CONTENTS:
PAGE 1: MODIFICATION LIST
PAGE 2: HERE IS A FEW PICTURES
PAGE 3: MOD HISTORY AND SUMMARY 2004
PAGE 4: MOD HISTORY AND SUMMARY 2005
PAGE 5: MOD HISTORY AND SUMMARY 2006

JUNE------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------CAR, INTAKE, TUNE-UP

3600 dollars for a 95 Nissan Maxima GXE with 125,000 miles on it. It was a first hand car, and the seller took me to the dealership and pulled out the service and maintenance logs. Turned out that he did everything according to the service recommendations manual. Well, the car is a fine beast. It is a smooth ride in all aspects, and pretty powerful already. I could not notice but one thing that is bad about it. It drives like a boat on the corners. The whole car body swings too much during all turns, whether turning slow or fast.

The car accelerates fine, but seems to be a little short of breath to some extent. First thing I bought is the Place Racing Cold Air Intake. The installation was not all that easy, and for a first mod, I had to drill a 3" hole on the inner side of the fender already. It is already a challenge in that nature. Turns out my acceleration off the stop is very much improved. Turns out that I get a more torquier ride, and it sounds really mean and peircing on Wide Open Throttle. But I can definitely feel a little loss on the high ends right around my redline on the rpms. Overall, it is not a bad modification at all. Installing this intake requires that I remove the factory intake assembly and convert hoses and clamps to the ones from the kit. It took me about 2 hours for the whole job because I did not have the right drill to use. I end up using an electric jigsaw to make that 3 inch opening for the intake. The filter is a mushroom type and it looks like I may get a little water into the intake if I am not careful about guarding the intake filter off the water splashing zones.

At the same time, I could not help but wanting to give this little baby a little tune up. I changed the NGK Platinum V-power spark plugs, cleaned and flushed the whole intake assembly with seafoam and STP's throttle cleaner spray. The results are wonderful and have ensured myself a reliable powerhouse.

JULY----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------BRAKES

After a month of my abusive driving, the braking system is the first to hint me of possible replacement needs. Well, I did not want to go with autozone brakes, so I set out for the PowerSlot Cross Drilled Rotors, Hawk's brake pads, and rebuilt all my brake calipers, in the mean time, I painted the calipers to match them with my car. Well, the result was pretty nice. Braking is improved and quiet now. Few days later, I also noticed that brake dust has significantly decreased. Compared to the previous brake setup, this is way better.

AUGUST------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------EXHAUST (1)

After much debate and research, I finally decided to go further to modify my exhaust setup. There are too much strong arguments that Maxima�s Y-pipes are very exhaust restrictive. So I bought the cheap but quality based Budget Y-pipe. They also gave me a test pipe (open-cat) as a gift. The install wasn�t hard at all, however, my old cat-converter got fused with the factory Y-pipe, so I ended up replacing the whole piece with Budget�s Y-pipe and test pipe. Well, the results have met all promising obligations said by the maxima.org�s members. It really �bangs?hard. This mod gives me a more torquier feel thaN the cold air intake had done. I am amazed at the results. My mid range power is greatly increased and it spins my wheels off the stop all the time. This is a great mod for the bucks. At this point, I cannot go without a sounding muffler to notify everyone else that this maxima is modded. So I ventured off to find from eBay this Megan Racing Catback Exhaust system. This is the cheapest catback exhaust I find for the maxima�s. The install is very straight forward. I didn�t sweat much at all except getting a little dirty under the car. The result is very displeasing. The power output isn�t felt to have improved, but the loudness coming out of that muffler is just unbearable. I cannot hear my music in the car until I turn the volume to about 80% high. This is the worse deal I get for being cheap and sneaky. Well, I spent some money on this, so I didn�t want to pull it off the car and waste it. Also, this muffler, when let off the gas, buzzed pretty loud, too. Overall, this is a very bad decision I have made in my modding path.

