My car is still stock and I am still educating myself about cars. Before I start putting some money aside to mod my Max 03 SE auto, I want to collect some opinions on what some of you might consider are the BEST upgrades for our Max's (2002 and 2003 in particular). I am asking for the top 5 (or wtvr) upgrades that you think were the best you have done. I am not just talking about, " yeah, after I installed this, it was better", I want something that you felt, " Wow, what a huge difference! This upgrade is worth it, I feel every penny I spent on this was worth it, I am very satisfied..."

You can pick any upgrade type, audio, wheels, tires, shocks, bulbs, intakes, grilles, paint, exhaust, leather seats, cup holders, floor mats, clear corners... whatever, just pick your top 5 (or all), but try to be specific (if you have time ofcourse), like why you like the upgrade (looks? performance? reliability? economical? personal preference?...), what brand is the part, perhaps model#, where and how much did you buy it for, did you install it yourself or need professional installation, etc... post pics if you feel it helps.

If your car is still near stock, from your research and tastes, where do you want to put your money? What upgrades are you considering are worth doing...

I hope this thread will help a lot of people like me (young and/or new to cars, modding for the first time), and others in general who wants to figure out where their money should go. I hope the ORG crew will be generous enough to share the knowledge and information... It's exciting

Peace.

 

#1 In Dash CD Changer. This is a must if you drive alot. I cannot see having it any other way in a daily driver! Cost around $200, and I installed myself.

#2 Sub & Amp (For Bass) Factory system is weak and lacks bass. Started with Infinity Basslink for around $400 installed, however was kind of weak. I have since moved up to custom sub/amp setup JL 12" 12W6 sub in custom fiberglass enclosure with ~500 watt JL Amp, 1 Farad Cap, installed for around $2,000.

#3 Wheels & Tires for better handling. My factory 15" steelies with hub caps cannot compare to 235 ruber on 18" wheels for performance and looks. I got the 18" Sport Edition Tekno (sp?) with Kumho Ecsta 235 35? tires from Tire Rack. Reasonably priced, I think around $1,200. The Kumhos are cheap and squeal under hard cornering, but seem to last pretty good.

#4 Springs & Shocks: The Maxima is way too high stock. The H&R springs give it a nice factory look and new shocks soon followed due to factory ones not being up to task. I had them installed, and total cost around $1,000. Much better handling and ride. I considered getting the Tein S. Tech springs as the lower look appeals to me, however I tend to find myself in areas with many speed bumps, and do not want it to become an issue. The H&R's rarely cause scrapage over speed bumps (but sometimes!)

#5 Something to protect the front of the car from rock chips. The paint is soft and chips easily. I did not protect my car with a Bra, stongard, magnetic bra etc... and the paint is in poor shape. Protect your car before its too late!

If you drive hard, the factory brakes are not up to task, and the rotors warp easily. I highly recommend upgraded disks and performance pads. I got some slotted/dimpled disks thru a Maxima.org group deal, and metal matrix pads from Stillen. No warpage in over 30K miles, and still going.

Obviously not high on my prioity list is HP mods, as this car is plenty fast for the street. HP is expensive and can decrease the reliability of the Maxima (my opinion & justification for keeping my engine stock) These cars have a wonderfully usable engine in stock form, and I feel is the one thing that doesn't NEED to be touched. If I were to go for HP, then I would just bite the bullett and get the Stillen Supercharger kit, or get one of the turbo kits available for the Maxima! Both will result in serious HP! The rest of the items on my list are necessities to me!

Good Luck!


Jason
2000 5sp Max

 

First and foremost,... U have an AUTO,u need a VB mod and tranny cooler.A Nice Intake is always a plus. Exhaust u dont need,as the exh. u have is a free flow to begin with. Shocks/struts/FSTB/& RSB is a must if u want better handling. U may also hafta upgrade ur tires,to something a bit more sticky. As far as body kits go,...Im not a big fan and really dont see a reason for them unless ur showing ur car.Other than that they r a waste of money.

Stereo-Thats up 2 u. The bose I know is crappola,if u dont have the bose ur in luck. If u do have the bose,just wait for it to crap out,then swap it out for something better.
As far as lighting and whatnot,I personally prefer the POLARG bulbs over stock. Clear side markers are a nice touch too. Also as Jason said,...I would also highly recommend the INVICTA-SHEILD clear bra. I saw it on NT2SHBBY's car and its invisible,and really does protect ur car from paint chips.

Thats all I can think of now,Hope this helps some.


