I'm in for a more detailed review of the coil overs too. What I am really curious about is the initial turn in, and how the dampening has affected cornering.

The black roof looks great on cars with an entirely separate roof section. However as Rochester pointed out that isn't the case with the 5th gen. There is that awkward point where you have no body line to make an OEM style stop for the color change.

Look at it again, you are good until you get past the rear doors. I know because I considered this for awhile on my 5.5 too.

 

FIXED.

Regarding the roof, It would work with a roof spoiler maybe.....

Seriously though, .... Yeah I looked at it today, You're both 100% correct, I don't like it. It may work on a darker car, but not on white. That C pillar is way too wide and the curve/transition downward is too smooth to pull it off.

As for the COs,
I'll post my prelim review in here later. The weather is supposed to get nice this weekend, so if I can finish this Civic's gauges, etc early enough, I'm going to do a driveway allignment. Hard to judge anything when the allignment is so far out of whack. Toed out like a 350 LB sunofabish

Once I have been on them for a while, I'll post in the Coilover review threads.

Good to see you pop in Markus, hope you haven't sold your car yet

-Matt

 

FYI plastidip is removable..check youtube

 

Oh c'mon... like you've never confused the words dampening and damping before.

On an unrelated note, Kitchner is mid-way between Lindsay, ON and Rochester, NY.

 

Wow that's cool. Good to know thanks man!

LOL yeah of course I have! We all have. I was just giving him a hard time of course

And that's a pretty unrelated note, am I missing the relevance? Is it because Markus is from Lindsay?

If that's true, then you're approx 3 hours away as well. Not too bad if it's true.

P.S. It's not really 'mid-way', but if you were going from Lindsay to Kitchener, then to Rochester, it would be

I would think Missisauga/Oakville is more of a mid-way point, Kitchener being out of the way. Planning a trip John?

 

Ok, so after I started the business, I took down some pictures of my LED process (actual install pics).

After doing the window switches tonight, I decided, if you guys have the ability to recreate my work simply by looking at these pictures, then you deserve to do it.
I'm posting them for everyone from here on out. I would much rather you guys have it as a reference, and keep the information public.

Also, I think it's important to show quality of work, I mean, I can show you guys my finished pics, and WHOO HOO right? It's been done. The real difference is in behind the scenes, in the quality. In the fact that I actually measure precisely to ensure proper clearance in all switches, etc, so that you never have a probem down the road.

Anyways, I'll shut up and post now

Here is a stock single window switch with the cover off:






Here is the Stock LED holder with the old LED carefully removed, and my new LED prepped for install:



My LED Installed in holder:





Installed on Switch:

 

Unlock Switch, disassembled, stock:




Removing the Stock LED:





Making the Replacement:



Replacement Installed:






And the Final shots:

Passenger Door:





Passenger Rear:



Pic from outside, all doors closed, 30% tint:



Driver side, difficult pic to get:

 

Funny thing is I may be coming your way in about 2 weeks Rochester..then possibly up to canada eh

 

when you take a vacation down in SC lemme know lol if i dont have my LEDs done by then, you're doing them

 

LOL you pay for the Vacation and I'll do them for free
I need a vacation so bad.

 

It never occurred to me about replacing the lights in the door switches. That's a serious bit of detail.

No, but MaximusTi is coming down for a visit next month from Lindsay, and then it's off to Wine Country.

eh? eh?

If you're coming up to Rochester, NY to see Kevin, let me know where and when. I'd love to see your Maxima. And if you do it around dusk, I can see all your lighting mods.

Seriously, though... you and Matt should get together and discuss lighting mods.

 

Hell if we're only 3 hours roughly away, let's all meet up sometime in the summer.

I'm sure we could con some of the other guys into a little meet, stack a bit of cash and make a weekend excursion of it!

 

you and me both..if i pay for anyone else vacation and my wife finds out about it...pfft...aint gona be a happy household

 

That's got possibilities. Did the same thing last summer with knight_yyz, ghost_54 and MaximusTi... all 4 of us meeting in Hamilton.

There's plenty of time to get something together. It's only April. And since Maxus2011 is down South this year, it would be my only meet-up.

 

Yeah I'm hoping the TMEC guys will acutally get together this year, but if not, there won't be much for me in the way of Maxima meets.

Let's keep the idea in mind I would be good with any meet location, especially seeing as it would likely be closer to me than it would for some others (except maybe Ghost)


Just a note, the possible rubbing I mentioned earlier really IS rubbing. Right rear. Just the lip that mounts the rear quarter at the back. I'm cutting it out right now, no big deal, should fix this problem. Something to think about if I run spacer though, I would definitely need to modify, ie. cut/roll/pull in the back.

