2002 Nissan Maxima SE – NICOclub Ride of the Month September 2006

2002 Nissan Maxima SE – Owned by : Matt (audtatious)

While I had always liked the looks of a Maxima, I was initially interested in the new 2002 Altima 3.5SE. This changed in December 2001 when I had the chance to rent a 2002 Maxima for a road trip. After 12 hours seat-time that day, I knew what I wanted as my next ride. On Valentines day, 2002, I picked it up. I’ve been relatively satisfied since.

Why relatively? Because this car begged for mods. I went from a “sporty”‘ 93 Probe GT 5-sp to a much more powerful 4-door sedan (automatic…don’t ask). What I lost in the trade was the handling I was used to. With only 5k on the odometer, I upgraded the suspension to Eibach Pro-Kit springs.This was followed shortly byan Addco RSB and a front strut tower brace.Handling was much improved over the factory setup. Now, if I can just do something about the tires….

At 42k miles, I had finally had enough abuse from the factory RE92’s.It was time for a change. I picked up a set of Sumitomo 235-40-18’s(since replaced with Yokohama’s) and went rim shopping. Unfortunately, no local shop had the exact rims I wanted so I settled for a set of Ruff 5-spoke 18×7.5″ rims. While I can’t say I have been 100% satisfied with them, they are adequate for the job. The improvement between the new rim/tire setup was like night and day.There was only one component missing to finish up the suspension as I was still running factory struts at the time.Tokico Illumina’s soon solved that problem.

During this time frame, other changes were being made to the Maxima to help improve performance.Injen was selected as the intake of choice and based off limited choices, a Warpspeed Y-pipe and B-pipe were installed.I also picked up a Underdrive pulley, but for some reason it is still a paperweight in my office. At this point, it is doubtful it will ever be installed.

Finally, while adequate at first, the Factory Bose system needed to go.I’ve been through quite a bit of stereo equipment thus far and am still upgrading as I go. At this point, I’m running JL XR separates up front and an Infinity 12″ sub in the back (Pictured to the left you will see a Diamond sub installed). I also had a JL 12w6v1 installed prior to thesurround ripping.From an amp standpoint, I am running a “tried and true” a/d/s PH15 (6x50w or 3x178w) to the front JL’s and a Alpine MRP-M450 MonoBlock to the sub. For signal processing, I have a AudioControl24xS crossover and a Precision Power PAR-225 pre-amp.I’m now on my third headunit, a Pioneer DEHP4800MP which replaced an old Eclipse ECD-413pictured to the left.While the enclosure is not the most asthetically pleasing, it was designed to be taken out relatively easy for racing.Since I doubt I will be racing much anymore, a more permanent setup will probably be installed.Future stereo plans include reinstallation of the JL 12w6v1 which NICO Moderator simmsled has since repaired.

After almost 5 years of ownership and 106k miles, I still love the Maxi. From a racing perspective, I have not raced with the upgrades, but was able to pull a best of 14.902 1/4-mile.Not bad considering I had worn crappy tires in a stock configuration.

12/2007 UPDATE:
Times change and so do cars. The Maxima is no different and since Sept ’06 there have been a few changes. From a wheel perspective, gone are the 5-spoke Ruff wheels and Yokohama tires.These have been replaced with Infiniti G35 7-spoke rims and Kumho ASX 245-40-18 tires.The lighting system has also been upgraded with new 6000kHID headlights and I have matched the foglights with a 6000k HID kit as well.From aninterior perspective, the stereo has gone through a few changes as well:

Current System:
-Pioneer DEHP4800MP
-Precision Power PAR-225
-MB Quart MusiComp Xovers
-JL Audio XR650CSI Components
-Alpine MRP-M450 MonoBlock
-Rockford Fosgate 200.2
-Kicker C10a
-Custom quasi-fiberglass enclosure