Hey guys, I just purchased a 2003 maxima with the 6spd tranny, its black with the gray leather interior. Fully loaded with heated seats steering wheel, and navigation etc. The car runs awesome and strong as I expected its a big upgrade from my old 3.0 4th gen.. anyway I would like a few pointers, where can I start with this one just to get a little more power yet not have to mess with it alot for now? Thanks

 

First step - search. There multiple posts just like this and they all have great ideas on what to do. From there you can look at the tonnes of posts dedicated to each of those ideas and decide what is right for you.

 

first things first... buy yourself a big 5+ qt jug of oil and put in the trunk... keep an eye on your oil level. I know some would say not all 3.5s burn oil, but if I were you I would just insure myself...
Probably the best mod you can do it gut the precats and get yourself a warpspeed y pipe...

 

maintenance.
lower it
http://www.shiftice.com/
headers
exhaust
advance timing

 

You buy the 5qt oil jug and keep a 1qt bottle in the trunk and refill it every 800-1200 miles thats the normal rate of oil burning for these cars.

As for mods, a vias block off plate is nice and maybe a warm air intake

 

And one of these:
http://forums.maxima.org/general-max...tion-sale.html

 

When I bought it the oil was at an ok level. Just below the normal level, so I did a whole tune up just to make sure. Car has a little over 129k miles, so ill keep a close look on the oil burn level. Thanks alot guys these are all good ideas. Looking to get started with all this during the week.

 

#2


DO NOT LISTEN TO OR FOLLOW ADVISE from George!

 

^^This - makes a world of difference. shoulda got one for my wifes when i got mine. best money i ever spent on the max. Nilesh nailed it with these.

y-pipe for sure (maybe a test pipe depending on local laws)
NWP BOP is nice and cheap/easy.

i always have 2 qts mobil1 in the trunk.

 

Thank you sir, much appreciated

 

Thanks, just ordered a good y pipe to throw on there. Still thinking of what type of exhaust to use though. Also looking into the cattman headers

 

If it is burning oil... Throw in a gen 7 engine

 

 

Completely agree with this list. Lowering it will give you a very quick satisfaction for the $.

 

Doesnt look like it burns oil yet, the level was fine when I bought it and it needed an oil change bad. So I think its fine for now. Will keep a close eye though.

Looked into ordering Lowering springs for it. I used Tein on my last maxima and they were good. So I think ill go with those

 

Exhaust
Intake
Intake spacers and VIAS block-off plate
Wheels and Stillen front lip if you want looks
You could drop it too.

 

Where can I find the Intake spacer and block-off plate?

 

http://www.nwpengineering.com/

 

Thanks

Looking into it

 

I made the same purchase(4gen to 5.5 with 6 speed) and I did the following in this order.

Intake Spacers
VIAS delete
STS mod
Intake
Headers
Tires
Catback
Clutch & Flywheel
Suspension
75mm TB
Intake Manifold Port & Polish is next on the list

The cars are night and day- the 3.5 VQ is a monster compared to the 3.0

 

I can to this, doing the same upgrade nearly 10 years ago.

 

Wait... wait your car comes with navigation? I hope it a aftermarket radio... if it not then it has to be a 6th gen lol.

 

Agree 100%. This motor feels almost twice as strong as my vq30


Actually its OEM Navigation. In 03 they offered it as an option. Maybe 02 as well

 

Well that something I just learned today lol I didn't know that!

 

Yea I didnt know either, till I got this one. I thought it was wierd or aftermarket as well.

 

It was a pricey option back then.



this. is a must. Precats will kill your engine.

 

Nice pick up good luck with that

 

Would you mind post a picture of your car please? We all would like to see it!

 

Since you haven't yet had anyone else tell you about George here is some good advice. Stay away from obserd suggestions like this one. Looks like others have already covered some good bolt on mods. Enjoy your new ride!

 

I wouldnt gut the precats. they are way too hard to get completely out since they bend so awkwardly. The Maximas did not have the precat issue where it sucked in blown away pieces back into the combustion chamber. I do agree though that it does allow the motor to breath out like it would want to. The stock mani and intake system are like a gas mask to the VQ's.

If you want to stay cheap or keep maintenance to yourself, I'd hit up some eibach springs.

Intake is probably the easiest mod you could do to your car. Allows the motor to actually roar like it should.

Timing advance can be either free or cost alot depending on who you go to. It does help out a little bit though. Please only do this if you are going to run Premium fuel.

Probably change the fuel filter. Couldn't hurt.

If the tranny hasn't been flushed out yet, you might wanna flush it out with some new fluid. expensive but feels great afterwards if it seems rough when you shift.

Oh.....Strut bars are cool. get one. Front, Rear, Lower, etc. some guy I remember builds a kit for the lower parts of the chassis. braces everywhere!

recommend not paying extra for ****ty Nissan oil filters if you havent stocked on those.

Bushings might help if you want a smoother more responsive ride. SOmeone here sells A-Arms with the bushings installed already here. I think you have to just send in yours and you get some money back. something like that.

Everyone's got rims here. I still love the Nissan wheels that are on other models like the 350Z track wheels and 6.5 gen SE wheels. G37 wheels are nice but hella heavy and would require some new nuts.

IDK someone else chime in. It's been a while since I've been able to see my baby girl. 2 years stationed overseas aint it sometimes.

 

This thing wont let me post pics for some reason, but ill keep trying.

Thanks alot for all the suggestions guys, had no idea where to start.

So far ive got an aftermarket intake in there, engine responds much better already, looks like it gave it a big roar when you give it throttle.

 

What exactly will the intake spacers, sts mod, 75 mm tb do?
I wanna gain hp most low to mid but I really don't want my car louder or any cabin drone with a ypipe or headers. Im also concerned about running into issues with 02 sim.

 

Figured out how to get a pic on here lol ^^

 

http://www.nwpengineering.com/

http://www.letmegooglethat.com/?q=Ma...+throw+shifter

http://www.letmegooglethat.com/?q=magnaflow+resonator

http://www.letmegooglethat.com/?q=O2+simulator+install

 

^
don't listen to fakie

 

 

 

This

 

Buy yourself a ODB-II Code Scanner. Your CEL is an attention *****!

 

Thats a great start! I am just getting started as well. What intake did you put on?