I'm Feeling... Inspired
 

Hi all,

I bought my 2000 Maxima Se Special Edition with 88000 on it 3 weeks ago. I'm 16, its my first car, and i'm excited to start upgrading it. I spent 500 on new rotors, brake pads, cv axles, and serpentine belt. The car runs great. Extremely happy with the performance of that 3.0 V6 even being completely stock. I need help figuring out what to do. I Would like to upgrade the look first; lowering kit, headlights, etc. I just need some guidance. I have a job so money is not an issue.

Thanks to all who post,
Rc

Search, search, search! There are tons of threads covering upgrades and how each product compares to it's competitors. Search for your question first. It's all pretty well covered.

-Nathan

Thanks, I will search around.

Welcome. Congrats on the pick-up, post some pics.

Automatic or 5speed?

Looks wise you'll want to find an AE (anniversary edition) kit. This came stock ont he 2001 anniversary edition maxima. They're hard to find. Some places have replicas, I don't know about the quality but searching will help.
The front lip: AE or Stillen.

Lowering: Coilovers. End.

Brakes: 6th Gen BBK upgrade bolts right up and you can get everything under $300 in good shape.

Rims: OEM Infiniti/nissan wheels are nice, if you aren't worried a lot about weight you can swap up to some nice rims within the family for super cheap.
Just do your research on them first to make sure the sizes are right and to find out how they will fit on the car.

Power: The best bang/buck upgrade for performance is a Y pipe. Coupled with a good 2.5-3" mandrel bent exhaust that will net you some pretty serious power gains on this car.

Thanks for the help. Its an automatic. I was searching so hard for a 5mt but couldn't pass this up. Bought it for 4600. An absolute steal as far as i'm concerned. Here is a picture of it. Sorry about the quality of the picture my phones camera is horrendous. Ill get much better ones within 24 hours.



http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1341284883

I have two jobs and money is still an issue lul.

Agreed....:D

Nice find man yeah good price, I paid 6500 for mine w 86xxx was an 01 se/AE though.

Fantastic advice guys. Exactly what i wanted. I appreciate all this forum has done for me already.

Shiftice's page has an abundance of how to's and mod guidance as well.

And money will always be an issue! Pace yourself. Get a feel for the car before gettin too crazy. Definately want to get cracking on the routine maintenance stuff.

If going to do plugs, check if rear valve cover is leaking so you can do that at the same time. Also be a food opportunity to consider intake spacers.

You're lucky to have a job at 16 and can afford such a nice car, Congrat!

When I was 18, my dad gave me a 1972 CVCC Civic with blown engine. He said, here take this consider it as an upgrade from my BMX bike.

I know, I have been saving since I was 8 years old to buy a car. I'm just so happy I went with a Max. That's kinda funny. Did you ever get it running?

Welcome to the site, buddy. You made a good choice on a first car. Very reliable engine. Probably one of the overall best V6 engines ever built.

Thanks Galactica. I'm glad to be a part of the maxima nation.

plastidip your whole car and rattle can it.

/thread

agreed...

I am going to plastidip the rims and the chrome emblems on Monday.

/thread...wish you would have searched first before you dropped money on new stock brakes

dont

I can think of a better one, so can ward's...but is was probably one of the best.

I'm saving for the Y pipe and the Stillen lip so for now, I'm just going to paint my rims black until I can buy some decent OEM G35's or something. I might also be interested in trading for some rims and tires. My tires have less than 400 miles on them so they might be worth some bigger rims with tires that have less tread on them.

craigslist rims and tires. i found 17" g35 rims and tires with 75% thread for 250 :) you should think about lowering your max.

painting your wheels is highly unnecessary, trust me. unless your stock wheels are scratched to hell leave them stock and just save for some coilovers. lately there have been sets going for $500 and under

Absolutely. That is on the top of my list. I love the way Maximas look lowered. And yeh I'm going to check craigslist because for some reason my Se has the Gle rims and exhaust tip cover. Odd but w/e.

do not paint your wheels I agree.. and keep searching you will find tons of info. almost to much.

everyone on the org are like sheep. They all mod their cars the same way.

If you want black rims paint them ****ing black. it is your car. I would plasti dip them 1st though...

Oh and buy my mods in my sig.

lol if you see my sig, i was far from a sheep. i painted my purple...not to mention, only reason i painted these was because the wheels needed refinishing anyway. trying to help him maintain a clean looking car and a better chance of trading/selling his wheels when he gets another set

I think that's a fair point. If you're going to get a set of G35 wheels anyways, then I would leave yours unpainted and factory. You will be able to get more for them, and you will retain a bigger market for them. The average person isn't going to buy them if they're painted black. Food for thought.

-Nathan

plastidip paint and then they are protected and you can change colors at will.

phat yes your car did have nice purple wheels. everyone on here does the same kit with the same wheels it feel like least the 5th gens section.

i remember your rims. if he wants them black plastidip and paint them black. Stock rims aren't worth anything anyways usually...

99% of the time they are worth more in stock form than painted black.

If I were to trade/sell them, the person would probably just go by the condition of the tires as these rims aren't really desirable. Just my opinion

but your market is open to EVERYONE when they are in stock condition, consider a joe schmo on craigslist just looking for a replacement wheel/wheels for his stock vehicle to try to sell it in better condition by presenting a stock wheel in good condition....

i'll also say sorry for trying to impede my thoughts on you about painting your wheels, as it's just my opinion that it'll look extra cheap and unappealing to go abotu the way you are about to. it is your car, your wheels, etc.

i just feel w/ a nice drop w/ a good set of coilovers, nice set of clean stock wheels will do you much/better good than painted stock wheels. this is all considering your stock wheels are already in good condition w/ minimal blemishes and rash

I absolutely respect your advice. I'm not going to paint them now as they are in perfect condition. Thanks for your two cents. Btw. Where can I find the cheapest Stillen front lip? I've searched around but nobody has given much of a straight answer.

Thanks, RC

only place to get the stillen lip is from stillen, you can get replicas from ebay, but i've heard the fitment isnt the greatest. just an option though.

Thanks man. Your help has been greatly appreciated.

That isnt entirely correct, what about used in the classifields ?:D

I don't see why plastidipping his rims black would have any negative effect whatsoever on the potential value of the car in the future. If anything, it gives him the look he wants and at the same time protects the original finish on the wheel so it looks like a win win to me.

If he wants to take it off, he can do so without any trouble at all.

I bought my rims and they were painted a color I didn't like so I stripped the paint and never bothered to paint it for over 2 years. They looked terrible the entire time and just last month I plastidipped it. Look's way better than it did before and if I didn't want it that way I could easily rip it off.

Congrats on your first car!! Wow i think its everybody's dream to have started with a Maxima 5th gen (5.5 now that i red alot on the forum hehe)!!!
Keep us posted on your ugrades, I'm on that same route although finishing the maintenance part first hehe

Nice man. I have a few tips for you. If you are replacing the rotors and break pads, do not try and put the caliper back on while the rotor is already on. Take the rotor off and slide it in between the break pads, then slide it onto the axle. I had to work on the car for over 2 hours to figure that out. Itl save you tons of adjustment time.

I will keep everyone posted as to what I do.

Thanks, RC