jared21927

Any suggestions on exterior modifications......non rice that is. my car is pretty plain and I just wanted to spice it up a little. Maybe i'm paranoid and it looks fine the way it is. Its an 03 SE Titanium Ed. Ive had it for almost 2 years and haven't touched anything.......unlike my 6th gen Accord, this car is completely stock. Let me know what you guys think.

Chris Gregg

iTrader: (59)

IMO, the most aesthetically pleasing and non-ricey exterior mods consist of the big three: drop springs, front Fx lip, and 18" (30 offset) rims.

Another nice visual mod is the fog light mod, where you can turn the fogs on with the parking lights only (headlights off).

jared21927

Thanks, dude your car has seriously just inspired me lol

nishfish871

iTrader: (5)

Great color and its the TI edition...my advise. Don't buy rims, buy 10mm and 25mm spacers. Add a Stillen classic front lip and Ionic Dynamics replica AE rear valence. Coilover for a mild drop. Done.

NmexMAX

iTrader: (22)

All red tails.

Chris Gregg

iTrader: (59)

T_Behr904

I have that Anti Monkey Butt powder, and it works great

Rods03Max619

iTrader: (5)

To the OP, like others have said Drop, and Front Lip, and Tint...

jared21927

Thanks for the tips guys, thinking about tinting this wknd.

viking89

tinting is the best bang for your buck in terms of aesthetics. instantly makes the car look much much better no matter which color the exterior paint is.

id get that done, then maybe change the side marker lights (really cheap) and if you still wanna go further drop it.

everyone on here mentions a drop as if its just some simple minor thing to do on the checklist but in reality its a LOT of money if youre just doin it for aesthetics... think about it before you do it

L_U_D_I_AMaxima

iTrader: (3)

before you drop your car go find a friend who has dropped with car and drive it to see if you would like it... no offense to anyone but dropping your car makes you bounce all over your seat... I finally got my 02 A4 B6 sport edition on the road last week and actually made the mistake to drive it to Chicago over the weekend... BIG MISTAKE... half way on my trip I almost drove back to pick up my Maxima...
seriously... leave the car the way it is... its beautiful and practical... the only thing I am doing to mine is adding the AE OEM fill body kit... anything else in my option makes the maxima look rice and not mature...

Chris Gregg

iTrader: (59)

In my experience it takes either a lot of drop or doing it incorrectly to result in a lot of bounce and discomfort. No complaints from me or my family with less than a two inch drop on both my '89 and '03.

95VQ30

Drop, Tint, Clear corner corner indicators and front lip

Nelsito65

Wheel spacers (10mm front, 25mm rear), darker window tint (not sure if your car already has a light tint or not), and clear front and rear side markers.
Personally, not a fan of dropping it; I think the wheel spacers make the car look great as it is.
If you can make it look seamless, I'd consider all red tail lights.

95VQ30

I was the same way before I dropped my car, I went very modest with H techs and it is night and day(the pic in my sig is pre-drop)

uenvyit

Where is the best place to get wheel spacers, I have 18 murano rims on my Max and think spacers would add that much of a better look on the car?

2kMaxim

Ditto^^. I had no idea these were even an option. A "stanced" 5th gen would look sick. I spent about 20 minutes on ebay combing through different ones....so confusing! Is there a reliable source that sells a 4 pack or something you know of?

Chris Gregg

iTrader: (59)

Spacers tend to be sold in pairs. But be careful, you cant just throw spacers on a car and expect great or even good results without planning. On the Maxima, first understand the rear wheels are 10mm narrower on each side then the front. Thats why simply throwing on four of the same spacer may not acheive the look you want or could even cause problems if you dont know the offset of the wheels you will be running and then making sure you get the right width/height of tire to avoid rubbing. Research spacers with tire offset/wheel size combos. There are several threads that offer images of these combinations to guide what setup you want. So while you CAN run four of the same size spacers, assuming all four rims have matching offsets, then you may have to run a narrow tire on the rear. Of course, how low your car is must also be a consideration. For example, the lower you are and more spaces your wheels, the more narrow your tires would have to be in order to clear the fenders.

Also, keep in mind you want to ensure quality spacers and IMHO, should utilize extended studs for anything over 5mm. Others may say you can get away with stock studs with thicker spacers, but I don't see it as worth the risk.

Here is but one example of the great threads out there to help you along you quest.

https://maxima.org/showthread.php?t=...t=Wheel+offset

Hope that helps!!

NmexMAX

iTrader: (22)

HR, Eibach, and Ichiba are the brands that I would trust. They all come with extended studs. (Depending on the type you get).


IMO, if you go with aftermarket wheels, definitely get the correct wheel offset for the look you're going for, vs getting spacers. Do it right the first time.

Maxx6spd

iTrader: (2)

Tint

Chris Gregg

iTrader: (59)

Absolutely agree.

5th.gen.max

Agreed. A little tint never hurt either, black out badges and new tail lights (led if you were feeling it) and could always hid head lights and fogs. awesome!!

metalpiotr

iTrader: (1)

Rims!

But overall, I would say look at some of the pics of cars on here and see what appeals to your taste.

NmexMAX

iTrader: (22)

He's already got the headlights taken care of.

2kMaxim

From what Ive heard, wheel spacers on the drive wheels whether they be the rears or the fronts is not the hottest idea...especially when modding for power. Not uncommon for car shops to see people who have broken multiple lugs. For this reason Im thinking I might just want to bump my rears out to match my fronts. How many MM did you say the fronts were different from the rears?

*NM 10mm*

picnik99

iTrader: (10)

i think if you're going for a mild look a stillen classic lip and a drop would be first on my list.. slightly tinted windows wouldn't be bad either.. maybe even paint the headlights black?

NmexMAX

iTrader: (22)

Not a problem here, I run 5 and 10mm on my Maximas drive wheels depending on the wheel I'm using. I also have spacer/adapters on my Pathfinder, all 4 wheels, obviously 2WD and 4WD.

jared21927

So many replies. Thanks guys. I'm looking into wheel spacers now. I just don't want to wear down the suspension any faster. Car has a lot of miles and i cant tell if those things have been changed. Spacers and tint will probably be good "non rice" mods. Changing fog light bulbs this weekend as well. How do you guys feel about the sunroof visor? On or off? I've just kept it on to make things easier but thinking about taking it off to for a while. Paint may be damaged underneath.

Maxx6spd

iTrader: (2)

On my car there is a big mark where sunroof visor used to be. But there's probly a way to take it off without taking the paint off with it

Chris Gregg

iTrader: (59)

It's a personal preference. But, IMHO I always preferred leaving the sunroof visor on.

Sheepdog1775

Here is a picture of housecor's Maxima off of Shiftice.com. Tastefully modded, IMO.

jared21927

This looks awesome

pimpin02max

iTrader: (6)

Without spending much, I would definitely get the windows tinted, then you could clear the headlights like the above picture and if you want you could spray the housings black while you are at it. Clear marker lights look good on lighter colored cars, and as far as springs go trust me when I say it makes a huge difference on the overall look of the car, a mild drop really makes the car look much sportier. I'm not really sure how a black painted grille would look on your color so I would do some searching around to see.