Yeah wish me good luck on the "waiting" part LMAO.

I'm taking it to my work christmas party right now.....

 

Hope you're not just slapping Max's plates on her. Lots of cops out this time of year.

 

Keep your car, stop modding it and save for your kids college.

I've owned some fun cars in my day including a 2005 G35 which I drove off the dealership lot in 2005. A few years and two daughters later I'm driving a 2002 5-speed SE with 110k miles on it. I'm not wild about the car and would love to put a new suspension on it, do this, do that, etc. But even with doing all that I'm not going to love the car. So, I get in the car everyday and try to enjoy what I have. Why, simple... It is just so darn cheap to maintain. I think of the $ that I'm saving each year by putting off the purchase of a new car and smile.

Plus, when the kids spill something in my car I don't skitz out like I would if driving a new BMW, Benz, Audi, etc...

 

\

 

My first thought when I read this... spock already asked.

Then I mentioned it to my wife, and her first thought was, "Is he bringing a date?"

LOL @how women think! It's a mystery.

 

You're right, it is a mystery. If men ever figure it out, the world would probably come to an end

 

The mystery is part of the intrigue.
Anyway, Matt, are you going to sell it or keep it? I suspect sell it.
I'm pretty sure that after tooling around for a bit in the G, you'll be comfortable in moving on.

 

This is the reason I bought a different car, cause that's how I felt about the Maxima... I wanted to stop modding a car that was never going to be what I wanted. I'm just glad I was smart enough not to spend money I can't pull back out. I didn't do any real performance mods.

Coilovers will be taken off and sold. BBK will be sold. Cattman Axel-Back will be sold. And everything else was mostly labour time, and a few pennies here and there. The grill being the only semi-expensive project at around $150 with all materials.

And I'm already saving for my sons future I have no real hobbies, don't spend money frivilously on anything, so I believe it's fair for me to have 1 thing, and that's my car. At least it still serves function as well, opposed to most guys who have a 'toy', bike, or car that they only drive in fair weather.

Nah guys the car's fully licenced, part of why the price was especially so great. My foolish days are past me in that regard. And that's hilarious about your wife John, I'm not surprised women ask that immediately. I didn't, BTW. I have only worked there for 5 weeks and didn't feel like bringing any "temps" with me.

Per: last night: I understand why you guys go with 3" exhausts and BOPs 100% now. The 3.5 is torquey as all heck down low, but a little gutless at top end RPMS. The DE-K is the opposite so now I fully understand why I got into minor disputes about 2.5" or 3" exhausts, etc, etc through the years. This thing is fast man I love it. I'll be doing some Performance mods though to free the top end up.

Also, this car rocks. I love it, Spock, you're right, I have no issues ditching the Maxima for it. 6 Speed is still wicked-crisp, the clutch is still firm, and it handles and grips very well. I was surprised how much traction it had -- I was playing around last night getting a feel for it. Now, rev it up a little higher and dump the clutch and all hell breaks loose. It's a lovely thing.

I also gave her a half-decent car wash bath-- I'll snap a few pics today.


OAN.... I already pulled the clock apart to do LED's in it, as one of the bulbs was out and bothering me. No pics of that yet though.

 

Yep.

I've driven a few G35's over the years, 6MT and AT, and that's a fair statement. Responsive, torque-y low end. But in the high end, the excitement levels off.

The 3.7 is yet another different animal. Everything feels flat. Gobs of power everywhere, but there's no sweet-spot.

 

^That sounds like a weapon. It's been so long since I first piloted the G37 6MT (First month it came out), and back then I didn't have the experience or care to really notice those things. I just wanted to test drive it for the heck of it.

The REVup engine (05/06) does seem to be a little more even across the RPM range, but I actually prefer the gutsy bottom end, I think it will suit better for DD activities anyways, I'll just open the top end up by lowering intake and exhaust restriction. I'll probably end up going deeper into the engine, but for now I'm going to likely just pop a SRI on, and start at the visual modifications.

