New owner !
 

Hi Guys,

I'm new to Nissan, this is my first Nissan maxima. Looking forward in knowing this brand as i love what i see so far.

I bough a 2004 maxima as a daily beater. I've been a BMW man for a while now, but i just got a new job that need a 40 miles commute every day, and i'm not going to rack this mileage on my 2011 M3, hence the maxima.

Its a 2004 with 120k miles. Car was meticulously maintained at the dealer all its life. One previous owner with a very long daily commute. Car is in mint condition.

I'm not sure if the one i got is the sport package or luxury pacakage. I have the following options:

18 rims, leather interior, dual sun roof, Bose sound system, heated seats, screen but no Nav ...

The car come with a one year power train warranty, but i need to do a full tune up. I do most of the DIYs, and i love working/spending time on cars.

So what should i look for ?

I was thinking maybe start with Belts, convert to syntactic engine oil, filters ........ Please free to add.

I live in canada, what is the best website to buy parts from ?

What is the best exhaust for this car ? since it has the same engine the 350 has, how can i have a similar sound ?

One more questions, does the Bose stereo play's mp3 cd ?

Thanks guys, your inputs are very much appreciated.

Welcome to the family. You bought a Max as a daily beater? You should've got an Atima for your application. lol

I've always loved the 6th Gen Maxima. The daily beater is the excuse part to buy the car ;)

Yep, visually inspect belts, all rubber hoses. I just replaced all coolant hoses at 140k. I run Castrol Edge. If plugs weren't done you need to do them etc.

Welcome and good luck on the ride....:D

Welcome aboard. Go to a Mobil 1 or Castrol synthetic, I'd recommend a 0w/5w-30 given the climate up there and that you have a longer commute.

I'd suspect the Bose doesn't play mp3 CDs. I had a 2006 bose non-navi which did not. One of the reasons I went with an aftermarket deck.

Get the Greddy catback for the max if you want a nice exhaust note. I would like to say that www.nissanpartswarehouse.com has the best prices for oem parts.

the bose does NOT play mp3 cds... fail... BOSE is always a little bit late on the advancements with their car stuff. They focus on home theater, and in that case they are great!

I could never own something as underpowered as the altima 2.5s and getting a 3.5 isn't that much cheaper so why not buy the max.

I gotta say... i hate M3s, not because of the car, its a great car, just the people that drive them. Not saying you are an addition to the sterotype, im sure the majority of M3 owners are great people, but if you watch enough car shows they all agree, M3s are driven by Dbags... sucks because i'd really consider one they are bench mark cars in terms of performance and in order to not get spanked by one you gotta heavily mod your car of similar value.

as for exhaust tones, it is very hard to replicate exhaust tones of different makes/models. many have tried but non have actually mimicked the sound of the g35/350z/ect.. what i did was buy an exhaust cutout, that way i can keep the quiet ride for slow uninvolved days, or when i gotta pick up grams or wanna go one a date with my girl. but at a flick of a switch, the exhaust opens up right after my ypipe and let me tell you, it sounds GOOOOD... much cheaper too.

some websites to consider are

andysautosport
autoanything
88rotors
ezkoncepts
custommaxima
stillen
progress
tien
ect..

there are a few members who make their own parts here like KCMAXX and CXJ Performance for things like thermal intake spacers and strut bars

This is a fun car to play around with, but if your serious into modding, this is not the best car. The maxima is limited and you will hit a glass ceiling where you've spend thousands of dollars and run out of things to do and your performance is not what you want. If you like me and are just modding to keep yourself busy and saine while finishing up college its a great car. after contimplating a lot i've decided to spend my serious money and mods into something i can continue modding into supercar territory. or just buy the GTR and a twin turbo :ben: i came within inches of buying a turbonetics turbo kit and investing some real money into making a sleeper out of the max, but I realize the day i graduate and start working with real paychecks im ditching the maxima and buying something meant for racing. What a waste it would be to instal a turbo and then sell it less than a year later...

In for pics of the M3 :nervous:

If your car don't consume oil then do the synthetic. I don't think it's possible to get a 350Z sound because the Z setup is different. Try youtube under maxima catback and that sound help you out. I live in canada too and it all depends on what kind of parts you're looking for.PM for that. Belts is a good idea,pcv valve,spark plugs,filter,and while you're in there add the spacer kit and BOP. And that radio don't play mp3,if you want it you'll have to convert your system.I never changed mine because of the 6cd changer.I IMO I don't see why take out 6cd changer for 1.But good choice man.Is it auto or manual?

Thanks for your input.

Bose works flawlessly. Its way way better than my BMW stereo system.