I think I can combat it by stiffening the CO's up a bit, it only occurs over swooping bumps (large jounce and rebound stroke/ 'bounce')

 

I would absolutely love to drive a Maxima with CO's. Never have. Very, very curious.

 

just raise it up a tad

 

Already fixed. The flange that mounts the rear bumper to the rear quarter sticks into the fenderwell about 1", it can be trimmed to about 1/2" or just a shade less.

Done, and done.... :washes hands:

I'm going out to see if I can tweak the toe before the little man wakes up.

 

And when you're all done and settled in with your adjustments... you're off to get a for-real alignment, right?

 

i shaved those too...with the tires on the 19s after about 200 miles

 

^ LOL
.

I decided to save my tires

Yeah I won't be able to get the camber proper in my driveway. I can do toe pretty dam good but camber is tough.
I want to make sure I can get the adjustment out of the stock holes and bolts for camber first. If not, I'll need to install the camber bolts before I go for the allignment.

My toe is almost 1/2 out

I need to fix that soon.

 

A couple more pics when it's not Blizzarding out. Car needs wash and wax but the temp has been too low still.

John, I want your opinion on the Tein sticker. Normally I'm really anti-sticker/badging except for a few under hood, and even then....
For some reason, I think because the car is white, I don't mind this sticker at all. The green 'T' is what seems out of place, but I don't think the sticker would work well without the 'T'. I dunno, gonna let it stew for a bit.

 

You know I love those rims (partly because of my fondness for the G37), but I have to say 19" is right on the edge of too much for the 5th gen. It almost looks like there's not enough rubber there for it to look right, probably because I'm used to eyeballing 17" at stock height. But anyway, there it is.

What are you going to do about the center caps?

Didn't waste any time putting that TEIN decal on your car, did you? I would have thought you'd ponder on that for a while. But nope, right there on the window. Honestly, it looks kind of neat. Somewhat big and bold, but not unappealing.

Have you ever considered the 4DSC decals erty67 and I developed last year?



Very coincidentally on the topic of decals, I've decided to take the last bit of my old CATTMAN decals off the bottom skirt. I was looking at it the other day, after having slowly removed first the logo, then the "performance" section each over the last two years... that it was time to go for good. I don't want to advertise non-stock anymore. Well, not overtly so, at least.

 

Freaking gorgeous wheels. Wow... that almost hurts to look at.

 

The white supports the decal color well, and is always a good backdrop for highly saturated color (green, red, yellow). It looks interesting. I don't dislike it. Anyway, here are my thoughts on decals. Keep in mind, they're just opinions, and always subject to change.

I would be surprised if one out of a thousand people will look at that decal and know what it represents. Maybe not 1 in 10000 people. Given those stats, the decal is really there for one person: you. And for one purpose: as a reminder of the pride you're feeling about the car. Unless you're trying to show off to a specific audience of friends, fair-weather or otherwise, it's for you. Right? That means the other 9,999 people who see the decal, if it registers even at all, will interpret it as some kid's hot-rod sticker, and judge the car (and thereby the driver) as immature.

So in order to enjoy the first observation, while avoiding the second, I've moved that stuff under the hood. And I'm taking the last bit of my CATTMAN decal off the lower skirts. I think I just talked myself into it, LOL!

I guess you could say I've given this some thought.

If you're asking for advice, I say keep it for a while. Enjoy it, and take it off when that's what you want to do.

 

im totally in love man..

 

19" is pushing the envelope, but it works. It's not overly flashy, which is what I was concerned about.
I was really surprised about that fact actually, I think the main reason for this is:
The stock G37s actually raise the car 1" due to larger tire size. As such, when I dropped, the body of the car actually sits at a reasonable height, it doesn't appear 'slammed' or anything, and I clear driveways, bumps, etc with no issues at all.

With the drop though, I've eliminated the wheel gap. Currently, it's sitting very cleanly, the edge of the fender just comes down past the functional tread (groove), and no more. This makes for an extremely clean overall appearance, especially at a first glance. Someone who knows little about cars (most people) would have no idea that I am lowered.

I like those decals on the 2nd, 3rd, and maybe 4th gen. The latter is really pushing it though.

For a guy that is all about 'calling it what it is', I'm surprised this is something you'd support, even though it is an OEM branding. This is a sedan, with a V6, there's tons of them out there, and many that handle, perform, etc much better. The Maxima has the advantage of luxury on a budget along with those items though, which makes it the winner in my book. Either way, it's NOT a '4DSC', so I wouldn't put that badge on it, just my opinion of course, I like the decal itself, just disagree with the incinuation

 

The white on the black tint is what makes it work as an accent I think you've pegged that. The green is difficult to swallow, especially consider the fact that if I were to choose another colour to bring in, it surely would not have been green. As much as I would normally disagree with it because it's overplayed, blue/red would be the choices I think, they just work too well with the paint scheme and interior lighting.

