Disclaimer: I haven't had a chance to take any pictures of this mod yet, but you have to trust me--it works.

Disclaimer 2: Your gains will be wildly different, but the general rule of thumb is that the more power-adders you have on your car right now (especially headers + 3" exhaust), the more power you will gain from this mod.

Disclaimer 3: The mod might only last as long as the Sprint Booster.

I was an unbeliever, at first, but my own gains were roughly 135 HP, so read on!

The steps are pretty simple:
1. Find another (running) car, the older the better. This is a key step, so do your research well. The critical piece we're looking for is low power output and, ideally, an automatic. For my mod, I found an early 00s Taurus with the 155 HP (, a lie if ever I've heard one) 3.0L iron-on-iron V6.
2. Stop driving your Maxima.
3. Start driving the car you found in step 1.
4. Drive it for a minimum of 10 days or 500 miles.
5. Stop driving that car.
6. Get in your Maxima.
7. Turn it on.
8. Smile.
9. Drive off and start looking like this guy ->


And that's it, you're done! You'll thank me later, I know. Unfortunately, like the Sprint Booster, you'll eventually adjust to your new mod and not notice it anymore. But, for the days and days that will take, you'll never stop cheesin'.

To calculate the power gains, estimate how much power is available to you in your car from step 1. Then take your estimated power of your Maxima and subtract the amount from the other car. That difference is your power gain. Mine is an estimated 135 HP increase, but you could experience anything from 50 to 200 HP, depending on mods to both cars (clogged exhaust system, automatic transmission, blown head gasket, low-compression/leaky engine, etc. on car #1 and headers, intake, etc. on your Maxima)

Some preliminary research has discovered that this modification also affects handling, among other car subsystems, and has been documented on these forums before.

 

Bad news: I had to drive a Taurus for 10 days.
Good news: I'm now running new pre-cats!

Pictures of the old cat to help extinguish these ridiculous pre-cat reversion engine sucky killy scorey theories are forthcoming.

 

I'm pretty sure perkman87 did a similar mod to his car.

It was the "how to make your Maxima handle like a BMW" mod, which involved driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee for a week.

 

That's an interesting way to modify you car (completely)

 

Yes, yes! That was what motivated this thread, actually. I've read so many posts about how X user wants his (and it always is a his, amirite?) Maxima to behave like Y car that his friend/mom/cousin owns.

I forgot to mention the handling effects this mod has, yes. I took the Taurus 'round a corner at 35 mph that I routinely do at 50 MPH with no drama in the Maxima... and it slid and the tires squealed. I was mortified. Even with much nicer tires on the Taurus, it's MacPherson setup in the front lets its skinny tires down.

@Tosheto: Yes, but you've done your mod all wrong. You need to get something inferior to a Maxima or it just won't work. Folks like you and Mr. Brett and Rochester can do similar mods to your own cars, of course, by simply driving your old Maxima for a whi*killed by ORGers*

 

We have a MacPherson setup too.........

 

Curious that you said that, because I did get the chance to drive the old Maxima a few days ago. I must say, now that merovi replaced the Tokico Blues with Tein SS Coilovers, the car handles quite well. Totally flat in the turns.

What really surprised me was the sense of under-steer in the car. It may have been there all along... IDK.

Anyway, the Max still kicks butt. It's just a lot more raw than the G, that's all.

 

That proves nothing. Yours are clogged. Mine disintegrated.

 

This intrugues me, your impressions, that is, ghustle this please

 

 

I had a 1.6 1994 civic lx sedan as a daily before the maxima. I feels ya bro.

 

That sounds like a good assessment. Naturally FWD will understeer more than RWD (your new normal). That said, believe it or not IMO the Max is more neutral handling than many other FWD cars I've driven. Raw is also a good description. The Max tends to feel unstable but still has plenty of lateral G force left before it gives up grip. Raw can be fun to drive too!

 

Agreed, I had no idea just how neutral my 6th gen is until I drove that Taurus. I was shocked that I happily drove one of those buckets of fail for five years before seeing the light!

@Tuner: The 6th gen's MacPherson setup is miles ahead of what Ford designed in 2000, I'd like to think. More important, the Taurus has independent rear suspension, but handles worse than 5th gens with beams! There is way less torque steer on my '05 than my '02. Something up there has changed besides the roll bar and its links, which both look radically different, and it's a welcome improvement.

 

Only try to realize the truth. "What truth?" There is no Maxima, then you will see it is you who changes, not your ride!

 

Thanks, but when I said "raw" I was referring to that particular Maxima, not 5th gens in general. In addition to the coilovers, merovi's car has all kinds of bushings and bars and what-not that create a fair amount of NVH.

Not that that's a bad thing! On the contrary, it's lots of fun, as well as part-and-parcel to what makes it a strong driver's car. It's just that when compared to the G providing (and exceeding) that level of performance as an OEM luxury car, well, the Maxima is... raw, for lack of a better word.

 

Macpherson is the strut setup, there are many other variables in the suspension. Most car's on the road use Macpherson set up in the front, but almost all of htem handle drastically different.

 

I agree 100%! I'll add my impression, as what I find so fascinating about driving a Maxima. Is the car's ability to unexpectedly exceed it's perceived performance capabilities. Indeed, it's unrefined & not at all confidence inspiring, raw (good definition) as you say. But the 'overachiever' in the car exists nonetheless. Suspension mods will raise the bar on that, but in no way can a Maxima reach the level of sophistication/refinement present in the G for example. Nor should it be expected as being on par with an upscale marque. Suffice to say both cars are outstanding enthusiast's cars in their own right, otherwise we wouldn't be having a discussion.