Hey! My ride is a 1999 Nissan Maxima ES. The ES model was only available in Canada in 99. It is pretty much a base version of the SE trim level (the sporty one). I just bought it in October 2004 and I love it! Its a great trim level cause it has Traction Control, Limited Slip Differential, heated seats (all great during winter!), 16 inch rims, and foglights. No spoiler though, and I wish I had a sunroof.
UPDATES:
Sold the Maxima :(
Loved my car...but here's my new ride!
August 24/2006: Well I moved "south" to Barrie, Ontario! It's about an hour north of Toronto. Going to college here and of course I brought the Maxima with me...here's a pic of the move...drove about 1400 km (close to 1000 miles). Fun trip!
April 25/2006: Recent Pic along Highway 61 along the north shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota near the Canadian border.
March 17/2005: Had a day off so I washed the Max and took some pics...my latest change is black/chrome bumper lights from Ebay. I like them a lot more than the DC clears I had on before. I think it ties in with my white/black theme a lot better and provides some nice contrast. I'm trying to decide how I should lower it and hopefully I'll get it done soon!
December 15/2005: We were under a winter storm warning so I took my Mom's Subaru to work and when I was coming home in the morning I got stuck in about 12 inches of snow that had fallen throughout the night :( I had to take some pictures...good thing I didn't take the Maxima! She's still dry and safe in the garage since more snow is forcasted!
Snow drifted over the front half of my Dad's Accord
December 11/2005: Got her washed and took some "clean" pictures because she won't look like this for long! In fact she was already dirty after the drive home from the car wash! Winter sucks!
December 10/2005: No new mods planned until Spring! Here are a couple pics of the snow we have and how dirty my car looks :(
October 27/2005: We had another Maxima meet in MN. Only 4 people could make it but it was still fun...who can pass up a chance to eat at Famous Daves?! These pics were taken in the parkade at Mall of America.
October 2/2005: Took a few more fall pictures today!
September 27/2005: I had a few days off so I decided to give the Max a good detail before winter comes. I washed it first with dishsoap to get rid of the old wax, then I clayed, and washed again with Armorall car wash. Once I finished that I gave her a wax with some Mother's Carnauba Wax. I did the rims with some Meguire's product as well as the tires. Of course they get dirty right away cause I live on a dirt road but they still look better than before. I took some pics after so here they are:
My wheels before/after. Its so hard to get into all the grooves...the rims look not bad here but they still need more work to look like new.
Crappy pics, but you can tell how shiny the Icelandic Pearl paint looks! You can also tell how bad I need a drop! Hopefully next summer. If I ever get to the point where I can get some new rims, my first pick would be the HP Evo's.
Shiny!
Drove up my road for some more scenic shots...
And a few more night shots I took a couple weeks ago...
August 21/2005: Went to a Maxima meet in Minnesota. We met in the IKEA parking lot just across from the Mall of America in Bloomington. It was cool to meet up with other Maxima enthusiasts and check out their cars cause they're all REALLY nice! Hopefully we can have another meet fairly soon...
Us 4th genners!
The whole group. There are more who couldn't make it but we had a pretty good turnout for something that was planned pretty quickly. It was fun cruising down the highway to the restaurant with a bunch of other Maximas!
August 16/2005: Woot! I got my Borla muffler and tip installed today along with my 100,000 km. servicing. It isn't too loud but I notice a slight drone at highway speed and a little bit louder drone during city driving. At idle it gives a nice deep rumble. I definitely recommend this muffler...it makes the VQ engine sound deeper and more aggressive. A few hundred bucks later the car looks like this:
A couple pics of how I had the muffler installed to fit with my stock bpipe and how the tip was put on:
August 11/2005: I hit 100,000 km. on the way home from work! I'd like to change my gauge/interior lights to LED's at some point but I don't think I could figure it out!
August 10/2005: Washed the Maxima today then went out for a quick drive up the road. I'm almost at 100,000 km/60,000 miles!
I've bought my first performance mod! A Borla Pro XS Muffler! I'm getting a Borla tip as well and when that comes in I'll get it all installed! I'm pretty excited to hear what the car sounds like afterwards...
June 9/2005: Well, today my Diamond Clear Bumper Lights came in from Custom Maxima. I've been wanting these for a long time so right away I stuck em on the car, then gave it a good wash so I could take some updated pics...here they are!
Here's a pic of my summer tires. They are Michelin Hydroedges. Great Tires! 140,000 km. tread life, and deep sypes that help expel water and really help with minimizing hydroplaning. They have great traction and make the car even more fun to drive...fast! But without breaking any laws... :)
June 1/2005: I had the day off and I wanted to do something productive so I decided to buy some supplies and give my exterior a good detail! I washed it with Armorall Car Wash, dried with microfibre towels, clayed, then waxed with my Mother's kit. I was outside for about 5 hours and was bit by mosquitos several times but no sign of the west nile virus so I guess all is good! It turned out amazing!!! If you have never used a clay bar, GET ONE! It took out all the impurities (bugs, tar, some surface rust, etc.) and made the paint incredibly smooth. Here are the results:
If you have any ideas/suggestions please let me know. Shout out to everybody on the Maxima.org forums! (I'm Northern Maxima) I really appreciate somebody taking the time to let me know their opinion...just keep it friendly!
Here's a shot when I first bought her...
Page 1: Intro, Current Pics
Page 2: Winter Pics (dirty, then clean!)
Page 3: DTM Mod & AE Headlight Mod
Page 4: My old Sage Mist Maxima