I originally wanted to do an Orange theme, (think ~ creamsicle). The only reason I didn't, was the Gauges (blue tint).
I should have done it anyways though, it would have looked incredible.


You make a good point.
Here was my very short thought process:

- I have these decals, would be a shame to do nothing with them
- Examining farther, I installed a few of the little Tein man on my laptop, looks nice
- Farther still, I decided that I'll be installing a couple next to the Strut tower in the engine bay when I degrease everything.
- Then I said, I kind of want to show it off, I mean, after spending countless nights scouring information up for months, pricing every option out, and planning like crazy, as I do so well, then spending the coin getting Tein SS Coilovers after all that, I installed them, and the only one who knows whats under there (pretty much) is me...

It's not like it's a 'Megan Racing' tag, or 'Blox', or whatever, and it's not like I've decalled the crap out of my car with stuff that's not even on it. Tein is a highly respected company. I'm not just another kid that slapped on some 19's and lowering springs, I guess the thought was, show that it was done properly.

- Then I said, I have no use for the white ones really, I would end up putting them on my sons stroller, or not installing them at all.
- So I checked a few locations, this one looked best, so I installed it
- Looks ok, install is definitely in the right location. It's the dam green that's making me question it. I might pull the 'T' off. If it looks like crap after that and I still want to keep it, I can always rob the 'T' off the other one (I have 2 white, 2 black)

 

And I just wanted to note, I turned the damping adjustment up on the coilovers. The previous owner had informed me that he played with them for ever to find the 'optimal' setting, and to try them out there for a bit.

I was super happy with the overall comfort at the old settings, but I have to say, even with the allignment being out, I was disappointed that the handling had not improved. Also, the ride was just a little bouncy, and I do mean JUST a little, way less than stock, but still evident.

So I had to try it out. Man, I'm glad I did. I was grinning from ear to ear after my test ride. This is the main reason I wanted to install Coilovers, I am in love. The turn in is way crisper, dive in braking is greatly reduced (better braking), and quick wheel movements, lane changes, etc look like they may actually be a tangable maneuver now!!!

Considering I have NO other suspension mods, I am very optimistic about the potential here. I just need to get that allignment set up better, and tweak this suspension a bit to get it into Proper 'ideal' range. The way they were set up would be ideal for someone who wants to drop, while maintaing the same ride as stock. I'm impressed that that is acheivable, as well as being able to 'dial it up'.
For me, I would take a slightly rougher ride for better overall control. The old suspension felt 'floaty', and I've never felt safe in a car that feels that way, I like to feel the road under me, and I like short rebound strokes, keeping the body low and tires on the ground where they should be.

Of course the trade off for better handling is a rougher ride. I was surprised how well they still absorbed the quick bumps and potholes, not jarring, no excessive bounce. Feels much more planted to the road, I feel 10x safer driving this car just as it sits now, and I still have a bunch of work to do.

Just wanted to share. I'm going to make the rears easily adjustable for long trips, with some velcro and carpet from the wreckers
All about Function & Form over here.

 

Tuner, The wheels and new suspension really compliment each other well.

Personally I wouldn't run a 19 inch wheel due to performance loss but the visual appeal is hard too ignore.

I am really curious about how your suspension works in the real world too. Have you looked into sub-frame collars? Its a small change but it does help absorb some of the impact and in theory should help to tighten an aged car.

 

I hear you on the performance part, the facts argue though,
The Enkei 19" wheels only weigh about 21 LBS each,
consider that stock 17" wheels weigh 24.5 LBS.

Now factor in Tire weight, Rubber compound weighs more than the rim based on overall area, because the stock wheels have more rubber, they weigh even more than the 19" rims.

Considering the alternatives, most reasonably priced/affordable aftermarket rims weigh about the same as stock rims or more, same goes for tires.

And once I'm running stock Diameter, the outer diameter factor is gone as well.

All in all, rim size is not the determining factor in performance when you're looking at a overall weight standpoint.

Suspension:

Honestly, I haven't looked into any other suspension mods in any great detail. I knew the Springs/Struts were the biggest factor that needed attention, so I chose to attack it first. Once I get done tweaking the Coilovers, I'll see if I need to do more. Chances are, I won't do much more than a FSTB at this point. Remember, my car only has 100,000 KM on it.

