I have had the fortune/misfortune to come across many different vehicles, including: 1997 Buick Le Sabre Limited, 2001 Nissan Maxima SE, 2005 Toyota Camry LE, 1998 Chevrolet Camaro V6 5-speed, 2004 Ford Mustang LX, 2007 Chevy HHR LS, 2007 Chrysler PT Cruiser Limited, 2007 Hyundai Sonata SE V6, 2001 BMW 330i (5spd) and then onto what I own now. I currently own a 1999 Nissan Maxima SE-Limited, along with it in my immediate family are the 2008 Honda Accord LX and the 2002 Mitsubishi Diamante LS.
I purchased my Maxima in April of 2009 with around 155,000k miles. I purchased the car with many modifications were already done including the Warpspeed Y-Pipe with a High Flow Catylic Converter, Random Tech Underdrive Pulley, 2003 G35 Coupe 17" Staggered Rims, trunk badges removed, Dropzone springs, RTP Crossdrilled & Slotted rotors, PBR Metal Master pads.
I was up in college (@ KSU) playing football when during spring football I incurred a serious knee injury which prevented me from being able to drive a manual for while.
In June, I flew home and finally saw it...
I purchased the car with:
Manual 5 Speed
Auto Climate Control
No ABS
No stereo and speakers
Ceased AC Compressor
The aforementioned mods
All for $2600 + Kansas Tax/Registration = $2940.77
First thing is first a good washing and waxing, I used the pictured products, some no name (Blue Coral?) car wash soap, Meguiar's Cleaner Wax and Black Magic Tire Shine.
After a wash it was to the shop... (this was before I got adventurous with the tools in my garage), to my surprise there was more wrong with the car than I thought, there was a leak in the Power Steering Pump (again before I really learned about this car, it was probably a bad seal which could have been a $5 fix instead of $350), along with three oil leaks which were leaking a good amount.... Anyways left the shop poorer but safer (With the pump leaking, it leaked directly onto the rubber axle seals which are rubber, and rubber+oil = fail). Then returning home I installed the stereo. The rear deck has 6.5 Infinity References, the front panel has Clarion 6.5s all connected to a Pioneer DEH-P6800.
then onto it's first photoshoot with my friend's fancy DSLR camera and his 1995 Saab 9000 Aero.
The duct tape was on there because there is a little white grommet ( part 26110J) that belongs behind the bumper lights missing, for a little less than $3 I got that taken care of along with ordering black bumper lights.... which had a slight flaw in them... the screw out of my oem bumper lights did not fit the ebay black ones... oh well... 30 mins w/ a drill solved that then...
So that was my official first visual mod to my car.
After driving it back and forth to Kansas, I came back home for the Fourth of July and of course more photos.... Red, White & Blue Photoshoot.
Before leaving town again I had a very interesting turn of events....
I installed my new Kenwood DPX-503
The next night the hose leading to the slave cylinder decided to leak, and my car was dead on it's feet, so while attempting to fix it, during the day while I was out collecting parts...
Someone decided to back into my car and not leave any info. Enough of that, I don't like talking about it.
In September Import Faceoff made it's way to Kansas City Missouri, which is around 1 hour and 30 minutes (of my driving) from Manhattan, KS, it was there where I had the opportunity to partake in my first real "Drag Race". No pics of the slips but the best out of 4 runs that day was:
'60 foot time: 2.490
1/8 Mile ET: 10.032
1/8 Mile MPH: 71.89
1/4 Mile ET: 15.416
1/4 Mile MPH: 92.41
Density Altitude: 1810
Track Name: KCIR
Anyways still up in Kansas I decided to clean my maf to help fix the stuttering while accelerating @ low rpm problem, but while taking it apart, I failed and broke my MAF-> Cone Filter piece, after some duct tape and eBay shopping, I came across a used Bomz Short Ram Air intake for $20.
It sounds much better than my previous generic K&N cone because of it's a JWT Pop Filter knockoff, I doubt I'll gain any HP w/ that sound but hey, atleast it makes me think I'm faster, and that's what counts right?
Around November, 4 months after purchasing those GOD AWFUL Goodyear Eagle LS-2s (Just look @ my '60 foot from KCIR, those tires weren't hookin up to save my life), the Eagle's just about had it (w/ 5000 miles on em, not Goodyear's fault, mine) w/ 2-3/10s remaining I purchased some used Bridgestone RE960 Pole Positions. Immediately after leaving the shop the belt broke on my passenger side tire, to my luck the tire did have a sidewall gaurantee so I returned it, only to learn that they only had a Bridgestone S-02 in stock, so I took it and went on my merry way. After driving on these for awhile I've gotten the feel for em, the RE960 is better in rain over all, but the S-02 grips so well when it's dry outside that I will always get summer tires from now on (I plan on purchasing Michelin Pilot Sport PS2's later this month).
So in early November it was time for an oil change, I decided to go w/ Amsoil XL Synthetic w/ a Wix filter. I went to 10w-30 because of the oil leaks, and whaddya know? Less oil is leaking, but as for the oil, so far so good, I still maintained my mpg, since I got it part of a group deal (cheaper than going to the website) I see no drawbacks and I will continue to use Amsoil.
During thanksgiving break I decided to do Digital's Cefiro Clone mod but with the 95/96 Headlights (they came w/ the car) and 95/96 corners. This is the link to the thread on maxima.org.
Then I (Well not me, my friend Andrew w/ the Saab) snapped some more photos of the car.
And well after all of that, here you are now, the beginning of my blog.
Welcome, and I hope to provide you with as much useful information as possible, I plan on making how-to's and reviews and try to entertain you with videos and other media as well.
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