Considering the age of our cars, most of us here have owned are car for at least a decent amount to along time now. Additionally most of us have weither alot or little have done some significant modifications to our 5th gens. Say you had a chance to do it all over again, what would you do differently? what would you do the same? or do you not regret anything you have done to your 5th gen?


I will start off by saying I would probably try to go the TIEN SS route. Though the new price for them is very scary, by everyone reviews here it seems worth every penny especially if you hold on to your car awhile. And i know some who got them used for a steal. On a side note I am dying to get a ride in a 5th gen with those.
Everything else I have done to my max so far I am very happy with. I really thought hard about every mod I have done, wether it was debating the money or how longlasting the mod will be. Plus in my case Daily Driving I had to really look at things closely. Thanks to the org I was able to do all this research and contemplating.

 

i would have opted for the hlsd..oh wait................

 

Prolly got my coilovers brand new (D2 or otherwise).

 

Well, this one is easy for me.....

I would have bought one with a 6 spd transmission.

 

Prophecy love the ride man!

1. I would of loved to have HLSD
2. I would of loved leather and sunroof
3. I would of gotten the lesser front valance from Stillen - meaning not the aggressive one I have on (the one you have prophecy)
4. If I could of afford the TEIN SS I would of went that route but love the way the blues ride.
Everything else I thought hard about. I like the finish product and workmanship put into the ride
5. I can think of anything else right now - im content
6. Also +1 to the org for all the vital information we have immediate access to, its made decision making ALOT easier based on all the feedback and reviews

 

This is easy. Although I have no regrets that cause me to want to get rid of my car, I do have clarity of hindsight on some basic things.The most significant regret:And lastly, this small regret:

 

I would've looked for a HLSD model.
Bought Hotshot headers when they were around and almost right after purchase to rid of the precats.
Instantly gone for Tein SS rather than bothering with Eibachs (F them.) and Illuminas.
Never done DDEs cause that was a waste of time.

 

i wouldve went the turbo route first...i can piece together a nice kit for about 2500....my cattman 3",BC cams and TS ECU cost me 2400... That not including everything else.

 

Differently?

Either a car from the South, sheltered from the rust belt...

...or a G35 6MT Sedan/330i ZHP.

 

would have done nothing differently

 

Its only been a short time since I found my "ideal" (03 TE Polished, 6MT, HLSD, ME etc..) maxima and modded it the way I like (with the exception of Clutch/Flywheel, Light 17s) My only regret is not going for the Tein SS coilovers. I might down this down the road but changing it now would just be stupid.

I justified it with cost vs gain and now I have come to believe that the cost is actually worth it regarding this upgrade.

I few more little tweaks and it will just about be perfect. Just did ES Shifter bushings tonight and its awesome. Talk about bang for buck, every single person on here with a manual should do this.

Overall very happy just striving for better results.

 

I would have kept looking for a 6 speed car.

 

My only regret was not spending an extra $2-3 thousand on a loaded Maxima. Since I was buying used the payment difference would've have only been $50 a month at most. I love the 6-speed still, but I SOOOO wish I'd have found a car with leather and HLSD. Actually, the LSD is even more important to me now than the leather. Honestly though after 4-1/2 years I like the car more everyday. That has a lot to do with only having 3 more payments though too. The car has been bulletproof reliable. In the 50k miles I've driven it, I had a power window motor and high pressure ps hose break. The pw motor was replaced under warranty and I replaced the ps hose for about $100. Not bad at all I'd say.

I LOVE Maximas! Between my wife and I we have now owned 3. Incredible reliability has been the norm. My wife's, a '91, has in the 5 years she's owned it only needed a water pump replaced and normal maintenance. To think she was going to buy a $25k car 5 years ago as she was worried about repairs on the old '91 I found her for $2,500 that only had 55k miles on it. When I think of how much money she's saved during the last 5 years by having no car payment and putting out next to nothing for repairs it amazes me. Let's just say she's well over $20k richer for it.

 

I knew there was a reason i didnt do the DDEs,

+1

Hm Intersting, was it just the condition of the certain ones you got used? or in general being used sucked? I know someone here who got Tiens used and seems really happy with em.

