I want my car fast, and im cheap!

[2000maximagxe]

Alright, i have learned some more about my nissan, hopefully everything.. i just have a few questions for the "experts".. first thing...i recently changed my transmission fluid...when i did that, i put to much back in, so when the transmission gets hot, the fluid comes back up the dip stick.also when im driving at about... 60 mph(once the transmission is hot and is acting up), and i take my foot off the gas the rpm's drop to about 1700rpm. then when i put my foot back on the gas, it down shifts into 2nd. this also happens when i am leaving a red light except it wont come out of 1st... this only happens when i drive for a while or after i race a few times..if i turn it off and let it cool down, it will act the right way,but before it gets hot it shifts like a dream..it never did this before. so did i f*** up my transmission or do i just need to drain some fluid out of it?

Another thing is.. i got a cold air intake, and straight pipes on my car. and i raced my buddys neon from a dig, i gave him a car, and beat him by a car. but now that he got a header, he beats me.. do headers really make you that much faster? where can i get them for CHEAP!?long tubes preferably.

Also i use my E brake alot for burn out and trey sliding, but now it has got really loose.. how do i tighten it? or how much would it cost me to get it done..

the last thing.. how do i advance my timing? will it make me faster? will if f*** anything up?.. Im jus trying to find every little thing to make me faster without boostin it.. im still savin up for that..any advise would be very greatly appreciated!!

[MinisterofDOOM]

Just drain the excess trans fluid. Remember that when you drain the fluid (including when you drained the old stuff to replace it) you NEVER get all the fluid out. Fluid remains in the lines and multiple quarts remain in the torque converter. Use the dipstick to determine when you've filled correctly. In the future, just remember to replace the same amount you drained (unless you're leaking a lot) as a baseline fill then top off from there if needed. Can't do that this time since it's over-filled, but once you get it back to the right amount you can simplify things that way.Also, remember to check trans fluid with the car running, in park, and on a level surface. Otherwise you won't get an accurate reading on the dipstick.

The effect of headers varies greatly from engine to engine and car to car. It also depends on the rest of the exhaust system and your intake setup. If you upgrade the WEAKEST point in the exhaust system, you'll see bigger gains. But if you upgrade the strongest point you won't see much gain because the weaker areas will still hold things back. You have to look at intake/exhaust mods as a whole picture, not individual components. VQ30 gets the best gains from a y-pipe upgrade. That'll do you more good than headers alone. If you do BOTH, they should work nicely with your other exhaust mods.Depending on the CAI you got, it's probably not really "cold" air and is costing you power once the car's up to operating temp. Heat-soaked cone filters sitting open in the engine bay draw from about the worst source of air imaginable.

The e-brake has adustments at the lever and under the car on the cable. If it's really loose, though, something is wrong. Are your brakes badly worn?Remove the center console to access the lever adjustment. There's a screw that adjusts pre-tension on the cable at the lever. Then under the car (probably hard to get to and hiding above the exhaust) there's a turnbuckle for further adjustment.

No need to mess with timing. The Max like other modern cars varies timing on it's own. It's an intelligent system and messing with it without knowing exactly what you're doing is unlikely to yield any benefits. Even if you DO know exactly what you're doing, you won't see any real gains unless the timing advance is done to compliment other major mods (like boost). Best thing you can do is run the highest octane fuel available to you so the car can run with timing as far advanced as possible. If you run low octane fuel, the car will automatically retard timing to avoid knock, cutting into power and fuel economy.

[2000maximagxe]

yea your right it isnt exactly a cold air, but the cone filter is sitting right behing the radiator fan. so it is gettin some decent air. and the e brake isnt crazy loose, i mean it still does when it was put there to do. i appreciate the info and will be workin off it.

[supreamS14]

the cone filter is sitting right behing the radiator fan. so it is gettin some decent air.

Hot Air Intake!

[scotty.chable]

get rid of it and get a skyline

[Nrw]

The effect of headers varies greatly from engine to engine and car to car. It also depends on the rest of the exhaust system and your intake setup. If you upgrade the WEAKEST point in the exhaust system, you'll see bigger gains. But if you upgrade the strongest point you won't see much gain because the weaker areas will still hold things back. You have to look at intake/exhaust mods as a whole picture, not individual components. VQ30 gets the best gains from a y-pipe upgrade. That'll do you more good than headers alone. If you do BOTH, they should work nicely with your other exhaust mods.

While that may be true with the 4th gen. The 5th gens vq30 does better with the headers. Do to one of the pre-cats being in one of the manifolds. Unlike the 4th gen having both in the y-pipe, minus 99cali spec.

[snwbrdr435]

I have a ypipe for sale, just sayin...........

[AcMav]

Another thing is.. i got a cold air intake, and straight pipes on my car. and i raced my buddys neon from a dig, i gave him a car, and beat him by a car.

If a SRT4 isn't destroying your max, then your friend needs to learn how to drive. Kzoosho's turbo max would have issues tackling a decently maintained/upgraded SRT4. Those things really pull, if you think you're going to cheaply take him, you may be in for a surprise. But if its just a regular Neon, you have 2 cylinders on him, mop him up all day. Insist on a start from a stop, if he gets a rolling start you loose your torque advantage.

