Show me the money!!!

[FRANKRIZZO]

Hey, I'm brand new here guys. Married, in my fifties, 3 kids married off...just bought my A/C tow weeks ago..love it! And I love looking at all of the photos and reading the info...but how and the hell do you guys afford to do the aftermarket add-ons??? Just Stillen web for prices...my wife would hit the roof...I have a custom grill that's chrome and a rear spoiler that was an aftermarket add-on by the dealer...What would be the cheapest thing to do first? I like the lowing springs and the way they look..what about install?

[LongBeachCoupe]

Tell em frank rizzo is on the fone... these damn Fava beans, my wifes sick!

Welcome man!

Many of us have done the mods over a long period of time... others are ballers lol, and many of the guys are young and dont really have any financial obligations like RENT lol...

I sell tail overlays that are cheap check my sig!

Other easy/cheap mods are HID headlights (under 80 on ebay)Eyelids like on my car again check sig (45 on ebay, another 40 to paint)Interior led lights (changing them all, including license lights off ebay.. under $50)

The eibach pro-kit springs shouldnt run you more than $200 to install.. but you are still looking at a $400 total with parts+install.

A stillen RearSwayBar should run you around 200 and is a simple install if you grab one of those 3 kids and force em to do it for ya lol... or shouldnt run you more than $100 to install...

The choice is, on a tight budget, are you looking for LOOKS or for PERFORMANCE?

WAIT.. theres a freebie mod! Grab yourself some dental floss and take off the badges on back!

[FRANKRIZZO]

Thanks for the info...I'm interested mainly on looks for now (love the lowered look which also improves handeling, body kits, etc) I already have some nice wheels that came on car (18 inchers and 45 Trazano tires) Guess i'll have to make a list out for Christmas.

[Infantry1327]

keep your eyes open for group buys as well. Now that SEMA is over we should start seeing more products and more group buys.

Welcome to Nico

[FRANKRIZZO]

Okay, thanks for all welcomes...your cars all look great! Damm, they're nice!!!!!!!!!! Can't wait to get some dough to start upfitting...If anyone has any money they don't need, or if anyone wants to donate some to my cause, bring it on!

[ESP]

Welcome!

LBC is right with his "free mod" idea...as soon as I got the car home it was the first thing I did!Some other simple things that you can do without crucifying your wallet are painting your 'stache, brake calipers, and rims. Since you've got 18s and you seem to like the style of them, I'd suggest hitting them with some Duplicolor High-Performance Wheel Paint, or getting them professionally powdercoated...it's something that's really simple but really changes the look of your ride!

LEDs are (relatively) cheap to do, but be careful as you can really go overboard with that stuff! I did a writeup on how to do the basics here: http://forums.altimas.org/zerothread?id=372632

How do we pay for this stuff? Well, as has been mentioned before, it seems as though alot of owners here still live with their folks and don't have any financial obligations..... *sigh* I'm self employed so when I really want to throw something new on the car I just take on a few extra contracts, work my a$$ off for a couple of weeks solid, and then enjoy the spoils! It also helps that one of my biggest contracts is with one of the top adult websites in Canada........

...gotta curb the spending though...I'm getting married next year and my better half deserves the best for our honeymoon!

[phobs]

Talking about cheap mods, I did a write up a while ago for some bumper plugs! If you don't want to sport a front license plate and want to cover the ugly dealer drilled holes, you can do this mod: http://forums.altimas.org/zerothread?id=369523

[FRANKRIZZO]

Yeah, I live in Missouri where you have to have a plate on the front and rear...Sucks...I want to debadge though. Anyway to screw this up using hair dryer and dental floss...I'd hate to scratch or mess up the paint

[nogears909]

the Stillen front lip is fairly inexpensive i thought and adds a lil sumthin sumthin to the front end

[phobs]

You shouldn't worry about messing it up at all. You floss between the badge and the tape, not between the tape and the paint. After that you simply just roll your fingers over the extra tape on the paint to take it off, it's really easy!

[Rob.Vegan]

...I'm getting married next year and my better half deserves the best for our honeymoon!

Like getting a ride in a B-E-A-Utiful Altima Coupe

Window Tint is kind of a given but thats also a cheap mod that improves cosmetics.And also if you overlay the headlights, you should also look into tinting the tails to match

[08altima35]

sponsors are the way to go.