 

1. HLSD for sure!
2. Heated Seats and Mirrors. Urgh.
3. NO Bose stereo.
4. In lieu of MY Suspension mods -- Tein Coilovers as well.
5. CLear Bra from the day I drove it off the lot!
6. 18" Wheels w/ 30+mm Offset

What I'm glad I have NOT done:
1. CAI.
2. ANY engine mods.
3. Kept my Progress Springs & Illumina Shocks

Best mods, to Date for me:
1. HID Fogs wired always-on (switched)
2. H&R Springs up front / OEM out back
3. 6th Gen BBK
4. FSTB & RSB.

Overall this has been a great car!

EPIC FAILURE: The Braking system.
Undersized, dated components (single piston calipers, REALLY?!) and worthless rear brakes with dated external e-brake design.
Good thing replacing these things is relatively cheap, and easy to do by myself.

Truly the ACHILLES HEAL of this generation maxima.

gr

 

If i could i would probably have got into the org way earlier to learn everything what i know now and then purchase my car instead of the other way around....i have owned my car for a few months and while i love it im probably going to sell it within the next month because it doesnt have everything that i would want if i purchased another today...so in other words i had to own a maxima first to know now exactly what i want from a maxima [as weird as that sounds]

6 speed IS A MUST
Leather
Bose
Digital climate control [not necessary but a nice option to have]
Wasn't so adamant about the HLSD but seeing all the members who actually own 6 speeds and still want this option makes me feel like its worth the time/effort to find one

As for mods only thing i can say my next car is deff getting is coilovers...the progress/kyb setup i have isnt bad but not as low as i want and i wont risk going lower on a spring/strut combo....everything else on my current car im pretty much going to take off to use on my new one

 

i would have bought a diesel truck instead

B

 

i would have found a AE 5 speed pretty much

 

I bought ones that were very very used. Ended up rebuilding one and replacing both rears. It's really hit or miss, buying used coilovers. IMO get them brand new in the box then at least they're easier to adjust and you know what to expect.

 

I guess I'm lucky then

 

Nice AE

 

all AE owners are ricers

/hate lol

 

I would have skipped the Illuminas and gotten coilovers.

 

I got that covered

I wish I never tried to modify a set of 5.5 lights to fit my 01. Waste of time, but I came out on top and finally completed my AE retro. Happy as can be!

 

some reason i dont like retrofit in 5th gen headlights...and if i did the 5.5 gen headlight..i'd have to do the front end replacement, but i dont see teh reason for that...i like how my front looks...its just begging for a stillen front lip

 

Wish I would have skipped the Fidenza flywheel, eibach springs (h&r are more my speed), & rear sway bar.

Also, maybe haggled more on the price? Other than that, no regrets (other than that the G35 came out just a bit later)

 

Would have kept looking for a 6MT. But, I'm happy with my max and mods and potential for more. She's fun.

 

Only regret is not doing the headlight retrofit that i really wanted and went the cheap route

 

Two regrets: Not saving a bit more for coilovers and wetsanding the headlights.

 

+1 by the time we get illuminas & springs its more than half way to tiens
what happened with your lights? had a bad time with the wetsanding? fubar?

 

Reading through all these, it sure does seem the most common regret is not purchasing coilovers. That's interesting.

 

I would have held out for a fully loaded 6 speed instead of buying a base model. I went from a fully loaded 2000 GLE to a bare bones 02 SE. I miss my heated leather seats and such.
My biggest regret was deciding to pick more of a project car with the 2002 and picking one up cheap that needed body work and from the Northeast. The amount of underbody rust and all the rusty nuts and bolts have made it a pain to work on the car at times.
Other than that I have everything I want on the car as far as coilovers, rims, and turbo.

 

I would have:

1. Done coilovers instead of the H-Techs and Illuminas
2. Done the 6thGen BBK earlier. Made a world of difference.
3. Spent more $$ on the audio. I really need a better 4 channel amp.


Best mods for me
1. 6th Gen BBK
2. Exhaust
3. Rewired Fogs