New to the import, or even car in general, world. Just bought my first car a 1999 Infiniti i30. So far I love it. High mileage but everything works and it drives great. Loving the gas mileage too. When I bought it, it had bald tires and those ugly 15" wheels. Picked up a set of 18" m35 wheels and goodyear 245/45s for around $200. Also ditched the front plate holder, popped out a dent in the rear bumper, and fixed a few little things on the inside. I plan on getting the chrome one piece headlights and a strut tower brace soon. Open to any other cheap mods that will improve on things. Only problem is I am having a hell of a time finding touch up paint for this white pearl tricoat crap. Again any help would be much appreciated.

here's a before and after.

Welcome to NICO. I have a 99 I30 and 99 Maxima SE 5-Speed (daughter's and son's) cars. How many miles does it have?

Nice wheel choice! I have a similar set of wheels on my Q45. The Maxima was upgraded to 18/245/45 wheels and tires from a 2007 Maxima. I'm sure it handles much better with the 18 inch wheels.

A front strut tower bar (around $30 on Ebay) gives a great bang for the buck. Note I had to remove a bracket (the one with an open bolt hole) on the driver side strut tower for the bar to be mounted properly.

Poly front sway bar bushings are also a low cost enhancement.

A rear anti-sway bar will also improve handling. I installed an ADDCO on the Maxima. There are instructions for ADDCO 655 installation on this site. The I30 has Tokico blue struts all around. The Maxima has KYG AGX adjustables on the rear as we plan to drive it in SCCA autoX events this fall.

If you are getting great gas mileage your O2 sensors are most likely ok. I've changed O2 sensors on 3 of my VQ30DE cars after I bought them (usually around 145,000 miles) that gives an immediate performance lift and better gas mileage.

We get 26 MPG on the Maxima during road trips.

Beware the front motor mount is electric. If it fails it can short out the ECU. Replacing the ECU on a 99 model with NATS can be expensive. I unplugged the electric power plug on the I30 to keep it from shorting out the ECU (again). You can unplug it then drive it to see if you notice a difference. If you aren't bothered by the difference, leave it unplugged.

Clean, test, and keep an eye on the IACV. It is easy to reach and service on our cars. I have been told a failing IACV can short out the ECU -- though I think that may be more prevalent on the 5th generation.

Always keep the fuel filter and transmission fluid changed.

There is a known issue with the timing chain tensioner that surfaced on my I30 at 255,000 miles. It sounded like a lifter noise when the engine was cold. The good news is it can be replaced through the access door without having to remove the timing chain cover. I think it cost me around $300 to get it replaced.

In my opinion, the DSC4 (4th gen I30 and Maxima) with the VQ30DE are the best cars ever made by Nissan. There are just a couple of things to keep on top of after 100,000 miles that I mentioned above. Other than it should give 300,000 miles of enjoyable service.

Awesome info! Most interested in the motor mount mod now. I dont quite understand the thought process on electric motor mounts. If other people are running with them off then it will be fine for me. 250000 miles. Im comparing the mileage to my other vehicles. Like I said this is my first car... out of 26 vehicles. i got 23 mpg with mixed driving, plus Im kinda hard on it. I also have a sel on the dash with 2 codes for egr valve and nox sensor p0400 and p0325 i think. I read on here that few people cleaned the egr and replaced an egr solenoid? need to research some more. the light went off for a few days but came back this morning. Great forum here... been on just about every domestic truck jeep and SUV forums, built many rock crawlers and a few street trucks. Always had friends in to imports just never had one myself. So far seems like a fun car.

Check out the following thread and note the reference to Knock Sensors codes. When I got the Maxima, it was throwing an O2 sensor and Knock Sensor code. I only replaced the downstream O2 sensor and the KS code would return. Knowing the other two upstream O2 sensors were weak, I replaced them. After replacing all O2 sensors the Knock Sensor code hasn't returned.

Are you running 91 or 93 octane fuel? When my oldest son drives is younger brother's Maxima, he will fill up with regular 89 octane fuel that seems to aggravate a weak Knock Sensors and cause it to throw a code. Try to use at least 91 octane in the VQ30DE.

mileage-improvement-preventative-mainte ... 77211.html

On the first Maxima (a 95 model 5-speed) and the I30, I replaced the Knock Sensors, O2 Sensors, and changed the spark plugs (NGK Double Platinum) soon after purchasing the cars.

For the 99 model Maxima 5-speed, I waited till later and just replaced the downstream O2 sensor, then the upstreams. I have a new Knock Sensor in the box that I will use when I pull the intake plenum to replace the valve cover gaskets in September.

Only had 1 tank through it so far and I just used regular 87. They said the cel had been on for a while.

Welcome to NICO.

Nice looking I30! I used to have a 97 Max in arctic pearl white, that my daughter now owns. As OwnerCS mentioned, the 4th gens are great cars. You can find the paint code on the data tag, on the fire wall, near the passenger side. I think my old Max paint code was QNO2. The 99's had a different code (maybe QNO), not sure if that carried over to the I30's...just have to check the data tag to be sure.

Here's a link to the factory service manual for your car http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/I30/1997_I30/

Knock sensors are a common issue with the 4th gens. I'd also recommend running premium gas (as OwnerCS mentioned), as that's what the fuel maps are designed for. Running lower grades will cause the ECU to retard timing and give you less than optimal performance/mileage.

I'm also running M35 wheels. Mine are off an 08 M35X with 245/45/18 continental DWs.

Paint code is QT1. Found some companies that sell paint in 2 cans, base and clear pearl. Will end up being $60 something. Would really like to find a off the shelf duplicolor 7.99 can thats "close enough". $60 is way more than I want to put on a damaged bumper. Going to the junk yards this weekend hopefully I can find a clean white 130t to rob the trunk lid and rear bumper off of. Also gonna pull every sensor off of it i can find, just in case.

Good luck on the junk yard trip. It is a great way to save money. If you find a Mass Air Flow (MAF) that looks decent, be sure to clean it and TEST (drive it for a week or two) it while it is in warranty. I keep a good working spare MAF on hand just in case I need it in the future. Unfortunately, about 3 of 5 MAFs I have picked up in junk yards were bad after I tested them. I've purchased 2 or 3 to only find one that was good. I later returned the bad ones.

Sometimes I can tell a bad MAF and IACV combination with weak O2 sensors may have contributed some owner's frustration that prematurely sent a decent looking 4th gen with 150,000 miles to the junk yard.

Saw a few i30s but they were mostly stripped. Did find a white 99 i30t but it had been rear ended and the spoiler was already gone. Was only able to salvage the "t" off the rear end. It did have the rear struts on it so I may go back and give them a try, if they are any good...

If the struts are new then it might be worth it.. Some of the Maxima guys I know are using a strut named Sensen. Most have lowered suspensions and autoX so they cook any strut in a couple of years. I've got Tokico Blues on the I30 and it is a little too soft for my taste. I put KYB AGX adjustables on the Maxima turned all the way up to 9. I like a crisp feeling suspension. I actually think I will try some of the Sensen Struts at $26 each to replace the Tokico Blues on the I30 next year. I understand the Sensen struts feel like a cross between Tokico and KYB.

If you go to the trouble to replace struts, be sure to get some new strut bushings, mounts and bearings for the front.