 

wow just read ya thread didnt think you was gona hop out the maxima so soon , the car looks clean minus the snow rez lol , whats your plans for the G ???

and did i misread something you did keep the maxima right ?

 

As Jack Nicholson said in "As good as it gets". "The way I write about women, is that I think of a man and remove logic and accountability".

 

I go through cars fast, had it for almost 2 years now... longer than most of my cars.

What do you mean by snow rez??

I'm going to sell the Maxima but still have it, want to buy another grill-converted car? LOL

 

damn if i would of known i would told my boy this cause he wanted to trade his G for a maxima , he has one just like you they could be twins...ya'll could of work something out , i dont know why he wants to go backwards but i guess he misses the 5th gens that much ...LOL , but oh well , whats your plans for G ??? and would you sell/trade those blackout headlights on maxima ?

 

I am kinda jealous now.

 

Well, 260hp in a car that weighs 3,472 pounds... the 2003 G35 Sedan 6MT isn't that much different in stock performance to a 5.5 gen Maxima. (Less the torque steer, LOL.)

Just saying, for perspective.

 

I skipped from page 1 to 9 and surmise TM3K got a G35 Sedan with the 6MT and likes it a lot?

That's good to hear, man, 'cause I'm pretty sure my planned "I <3 CONSUMERISM"/American "dream" route is to keep my '05 Maxima 6MT for a few years then switch to the glorious '07 G35 Sedan with the sport package.

I tried to find another 5.5 after mine was destroyed, but gave up because they were outrageously expensive. I picked up this '05 for ~$10.5K, with every goody minus stability control, and I like it a lot more than the '02 when it comes to everything but pure speed. The '05 doesn't torque steer, strangely enough, but that might be solely due to the insanely heavy chrome 18"s that the original buyer opted for ($1500 for heavy chrome wheels the same size as the non-optional ones? What was he thinking back then?). I've got some legitimate wheels on my way from Tire Rack, so we'll see if wheels the same weight as my '02's 17s results in the same enormous amount of torque steer.

Ride is miles beyond the stock '02 and it feels much more flat in corners, to boot. Crazy, considering it weighs a whopping 300 lbs more! I actually believe Nissan in their press releases about the 6th gen Maxima and how they went to great lengths to keep the weight of the rear independent suspension as light as possible through extensive use of aluminum. It really doesn't handle like a 3550lb car. Contrast its feel to that of the '08->'10(?) Ford Taurus to see what I mean. Similar size, same power and displacement, with the Ford having a hair more weight, but it feels like you're driving a tank. Yuck.

But the pure, stupid-huge grin plastered across your face as the HP kicks in past 3500 is gone. The advanced suspension isolates you from it more which, when combined with the lower power-to-weight ratio, just makes it a lot less fun to blast away from a dead stop. At highway speed, however, the 6th gen dominates. The higher final drive means you can push the pedal to the floor in 6th gear and push all your occupants into their seatbacks from any speed above 50 MPH. It's awesome! There's never a reason to downshift to pass someone in a 5.5gen, but even less so in a 6th gen 6MT.

/ramble

Anyway, I was going to suggest test-driving a 6th gen just to see how Maximas evolved from your 5th gen's roots to the big 'ol fatty it became. 5.5 gens are really nice cars, don't get me wrong, but they are NOT worth $8-$9K for a loaded specimen with ~80->120K miles! Not to mention, finding an "unmolested" (Audi 1.8T owners touch their cars inappropriately, what?) 6MT 5.5gen is really hard. So if you found a nice G35 with the 6MT, that would be the best route because you'd end up there anyway in a few years, right? Might as well cut straight to the chase, eh? I imagine a G35 pushing 300+ HP would be waaaaaay more enjoyable than its FWD cousins.

Oh, another reason not to get a 5.5gen would be the rust. Nissan really dropped the ball on rust-prevention for a while, but seemed to get things back under control in the mid-2000s.

