I'm planning on doing this swap but I wanted to get some info about long term reliability, driveability issues, mileage since your install, problems related to 00 vi & overall opinions of this setup. My 96' se is my only car & I'd hate to do the swap & have serious problems. Much appreciated!

 

If you do it right, you should be just fine.

Research as much as possible, and when you think you're done researching, research a little more, then, when blue in the face, take a break, and start again.

Leave no stone unturned, and when you've found the last one, one more will pop up in its place.

 

No problems due to 00vi and will never have any due to the 00vi.

 

Going on a year with my VI. No problems here. Just do plenty of research. All the information is out there.

 

You shouldn't have any problems taht relate to drivability. The cup in the solenoid might keep breaking like mine, but that doesn't affect drivability.

 

I believe the biggest pains associated with 00VI are idle and harsh starts. That seems to be individual problems and with proper adapters, correct vacuum routing, correct IACV setup, TPS calibration ... all that good stuff ... it should turn out OK.

 

Had mine on since October. I've never had any problems and hopefully never will, knock on wood. My swap has run perfectly with no calibration or messing with settings of any kind.

As NmexMax said, it's all about research.

 

Most replies are right on the mark (Kevlo911, NmexMAX, speed racer, Tatanko). The only problem the 00VI has relates to the VIAS cup, and if that is properly addressed prior to installation, then you should have no problems that wouldn't be possible issues with owners of the 5th gen Max.
There are baiscally two challenges faced by guys doing the 00VI mod. The first one is simply keeping track of everything disconnected and making sure that everything is hooked back up in a way similar to how it was was originally. Vacuum sources need to be used or sealed. Components requiring a vacuum signal need to be hooked to a vacuum source. Electrical connectors need to be reconnected. Etc. etc., etc.
The second type of problem is not keeping all the other 4th gen components and systems. The most simple, problem-free approach is to use only the 00VI UIM and keep all of the other 4th gen components (LIM, injectors, EVAP, EGR, PCV, IACV, TB, etc.). If it was working right before, there's no reason why it shouldn't work right after your 00VI installation (assuming that you've hooked up everything right). Making changes can range from the relatively simple (LIM & injectors), to more complex (EVAP, EGR, IACV, etc.). Going to the 5th gen injectors may find you with injectors that have sat around literally for years, with the sediments having fouled them up. Changing the TB may find you with a TPS that's out of calibration. Deciding to go without (or changing) the IACV, EGR, EVAP, etc. opens you up to a whole host of possible problems.
My suggestion: make changes one at a time. Don't make decisions based on the alternative costing more money (such as adapters for the TB or IACV). Ask the guys who've decided to block off the EGR or do without the IACV if after all the frustrations they went thru trying to figure out what the problem was, if they could do it all over and avoid the problem by staying relatively stock (as I suggested in the beginning), whether they'd do it differently.
I kept everything 4th gen except for the 00VI UIM. Modified the LIM per Stephen Max and got adapters for the 4th gen TB and IACV from him. I took great pains to keep track of every single wire, hose, etc. that I disconnected to make sure they were accounted for as I put everything back together. Kept the EGR, PCV and EVAP, and it fired back up and operates exactly as it did before (starting, warmup, idle, etc.). And that was a year-and-a-half ago.
My recommendation: go that route, and later if you want to make modifications (e.g., to the EGR or IACV), do them one-at-a-time so if it doesn't work right, you'll have a limited number of possible causes for the problem. Think of it in these terms; is saving $100 or so worth a week or more of frustration when your car won't start/idle/run right and you keep posting and still aren't getting any closer to solving the problem. I know, you weren't expecting to have those kinds of problems, but unfortunately, more and more guys actually are. And it's hard for others to diagnose those problems via posts to the org.
And lastly, don't assume that this is something you can do successfully in your sleep. It requires advance preparation, understanding of what (and why) you're doing things, and keeping track of the steps you go thru.

 

I know this is off topic, but it is a simple yes-no question.

Does 00VI change the sound of the car much? Obviously an intake will because you change the way the car takes in air, but intake manifold??? I am guessing very little if any. I am a fan of keeping the car quiet and thus have concluded NO intake and exhaust mods for me. In the far future I want EU+WB02, UDP, and 00VI if it is silent. SO ... yes or no for sound change?

 

No, not to the untrained ear, especially with your said set-up.

 

Never had a hitch so far with the VI and its going on a year now. I did a lot of research before I bought the parts, and triple over after I bought the parts. I waited almost 2 weeks before tackling the swap and everything went perfectly. Had some help from s0ber who was the first down here to do it, and car started right up after some idle tweaking. Only reason my CEL is on right now is because I fowled and put the wire harness for the EGTS sensor the wrong route and it damaged the harness somewhere. Perfect crank cold or warm, and thats all thanks to Stephen's IACV adapter.

