Welcome back to the 5.5 gen family!

 

Leatherique is pretty decent stuff, a little pricey (but so is the Leather Master's stuff I use) and the application method is pretty involved. You should be pleased with the results.

lil.monkie-if you have rust, you already have damage beyond the scope of detailing. I've got a detailing thread stickied in our detailing forum that will get you started on taking care of everything once you get rid of the rust.

zzmmrx0xmzz-technically, since the insurance company didn't pick up my other car until after I got the new one, I never left the 5.5 gen family.

 

I read there review on it and it does seem a bit involved but if it works its worth the time and money. I spend way too much time detailing my car anyway lol

 

I wish you were up further north. My car needs TLC like that. Looks great!

 

Your car is a spitting image of my '02 SE that I had.
Except mine had heated seats and steering wheel etc.
Same color and interior otherwise, though.

I'd have kept my car if it wasn't for *** gas prices.

 

I'm getting 2-3 mpg better in the 6 speed than I was in my 4AT. Usually shift 1-2-3-6 in light traffic. Kind of weird seeing the trip computer showing mid 20s instead of low 20s in city driving.

The car I bought was originally sold here in Texas so no need for heated seats and steering wheel-usually. We had a really rough two week stretch earlier this month.

 

you would get even better mileage if u didnt skip 4th and 5th I usually do 1 3 4 5 6 get 22 city preety good compared to the 16 i was getting when I got the car. Penzoil Platinum oil, Bosch oil filter. Got That **** out my engine fool! lol

 

Yep. That will happen.

I find myself skipping 4th gear a lot, going from 3rd down and back up again into 5th. And then if my speed if comfortable enough, I'll slip down into 6th. The reason being, there's no pull at all in 6th, so 5th is kind of a staging area before coasting.

If I'm accelerating quickly from a start to a low speed, then I'd do the same thing 2nd to 4th. Then up and back down to 6th.

Sounds like you're enjoying the 6MT.

You're going to enjoy playing with the gears a LOT more after getting a STS; (free or kit, either way.)

 

i may be the only one, but i think i used 5th gear like 2x in the almost 9 years i have owned the car..lol

 

same here!

 

I hear ya on that. Long, long throws! Pretty smooth most of the time but still not 100% in synchronizing the long throws with the clutch. Both my Celicas and my Z/28 (which had a Hurst shifter) had shorter throws. Probably do the Energy Suspension shifter bushing too.

 

.

 

congrats on your maxima. Just picked up same as yours; same color, same year and of course 6 speed. Mine has 87k miles.

 

Worked on the outside today. In addition to the polishing and coating, I removed the "Maxima" from the back end like I did on my other one.

Didn't get started on it until 3 today, so only had time for two polishing steps. Paint on the horizontal surfaces isn't that great (clear coat is just starting to get a slightly hazy look) but this was the only 6 speed car I could find other than one with a salvage title and back end damage. Color hides a lot anyway and if I keep it more than a year or two I'll just have it repainted.

ONR wash (clayed last week)

You should be able to see some swirls near the door handle-sun was at a crazy angle



No time to hit the car with a rotary so I used the combo I used with great success on a BMW the day before

Optimum Hyper Compound with a yellow LC CCS cutting pad and my PC7424XP and a lot of pressure-best I could do for an after, sun was starting to go behind the building.



After compounding, I used Optimum Hyper Polish and an orange Optimum cutting pad with my PC. Typically hard Nissan paint, finished down beautifully with a cutting pad

Followed with an ONR wash and application of Optimum Coating. As you can tell, the sun was pretty much down, I'll try to get some pics tomorrow with better lighting.

 

so clean

im jealous

 

Call me crazy I guess, but I respect the man driving a 10 year old car that looks like this ^^^^^ even more than the guy driving the new $50k car. I don't know why it is, but I love seeing someone take care of a great older sedan like our Maximas. I suppose it's because most of the time you see them they are looking pretty well beaten on.

Oh and thanks for the interior pics Scott, I'm now regretting not having black leather with my Sterling Mist Max even more now.

 

Thanks, I appreciate that.

Since I have my own mobile detailing business and put a ton of miles on my car, no point in buying new, warranty is gone too quick and I drive the value out of it. Plus, showing up in a somewhat older car that shines to a customer's house tends to give them more confidence in what I can do for their (usually) much newer car.

I agree about how a lot of Maximas look like they get beat on, I saw several when I was looking for mine. Scratched up paint, dirty interiors, etc. Even before I was detailing, I kept my cars clean as a matter of personal pride.

 

I agree, and this gen. especially with the 5.5 updates it still looks good and fresh despite being 8 and 9 yrs old!

 

People just donot take care of stuff like we do, I'm in Cali for the week and I see 5.5 gens every now and then. Most of the ones I have seen here appear to be in great shape and dont have that sandblasted front end that we tend to get in TX alot on Nissan products from 00 and up...hehe. My co worker here and her husband have an 08 Navigator and a 09 IS350 and they both have stains on the carpets, seats are nasty, junk papers everywhere and both have scratches........People are just lazy slobs...........lol

 

You wouldn't believe the stuff I see when detailing customer's cars. $65k Escalades that look like a dumpster inside. Obviously, that's good for my business but I still don't get letting your vehicles get so nasty.

