Welcome and congrats on finding such a mint condition 5.5. The Merlot always looks great, especially now next to that clean Z32 you have.

Wow, the same stuff we used to use on tools?
http://www.plastidip.com/home_solutions/Plasti_Dip

If so, what a brilliant idea. I found a quick thing on Youtube that the Mitsu guys did with it and search found a few posts on here. I'll get reading! Thanks!

Welcome to the .org !

Great looking Merlot, looks like the detail really brought it back too life.

Love the Z, I've always wanted one of those.

I just watched a youtube vid and read the directions.

I removed the grill, cleaned it, taped up the Nissan burger to mask, then sprayed with 4 coats, 30 mins between each coat. Make sure it's well ventilated.

Black grill looks great on merlot.

Awesome. Cheap and easy modifications are the absolute best. Thanks!

The Max has some good cheap mods like the short throw shifter mod, ghetto air box, VIAS plate, intake spaces, short ram intake, etc.

suspension and exhaust is where you start to spend 200+

I used to have a '93TT way back in the day. Nothing can complement a Z like a Maxima and 5.5 gen is arguably the best version. The best thing is that you can actually fit a hand in the engine bay. Damn VG with twin spools leaves busted knuckles.

Welcome and enjoy nice find

Now you know why I wanted another one to replace the 5.5 gen I had that was totaled. For the price of a 5.5 gen ($5-8k depending on miles, condition and options), it is the most car you can get for the money.

255 hp, check
HID lights, check
Big interior, check
Big trunk, check
Nice interior plastics, check
Decent mileage for the power, check
Decent reliability if properly maintained, check

Love how yours turned out after the detail, always liked the Merlot red cars and there was one available locally. However, a 6 speed was the most important thing to me so I was willing to take a less desirable color.

Oh yeah, first mod should be the GAB and a K&N drop-in. Make sure you get some CRC MAF sensor cleaner as well, so after you run the K&N filter for a few days, clean the MAF. Should prevent any oils from the filter from affecting the MAF.

Excellent :cool: Looking forward to doing my own work again. With the Z I was much less likely to for that reason.

Added to MaximaToDoList.txt

Welcome and nice cars bro love them both awesome colors!!!

looks good love that color

Thanks for the kinds words guys. Wasting no time...got the drill bit for the GAB and picking up a K&N (33-2031-2) from Auto Zone tomorrow :D

nice pickup...my advice toward suspension is, don't settle for anything less than coilovers, d2's, megan racings, or what I have bc racing br type coilovers. If you feel liek you ever want to upgrade brake, there is a 6th gen maxima bbk upgrade which is great or a z32 tt bbk upgrade as well. I wouldn't mod the maxima for power, it's just not cost effective. A stillen classic lip kit would also look great on there.

The detail came out great! :)

I would start out with a cold air intake, I recommend a JWT!

It gives the 5.5 Gens a nice tone...

I would also just change stock springs to H&R springs and keep the stock struts...looks nice, cost effective and should last a while depending on the condition of your stock struts, love my setup!!

Lots of mods can be done on this car! Having fun with mine!!

Welcome!

I never understood doing the GAB in that way, too ghetto.

Hasn't anyone taken an old deck plate speaker cover and installed it in the side of the air box instead? That would be clean, and offer much better air flow. Also, you could couple a Velocity stack to the Speaker cover if you sized them properly, that would increase your power considerably for little to no cost. You could even use an old speaker port for the VS.

I was going to do this until I decided on my Custon CAI, I just thought I'd share it with you guys.

GAB is free and when done right, looks decent enough. I know someone did a dyno run after doing the GAB and a K&N panel filter and picked up 9 hp, which is about what an SRI will get.

GAB when preformed right looks fine and sounds great. You can even get small mesh/screen covers(similar to a small tweeter cover) to pop in if you're that worried about looks. ANd when it gets so warm you have to use the AC- just throw some black tape over the holes.

I think performance is where it's at for 02-03, exploit the fact that you have 3.5!

Edit- jinx!

Nice purchase. Now let the modding begin.
IMO the money you will spend on shocks/springs, use it for a decent set of coilovers instead.

EFFIN!!!!!! EPIC!!!!!!! DEAR GAWD that color is beautiful man, it looks exceptional!!!!!!!!

welcome oh and...are you on clubintegra by chance, i remember a guy posting a Z for ride of the year, i dont remember it looking exactly like yours, but its possible

*edit*

i agree w/ the coilover advice. the money i spent on getting my springs/strut combo i could have been had coilovers...coilovers ride better than my spring/strut setup on top of being adjustable with my fingers for dampening and being able to adjust my height...i love it...even riding as low as i am, my ride is pretty much still better than my spring/strut.

i had dropzone springs and illuminas...so it was pretty much money well spent as far as spring and struts go

Welcome aboard, That's my twin, Merlot FTW!

Welcome to the 5th gen, SeedyRom. :wavey:

As a former moderator at twinTurbo, I'm sure your participation here will be welcome and appreciated. There are some good people in this section of the Org. I still don't know half of them half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of them half as well as they deserve.

That color is fairly epic, and I hate my frost interior now.

Nice car, have fun, and let us know when you have a question. You're not new to the forum world, but bare with us since our sticky's need an overhaul at the moment.

I love the Merlot paint color. I was gonna say, if that was a 6MT, I was about to get wicked jealous. :D

Welcome to the org.

Well said Frodo

Bilbo. :rolleyes: But yeah, that was fun. :p

http://www.tuckborough.net/images/Bilbo.jpg

wow I cant believe I did that, I'm such a geek for LOTR that I should never make that mistake

Great pick up. Nice feeling huh? Congrats!

Nice pick up got the same color looks good when waxed but me need a paint job since front and rear bumper got alot of rock chips and things and what part of Cali are you in I hope you say San Diego....:D

Beautiful car. If it wasn't raining your pics would of driven me to clay bar my car this instant.

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome! I'll definitely consider going the coilover route. Going to get it in the air later this week and inspect the suspension and other things. If the car is fine and doesn't need any other work done it'll make buying them that much easier.

welcome....clean ride man

Coilovers FTW.

You could also consider headers, since sometimes the precats on the 5.5 gens are known to break up and get sucked into the motor and cause oil consumption. And the headers are worth quite a bit of power as well.

Wow Merlot is slowly becoming one of my favorite colors! Truly sharp!! You gotta floss her at the upcoming meet!!! Hope that day's clear for you.

If 4th gen coilovers can fit a 5.5, Ill sell you my Boss Chens (coilovers).

coilovers are neat but i'd spend the 900 elsewhere like spacers, vias plate, cat back, sway bar, etc

MERLOT! represent! nice pick up bro good luck

love the color welcome

Nice job....car looks GOOD!!

the rear coilovers/suspension on the 4 and 5th gen are identical. i believe on the front something w/ the bottom of the mounting has to be changed/modified to work

:squint: I like less than half too.................