Justin

 

Why bother with a CD changer whan you can get a HU that plays a gazillion MP3's on one CD ?

 

I say go for tint, drop, stereo, rims and call it a day (in that order)

 

Look stock and carry a big Nitrous bottle

 

But here's my order with a few additions:

1) Tint
2) Stereo (the whole thing)
3) FSTB
4) RSB
5) Lighting* (replacing fogs and yellowish bulbs and interrior neon)
6) Drop
7) Rims & Tires (this will be my next and hopefully last mod)

 

What is the VB mod and what does the tranny cooler actually do?

 

Ok a VB mod is when they modify the valve body of ur auto tranny to make it shift quicker.
This is taken right off the site,.....
stock upgrade-Improves shifting to extend tranny life without sacrificing a comfortable ride.

street/strip- greatly quickens 1-2 shift and slightly quickens 2-3 shift to improve tranny life(especially on vehicles with modified engines) Good for everyday driver/weekend racer looking for sreetable performance.

Race-Very hard 1-2 shift. Car will most likly "chirp" wheels under hard accelertation. Hard shifts will be noticed at all times.
The cooler helps to keep the trans. fluid cool,because the Faster shifting generates more heat in the clutch packs of ur auto tranny. We have a small trans. cooler built into our raditors. What they do is tap off the lines.Then put the bigger more efficient cooler somewhere that its gonna pick up cooler outside air.Then they run new lines,and they're done. Altogether my VB mod,cooler,and installation cost $448,and its well worth the money.

 

 

- Timing advance
- RSB
- Lighter wheels & better tires
- FSTB
- Springs & shocks
- brakes
- Intakes, Y-pipes, etc -for the not so stealthy ones

Music?? With the wonderful song of the VQ playing, who needs better music?

 

It's funny how you people who comment are voting for appearance and the people who haven't commented are voting for performance which is winning by a landslide.

 

 

I like the sleeper idea.. I have an intake and a y-pipe and i am going to get a b-pipe with a big resonator and i am keeping my stock muffler to avoid rice sounding exhaust. I also recommend a change in stereo. i put infinity's all the way around with a kicker sub in the back with amps all around. I am going to get a new head unit to. I am keeping my rims but i got 235-45's for tires. The tires are a must. factory tires suck ***. plus shocks and springs are a must. Oh yeah get a Front strut tower brace off of ebay for like $20, it is cheap but very effective. also get some Anniversary Edition parts like the door sills from custommaxima.com or courtesynissan.com(parts link is what you look for). a little performance with sound and a touch of show stuff should give you the overall package. If you are going just for performance just save up and get a turbo kit, it comes with a full exhaust and intake setup. And since you got an automatic i have only heard good things about the VB upgrade.

 

stupid question prob. but where did u find it?? iv gone to CustomMaxoima and many other sites and I can only find a cd chnager for my trunk. can u install a 6 cd in dash into an AE? if so then thats my next mod .

So far...
FrankenCar intake and midpipe w/ apexi filter
new AE shift ****
clear front and rear corners
front strut tower bar

Next...
25% or 30% tint
Budget Ypipe
in dahs 6 cd changer ? ? ?

 

Don't get a budget..Noooooo.....they rust. spring for the warpspeed or cattman.. or i guess you can get 2 budgets for the price of a warpspeed S.S.. you know almost

 

last tiem i checked the Budget was s.s.

 

the budget is except for a section that connects the two pipes that split of to main pipe. it is not S.S. and i believe it will rust rather easy depending on your area

 

But another way to go is to get the budget and have it jet-cotted. You can find plenty of places on the WWW that can do this. It sounds like a good idea and is probably cheaper than the warpspeed S.S. in all

 

Intake and exhaust!!!!

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by BeRTo175
[B]

stupid question prob. but where did u find it?? iv gone to CustomMaxoima and many other sites and I can only find a cd chnager for my trunk. can u install a 6 cd in dash into an AE? if so then thats my next mod .



I found the in dash changer on ebay of all places, and it plugged right in to the second din opening in my dash, and works with the factory standard maxima head unit.

Try this link to ebay,(I hope it works!)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=2425176248

Good Luck!

Jason

 

check my site

 

My mod list in order of priority:

1) stereo upgrade- kept stock non -bose headunit added 2 10's MTX -600w Kicker amp- RF 6.5 Components in the front -amplified by Soundstream
" your beats gots to be right!"
2) Tint -Keeps the car much cooler/protects interior from damaging UV rays/ Privacy
3) Intake/ Bpipe /FTSB-(not too exteme but basically to satisfy the boy racer in me)
4) drop/rims/new rubber/body kit may have to wait till the spring- ol'man winter is around the corner

 

My vehicles have almost always been all go and no show. I like the sleeper look. It catches more people off guard that way...

