Hey guy I need some new ideas for cheap things I can do to improve my 04 maxima.. I'm a teen on a budget and i really wanna improve my ride.. Here are the things I've already done

 

A cheap mod is to remove the underglow.

How much money you got? Start there

 

take those led strips and put them in-between the hood and headlight to make an eyebrow look. Looks way better IMO.

 

I have about200 to 300 bucks

 

Is that you in the picture

Old head modding, I'm not mad at you

 

Nahh that's my dad.. What u mean by old head modding

 

His old and still modding a car, simple meaning

 

He's a teen so he gotta go through the purging phase. I started off with blue lights and chrome everything. It's all outta my system now...But on a serious note, get rid of those blue lights they don't help you see very well, and LED strips aren't for 6thgen maxima's, especially seeing that we're the lease favourited of all the gens. There's so much you can do but neons, LED strips, stick on decals, oversized spoilers and all blue interior just arent' some of them. Save up some money and do a lowering, KYB GR-2 with a straight drop lowering springs, $500-600,that should change the concept on your car dramtically. Next you could do mesh grill and I see you already have the tinted tail lights. $200-300 can only get you shocks/struts, it's not much but it's a start. Save a little more if you really want to make your car stand out. Good luck man

 

I can't afford any of that and I already paid for all the blue ****

 

Then my friend there's nothing that we could suggest that would help you. Modding cars is very costly so unless you plan on rice'n it out with cheap an ineffective mods you should leave it as it is. Take a few months to a year and make a piggy bank and next year you should atleast have some money to do a lowering.

A lot of us including myself went through the purging phase and honestly if I knew then what I know now I'd have a lot more money in my pocket. I spent money on all the unnecessary things to take it off, replace or just hate it so that's my advice to you. Good luck on the mods

 

You can get lowering springs for about 250 shipped. You could also just cut the front springs to lower your car, just be sure you plastidip the tip so it doesn't rust through. You can also get a new grill for that amount. You could move those leds like I mentioned before for free. you can get a cold air for about 100. You can get reverse light led replacements, license plate leds. You could probably craigslist a sub and amp to upgrade your sounds. You could do the led door handle mod. You could get the turn led mirrors. You could save me some time and search ebay and the mod section at the top of the 6thgen forum thread. I mean there are options out there, just put your mind to it and figure ways to cut around just bolt ons. I have a sick max and probably have about 7 grand into it. Ohh you can also get the ADD gauge cluster mod and install it. I like that mod. FSTB is pretty inexpensive. rear sway bar. You can do a lot with 300 dollars. You could even just get a hot girl to ride with you for that much.

 

Haha thanks all this helps .

 

i would take off those led strips they make the car look ricey with 300 i would get a CAI used maybe for 100, and lowering springs. get your car some street cred instead of making it look like a freshly licensed kid who does only aesthetic mods that dont look very good. im not trying to bag on you im only 19 years old and when i was 13-16 when i started liking cars i thought altezza lights were cool, led strips on the headlights were cool, and all that ricer status stuff were the bomb but once i started driving i rather be driving dirty then ricey

 

Sorry man that's horrible advice to give to a newbie. Cut your springs on a 6thgen maxima Dude it's unsafe and expensive to pay someone to remove and install "cut springs" to later come back and take it off. You'll be bouncing around like honda guys in a mere months if you get that far. 6thgen maxima are very heavy and your ride will be crap. A CAI won't cost a $100, probably used and beaten up. To add audio to the 6thgen maxima's means you'll have to change amps, stereo, wiring and all speakers because they were made to work only with the factory system. Audio is one of the most expensive mods to do if you want it done right. LED door handle? don't do it bro, LED turn signals off of ebay are atleast $150+ /side unpainted. The guages with installation alone will take his budget and does nothing for you besides monitor voltage and oil and the front strut tower bar will cost $150 and it will be pointless seeing that you're still on stock suspension.

Realistically the only thing you can get with $300 is lowering springs and if you use lowering springs without performance shocks/struts you'll be needing a new set of suspension in months. Give the newbie helpful rather than useless advice because that $300 will turn into thousands if it's not done properly and right the first time

 

First let me start by saying I have owned this car for 8 years and am very experienced in upgrading and modding this car, as I have done every mod to my car except my Valve Body upgrade myself. Now to breaking down what you said to make sense.

Sorry man that's horrible advice to give to a newbie. Cut your springs on a 6thgen maxima Dude it's unsafe and expensive to pay someone to remove and install "cut springs" to later come back and take it off. You'll be bouncing around like honda guys in a mere months if you get that far. 6thgen maxima are very heavy and your ride will be crap.

This has already been done on this car with great results, check the my6thgen forums and you will see. Cutting springs used to be the only way to get the car lowered. The thing that screws people up, is when they cut the springs too far and the tires rub, has nothing to do with bouncing around. The other thing is, they never cover the part they cut, resulting in water getting in them and rusting them out. Do your research, you will find the advice I am giving you is correct.

