the clutch/flywheel combo to handle more power than our automatics, plus I've already got close a half second jump on my 4AT car as it is. Really amazing how hard it pulls at the top of 3rd gear in the 6 speed when at the same speed, the long 3rd gear somewhat dulls the rate of acceleration.

 

Yeah. Most days I'm actually ok with my 4AT. Especially because all my mods have made it faster than a stock 6MT... but sometimes when I have to get on it in 3rd gear, I curse the ridiculously looooong gearing. Oh well, 1st and 2nd are good

 

Car looks great! The 6 speed really makes it a fun car. I also love that color combo. I wish my leather looked that good. Mine is all dried out and definitely shows its age. I was thinking about ordering the leatherique prestine clean and rejuvenator oil what is your opinion on it?

 

That's an amazing job you did. I wish you had some before pictures too. I just inherited my brother's 2000 Maxima SE manual transmission. He didn't really take too good care of it so the car has lots of scratches, the left headlamp housing is hazy as well as both foglight housings and the area just above the back tires are starting to rust. Any suggestions on what I can do to shine her up or before irreparable damage occurs?