 

This is what I did:
1. tint
2. stereo w/ cd player, subs, amps, new door speakers and tweeters. (then completely sound proof the trunk and rear deck w/ foam)
3. clear side markers and PIAA bulbs
4. Frankencar intake
5. lower valence grille inserts from grilletech.com
6. FSTB
7. drop that biotch w/ new shocks and springs
8. change running lights to PIAA Xtreme whites
9. budget b-pipe w/ 3" dual magnaflow tips on stock muffler
10. replace reverse lights w/ PIAA Xtreme whites
11. B&M Tranny cooler
12. guage rings

 

Hell Yeah!

I want to install performance mods but have a normal look. Simple looking good/high performance rims, decent tint, no loud exhuase (I will settle with the stock), but under the hood and under the car, I want to make a lot of changes, when I actually have some money in savigs

 

considering i spent 5k on my other hobby this month, my max will be getting

tint (sun bad k)
rims (as soon as i burn up the dealer issued michellins..)
drop (or just nice new struts)
gps (i hate asking for directions)

in the next 6 months. that's all. priorities i suppose.. i have everything else in it anyway, so short of a supercharger i am out of ideas i care about. not getting another y pipe anytime soon because my 4th gen maddened me with the rumbling from it:\

 

1) Brembo Brake upgrade
2) Yokohama AVS ES100
3) Sway Bars
4) Lowering Springs
5) NAWWWSSSS...er...NOS

 

I have the same car & the same rims! when did you buy your car, and how many miles on it now? 2k GXE 5spd is a $10-12,000 car. My own opinion that it is stupid to throw $5,000 needlessly on a $10,000 car. If you have extra $, then rather buy a better car outright. Also, explain how would stock suspension fail on a 3-yr old car (considering its not FORD), what were the symptoms?

 

Whatever you do to your car, please have some class, and try to keep it "real". Avoid those cheap decals, graphics, fake scanners, HIDs, bulbs, fake spoilers, exhaust tips, etc they don't add much appeal and nothing to performance. Don't forget that you are driving a premium midsize sedan, not a pocket rocket.

 

Got an intake, FSTB, tintz (20%), 18 inch Arachnid rims.

Next up: Springs (gotta do the drop to bring out the look of the 18's lowpro)
After that is:
RSB and that will be all, I can no longer afford to boost as I had planned to due to recent financial problems like>NO MONEY.

The Modbug is real and he does find his way into your wallet with each added mod, I guess I'll just have to be satisfied with looking good and being slow.

 

Where can I get this?

 

RSB, Tint, that's it! Save your money for a down payment on your next car.

 

Performance...clearly.

 

Performance is the best way to go

 

http://www.invinca-shield.com/main.htm

 

in general i think the most part would spend most money on entertainment/audio/video cause maxima is already a descently fast car to begin with. suspension although not the best isnt the worst. Only thing we can complain about is not having dvd and t.v.'s which dont come wit car....plus unless u get a turbo, in most cases u may spend more money on audio/video than anything other type of upgrade

 

Go with a cattman Ypipe, custom 2.5" catback , testpipe,PR CAI, flywheel with ACT clutch, UD pulley and Technospeed ECU upgrade If U have more need for speed, a HKS GT3037S will force feed ya to the 500WHP club. Speed costs, how much do ya wanna spend, pick any two- cheap, reliable, fast. I would invest in a set of Brembo Brakes, and JIC Magic FLTA2s... now I don't wanna make it sound... get my car. **** I got 70K miles on my 01 5spd GXE and still aint got any tint, but I got the AE front spoiler, headlights, tail lights, CF hood, 3" slam front and 2" rear on 17x8.5" Enkei RPO1s 245-45-17 Falken Azenis Sport. Not only does the car turn more heads than a M5 seriously but with a GT3037S M5 gets smoked like there aint noo tomorrow. All for less than 35 gees including the car.

 

1. Tint
2. Intake and Exhaust
3. Rims and tires (I perfered Racing Hart Type CR Muti 18's because I have that rims and I love it. hehehe)
4.Springs & Shocks.
5.Sub, Amp, Speakers, and headunit.

 

what necessary mods should i have not to blow my engine and auto tranny in order to put supercharger?
i guess first on the list is going to be tranny cooler and Vb...