I'm leaning toward buying 02 maxima SE. I like the white with the "tinted" tails. I don't like the "tin foil" surrounds that some have. Why do some have it and others not???

I'll probably do a y-pipe/intake and wheel/tire change. I figure that will give mer about 275 hp with 6.2 - 6.3 0 - 60 and about 14.5 1/4 mile. And about 25-26 mpg on highway. Does that sound about right???


Thanks

 

I don't think y pipes do as much on a 3.5 as a 3.0. You would need to install headers to eliminate the precats.
I wonder if 3.0L exhaust manifolds and y pipe would fit as a cheaper alternative to headers.
00 and 01 SEs have the black taillamp trim. Looks great on darker cars.

 

don't race it and it will last you a long time....

 

When are you buying your car?

 

all 5.5 gens have the same tails. are you sure you are not comparing 5th gen tails to 5.5 gen tails?

 

5th Gen 20TH anni tails are a popular choice on 02-03 ( 5.5th Gen) to eleminate the chrome, that's how mine are. Spoke to Brian of Cattman the other day and he says unlike the 4th Gen gains with a y-pipe the gains are to be had in a 5th Gen froma Catback exhaust as there's more resistriction cat back ( coupled with a CAI) in 5th gen's versus precat with the 4th Gen. More power to be had after that is with headers that include a y-pipe, but y-pipe alone gains are not like in the 4th Gen. I have a cat back with an Injen ( also UDP) and the power increase is remarkable.

 

Hey, whats the difference between the 20th ann. tails and the regular SE black tails?

 

Thanks for the feedback!

I'm looking locally and online.

I guess the 5.5 Gen is diffenent from my old '96.

Replacing headers and catback sounds like alot of increased noise - I don't mind a little more for performance tradeoff, but don't want highway drone - would I get this? I'm guessing a popcharger would be same gains as 4th gen (+5-7hp)

Where do you get these AE tails? (I definitely want pearl with dark tails).

 

also, i think that headers will eliminate smog passing abilities. i put a y-pipe on my car and noticed a difference. im not sure if youre speaking auto, but i ran my auto with a y-pipe, intake and timing advance and managed a 14.34, so 14.5 is very doable.

 

You still retain the stock main cat.

in some ways yes, in some no. Spend a lot of time reading and get acquainted with the 5g forums. I was like you a year and a half ago, takes some getting used to but once you've done your research, you wont have to even post..


As far as the increased noise w/headers.. As far as exhaust mods, I have headers only on mine and it sounds verrry quiet, can't even tell if there's a difference, but the power increase is immediate and extremely noticeable.

 

but not the precats, which here in CA would probly fail you, not sure bout anywhere else. in fact, you might not even get to the sniffer, you may fail at the visual.

 

Actually, nothing. They are both the same. The smoked tails were only offered on the 2k-2k1 SE models, including the 20th AE.

 

You just have to find the right shop and make sure the car is warm (which it will be from the drive). Your main cat will get the job done.

When I got my car checked in Cali they did no visual inspection, except maybe under the hood where they wouldn't notice anything anyway.

 

Don't worry about the tails. All the 02/03 cars have the silver tails. The smoked ones are from 00/01 SE cars. They are a direct swap between the two cars. Just find someone who wants the silver ones and swap with them. It's easy to do, nothing complicated at all about the swap.

You'll probably find someone here who wants to swap. I mentioned it here a few months ago and someone with a white 5th gen SE wanted the silver tails. We swapped them out with no problems.

 

Yes, it's pretty much plug and play except one thing. You need to leave the harness on the orginal tails and then swap. I will swap tails, lemme know.

 

under the hood, you mean where the headers are?

 

I mean where pretty much all you see are wiring harnesses for the O2's and unless you are pretty familier with maximas you would never even notice the person had aftermarket headers.

From underneath the car aftermarket exhaust components become much more apparent.