I bought my car for $6000 down from $8000. Car has 120,000 Miles. I inspected it, nothing was wring with it and bough a one year power train warranty. Many parts was done by the dealer like brake pads, brake rotors, tires, and maintenance.

I don't go to BMW shows, i hate posers. I'm a track kind of a guy. BMW is over prices in everything, but by the end of the day yo go back home with a smile. I have 2011 M3, my 3rd, i could be in love much more.

I also adore the 350Z, would love to buy one for drifting perpouses in the future ;)

GTR is my god !! I'll burn my m3 for it ...

All what i want in the Maxima, is good handling, nice sound, nice air intake, and black wheels. My 18's are not that clean, so why not primer them and paint them glossy black.

I just finished cleaning both cars, it took me 6 hours ! i found the below points in the max:

- can't find the 12v socket ...
- trunk is slow hard to lift.
- i have a custom grill that needs to be replaced. Something with black could be nice.
-Need iphone hook up.


Nice mods you have there ... I will defiantly look into it.

Thanks for sharing man.

Thanks for the advice man ! My car is auto.

I have a few questions:

-Whats BOP ? spacers as in wheels spacers ?

- whats a PCV valve ?

The spacers and BOP"block off plate" are performance mods and you can order it on the org.The PCV is a tune up part.Look at my picture album you'll see exactly what i'm talking about.There's a lot of parts for our car and being on the org will teach you a lot.You could PM the seniors they would be able to help you with any questions.It will take a little while to understand the site.

HAHA the GTR... yeah I was making payments on a 2002 corvette got a little over my head with a twin turbo set up and it spend too much time in the shop and $$ im not working anymore and couldn't afford it so i sold it to a friend and paid off my loan. the kit worked great for about 3 weeks until an oil line blew off and then boom! another 4k in repairs.. the buddy i sold it to ended up spending 9k for a complete engine rebuild with all the good stuff, including a bore. that thing was pushing 520HP to the wheels at 9-11 psi. its still in the shop but when that thing comes out with a new engine its going to be zo6 quick. So i hear you on the track stuff, all i wanna do is race and hit the track its all i think about! i've been kinda down about my maxima's performance because before the vette i had a kawasaki 07 kawi zx-6R and a 06 yamaha R1. so getting into something affordable while i finish school is smart but not ideal for my taste. don't get me wrong, you bought an awesome car, just leaves a little to be wanted in speed and cornering.

Get a drop, one progress, or tiens, a strengthened sway bar, and some spacers (or new rims with better offset) and you will be much more satasfied with the handling. I felt like a tree leaning over with my stock setup, but once you get that stuff it makes the daily commute fantastic for a 4 door.

as for intake sound? go with ram air! CAI in my opinion do not sound as good like an engine roaring through a snorkle (civic muffle). if you have tools and metal piping >3" make your own for about 50-60 bucks, or buy the R2C intake. I've heard nothing but great things in terms of gains and sound from that brand. I made this one for my max for about 50 bucks total

Attachment 54017

the pipe is actually polished aliminum and could look just as if not more shiny as the elbow, but i was in a hurry and figured its not worth it since i WAS (past tense) planning to turbo this car, and throw it away. eh maybe ill take it off and polish it up some time in the future when i have a min...

you have a 12v socket in the passenger side foot well AND you have one in your center consol, there is two compartments, the lower one is hidden so you gotta kinda pull up on the first compartment. there is a 12v socket in there.

maximas have heavy trunk lids. if its really hard to pull up on you may have some sticky hydrolic pistons. i have the opposite problem, mine are too loose and the truck will slap if i don't close it carefully.

there are some good custom grills out there. I just hit my stock grille with plastidip a rubberized spraypaint that give a real dark matte black that looks really good, and when the time comes when i need to sell my max for some performance parts on my new car, i can maximize its value by simply peeling it off back to the stock look.

the BOP basically deletes your intake manifold butterfly valve. the valve is good for smoothing out acceleration, but in the higher RPM it causes turbulence and chops up your air flow, getting rid of it for 5 bucks is a good mod, you may feel some power increase but its subtle. there is pretty good reviews on users saying it increases MPG. i think it does. but so does being in a better mood while you drive. so its not a guarantee.

as for an Ipods jack? we all need one.. so unless you get an aftermarket deck, you will have to settle with a FM transmitter or a tape deck thinky with the wire. I have the tape deck thing because i don't get good reception in my max for some odd reason. I still have the FM transmitter and it worded GREAT in the corvette. made by Auvio cost me 65 bucks used it for probably 8 hours its back in the the box, if anyone wants its 20 bucks!! lol

Well Twentyeggs took that one. Lol, for that transmitter I might be down.

Keep an ear out for that chain rattle...