 

There are some that might point out, an Escalade is a $65k dumpster. So...

 

Never seen that before. You could have at least included a "cool." And since I haven't posted on this thread yet... Great lookin' car there Scott. Glad you found a "new" one that you enjoy.

 

I hear ya, believe ya and with you on that!

 

Took some sun pics today.

 

That's damn near perfect for a 9 year old car. Is that the only ding there in the door panel?

 

One or two minor dings, looks like the side molding has taken a few hits. Top half the car car isn't great, some minor clear coat thinning which will eventually require a repaint if I keep it long enough. Otherwise, for a $5000 car with leather and a 6 speed, it's in excellent shape.

 

I have a friend that actually parks like that in a lot when cars are around

 

In that case, how would you advise me to deal with the rust? Thanks for the help!

 

Pretty clean............ now just get those windows tinted.

 

Excellent ride scottwax. I would expect nothing less from you in detailing. I keep up with some of the same detailing forums as you.

 

cool thanks man ill try to find some of that stuff. i need to do my detail my interior before it gets too hot outside

 

Sterling Mist Looks it's most brilliant from dusk till dawn...Im getting mine detailed in March. Is 250 too much Scott

 

Rust needs to be cut out and new metal welded in. Some products like Rustoelum might slow the degradation of the metal but in the end you need to cut it out and replace it.

7speed-tint is part of the plan, like the leather to last as long as possible.

Sneaky Green-$250 should get you a full interior cleaning/protection and wash, clay, a couple polishing steps and wax or sealant. As long as the person knows what they are doing, $250 will make a pretty significant improvement in the way your car looks.

 

Sorry to switch topics back, but I am equally amazed with the gas mileage these 6MTs can return. My max easily matches, if not exceeds, my dads 4 cylinder automatic TSX in city driving. I'm seeing 20 in brutal DC traffic??!! Yesterday, I got near 27 flying on the highway from DC to Michigan. It was its first big trip since I got it at the end of Dec.

Also, I feel like you do have to skip at least one gear to accelerate smoothly since 2nd can be had below 10, 3rd at 15, 4th at 20 and 5th at 30.....

Keep up the great work on that Max!!! She's lucky you found her.

 

Even in the horrible stop and go traffic in the Dallas area due to poor traffic light timing and idiot rubber neckers who come to a near stop and back up traffic for miles when someone is pulled over on the opposite side of the freeway, I'm amazed to be getting about 22 mpg city right now-my 4AT was getting about 19.5 consistently.

Lots of time I use 1-2-3 to get to a little over 40 then I drop it into 6th.

 

Hi Scott congrats on your new ride like you i just finished slipping into my replacement 03 after some low life stole and stripped it naked.i think i got a good deal on the replacement $4200 its got 80k on it and its QX1 color but the old guy that owned it was a welder and the inside needs lots of TLC he was a heavy smoker and drank gallons of coffee.So i need a few tips from you if you got the time.It has a frost cloth inside and the carpet needs to be replaced there is no amount of cleaning that going to fix the 12x8 hole in the drivers side footwell i can see the metal floor.the advice i need is for the seats and headliner there pretty bad headliner is stained a yellowish orange color over the drivers side and has what looks like coffee stains and the drivers seat is so dirty its ash colored.What is the best way to get them clean i have tried the sprays from pep boys and a rug doctor on the seats but its taking forever and i dont want to do more damage so if you could point me in the right direction on what cleaners work the best i would greatly appreaciate it.after that im working on finding a body shop for a full paint job back to orignal color it has alot of road rash on the front bumper and a stain on the roof where he must of sat his coffee while getting in the car it was so bad i had to use hot rags and superclean just to get the crust off before i washed the car.

 

I'd find a totaled Maxima and just swap out the entire interior. While it is out, scrub the roof and flooring real good with an all purpose cleaner.

I got called out to do an estimate for a PT Cruiser interior at a repair shop (it had been repossed by the bank and needed mechanical work) and I was told I definitely should see it before even giving a price. I get there and this is what I find:













A couple crackheads and their infant kid had been living in it for at least a month. No one at the shop would even get it it to pull it into the bay until it was clean. I told them it would be $600-1000 for me to pull the interior and power wash it and I wasn't making any guarantees about how it would turn out. The owner of the shop said he'd let the bank know.

I got a call a few days later, and was told the bank was letting the PT Cruiser go to auction "as is".

 

Wow thats just plain nasty.mine isnt that bad.ive been searching for a totaled car but there seems to be nothing in my area in frost i would like to get leather but i know the chances of finding a complete set. And changing would be a pain.

 

Your color is just going to be way too hard to really get clean again if it has been abused for so long. If you find a complete car, the interior color might not matter since you can swap it all. Really not that hard to do other than the headliner.

Plus, once you do get it somewhat clean, you will need to find a detail shop with an ozone generator to get rid of the smoke smell.

 

Excellent marketing! And that picture of a 350Z hood(?) that you posted in another thread today is awesome!