Little update for those wanting to purchase the NWP Engineering Block Plate Kits. The plates are currently still on backorder. They are taking much longer to produce than anticipated.

For those that have already placed their order, a special small run was made to reduce the wait time for existing backorders. As soon as we have this small batch in stock, your package will immediately ship.

But, all new orders for the Block Plate Kits are expected to take about 3 weeks to ship. I apologize for this inconvenience.

If you have any questions about your order, please send an email to [aaron@nwpengineering.com].

 

Anyone care to step in and speak about the post-installation experiences? I'm very curious to see if anyone would have problems after installing this spacer kit. Any butt-dyno feel of the gains? Smoother power range, maybe? Thanks in advance...

-Peter-

 

First off, thank you for the aggresive support from Aaron of NWP. The last 5 days has been complete h*ll for me and my max.

Last friday I dropped my max off to have the NWP spacers installed. The tech installed the spacers and had tried to perform the learning procedure. I was familiar with the well documented procedure so I told him I would give a try. I think I was successful but I kept getting a "service engine soon" light blinking. The car was hesitating severely and nothing seem to be going right.

The following morning I called the tech up and he said for me to bring the car back so he can trace down the issue. At this time I was severely stressed out and was thinking "this is going to cost a lot of money!!" The whole time Aaron was feeding me questions to ask the tech. Aaron wanted any detailed information back i.e. codes. By saturday night I thought Aaron was going to come though the phone and whip the tech's a**. I can say, it was really nice to not be alone in such a stressful situation.

Saturday afternoon I called the local nissan dealership and was told a possible alignment(ecu reprogram) was needed since the learning procedure wasn't successfully implemented. Cool. So I had my car towed to the dealership.

Monday, I get a call from Benny, the kick a** technician working on my car. He said the alignment was successful but the car was throwing a #3 cyclinder mis-fire. *I was thinking cha-ching in my head* How much I asked. Chump change. This nissan dealership is fly in comparison to some of the horror stories I hear about from other org members. They don't care if you have mods. They'll work on ALL nissans. I didn't even get charged any shop fees.

Tuesday, Benny called and informed of the culprit. By this time I had already got my full refund from the original installment because his actions caused more problems. Sweet! What it all boiled down to was the #3 plug that goes into the fuel rail had three bent prongs. Benny bent them back, resealed the plenum and did the alignment one more time.

I picked up my car a few minutes ago and yeah, I feel like the guy on the enzyte commercial smiling from ear to ear. The nwp spacers made a WORLD OF DIFFERENCE! I have officially fallen in love with my car all over again. Tomorrow when I wake up and leave for work. I walk out to my car, start it, and fall in love again.

Aaron, thank you for sticking by me on this!! I sincerely do appreciate the support. You've definitely made a life long supporter out of me.

Sincerely,

Kevin Criss

 

Thanks Kevin for posting your story. I am always more than happy to support all my customers. I'm glad that everything turned out successful and that you are happy with your Intake Spacers.

The install isn't that hard. It's just that your first mechanic rushed through it and messed up the #3 injector harness connector. You were running off 5 cylinders for a little while there.

Most people are capable of installing these spacers themselves if they just take their time and follow each step in the instructions that are provided.

 

Damn man, you guy's should have sex!!! OK granted, I love my spacers also...

 

what other mods were on the car to make it a 10 HP and 12 TQ gain...CAI? Y Pipe? Cat Back. or is this on a stock vehicle?

 

i have a question.

Jess said that when in reverse, the IM would the the FSTB.

Now, if getting the IM polished, would it still hit the bar? or by polishing the IM doesn't take that much off to clear the bar?

I dont know if i asked in the right forum...

 

The test vehicle was a 2K2 Maxima 6spd with intake and catback exhaust.

The VQ35DE Thermal Intake Spacers raise the upper intake manifold by exactly 3/16". Most every strut bar will clear the manifold without any washers underneath the strut bar mounts. Also, if your engine mounts are in decent condition, simply driving the car in reverse will not make the engine twist enough to hit. But, if you drive aggressively in reverse, you could twist the engine far enough to hit the strut bar. But most people do not make a habit of racing their car in reverse.

While in drive, the engine will twist in the opposite direction away from the bar.