 

Plans? Lots, I've mentioned a few already in this thread but the rest will culmulate over time, mainly I want to mod the visual stuff, exterior, etc.

I can't sell the 5.5 lights someone gets one-off lights with the car sale. I don't have any other lights to put in, sold the original AE lights already.


This is a very valid point. I do hate that the SAE measurements changed in this year, Nissan exploited it to be sure, because the 2005/2006 doesn't have 30-40 more HP than the 2003/2004, I've driven them back to back, and while the power is delivered slightly different, it's certainly not more/less by any stretch.

That said, by "todays ratings", my car actually has the rated 300 hp of the Coupe and 05/06 Sedan.

In either regard, you're correct, it's not ***** into your stomach speed by any means, but it's more brisk than the 5.5 without a doubt.

That would actually have been a good suggestion but I'm no more into the 6th gen than a 5.5 regardless. They did improve the torque steer issues though.

Either way, all things equal, I'd take the 5.5 over a 6th gen any day. But preferably I'll keep the G. I'm currently exploring converting the front end to a coupe front end. The most painful part will be buying new headlights, even used they're more than the 5.5 lights are normally. To find an OEM set of those for under $600 seems to be rare.

I can't wait until spring

 

damn i cant wait to see what the outcome , are u gona change the exhaust most people love the way the G's sound stock ...

we can always trade headlights just sayin

 

I'd like to see some sort of evidence of this. I've heard it bandied about on here that the 6th and 5.5th generation Maxima has the same power, for the same reasons about SAE measuring fanciness, mostly because they don't like that the slower 6th gens have more power from a variety of changes (different stock exhaust, wideband O2 sensors, different, better ECU, different intake plastic bits, to name the ones I can think of offhand) that their cars didn't receive in '02/'03, but 30-40 because of measurement?

As far as I know, America doesn't tax cars differently based on power like Japan and I'd find it hard to believe that they'd "de-rate" the power figures if Canada rolls like Japan, so what is the gain from not stating that the G35s have ~280 HP like the 350z from the get-go?

I s'pose that 1/4mi times would indicate whether a power change really took place, but I'm on my lunch break and reading Mr. Money Mustache, so I don't want to quit and wade through Google.

Oh, yeah! TunerMax, I remembered this thread 'cause Mr. Money Mustache (a native Canadian like yourself) sez: Which affirms that you should buy a car that "enhances your life"--ie, rear-wheel-drive. Okay, so he's really plugging Scion xAs over G35s, but I think it can be twisted to affirm your choice.

 

^LOL yeah.

Per the SAE nonsense, I'm not arguing either way, only speaking to my experience which turns my conclusions to that.

It would make sense in my head, that in 05/06 Infiniti was able to advertise a dramatic power increase, fuel mileage increase, etc over the previous years without actually having to perform such a drastic power increase. Granted, there likely is a difference, but I can tell you it's not 30-40 HP difference, it just isn't.

So that leaves say 10-20 hp of variance in the rating range if I were to guess roughly (I am assuming that I can "feel" 10-20 HP difference driving a 2003 and 2005 back to back, same tranny, same options, etc. That's easily accomplished by the slightest change in calculations so it makes sense to me anyways.

In either event, the only way to really know isn't 1/4 times, but WHP ratings, accomplished from a stock 2003/2004 and a stock 2005/2006 with the same tranny and wheels. And even that could be argued to have too many variable (engine wear, etc)

 

The 6.0 gen went up to 265hp because it added 200+ pounds over the 5.5 gen. It needed the bump.

The 6.5 gen went back down to 255 hp because of the CVT, or so I thought. I very rarely venture into the 6th gen forum for these answers.

It wasn't until the 7th gen before they redesigned the 3.5L to eek out 290hp, completely redesigning the CVT into something that could handle the HP and was actually fun to drive.

 

SELL! Buy a Z32!

 

It's nice to hear from you in every thread. Please stop PWing up my thread dude. Go post in OT section or something to get your post count up.

