Okay guys, I'm sure lots of you have had this problem before with either your wives, girlfriends, or future wives like me... (some of you may even have had to hide them from your parents when you were younger or now).

I've matured from my modded Acura Integra days with the loud-but-does-nothing muffler when I purchased my Max. But of course, I still have the bug when it comes to wanting to improve performance.

Everything I've done so far has been discreet... changing the rims, intake, gauges, etc... I am now ready to step up and and jump in on the Warpspeed group deal and purchase the Y-pipe. My problem is I also have a wedding to pay for in November and we've been counting every penny... but you know how it goes. I was wondering if I upgrade to the Warpspeed Y-pipe from stock, without changing the muffler or cat-back etc, will it be noticably louder? I mean, noticable where my fiancee will ask me, "Did you change out your muffler on the Maxima?" (She still cringes when she thinks about driving around in my lowered and loud Integra and warns me every so often not to "pimp" out my Maxima).

Keep in mind that I've changed the intake (only a slight increase in noise, not that she noticed) and am planning to change only the Y-pipe (possibly put in a 2K muffler in the future).

Thanks for you input guys,

 

start saying things like... "I think there is something wrong with my exhaust" "it has a lot less power"... then you can finally say "I found the problem, it's the Y-pipe" then you get to replace it!

 

Please let me understand- you are afraid of your bride-to-be and her reaction about your wanting to spend your money...

I have been married for over 18 years, if you are already in a pickle about something like this, well... are you going to tremble years down the road...

I am not an expert on cars, so I cannot help you on your technical question, but take it from someone in his mid-forties, a relationship cannot be based on fear or trepidation....

 

Put the mods under the hood, she will never look there!

 

To answer your question, the Y-pipe with an exhaust mod is not suspossed to make more noise. If you Mod the exhaust however, your just asking to get noticed. Thats my 2-cents

 

Well being both married and a modder, I'll through my 2 cents in.
One way of looking at it is like this:
"It's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission."
Problem with this is,it causes distrust. Not a good thing only a few months before your wedding.

Other way to handle it is like this:
"Screw you, I'm going to do what I want. ANd I want the y-pipe. If you don't like it , tough."
Again another one I've tried, and again, didn't work so well.
Third way is like this:
" Your not going to believe this sweetheart. My car started acting funny, I took it to the mechanic and I need to replace my y-pipe!"
You have a better chance of geting away with quite a few mods using this one, especially if your Max has higher miles on it.It's worked for me. Drawback, YOU'RE LIEING!!!

Forth way is just wait until after you get married to get it. To most women, if you're supposed to be saving for a wedding, and you start spending money on your car, you're going to make her feel like your car is more important than your marrige is. Buy waiting you'll save alot of headaches in the end. And just to let you know, she will ALWAYS find out. I have never once been able to keep anything from my wife, and believe me I've tried.
ANyway, my 2 cents! Hope that helps!

 

well, the guilt's starting to settle in.. honesty, trust, etc. Yeah, I guess I can wait until after the wedding....

 

unlike you guys I have a very understanding wife who does not care what I do to the car as long the bills are paid and there are plenty of diapers....if you get the y-pipe and keep your stock exhaust it will not be loud so I have been told...

 

Im in the same boat as you. I really want new rims, have the mula for it, but the parents are being jerks about it. I am doing a big presintaion about it. wrote the pros of getting new rims, and specs on the tires. Im gonna present tonight. Hopfully it'll work.

 

LOL, make up something professional on Powerpoint. Show graphics and specs of the wheels, and how great they are. Your parents will be so impressed, how could they not say ok?

 

Amen!!! Honesty = best policy. If she won't let you be YOU, then you're off to a bad start. Think about it. You really shouldn't have to hide anything or lie about anything to your wife to be. Bad sign.

/aac

 

I started doing a power point thang, but i decided not to. Reason is because i have been nagging at my parents forever about getting rims, and then they get really mad. I have outlined everything and Im going to print it out and put it on their places at the table so they see it in the morning. The nitto website had some great stuff on their 450 tires which come with the rims i want so i included that. Heres what it says:



Reasons for the purchase of new rims

· The rims have been balanced already for a 96 Maxima
· Theses rims cost only $250.00 yet are safer than more expensive rims:
o A. They weigh more, thus keeping the car on the ground better, and provide much better traction.
o B. They are a 1 piece design so they stay together better than a 3 piece rim
o C. They come with almost new Nitto 450 Tires

Why are these rims so inexpensive?

· They are only 15in rims
· They have a few scratches, which reduce the value, but not the safety in anyway
· They are not chromed, and made of metal, which makes the rims safer. More expensive rims are made of lighter chromed materials for looks, which reduces safety
· Used rims quickly loose their value
· They are the 1999 model


What about the Tires?

· Attached is a spec sheet about the Nitto 450
· The tires are almost new, with 90% tread.
· My summer tires have 45% tread left, and do not have any of the safety features of the Nitto 450.


Ok, i had to lie a little and say they are only 250 bucks, but besides that its mostly true... hehe.

 

Ditto about the honesty comments! I would not lie to her or try to hide the y-pipe. My wife sometimes thinks it's a waste of money to replace a perfectly good OEM part but she would acknowledge the difference if it's noticeable. Sometimes in a relationship there are sacrifices to be made and priorities to adhere to. If money is a constraint, then you have to budget your expenses according to your needs. In this case, a y-pipe would be in the "wants" category. If your bride-to-be shows a similar commitment and doesn't spend extra money, I would think that you could wait until you can afford the y-pipe. Try for a moment to put yourself in her shoes. Anyway, my best wishes to you and your future wife!

 

my fiance buys my mods

 

SHE'S the one who asked me when am I gonna start. She wants
the car to be different from other Beige SE's. She did ask
why I wanted to replace the H&Rs with Sprints.

 

I totally agree with mregenst. I've only been married for 8 years but can tell you that if you start down this path, you'll be miserable in the long run. It's your car, she has hers (I assume) and you must put on your pants and stand up for yourself. The deal should be that you have disposable income as does she, what you do with it, so long as it's legal, should not be up for debate. Did you at some point agree to save every penny for this wedding. If so, then do so, if not then what's the issue.

 

said/posted before, If you mod the car, it will look like the car is more important than your wedding, thus more inportant than her, you will never live that down. I been married for 4 yrs, my wife goes to 90% of the meets (99 & 00 Maxus included) she went to the NYC meet today, and she knows every mod I have. BTW, she thinks the Trenz grill is sweet. (Note, she does not even drive) If you hide it, she will find out anyway, then it will be worst. Wait a bit, the car is nice as is. You'll be a better man by showing restraint and concentrating on the important matter at hand. Always remember, a car is only plactic metal and glass, not human. I'll stop preaching now. hehehe
Best of luck in your wedding/marriage.

Here are a list of my mods over the past 3 yrs.
95 GLE
STB/RSB/Tokico/H&R/StillenIntake/factory wing/Borbet Type E 235/47/17(which the wife bought) and Stillen Y.
Next is the chip and RT cat and better brakes, which the wife approved already.