2003 SE
6-speed
Black leather interior - fully loaded
81,xxx miles

I picked this up about a month ago and I've put ~3 miles on it. Between weddings and military obligations, I haven't been home.

I had a friend at a dealer in KC buy it from a dealer in Chicago. It turned out to be really nice, save for some horrendous rust on the rear brakes. I've never seen rotors, pads, calipers, and slider pins all rusted as one. It was crazy. Whoever did the brakes last didn't lube the slider pins so they froze in place almost immediately and had been that way for years. They rusted so bad the pads fell off the backing plate and the plates rusted to the calipers. One 10 lb sledge and some heavy hits later and the rotors finally came loose. I had to replace everything....almost did the calipers as well. I'll see how they fare.

-I also POR'd the rear wheel wells and frame pinch seems.
-Sand Blasted and Powdercoated the wheels.
-Changed oil and filter - Rotella T6 5w-40 Full Synthetic.
-New tires - Continental ExtremeContact DWS in 235/40/18

 

I also have a 94 civic that is my work beater








My toy that I just picked up 2 months ago. 2009 Triumph Daytona 675
All stock for now....working on fixing that....







My first car that I've had for 13 years now.
1994 Grand Prix

Too many mods that I think I've forgotten some by now. Basically full suspension....some made by me as the aftermarket for these is next to nil.
Custom exhaust from head to tips.

 

Welcome to the org, that Max looks like a nice find aside from the brake issue you had!

 

Welcome to the Org...

 

welcome to the family

 

Wow, that car has half the miles mine has. Great find and welcome!

 

Welcome!

 

I finally got to drive the it for the first time because I've been out of town so much. love it so far. Has a slight pull so I'll have to check tire psi first. Maybe needs alignment.

The rear brakes, while being new, aren't doing a Damn thing. I don't think the pistons are working. Could air in the system do this? Or should I look at getting new calipers?

 

so i finally got my max back together after an accident awhile back. thing is now it needs to be painted. the body shop was talking 4000. i cant do that right now. i also thought about gettin it dipped a nice matte black until i can get the nice paint job. my car is originally silver but with all the new pieces its half black now. sooo the question is , anybody on here close to delaware that can paint or dip a car let me know and how much

 

I usually am a big hater of Grand Am's but that thing is clean, very nice. I like the rims on your Max as well, looks good. Even the "beater" is in good shape! Good show and nice find.

 

That's a grand PRIX. I had a 97 Grand Am and it was a POS but she lasted me 8 yrs and 195K. That's one nice Prix too might I add

 

Ti Edition 6MT WV2 .

Also totaled me a Pontiac, Grand Am though, 1998, so I used to be into the FWD V6 Pontiac scene about 13 years ago.

 

Looks good. Welcome to Thunderdome!

 

? does it make mine rare or something?

 

 

That's correct. It's an SE Titanium Edition with the Titanium Edition ONLY paint (Polished Titanium, paint code WV2). And with a 6MT, and low miles, that's one rare puppy. Cherish it.

 

Welcome to the .org

 

Ya...I cringed when I heard grand am.....an N body WISHES it was a W body...and even W bodies aren't all that special. Just well rounded family cars designed in the late 80's.

Thanks for the props on the GP...it is my first car and is still my favorite to drive. Sounds like no other V6 out there and handles awesome. I've been cold contacted numerous times and offered straight cash for it. Everyone is impressed by how clean it is.

 

Look like Moda R6's. Any info on the wheels?

 

+1 my guess too , kinda old school don't see them much any more (still great/classic looking )

 

Yup, I remember when an old 5th gen member had one on his 97 IIRC, dark blue. Car was bad ***.

Reminds me of the Konig Villian slightly.

 

Nice Grand Prix. What kind of power does it make, and how much does it weigh?

 

Not sure. I have some pics of them pre powdercoat so I'll see if I can pick out any details in the cast info on back.


It's just a lowly 3100. I put down 125whp stock. After I build my own custom exhaust log-style front manifold, cross-over pipe, ported the stock rear manifold, and built a custom 2.5" down pipe I put down 136 whp. Not a bad gain for simple exhaust.
It weighs about 3450 with a full tank of gas. I also have a decent stereo in it. 3 amps (1 for 5.25 comps in doors, 1 for 6x9's in rear deck, 1 for 12" sub).

 

Your Maxima weighs about the same and the motor puts down about 180 whp STOCK. With mods you can push that to well over 200 NA. Be prepared to have some serious fun with it.