 

The intake will be slightly less audible at peak RPM, but thats because there is plenty of air coming in. Other than that it sounds practically the same to me.

 

It won't make the intake any louder on its own, but it DOES sound less raspy at high RPM when compared to the USIM. Sounds more refined, IMO.


Errrr...pretty much what gtr_rider already said. lol

 

Yep, smoother more refined sound to my ear. (Plastic vs aluminum)

 

Best maxima intake evaaah...

 

Don't say that. You don't know that for sure yet Depends on application and goal, really. I think we can agree the USDM A32 manifold is at the bottom of the list though

 

Will be quiet as heck either IM he uses since he wont be doing anything to it.

 

Make sure you gather all the parts first! Very easy 2 forget stuff..make a list...i was fortunate enough to just pick up a DEK motor with a bent valve...so i had pretty much everything at hand...

 

oovi isnt as loud, with usim i could hear my kn filter/frankencar midpipe over my exhaust at wot, now with 00vi i hear only exhaust. personally im glad ! i didnt like how the car sounded from the outside with the kn filter sound.

cold start but no big deal to me, and my 00vi whistles all the time, lol !

 

Do you mean whistles as in "hauls ***" or "makes a whistle sound"?

 

Whistles as in makes a sound, most likely from having the little plate behind the TB removed (sorry can't think of the name of it right now)

 

Restrictor plate?

 

my car got slower(dropped about 3-4tenths off the 1/4 mile to a 15.4)

Hopefully it's not my vi but it's my motor & tranny(my tranny is slipping bad, tranny fluid is now black, and when i put it in neutral, you can hear th clutch's in the torque converter "spooling")


So, hopefully, it was just my luck that all that went bad when i did the swap

 

For obvious reasons, you need a new tranny, so this post should be taken w/ a fraction of a grain of salt as far as 00VI performance is concerned.

Those wheels didn't help.

 

lo, those wheels were on for just a weekend, i had 2 different set of 18"s on and, a set of 15" rOnal's and a set of the stock steelies.


but you didnt know NmexMAX, the bigger the wheel, the further you move with one rotation (n00bie remark)

 

11 months and no codes, no problems. COld start tap of the gas because i eliminated the high idle cam - the way to go IMO.

 

Well said Curt ^^^^^^^^ If I ever get tired of the MEVI, I'm taking your exact approach when I install the 00VI.

 

the 00vi is compatible with the 3.5 swap correct? how bout with a spacer for the intake manifold???

Raul

 

Its not compatible unless you use pathfinder heads, IIRC

 

Gtr Rider... can you show me a link... I'm trying to search but cant find anything on it... just other crappy links.. so I can use the 00vi but I need PatherFinder Heads, by heads you mean headers or what? and what does IIRC mean... I see alot of people use it... but I dont have a clue on what it means... I sound like a total newbie... and mybad, but i'd rather ask than... stay quiet and never know.

raul

 

Directly from the 3.5 swap procedure sticky:
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=430880

IIRC, stands for "If I remember correctly". So next time you see it, you will know what it really means.

 

hahahah. thanks... yeah I felt kinda of stupid now... going thru other post and seeing everyone using it... mybad... but thanks Gtr Rider, I appreciate your help

raul

 

so that's where that whistling is coming from.

 

I can't really say. At WOT from my 5000 RPM kick-in point to my 7200 RPM redline (JWT ECU), things are happening way too fast in 1st & 2nd gears to be paying much attention to the sound. But I am also a fan of flying quietly below the radar, and my 5.5 gen OEM muffler suits me just fine.

 

I did like Curt said and kept as much of the original 4th gen parts functioning. In my opinion, spend the extra money and buy the EGR tube, have the IACV plate made, and use the 5th gen rear valve cover and coils. I'm not a big fan of having rough idle, hard starts, or codes. I spent several hours doing research and made sure I knew what I was doing. I'm moving on to the 3.5 swap and have a started preparing my new motor. Look for my complete 00VI kit in the classifieds later this summer.

 

I done mine last week end and yes, it is a bit more quiet since I have an Injen CAI, y-pipe and fulle 2.5 s/s exhaust. A bit more quiet. If I was stock on bolt-ons, I would assume a quiet setup since the DE-K is a quiet engine.

now that mine is installed but not switching on shorties (more on that latter!!) Mine whistles too. I think it is the iacv vacuum rising / hose pressure. cool sound!!