 

 

Test fit:



Temporary intake, hacked out OEM baffles, etc, and plastic piece blocking flow into engine bay by fender well where I put filter.:

Stock Plastic piece:



Process:




Fender area:



Piece removed:



Stock intake:



Temp install:




Sound clip

 

Clock:











^^^(That's temporary, I am going to try some Amber/Orange LED's but I was out, need to order more)

Blue Door "puddle lights":

before:



After:







With doors closed, lights on:




Kind of cool cut-off,under street light:

 

Plug & Play (modified to fit) LED boards for interior:




Before



After:

 

Geezus, Matt... What's the rush?

 

^ I was thinking the same thing. Just bought it and has already torn the whole thing apart.

 

 

If you want to get a little more sound out of your intake, on the midpipe, hack that baffle off, and cap the small opening that's left with a piece of plastic and some silicone. I cut the plastic from the baffle into the proper shape and just stuck it in place. Literally takes 10-15 minutes, and sounds worlds better. Also makes reinstalling the midpipe a lot less frustrating if you have to pull it off for any reason.

Also, SuperBrightLEDs makes a twist-in bulb for our clocks. Just to save you the work of having to test-fit them next time.

 

Also, reading back a few pages, if you're planning on doing any body work on it outside of a lip kit, you should look into a coupe front end conversion. One or two guys over on G35driver have done it, and it looks absolutely sick with the right rims.

 

LOL you guys know me.... No patience anymore for modding I just have to dig in. I'm doing my best to keep a premise active on this car though that wasn't so active on the Maxima:

ANY PROJECT I START, I EITHER FINISH RIGHT AWAY, OR REASSEMBLE THE PARTS.

My maxima had a couple months here and there where I was driving around with it half torn apart, I am going to do my best not to let that nonsense happen this time.


I laughed my A$$ off at that, well done sir!

1. I'm going to get the twist lock, or at least, different ones from SBL, I have a big order to put in to get some Orange/Amber LED's, I'm still undecided on colour scheme in the car, I want something that's still classy, and don't want to do Blue. The orange/Amber would be nice as long as I mainatin a Rich colour, not the Stock yellowish colour that these cars come with.

2. I'll be making or getting a midpipe, and when doing so would like to explore forming a true CAI, possibly using the stock intake ducts (there's 2), and somehow integrating the cold air port I 'made', I'd like to keep this system sealed so that the Cone filter can pull the air in from the outside, through the cold air port as well as the stock snorkle ducting. I had some 3" tubing laying around but it seems the stock intake is actually 3.5" or equivalent on the G, so I need to get more tubing in.

3. Regarding the exterior/body mods, I'm already looking into the coupe front end conversion, but haven't been able to find any conclusive information on it, specifically, what parts I need to get together aside from the obvious (Outer fenders, hood, headlights, bumper cover)

And I've already got a Coupe midpipe sitting in my basement awaiting install.

 

You're definitely on top of things.

FWIW, people have actually gotten beetter gains out of using a Z-tube on the G's than they have using true CAI's. Supposedly the OEM Z-tube is actually one of the better intakes on the market for the VQ right now, surprisingly.

Let me know what color you decide to go with, and how you're going about it. I'm like you...I really hate the yellow-orange these cars come stock with. I'd prefer a cool white setup, or something of that nature. The main problem is changing the color of the center display, and dash buttons. I've done some reading, and apparently swapping the LEDs can turn into a lengthy job.

On the coupe front end conversion, I'm not completely sure what you need. I'm pretty sure a lot of the parts actually just bolt right up, though. I need to go back and do more reading.

I know that you're (obviously) going to need coupe fenders, front bumper, headlights and hood.

I'm pretty sure the one kid that did it had rear fender flares molded onto the body too, because the coupe front end is a bit wider than the sedan.

 

man you need to clean that engine bay up! Get some engine brite foaming degreaser and 20 mins of your time, would look great!

 

Here, check out this thread on G35driver. The job is actually apparently a lot more extensive than I thought. End product looks good, though.

