My Maxima
I have a automatic Super Black 96 Maxima SE. It came with all leather interior, power sunroof, power door locks, power windows, factory alam system, and a pretty good Bose stereo system. I got the power bug and started to modify with a set of SSR Integral 17x8 wheels (38 mm offset), Yokohama AVS Intermediate 235/40ZR17 tires. Then I added on a set of 1 3/4" lowering springs from Intrax for that really low stance that I could only get from chopping the factory springs. I also added 5% limo tint all around which helps in driving in bright sunlight and those pesky drivers that like to bright you at night. The bug also led me to poke and pry in the engine compartment, which was soon upgraded with a Stillen strut tower brace, and a K&N airfilter. Then came time to do the exhaust, I opted for the Greddy cat-back exhaust over the Stillen muffler due to the smoother flow path into the muffler. Now that all this was complete, I was fairly satisfied with the growl now coming from the exhaust and the tighter handling due to the stiffer springs and strut tower bar. But, disaster came upon me on March 1 when I was coming home from college and was in the third fast lane doing 45 mph, when a guy in a brand new red Ranger in the opposite turning lane decided to make a turn without any indication that he had the right to do so inbetween a gap in traffic. I saw that he was unsure about his decision and tried to swerve out of his way into a traffic lane next to me, but I still got hit.
The impact was very slight, but I saw the Ranger smack my front left quarter panel and proceed to slide down the drivers side of the car. With the Ranger now behind me, the Maxima proceeded to limp and I knew right away that the wheel was cracked, so I moved into the middle of the lane and waited for police.
After getting my Maxima put back in running order and straightened out I decided to keep modifying it. I decided to try out a Random Technolgy for a 3" catalytic converter (read in Modifications section for more details), a Cattman Performance Y-pipe, some Courtesy Nissan polyurethane front end-link bushings, and a Stillen Rear Sway Bar. The exterior has received minimal upgrades with a set of Courtesy Nissan clear cornering lights to make it more unique from the rest of the Maximas on the road. I tried doing the "one wiper" conversion and took some pictures of it but I really didn't like the look so now they are back to normal.
Misfortune would have to rear its ugly head again to put my car in the shop for a second time. After leaving a local Maxima meet in the Atlanta area, I headed back to my house. I get no more than 600 feet from the parking lot and I'm hit directly in the passangers front wheel by a minivan running through a red light coming off the ramp. The driver said that he could not see whether the light was green or red due to the sun being in his eyes. He and his minivan full of family members coming home from church were unhurt by the ordeal and were a bit suprised to see me in such a pleaant mood. This was not my first time getting my car repaired so I was a bit more calm about being in this sort of situation again. I was by no means happy that this happened but glad that nobody was hurt.
December 1999-
I feel like my car is going for a record as I have had a run-in with a local deer in my neighborhood. Early in the morning I was going to take Bart to a local repair shop to get his Saleen S351 repaired after some kids on a 4-wheeler ran into his drivers side door while attending the races at Road Atlanta. My brother exited our driveway in his Saleen and I followed in my Maxima. We were not even 300 feet away from our driveway when a deer running in the darkness to the left of us decided that he wanted to jump in between our cars. Needless to say that I didn't see him until he was ontop of my hood. All of the deers legs buckeled as it went up on my hood. I got out and looked at the deer which was still alive but in shock as it limped into the grass. Knowing that it would be better left alone to regain it's wits and be on its way I turned my attention to my car. My hood was slighly bowed and dented, drivers side headlight smashed, broken left clear cornering light, and cracked my front grill and bumper. On top of all of that- NO INSURANCE! Geesh, these deer nowdays.
March 30, 2000-
I have recently sent my automatic transmission valve body off to get it modified by Don Cooper in TX. This is a welcomed modification as the age is starting to show on my 80,000 mile Maxima. After I got the valve body back and reinstalled, my Maxima feels like a totally different car. Gone are the sluggish shifts that once plagued my Maxima. During the first few days of driving my Maxima with the modified valve body the 1-2 shift is harder than I have ever felt it and 2-3 is noticeably quicker than before. The 1-2 shift is similar to disconnecting that gray switch in the engine compartment that controls the line pressure to the AT (those that have disconnected it know what I'm talking about). Now after about a week of driving the shifts have broken in more and are now quick and crisp but not harsh or hard. As you can tell from the movies that I have made, manual shifting now results in near instant shifts while letting the automatic shift on its own can sometimes result in chirping 2nd gear. See what a difference this has made in my shifting on my Multimedia Page. This is definitely a must-have for owners with automatic transmissions in my opinion.
June 12 2000-
I dropped my car off at a local performance shop to get the Vortech V1 supercharger kit, transmission cooler, and gauge pods installed. I got the Vortech kit with only 9,000 miles on the blower from an owner who was selling his 97 Maxima. The transmission cooler will be installed before installing the supercharger and custom cold air intake in the passenger side fenderwell. I have also ordered the Autometer 2 1/16" carbon fiber fuel pressure and boost gauges to go in my Summit Racing A-pillar dual guage pod. Finally, tuning will be done to the OBD-II (I don't know how they are going to do it- possibly through burning a custom chip for me).