I have over 15k in aftermarket on my car and everything from the turbo kit to lowering kit to the bodykit to the stickers (and much more) have been covered. It takes alot of work, but the mods are free and you have to spend time at shows advertising them.

well,I did have to pay for Doc's Kick Plates (and only docs kick plates) Just kidding. The kickplates were a hell of a deal

[phobs]

only if they can sponsor everyone, that'd be so nice hahaha

[Bmore-coupe]

Welcome

and for the record, not all of us live with our parents. im a homeowner with a good job. just no kids, and a fiance with a better job. (the no kids is where the money comes from)

[LongBeachCoupe]

LOL obviously we all dont live with our parents...Theres several *new* dads here, several *experienced dads*... The Nico ladies too... members in canada, and even in the UAE...

We all come from different backrounds, different areas, and bring different ideas and experiences to the table.. Thats what makes NICO so great!

[blackwell17]

STL REPRESENT!!!

[LongBeachCoupe]

Arrrrrrrgh!

Frank R-I-Z-Z-O

[FRANKRIZZO]

What a great bunch of guys you all are! I appreciate all your ideas and suggestions. Like I said, I'm new here and a two week owner of the A/C. Man, I wish I could snap my fingers and turn my car into what you guys have. The mods are great! I have tinted windows, custom grill, rear spoiler, 18 wheels and larger tires. The look of lowering is so cool, along with the body kits. Do you guys have have any trouble hitting or curbing front ends? Guess you really have to be careful, but that's life. I'm going to continue to check out new threads and follow advice. Keep up the awesome work.

My favorite thing about this car is "that it looks fast standing still!"

[LongBeachCoupe]

This past winter wasnt too bad in NY, but i also didnt take of my 20" wheels... and its on the eibachs... It only lowers the front around an inch and a half, so dont think your going to create a snow plow! It does really "correct" the... "nosedive" that the front of the car makes when you stop though...

You made it seem like you were bone stock in the first post lol... your in the mix man! Wheels, tints, grill, spoiler... better than starting at square 1!

I am really satisfied with the eibachs, and the RSB made a HUGE handling difference...

Ive had my coupe for over a year already, seems like it was only yesterday when i got it though... give it time, im sure you will be sittin pretty by the summer!

[Kanard]

SHOW US YOUR.COUPE! AND WELCOME TO NICO!

[Bmore-coupe]

Do you guys have have any trouble hitting or curbing front ends?

Thats what the reverse camera is for. i back into every parking spot

[DarkKnight22]

Welcome! Sounds like you've got a great start already! I have to agree with everyone on the debadge though. It's easy, doesn't take too long, and makes everyone think "hey, what's that awesome looking car, I can't figure out what that is". Not only that but it makes it look CLEANNNNN...

Once you use the dental floss to basically cut through the glue like you would string through butter, use goo-gone (someone correct me if I'm wrong) to get the rest of the sticky residue off.

I also used to be from STL too, chesterfield .

Anyway, again welcome! What color is your car? Post some pics!

EDIT: I'm a soon to be college grad running a side web buisness I co-own with no other real financial obligations (kids, wife, etc.). Makes things a bit easier when you have no objections on how to spend your hard earned $$$ .

[ESP]

Once you use the dental floss to basically cut through the glue like you would string through butter, use goo-gone (someone correct me if I'm wrong) to get the rest of the sticky residue off.

Yes to the dental floss, BUT A MASSIVE WHOPPING NOOOOOOOOO TO THE GOO GONE!!!...especially if you've got black paint! Goo-Gone will cut right through your clear coat and that particular area will never look quite as good as the rest of the car. The glue that's on there isn't particularly grippy and can be peeled off fairly easily. Remember to use a hair dryer to heat it up first and then wax that area like a madman when you're done!

[FRANKRIZZO]

Okay, thanks again. My car is black...I'll remember about the goo-gone...right now my car is in the shop at the dealer...had a couple of little scratches that they got rid of and then I noticed a blemish on my custom grill and spoiler. So they told me they contacted the after-market (Total Customs) company for replacement. Been waiting since Wednesday...I'd parlay taking the grill and spoiler as-is to get them to drop it and put lip on...whatta think?

[alphapig]

I'd parlay taking the grill and spoiler as-is to get them to drop it and put lip on...whatta think?

Would be a good deal.

IMO, a good (cheaper) build is Stillen lip + wheels + drop.

Doing the body kit costs a lot

[FRANKRIZZO]

Well, I'm not sure they would go for it anyway...doesn't matter...I'm just getting tired of driver loaner (Rogue) but hey, it's free