Also, polishing the manifold does not remove enough material for clearance to change noticeably. Your best bet is to measure how much clearance you currently have between the manifold and the strut bar. If you have at least a 3/8" of clearance, you will be able to install the spacers safely. But I understand your concern since you want your polished manifold to stay in good shape. But honestly, you only need about a 1/4" of room to install these spacers. I just don't know how aggressive you like to drive in reverse.

 

Guys these intake spacers are pretty sweet. There was a noticible increase in power in the lower rpms. I didnt feel to much up top but then again my car was already pretty quick up top. I think once the ecu relearns I may notice more power diffrence. Good product though and really fast shipping.

I was also able to follow his directions and install it myself with no problems.

You know... If you guys are worried about the strut bar hitting why not buy a 99 maxima strut bar? I have a stillen strut bar I took off my 99 and put it on my 02 and I have plenty on room between my IM and the bar. Only problem I had was the AC switch but I just unbolted it and Zip tied it to my strut bar.

 

That's great. I'm glad the install went smoothly. Are you the guy I talked to this morning on the phone?

 

Yup thats me. After we got off I went and did the 2 relearns and was good. Since I never touched the throttle body butterfly plate I never had to do that last step. Took it out for a test drive and noticed there was a second delay when I jumped on the gas pettle so I came back redid the pedal and went back and bam back to normal well of course with a little more power.

 

Perfect! Glad you are happy! Thanks for the review.

 

Just noticed this post.

When shifting into reverse not driving just the shift is when it hits the bottom of the FSTB...I have an automatic. Might be different with a manual.

Stillen FSTB no washers, and I didn't grind down the top area that attaches to the IM elbow like it says in the Stillen instructions.

While polishing my UIM the problem was taken care of with a dremel.

So of course YRMV

 

Yes, the P to R shift is a little harsh on the automatic. It's much smoother with a manual.

So, did you grind a little bit off the manifold with a dremel to solve the problem when you got it polished?

How much room would you say you have now? 1/8", 1/4"? Does it still hit the bar when shifting to reverse?

 

True forgot that I drove a manual in reverse. You don't feel the engine movement at all.

I would say about 1/8 clearance now.Can take a pic for you guys if you'd like.

 

It's ok. Did you have to remove any material off the manifold with a dremel tool to get more clearance with the Stillen bar?

 

updates on the vias plate? i am interested in doing the spacers after finals in the next few weeks. i think after reading all the positive results and install stories, im going to do it. how do you do the throttle relearn procedure?

 

10 HP gain at 4300 rpm? I don't even remember when last I rev'ed my car up to 4300 rpm. Dumb question but are there any other benefits using this spacer kit?

 

really? poor car

 

Anything that reduces your engines temperature or assist with the cool down will always have a long term benefit to the overall lifespan of an engine. Anything that produces additional HP in the process is a bonus...

 

Yep just a bit since I didn't use any washers

 

May be true as I only drive mostly home-work-home route everyday.

 

Thanks for explaining.

 

Yes. Right now, the expected ship date is this next Tues, May 6th. The reason for the delay is because we are changing the design slightly. We have decided to go with a polished billet aluminum finish instead of the flat silver anodized finish. I think the polished aluminum finish matches the stock intake manifold much better.

We hope to have the photos added to our website by next Monday when orders for the VIAS/SSIM Block Plate Kits resume.

Also, directions on the Accelerator Pedal Release Procedure and the Throttle Valve Closed Procedure can be found in the VQ35DE Thermal Intake Spacer Installation Instructions on our website. You can download it in PDF format here:

http://www.nwpengineering.com/Phenol...rs.html#VQ35DE

Yes, chernmax is correct. Reducing the intake manifold temps will also reduce overall engine bay temps, which is good for the longevity of all the parts in the engine bay.

Also, you will not have to purchases intake gaskets again. These spacers can be reused as many times as you want. Just clean off the old RTV and reapply.

Most of the gain you will notice is going to be below 5K rpm. Low end and midrange power is increased, so your normal city driving performance will be improved.

Gotcha. Thank you.

 

I had a CEL before I installed the spacers and it didn't go away . I also cleaned inside the intake runners and around the inside of the TB. Butt dyno seems to indicate a nice midrange gain but I hate to get on it with gas nearly $4 a gallon.