June 15, 2000-
The supercharger is installed but my mechanics have run into some snags here and there. When trying to reposition the water pump to its new location they had problems getting the gasket to seal correctly. They also had to do some fabrication on the water pump to get the hoses to route properly but that wasn't that big a deal. The supercharger has been mounted and they have cranked the engine to check for leaks or loose connections anywhere in the system. After doing some more checking to make sure everything is in tip-top order before giving my Maxima back to me, they found the auxiliary fuel pump and the manifold switch that were supplied in the kit were not working. I feel that I will I have to postpone making a custom Cold Air Intake, and installing the boost and fuel pressure gauges for now.
June 21, 2000-
The auxillary fuel pump and wiring arrived to the shop last night and I hear that the supercharger is now fully functional and my Maxima is ready. I picked up my Maxima from the shop and all I have to say is WOOHOO! I can't believe this monster, it is one bad Maxima. I got the figures on how much power I was making. 255.5 hp and and 237.9 ft-lbs of torque! This was with the previous mods and the addition of a transmission cooler. Upon inital startup supercharger whine is pretty noticable from the outside of the car but doesn't seem that noticable from the interior. The sound of the exhaust has changed when I am into boost by giving my exhuast a deeper more forceful tone otherwise the exhaust note has remained the same. If I stay in the boost during the 1-2 shift (letting the AT shift) I am met with hard wheelspin instead of chirping the shift. I am not about to manually shift this car when it is in boost just yet. If you decide to get into boost under WOT in first gear you have to watch out for the raising RPM's as they will come on in a hurry. Speeds come in a flash as boost really pulls hard in the mid to top end RPM's.
September 10, 2000-
I have been working on getting a custom made Cold Air Intake for my supercharger over the past couple of weeks and I finally have it installed. I used a section of 3.5" into 3" back to 3" rubber elbow tubing (thanks Steve D). I also picked up a K&N airfilter that has more filter at the end of the airfilter and a section of PVC tubing. I cut the hole in the passanger side fenderwll to a good size and trial fitted only to find out that the PVC tubing was a bit too short going to the supercharger. Later on that night I meet up with Rich who offered to help me install the CAI. After a trip to Home Depot and much cutting to the some more PVC pipes, we finally got the custom CAI up and running. We took my car for a test drive and everything seems to be running alright and the CAI does its job and things seem to be a bit smoother in power delivery. We go back to the garage to check things out before I go home and discover that the tubing going to the filter had come off. A quick wrenching solved this problem for good. Another sucessful modification! Thanks guys I couldn't have done it without you.
November 1, 2000-
I finally had time to get my brake system installed today at Atlanta Chassis Dyno here in Duluth. It was a Stillen kit consisting of cross-drilled rotors, Metal-matrix brake pads, stainless steel brake lines, Motul brake fluid and Speedbleeders on all 4 corners. Installation time took around 3 hours and I am impressed by the look of these brakes on the Maxima. Initial impressions are that the pedal feels kind of soft at the beginning of braking but as you push harder so does all the other newly upgraded components of the brake system. I have not really pushed them at all until I get some more miles on them to properly break them in. The cadium coating (bronze/gold finish) wore off on the first hit on the brakes and now the rotors are nice and shiny.
June 10, 2002-
I am sad to say that it has come time for my Maxima to turn back to a normal everyday driver. I have decided to take off the supercharger and sell it off so that my Maxima may once more become a more civilized everyday driver. The main reason why I'm selling my supercharger is to reduce the amount of my college loans. Not to worry though, my Maxima still has a lot more in store for it in the future.
July 2003-
I have just got done adding a set of Tokico Illumina 5-way adjustable shocks on all four corners. I decided to try to give my car more of a sport tuned feeling rather than the dead and tired stock shock feel. I set the knob to number 3 on all four corners and I you wouldn't believe the difference that it has made. My car feels more sporty and it has a lot less bound and rebound when going over bumps in the highway. There is no more feeling of a floaty ride, instead my car feels much more solid during cornering. The ride has become a little more harsh during everyday driving, but all in all I would say that it is bearable. If you have bad roads in your area I would suggest going with a lower setting so that the shocks will lessen the harshness that you feel through the road.
What are my future plans?
My future plans are to return my Maxima back to boosted form, but this time with a turbocharger! I plan on running anywhere from 9 - 12lbs of boost and improve the airflow to the engine further by getting a MEVI (Middle East Variable Intake) similar to the 5th Gen intake for my Maxima. My modified automatic transmission will be swapped out in favor of a 5-speed manual transmission equipped with a Quaife Active Torque Biasing Differential to hook up the power to the ground. Next, I will turn to making the car handle better by adding a front strut tower brace, rear sway bar, and a stage 2 sub-frame connector package from Warpspeed Performance.
I am going to go on a maintenance rampage and do a writeup on how to fix the following small problems that have developed over time: hunt for and fix the interior squeaks and rattles, sunroof repair kit, replace rear driver window regulator, replace knock sensor, replace front hood struts, and replace the stock and worn out horns. Yes, good things are in the future for my Maxima. I would have to say that 450hp is the bare minimum that I'm reaching for when all is said and done. More on this to come....
Want to see some pictures I have taken of my Maxima?