Also i use my E brake alot for burn out and trey sliding, but now it has got really loose.. how do i tighten it? or how much would it cost me to get it done..

You may want to check your rear brake pads if you're constantly using your E-Brake. the Maxima is NOT made for drifting as it is front wheel drive, nor is the E-Brake. When you see people competitively drifting and using their E-Brake, they're using a fluid based E-Brake, not one like yours powered by a cable. This puts A LOT of wear on the system, aka the slack that you're starting to notice. However I wouldn't worry about doing brake stands, those aren't as hard on your brakes as they are on the front tires which don't last very long when you're having fun

Another thing is.. i got a cold air intake, and straight pipes on my car. and i raced my buddys neon from a dig, i gave him a car, and beat him by a car. but now that he got a header, he beats me.. do headers really make you that much faster? where can i get them for CHEAP!?long tubes preferably.

The consensus on performance from what I've seen around the forums is to keep the stock intake. There's been many a battle about it, but when it comes to it the very slight gain (If any) by switching the intake isn't worth it. The stock intake uses a snorkel design to act as a semi-CAI. The biggest gain you get is the more aggressive engine tone. I agree with Minister about the Y-Pipe and I'd also consider a JWT ECU if you have the money to make that move. It'll remove the rev-limiter and speed limit and gain you a few horsepower. It'll also allow the engine to be retuned down the road when you do go turbo.

On the problem of the transmission shifts, my transmission does the same thing when I'm WOT. I have a feeling our TCM's just don't enjoy the torture. I was autocrossing a couple of weeks ago and every time I went WOT coming off a corner, I'd get a downshift and a sharp jolt of acceleration (Breaking my tires mind you). I had to learn to ease onto the throttle more so, due to the lack of a manual transmission and having an insane computer controlling my shifts. I'm not sure how to help this other than changing driving style.

Please please make sure the racing stays on the track. Find your local drag strip and go there, you'll meet new people who can help, and make some new friends at the same time. Lastly make sure you have fun, that's the most important part of owning a 4DSC.

[Nrw]

you guys and your silly automatics...

[915max]

Automatics arent that bad.... the world's fastest MAxima is an Auto!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...edded

stock internals

I agree with the intake vs. stock air box debate, but I honestly felt more power with my Popcharger.

If you're on a budget, or just flat out cheap, get yourself a y-pipe, and you'll be satisfied.... A y-pipe isnt cheap of course, but thats the one mod that will get you the most power.

If you're auto, you might want to do the resistor drop mod... I've heard really great things about this!

http://jimesmaxima.com/DR%20Mod.html

Good luck... and I just really hope it wasnt a N/A Neon that beat you....hehe

[AcMav]

The Auto is faster in a straight line, heck my dad's 78 Corvette he "Auto" swapped it, instead of doing a manual swap like everyone here talks about. However I'd love the extra control of a Manual for when I do autocrossing. The unpredictability of the shifting sucks, I luckily have a VLSD in my I30t which is always nice. I'd do a manual swap into my I30 if I didn't have only 60,000 self-maintained miles on it. It'd be a waste of a perfectly maintained transmission to swap it. My own care keeps me from having fun.

[Nrw]

I know a built auto can out shift me every day of the week. Never said it couldn't and I could care less that it could lol.

Nothing beats the feeling of slammin your own gears.

And I'd do the 5speed swap either way

[MinisterofDOOM]

Automatics arent that bad.... the world's fastest MAxima is an Auto!

Eh...I'll gladly sacrifice some fast for more control. Maybe if you're building a drag car it's worth keeping the auto, but if you're just looking for more fun-to-drive, the manual wins hands down. Especially compared to the stupid RE4F in our Maximas. By the time it figures out what I want I could have shifted multiple times. Shift quickness alone might be faster than shifting manually, but the time spent waiting for the trans to figure out it NEEDS to shift is not. In a straight line, the latter is not an issue. Anywhere else, it is. Coming out of a corner, the auto car is worse off because by the time the auto decides to shift, the manual car has shifted and put power to the ground.

If I had a penny for every time I've found myself thinking "Come on...shift already!" in my Maxima or my Q45 I'd have enough to swap them both to manual.

[snwbrdr435]

Manual FTW the auto in my car.

[AcMav]

Is there significant difference between the VLSD Manual and the regular Manual? I do get snow for half of the year if that makes a difference. I'd have already swapped my transmission if I didn't spend a majority of my time sitting in stop and go traffic in Boston. All that clutching would drive me up a wall, but I'm still considering it.

[MinisterofDOOM]

VLSD would certainly make a difference in snow. Stop-and-go in the snow with my Max always means lots of one-tire-spinning. VSLD would really help keep that in check.

[915max]

VLSD IS the way to go. I blew my old transmission shortly after doing my motor swap and switched over to a I30t VLSD transmission, and I love it!!

I can take corners a little bit faster. Not to mention you dont get the embarassing one tire burn-out!

[uzbfly]

headet will never make such a big difference unless he has intake header exhaust and tune ...