Install was pretty straightforward, if you have done spark plugs (requires upper intake removal on the 3.5) you are 75% of the way there. I also did the valve covers and a little polishing of the IM while I had it out so it took me the better part of a day. If you have some mechanical ability you should be able to do this in about 3 hours, but (as with any project) I would make sure you had plenty of time so you don't feel rushed.

It is a little nerve wracking knowing if you drop anything into the IM your engine could be toast but other that that nothing to complicated. Well I put my throttle body on upside down at first but --

Upper IM off the car stock upper gasket in front -


Lower IM removed, lower gaskets in place -


Lower IM back in, upper gasket in place -

 

Just installed thease after sitting in my garage for 6 months in the winter.




Let the car Idle for 1h, to heat it up. Went for a drive, damn pulls just as hard as it would when cool.

AARON you da man

PS- Sorry no pics of the thing removal, i never got it done cause I had to put my car back together before I went on vacation.

Kamski

 

Well this product still has not been installed because I don't feel comfortable in the engine bay. Any takers in the panhandle of Florida willing to help who has done this before?

 

There's no better way to heat soak a motor than to let it idle for an hour! That is the way we conducted our testing. We wanted the engine to get as hot as it will get with functional cooling fans. Then once the temps leveled off, we took our final readings for another 15 minutes to make sure it didn't continue to creep.

I'm glad you like them!

There are several people in the Jax area that have these installed on their car. Other than that, I can't think of anybody in your area. If you post a thread in the SE forum, maybe you'll find somebody capable of doing a good install. Just make sure they read the instructions.

 

The NWP Engineering VIAS Block Plate Kits are now back in stock and the redesign looks better than ever!

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=561479

 

Bump. VQ35DE and VQ30DE kits are in stock and ready for immediate shipment.

Feel free to post if you have any questions.

www.nwpengineering.com

 

I will purchase a set for an n/a engine any month now but I would like to know:

1. What intake manifold pressure have the 3.5 spacers been tested to?
2. Will they hold 20psi with the high temp silicone?
3. Would it help to torque them down a few more inch pounds for forced induction applications?

I apologize if you have already answered these ?'s

 

I have NWP Spacers installed in my Boosted Max which puts out close to 345whp and 412hp crank with no problem...

 

1) The spacers have been tested to 8psi of manifold pressure using the normal Permatex Black RTV Silicone Sealant without any leaks.

But if you are going to see any level of boost, I would recommend that you use a product from Permatex called "1 Minute Gasket". It's a much stronger form of RTV. It comes is an aerosol can very similar to whip cream.

2) I have only tested this personally to 8psi without any problems. So, the normal black RTV is VERY durable and strong. But the 1 minute gasket is even better and should easily be ok above 10psi. Whenever you start pushing 20psi, boost leaks will be a very common occurrence. But my guess is that you should be just fine with the 1 Minute Gasket maker. If you do experiment with this, please stay in contact with me so I will know exactly what problems you may have run into. But, so far, there are a few FI'd Maximas that have these spacers installed. mtrai760 being the latest. But I'm not sure what level of boost these guys are seeing.

3) I would not overtorque the intake manifold bolts. When you do this, it puts extra strain on the manifold itself as well as causes the gasket to mushroom out, which could actually weaken the seal. So it's best that you stick with the torque specs laid out in the instructions.

If you have any more questions, please do not hesitate to ask. It doesn't matter how many times I may have answered the question before. I am always more than happy to answer questions.

Very nice! Thanks for that info. What is the highest psi you've seen so far? And what are your plans in the future as far as boost level?

 

Max boost I see is about 10 psi, no leaks. I used high temp RTV, two stores I went to were out of the 1 minute gasket. I'm confident it's going to hold just fine.

 

Great! Thank you for posting.

 

I'm running 6PSI of Boost but I'll soon be running 8-9PSI on the track...

 

Ok thank you.

 

The 02-08 Maxima Thermal Intake Spacer Kits are back in stock and ready for immediate shipment.

Feel free to post if you have any questions.

 

Big bump!

 

Hey Aaron you have kits for the 04's ready top ship, Looking to get one..