A CAI won't cost a $100, probably used and beaten up.

My CAI cost me $80. You can build it for $60 if you tried. You can also find them made for around 100. Those who spend 300 for an intake, don't know how to mod cars.

To add audio to the 6thgen maxima's means you'll have to change amps, stereo, wiring and all speakers because they were made to work only with the factory system. Audio is one of the most expensive mods to do if you want it done right.

First thing I did to my car back in 2004 was add two 12in subs and an amp in my trunk. Mine cost more than 300, however like I said find a good deal on craigslist. I also had the bose system initially installed in my car. I don't think you know how stereos work. You can tap in right off of your rear speaker under your rear deck lid. There is an audio section on here that can assist or pm me and I will get you what you need as far as wiring, where to hook up, etc.

LED door handle? don't do it bro, LED turn signals off of ebay are atleast $150+ /side unpainted.

I have the LED door handle mod on my car and it looks sick and many compliment me for it. I have both inside and outside led mods. There is a writeup on here on how to do it. I did it the weekend after it was posted, because it is cool. I will take some pics today to show you what it looks like. As for the LED turn signals off ebay http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_saca...ar=2008%7C2004 There is also a writeup on here that talks about changing them out for a different year model with the turn lights already installed. You just have to buy the stock ones off ebay and follow the install on this forum.

The guages with installation alone will take his budget and does nothing for you besides monitor voltage and oil

I think I paid 45 shipped for this and it looks amazing. Did the work myself.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ADD-Cluster-...b22a1f&vxp=mtr I can provide assistance with directions on installation if you need it. I also have pics of this in my album

front strut tower bar will cost $150 and it will be pointless seeing that you're still on stock suspension.

Paid $20 for my FSTB. Best mod I bought. Helps tremendously with wheel hop and torque steer. Needed with this much power and independent suspension. I can take my hands off the steering wheel and push the gas to the floor without my car going into the ditch.

 

I mean we can go back and forth all day but I been dealing with cars for years myself, upgraded, replaced and changed a lot of stuff and there's few things you can do for $300. I mean can do it cheap and hate it after or save a little more take your time and appreciate it. I'll use my engine bay for an example

DYI means the stuff I installed myself saving me labour
To paint my engine covers cost $300
CAI cost $240 + brokerage DIY
Fog lights cost $90 shipped DIY
Optima red top battery $200 DIY
Hid kit with wiring harness installed $200 (harness, HID kit, switch and installation"
Racingline USTB $150 shipped DIY
Steel braided hose $40 shipped DIY
Digital battery terminal $65 shipped DIY
Battery tie down $25 DIY
Billet grille $140 2pc DIY
CCFL halo rings $100 shipped DIY
Painted headlights $150

That's just the engine bay and front of the car you can see. There's a ton more that I won't get into. And not to mention a lot of the DYI didn't go well the first time costing me additional money to do it again right. He said he only have $300, that can't get you far especially if you don't have any mechanical experience.

 

hey mrjasonlyrics just wondering what did you do with your accord? that car was hott! i remembered your youtube vids from b4 i was even on the forum lol and i have a optima redtop battery in my 5.5 gen lol i had it for only a month and that **** already died -____- i brought it to autozone and they said ti jsut needed to be charged

 

agreed, if you are not handy in the art of mechanics or electronics, then you are very limited. If you are handy, then there are multiple things you can do. As Mrjason mentioned these are all under 300

CAI cost $240 + brokerage DIY
Fog lights cost $90 shipped DIY
Optima red top battery $200 DIY
Hid kit with wiring harness installed $200 (harness, HID kit, switch and installation"
Racingline USTB $150 shipped DIY
Steel braided hose $40 shipped DIY
Digital battery terminal $65 shipped DIY
Battery tie down $25 DIY
Billet grille $140 2pc DIY
CCFL halo rings $100 shipped DIY
Painted headlights $150

As for the painting, depends on the paint and the person painting. Also there are cheaper prices to some of these things listed. Look here dor DIYs http://forums.maxima.org/6th-generat...-diy-mods.html

 

idk if i would recomend a optima red top even tho i bought one a recently i heard that diehards from sears are very good and are made by the same company that makes oddysey batteries which are very good also. optimas lost alot of its reliability over the years i believe

 

I had two yellow tops that both died under 2 years. I went with Sears Diehard Platinum. No issues, it's been almost 2 years. http://www.sears.com/diehard-platinu...1&blockType=G1

 

here is one intake option http://forums.maxima.org/6th-generat...ke-option.html

 

Save some money, take of that neon ****, and mod it once, mod it right. Be patient lurk the classifieds and you will be able to get good stuff at good prices. Do some research to see what mods you like and get ideas. DO NOT CUT YOUR SPRINGS, I do not know any one on my6thgen that recommends cutting OEM springs.