 

So literal, Matt. Of course the Maxima is not and has never been a sports car, in the full sense of the word. But only the Maxima can rightfully wear that moniker because it was something NISSAN created as a marketing gimmick. So for me, it's more about automotive history and appreciation for the make/model. And then there's the actual design, which is customized based on the contemporary implementation. Moreover, since I designed it, I'm digging it.

Getting back to your Tein sticker... Sounds like you've already made up your mind, so I'll repeat this because it applies:

 

While the overall weight of the 19" wheels might be less you still have too consider the fact that the weight is now further away from the center vs a 17" diameter wheel. Thereby increasing rotating mass, hurting all aspects of performance (Acceleration, braking, turning)

The size of the wheel compounds or decreases the effect of the weight. As a general rule smaller is better.

 

I don't disagree with that as a principle of physics, but does any of that really matter when you're driving to the mall?

Another way to look at this specific case, if rotating mass has increased, but the overall weight has decreased... isn't that a wash? (Considering that we're not going to see the math behind this wee analysis.)

 

the more and more i see it 19" is the only thing that works on the 5th gen

 

I agree with that statement as well. 19s are the perfect fit for the 5th gen imo.

 

Well John, in that context (driving to the mall) most modifications available for our cars don't really matter. Would Coil-Overs?

If rotating mass has in fact increased then overall weight is irrelevant.

In terms of seeking optimum performance smaller lighter wheels would net another incremental gain, not unlike exhaust work.
Speaking for myself, had I spent the money on coil-overs I would definately want to make the entire suspension work as best as possible.

19" wheels are a visual win but a performance fail. There is a reason Sparks runs 12 second Ets and uses 16 inch wheels.

 

That's right... Sparks uses 16" rims when he races. Hmm.

I'm out of my element, here, Markus. Carry on.

 

This is an often overlooked item by most people.
From what I know, and using common sense based on the information I know, here's my thoughts:

The tricky part is determining where the ideal location to have the bulk of the mass for your specific application.

-From a stricktly straight line race perspective, you want it to be fairly close to the center of the wheel.

-For a daily driver, you want it somewhere inbetween that point and the outermost point. Where that specific point is, depends on your application.

Think of a ball on the end of a string. You're spinning the ball by holding the string.

1. When the string is short, it's easier and quicker it is to get the ball moving, but the ball also stops very quickly after you stop exerting force.

2. When the string is very long, it's difficult and slow to get the ball moving, but once it's moving, it can maintain that inertia for quite some time after you stop exerting the force on the string. This is why it's more ideal for DD to have the point closer to the outside by comparison, it is fairly common to imporve fuel mileage on this basis.

The 'main ball' is the heaviest point of your wheel. This is the point in the radius of the wheel (center to outermost edge) where the majority of the weight is located.

__________________________________________________ _________
Then, things get more complicated. This is where we could have an intersting discussion without really being able to prove a whole lot.

In the application of a tire/rim, this 'main ball' is actually comprised of 2 other '*****'. Think of the main 'ball' as the point from your rims inside edge (where the bead seats) to the outside of the tire.

When viewed straight on, The other two '*****' are the 'inner ball' ~ Rim bead location (where the rim does a 90* turn to make it's width section), and the 'outer ball' ~ the end of the tire, where the tire has it's most compound (tread).

As stated, this is where the different rim sizes come into play. Assuming the same outside diameter, the only thing that changes is the 'inner ball'.

Scenario #1:
When you have a small rim with lots of tire, you move the 'inner ball' closer to the inside of the tire.
EFFECT:
- You're adding more rotational weight to the 'main ball' area, because the tire portion weighs more.
- It's easier to get the 'main ball' spinning, but takes more effort to keep it spinning.

Scenario #2:
You have a large rim with very little tire (rubber band). This moves the inner ball closer to the outside of the tire.
EFFECT:
- You're lowering the rotational weight of the 'main ball' area.
- It takes more effort to get the weight moving initially, but it takes much less energy to keep it moving

There are a lot of other factors to consider of course, this is just a quick breakdown of the effects of different rims/tires.

In short, the best thing for straight line racing is normally a smaller overall diameter.

So if you're running STOCK DIAMETER, then the perspective is very different.

Anyways, this isn't my 'forte' either.

 

I installed my auxillary Dimmer today. I tried to find one online that lit up, but I didn't have any luck, so I made my own.

It didn't turn out as I wanted so I'm going to keep looking online to try and find one, either way, this works for now...
DISCLAIMER: The dash is disassembled, normally you would not see the light illuminating from the steering column.

Couple pics..

POT:


****, drilled out indicator:


LED Prepped:


LED's formed to ****:


Main dimmer and AUX dimmer turned down all the way:


Main dimmer and AUX dimmer turned down almost all the way:


AUX Dimmer Halfway, Main dimmer FULL:


Turned up all the way: