I have an 03 Maxima Se Titanium Edition with a 6spd manual with aftermarket exhaust and intake. The car has 93k miles on it. The intake is a Stillen, but I have no idea what the exhaust is, only that it definitely isn't stock. What can I do to make my car faster? Don't get me wrong, I like the way it runs now, I just want it to run even better.


What kind of tuning could I run, or do I need to do exhaust manifolds first? How hard is it to change the manifolds?

 

This forum has a thousand threads for this question.

I'd recommend the NWP upgrades and obx or Catt man headers. Then a tune... and there are threads you should read to determine whats best for tuning. After that, it becomes a bigger money game.

Most people agree that replacing the headers is a tough job.

 

I suppose by NWP you mean NWP Engineering?? And which parts do I need from them?

And Cattman is out of business, so I guess OBX it is...

I'm a noob at import tuning or tuning, period so it might be tough for me to decide on my own what tuning is best for me.

 

I would suggest you search and read the threads. There's a LOT of information already here. Figure out a budget and consider your mechanical skills. It gets very expensive if you can't do the work. Once you do that you'll be able to ask more specific questions that we can help you with.

 

I've said this before to a couple of newer owners. If you're truly serious about making real power, get ready to open your wallet. You can do the bolt on thing which is fine, but you'll be spending a lot of money for minimal gain. You can take that same amount of money maybe slightly more and smartly go about turboing the car. It all depends on how serious and committed you are. Bolt on route is fine but is just as expensive as boosting and you'll always want more. Boost is fun but a lot of work and learning. Depends on what you want and how serious you are about it.

In the end it's going to cost you. If you're trying to get into the tuning side of things I would go get a patch harness and a utec. You have a 5.5 gen so the utec with the tuner wideband is the direction to go. Used utec can be found cheap on eBay as can the tuner wideband. This will satisfy tuning side of things no matter which way you decide to go. If bolt on you'll be set or if turbo you're set as well. Utec may be older technology but it's still a highly capable tuning device that is very inexpensive for its capabilities. Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

These cars are sooo niche good luck finding parts.

Another idea is to do the gen 5.7 swap

 

 

My first upgrade was to the brakes. Replaced everything. Put powerstop rotors and pads. New calipers and stainless lines. Oh and had to get a new master cylinder. I just replaced main cat and cat back system . Doing a lightweight flywheel and clutch this month. Next will be headers and nwp intake spacers.

 

Upgrade your shifting by installing a short shift adapter or the DIY one, plus get the ES Supspension eurothane bushing kit and swap out the fluid for Redline MT-85. It will greatly improve your shifting experience.

 

The car has a short throw shifter and redline trans fluid, that was changed before I bought it. The bushings I don't think were changed, I know he put stiffer bushings or something on the actual shifter. Or so he said. One thing I do like the looks of is the NWP torque brace, I will definitely be doing that.

But on this turbo vs bolt-ons thing... Do I not need any of the bolt-ons as supporting mods? And also, who sells a good turbo kit, or does that need to be pieced together? What can I expect a good turbo setup to run money-wise/power-wise? How will that effect dependability? This car makes several trips down to Mississippi from Kansas every year, that's 1500mi round-trip, and I need it to be dependable.

 

No you don't need all the nick nack boltons to turbo your car. No there is not a "kit". 400hp is easily obtainable. Money that all depends on many factors. If you're patient and check around for deals you can save a lot. There's way too many factors for me to say it'll cost x because that really depends on what you want.

 

Was there ever a bolt on forced induction kit for this generation?

I don't think so...