 

i was gonna get the diehard platinum last second cause i heard all the bad stuff bout optima after even more research. (the yellow tops are funky tho cause they have to be treated wierd lol and i have a warranty for 3 years so ima bring it back to get it checked and hopefully its weak enough that i can get a brand new one sometimes they dont even check cause they lazy and give a new one right away for free happened to me b4 hehe) but then my dad told me i think its advanced autos had a good deal for 150 and i got a free 50 dollar off 100 dollars for the future use. so it basically costed me 100 i bought one from autozone for 220 dollars but i was able to return it cause they sold me the wrong size battery lol

 

http://my6thgen.org/f61/cut-progress-springs-7871/

This is based on cutting the progress springs, but is the same principle. If you don't know what you are doing, don't do it. If you do, then go for it. This is not something new to the modding world, this has been done for many years. The reason there are lowering springs out for cars is to eliminate people from screwing up their cars.

 

This is not the same principle. OEM springs and Progress springs have different spring rates. Progress have a higher spring rate to compensate for the drop. That's why you may get away with cutting progress, but still not recommended. If your gonna do something do it right.

 

That car was parted out about 2years ago because I couldn't get how much I was asking for so I basically stripped out whole car and sold it in parts. Just have a few things lefts on it. I was waiting for the motor to die so that I can drop in a H22 but that bad boy stayed running until I parted it out. Miss the car but it's no comparisson to the max

 

Yes they all cost under $300 but you could only get 1-3 ineffective mods for his budget. Just like every other thing you can get things done cheap way for temporary or you can do it right and have it last long time. My process was clean, sand, adhessive promoter, prime, sand, high temperature paint and clear so it cost more than the average.

That's what I been trying to argue all the time. Nothing will annoy you more than having a car with a messed up ride after doing it just a few months ago. Save the money, get something good recommended by other 6thgen owners, and do it right so you don't have to go spend additional money correcting a wrong you could of avoided. The org was made so that others share their good or bad experiences and cutting springs and using it on a stock suspension should be left for back then when there wasn't an option.

I hope the OP takes what i'm saying because his $300 budget will turn into thousands

 

o man thats sucks you couldnt get your price the car was one of a kind yea and my accord had 225k miles when i sold it for 2400 and it was running like a champ still. how much did you want to get out of it when you were selling it?

 

I wanted $3500 when posted, reduced to $3000, then $2500 but because the car had well over 320k on the motor nobody wanted to buy it even though it was visually done up. Plus the insurance companies was charging high insurance to get it off of the road. These cars go for as low as $400 so trying to get $3500 was impossible. Got damn near the amount by parting it.

Hold on did we just hi-jacked the OP's thread?

 

hahah i think we just did off topic and wow im suprised you couldnt get your price. alot of miles but it looked like there was 50k on the body lol

 

i sent you a friend request lol

 

Cutting lowering springs, oem springs, or even coilover springs..... All way the fvck different spring rates and will give you different results. Do it right. I wasted about 2700 on lowering my car different ways when I could have just done it right with 1000. GL

hi Omar

 

 

Picture driving and you hit a hard bump on the road.... Then your spring (because you cut it) pops out as the load of your car comes off.... Then you land on only your strut..... And the spring tears the tire..... At a police station..... Or on the freeway.... Saw it on a 6th gen.

 

+2

 

What's up Alex, hopefully by the end if this year I'll be lower than you. I got something cooking up

 

Oh yeah I forgot about that. Couple years back my boy cut the springs on his VW and it popped off the the shocks cutting his tires right off the rims, destroyed his rim, messed up his shock and cost him a tow to a mechanic. That alone should deter anyone from cutting their springs.

 

obviously not done correctly. your spring should not come out of place. I have seen many older cars with oem springs cut, due to them not having any other option at the time. The cars ran just fine and never in my life have I seen a spring pop out of place because you hit a hard bump. I can imagine if you cut 3 turns off or didn't put it back into the right place, then it coming out of place, but what you are explaining sounds like a freak accident that was inevitable. Do you honestly think that lowering springs where around in the 60's, 70' or even early 80's? If so you should think again. Many cars have been lowered by cutting springs. To say don't do it because it's gonna pop out and gash your tire when you hit a pot hole or bump is crazy. Mods come from somewhere, not just one day someone thinks this cool a$$ idea up of hey I think we should make these springs and lower a car. No they cut the springs first and liked the look and ride, then developed a spring with the same rate or equivalent of the oem but shorter. Then they market it for people who are afraid to "cut" springs. Granted the spings have to be equal in diameter and some either need heated and bent or sanded to fit correctly. You know I am going to give in on this arguement since all I have to go by is this one guy who has done it on the 6th gen, buy lowering springs. When I decide to drop mine, I will do a writeup if it is possible with the oem springs. A good read is here on the SVT forums. I know our car is not a mustang.

http://www.svtperformance.com/forums...g-springs.html

 

This guy explains why not to cut springs. He is slow speaking, but covers the valid points of why not to use cut springs. If you are to cut them, you should know how and what you are looking at before install. Not all setup results are the same.

 

You said it yourself, they cut them cause they did not have any other alternate, but we do. There's various different springs and coilovers for the maxima.