 

End product isn't bad at all. Not sure it was worth the effort, but that kind of mod is right up Tunner's alley.

 

Maybe you can answer this, Mr. Brett: I've been trying to find any solid research on whether the Helmholtz resonators BEFORE the intake manifold change the power curve or if they are solely there to reduce intake noise.

It's clear that the design of the intake manifold (link to fifty different Sparks threads here) provides that bump in air volume at specific frequencies/speeds, but it's not clear if the pipe leading into the intake manifold can enhance or otherwise affect that internal intake manifold tuning. It's irritating that they silence the engine so much, but if yanking it off detracts from the engine's power or airflow, wouldn't the silence be preferred?

The '02-'03 FWD VQ35 has pretty small resonators attached to the intake piping, but the one on the '04-'08 Maxima VQ35s is friggin' huge. I took the resonator off my 3L Taurus back in the day. It sounded great and I don't remember feeling any power loss, but that was several years ago on a low-compression, low-power engine designed in the mid-80s.

Have you any thoughts or links on this subject? My thoughts especially wander to what happens when you go from partial to full throttle. Would the air in the Helmholtz resonator get sucked out, providing a boost in airflow to compensate for the delay between butterfly opening and outside air making its way all the way down the intake piping? Or does a sudden change in pressure have no affect on the contents of the resonator..? Ah, so many points of confusion. =(

@Tuner: That's a gorgeous clock look you have going on there. The interior of your car is strikingly similar to the '02-'03 Maxima! I didn't realize the G35s looked like a Maxima from inside. Did it feel like home when you stepped from your 5th gen to the G35?

 

Honestly, man, I'll be straightforward with you. I'm not sure. As far as I know, to date, the best intake design out there for the MAXIMA is to run 3" ID intake tubing, sparks said something along the line of 32"(?), with a BBMAF, velocity stack, and the helmholtz in place.

Really, it comes down to what range of the RPMs you want to see gains in. Shorter tubing is going to give a resonant frequency that gains in the low end. Longer tubing is going to give a resonant frequency that gains in the top end. But longer tubing is also going to create more friction, meaning more tumbling and stagnant air. If you want a good example of this, take a straw and suck through it. Notice at full length how it's more difficult to move air through it due to friction. Now, cut the straw in half and repeat the process. Finally, cut that half in half. The initial uptake of air becomes easier and easier, but the harder you draw, the less air you'll be able to inhale as the straw length shortens.

Resonators such as the helmholtz take advantage of how different effects, such as bottle-necks, and increases in diameter can change the frequency of the fluid passing through it.

Think of air as moving in waves, just like sound acoustics. When the air moves into the intake manifold, it doesn't just get sucked directly into the engine, but rather, bounces around inside the manifold, sheering off of various surfaces until it's "eaten," so to speak, by the cylinders. Air will be bouncing off of the VIAS, rear manifold wall, intake valves, and everything else. Most of it will be reflected back toward the throttle body, as inertia will cause it to want to tend to keep moving in a straight line until it experiences an interference of some kind. The frequency of the air reflecting back and fourth in waves changes depending on the amount of air that the car is using. The bigger the volume of air you're moving, the higher the frequency is going to become, based on a chamber of the same volume.

For example, take two bottles of the same size, and fill one half-way with water, and the other a quarter of the way. Set them on their side, and give them a few rocks end-to-end. You'll see that the greater volume of water in the one tends to move back and fourth faster, as well as hold its inertial energy longer than the 1/4 filled bottle.

Those are the best examples I can come up with for right now. And there are tons and TONS of factors that I've left out that affect the frequency of air waves entering the intake. This is just going off of basic fluid dynamics. If anyone with more education in engineering/dynamics can correct anything I'm wrong about, or fill in anything I've missed, by all means, go ahead.

As far as your comment about the interior, the interior of the G is actually surprisingly different from the Maxima. About the only thing that looks similar is the center dash. The coupe and sedan interiors are actually quite similar, though.