In November of 2008 i bought this 83 maxima off one of my friends I was going to school with in Sacramento, CA for $500. the engine had been rebuilt about 6000 miles b4 i bought it, i had the transmission and clutch replaced and i also cleaned the car up a little. I drove the car across the country back to where I am originally from, NY and now i want to push some performance out of this thing. the car has a L24 straight 6 in it and when I was school I dyno tested it and it was pushing between 115 and 123 HP (depending on temperature). I knocked off the mechanical fan and put an electric one on and it ran 120-122HP consistantly (during about 10 runs)

Everyone i talk to says that I can push alot of power out of this engine but just how much is alot?
300? 400?
I dont want to professionally race it but 300 would be nice and i wanna keep it NA fuel injected.

Does anyone have any suggestions.

also the previous owner said that when the engine was rebuilt it was bored .030 over. do manufacturers that sell high compression kits have a variation in piston size? I mean obviously i will measure the cylinder size to make sure but JW.. my goal is to keep the car with the same engine it came with but if i need to get a new block to do a high compression and or stroker kit then i gotta do what i gotta do.

All suggestions greatly appreciated...

The L24E is a great motor, but don't expect big power out of it (at least not big power by today's standards). DEFINITELY don't expect 300+ hp all-motor. 150hp is more of a realistic N/A goal. To cross the 200hp line you'll have to go FI.

Even the L28ET, the larger turbocharged version only makes 180hp from the factory.

Any custom piston builder will be able to make EXACTLY the pistons you need...high comps to fit your bored L24 shouldn't be an issue. They may be pricey, but they can definitely be done.

As for the pictures, you'll need to upload them to a photo hosting site like photobucket before you can post them.

I'm a huge Maxima nut and particularly love the old 810s, so I'm looking forward to seeing your pictures.

4.08 VLSD, NICO 8-way ECU, full exhaust with custom headers,
Tokico Blues with Eibach springs, Stillen FSTB, 20mm RSB

I'm not sure if the suspension shares anything with a 280ZX or not.

they're neat cars though, I'm kinda envious of you. The car looks really freakin' clean.

how's the interior?

as for suspension, the S130 is actually based on an elongated version fo the 810 chassis, so I suspect you can make S130 suspension parts work with little or no modification

S30: "The Rusty Mistress" stripped bare and getting rebuilt from the ground up,
Z31: 315 whp 416 lbft, going back to the GRM $2009 challenge
Z32: now with sport 500's! For Sale

Maxine looks great.

for everyone viewing this post

On a side note... i'm kinda contemplating instead of trying to work with my engine... to just import an RB26 twin turbo and just stuff that in the ol' girl.
I've looked around and found a few for pretty cheap like 2-3 K for engine w/ turbos, tranny w/ transfer case, wiring harness and computer. has anyone ever dealt with these engines? everyone i talk to says that they are very good engines. how hard are they to get how often do they come with everything to make them run... so if u just happen to be reading this and know a litle something just leave a msg or something.
Thanks,
-Matt

I mounted all the turbo manifolding from a L28et and made my own oil return without even pulling the pan or engine so it only took an afternoon.

If you use the 280zx T-3 hot side, you can make a 4 bolt downpipe pretty easily since both the Z31 elbow and the stock L28et elbow will hit the steering shaft.

I did fit a 1982 280zx non-turbo computer and air flow meter but I doubt there is an difference between them and the maxima computer but maybe the computer allows for longer pulse width due to the extra .4 liters displacement.......the originals parts were hosed.

The car ran fine on stock boost for 50,000 miles until I recently sold it.

If you want to go beyond stock boost levels, you will have to go with either a standalone or graft a 280zx turbo harness into the car and run that management system.