SEPTEMBER------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------POWER SUPPLY

Simply, my alternator died on me finally. I think it�s been too long, and the life of the stock alternator is up. I found that the stock alternator is recharging at 110 amps of current while autozone�s alternators are remanufactured to recharge at 125 amps of current. It's the Duralast Gold-Spec Alternator, and I did not hesitate to consider this upgrade since my stock alternator failed. The installation is a bitch. I couldn�t reach the long screw from under the headers and it�s really a small space to work with. After a whole day�s work, I finally got it running. Hearing the car cranking back up to life, I couldn�t be happier. With the notion of alternator failure, I want to ensure my electrical power delivery to be excellent. So I got Blehmco�s Ground Wire set from a maxima.org group deal. It�s a very cheap mod and improved shifting responses. Also I added a free Optima Yellow Top Battery from a good friend of mine. The results didn�t make much of a driving difference, but it�s a placebo that makes me think it did.

OCTOBER--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------SUSPENSION

What more can I say about my stock suspension? I have already mentioned, �it corners like a boat.? That should signature the problem solely on the stock suspension. I did a little research, and I found some nice 2 Inch Drop Maxspeed Springs and chanced to put together a set of Tokico�s Blue Shocks/Struts from the maxima.org members. The install was a pain in the ass since I didn�t have all the tools and had to borrow from autozone(their spring compressor sucked). But the results are phenomenal. Turning is much improved and handling is finely tuned to a very nice extent. I also noticed the drop of 2 inches to give my car a very aggressive look. The only downside to this modification is the alignment problems. To correct this problem, I also purchased the Eibach�s Alignment Camber Kit. So it�s fine after all.

NOVEMBER----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------CLUTCH SETUP (1)

After 5 months of abusive racing and aggressive launching, my clutch finally gave up. It was during one street race against my brother�s same year automatic maxima that I launched the race at 6k rpms. The wheel spins for so long right off the line and the tachometer needle wouldn�t come off after a while. The outcome is a very slipped clutch with a plume of metallic burning fume inside my nostrils. The air is just densified with the toasted clutch. So I end up needing a replacement. Well, it shouldn�t surprise too many people because everyone who�s doing a new clutch would also go with a new flywheel. Though expensive, I decided to do them all. I went with a Spec Stage 2 Kevlar Clutch and a Stillen's 5lb Aluminum Flywheel. Initially, I was having the Fidanza's 12lb Aluminum Flywheel put on, but there seems to be a huge mistake in the fitment issue. I later found out that 95 maxima's have early generation and late generation clutch setup's. So Stillen is the only company who can make flywheels to fit the early gen 95 maxima's. I didn�t have enough jacks and tools to take off the transmission case, so I had to take it to my friend�s shop. The job was a painstaking day, but the wait was worth it. Right after the installation, I couldn�t wait the break-in period and I just simply "let her rip!" The drive is wonderful and it shifts better than stock. The �stomp!?isn�t much a problem with this clutch setup, as I have heard from many who mentioned about it. Also, I�m beginning to think it�s the lightened flywheel, but the acceleration seems to be more consistent, quicker, and smoother than before. Also, the throttle to engine response is greatly improved,too. It felt like the engine is just waiting for my foot on the gas to throttle it. In a way, I felt like the engine is spinning with a little less weight, thus the responsiveness. After all, this setup isn�t a bit bad at all.

DECEMBER----------------------------------------CHASSIS STRENGTHENING, WHEELS, INTERIOR LIGHTS

Well, this month seems to be a no activity month to my modding venture. It�s getting close to Christmas and I am financially disabled to do too much. But I still followed a group deal from the org to get some Paradox Strut Tower Bars for the front and the rear. The results are pretty pleasing. Cutting corners isn�t a problem at all. The body chassis is as hard as it can get. Also, the tire treads are running low, besides, I need some wheels to go with my new suspensions; so I got me some 17 Inch Nex-OPT6 Wheels w/Low Profile Tires. These tires grip pretty hard and thus performed at the corners very well. At the same time, I was learning much about electronics in LSU, so I decided to put a little of what I learned into play. I installed 8 Point Blue LED�s in my interior and a Blue Indiglow Cluster Gauge. Installations for the above mods are all plug and play. No difficulties are sought.
Turns out by Chrismas, I have a very nice looking sleeper ride...

CONTENTS:
PAGE 1: MODIFICATION LIST
PAGE 2: HERE IS A FEW PICTURES
PAGE 3: MOD HISTORY AND SUMMARY 2004
PAGE 4: MOD HISTORY AND SUMMARY 2005
PAGE 5: MOD HISTORY AND SUMMARY 2006