 

Oh, I've pushed it a bit already. I like having that power on tap. Doesn't handle near as good as the GP though...but that's not its purpose....for me anyway.

 

I hear ya, many many 3rd gens back in the day also ! I remember when I was planning on my 3rd gen, these were one of my considerations, nice wheel to say the least.

I would like to see your impressions of the handling once you modify that department so keep us posted!

 

Nice find. Off to a great start.

 

Ummmm

I thought a stock 6 speed puts down around 210-215

 

You're probably right...I cold have confused the 5.0 gen.

 

I knew I had some pics of them post-sandblast before they were powder coated and dug them up.


here they are. They are Moda R6's. Are those good? I do know they seem heavy as **** for a 18' wheel.


"Radius - made in Italy" and "Advanced Automotive Technologies"

 

I have done most everything to this that I've done to my GP and the GP would still run circles around the Maxima on an AutoX course. Hard to believe though. The maxima is ~100 lbs lighter too.

Both lowered ~1.5"
front strut bars
rear sway bars
Poly ES control arm bushins
Poly ES Sway bar bushings
Same brand of struts


I don't know why the Maxima doesn't handle as well.

 

The 5th gen has a longer wheelbase. Like comparing a BMW M5 to a Mazda Miata. Great as it is, the M5 will never out-handle a Miata.


Also, If you haven't done so already, upgrade your exhaust (y-Pipe, header or what have you) to get rid of the pre-cats. You should do it like NOW to protect your nice investment in that very rare, titanium edition 6MT. There are many forum members here losing their engines due to pre-cat disintegration. It seems to be a 2002-2003 Maxima achilles heel.
The continued long life of your engine may very well depend on this mod.

Another thing that could be affecting your performance is those 18" rims. They do a fantastic job in the looks department, but in performance, not so much. Maybe even worse.

 

welcome to the forum... just a quick reminder... you got yourself a car from the Chicago area, make sure you check the lower radiator support frame 9 out of 10 times car which lived in the salt belt have whats called rotter or completely missing radiator support frame. Just a friendly hint what to look for before you spend all kind of money on mods and adds...

 

I agree, I would go with a LW wheel (17"). BUT keep in mind, I had the MMEV5's, probably one of the heaviest 18" wheels around, and believe it or not, they, with a 245 40 weighed in at the same weight as the OEM SE TE 17's in 235 45 rubber.

Right now, I'm very happy with the performance and weight of the 18x8.5" Z33 tracks in 245 40's. Best of both worlds for sure.

 

I know the rims are hurting, they are a tad heavy, but I'm not switching now. I only have ~5k miles on the rims/tires. I spent a little over $1k on tires and refinishing the wheels.


As far as taking care of the pre-cats. Is there a good way to cut them out?....bypass SES lights? I've looked at headers but they look like a nightmare to put in. this forum is really big and I don't know where to start.

 

Headers are tough, but Y-pipes are much less hassle.
Download your FSM here;

http://boredmder.com/FSMs/Nissan/Maxima/


Also, these 3 threads should get you started on the y-pipe knowledgebase;

http://forums.maxima.org/5th-generat...00-2003-a.html

http://forums.maxima.org/5th-generat...ut-thread.html

http://forums.maxima.org/5th-generat...tifoulers.html

To find more info, use the search looking the 5th gen section. Keywords to use: y-pipe, pre-cats, O2 sim, antifoulers.

 

Thanks for the input. I just bought a house so I'm busy remodeling it. When I get moved in, I'll put the Maxima in my dads shop, on jack stands, and figure something out. If I can't find OBX's.....I'll make my own Y-pipe. I made my own manifold and cross over pipe for my GP. The Max isn't my DD so I'll probably only put a few hundred miles on it by this late summer/fall before I can tear in to it, as long as my honda keeps running and getting 39 MPG. But I'll figure something out.



Not the prettiest. But I did gain 11WHP over a stock. That's saying something. 10k miles and 5 years later and there are not leaks and they still function great.

PS. I'm a much better welder now, too.

 

Those things look indestructable! Nice

 

Detailed the Maxima this past Saturday.

Dish soap wash
Didn't need claybar as I did that last fall and it was still extremely smooth
M105 (front bumper and hood and a few heavy scratches on the doors)
M205
M21 sealant

Damn I love the way this color shines. So glassy looking. I'll be doing my dads red 08 GMC Duramax on Saturday for his fathers day present.

Sadly, the sun didn't come out until much later after these pics were taken but I'm happy. For ~$230 in start up costs in a DA, pads, and product....I'm happy.

 

looks good!