just picked up a 99 se-l to be a project car, i wanna go all out with it...

[Bamfy98]

I love my 98 I30t and all its comfort and luxury, and I did do a good number of mods to it, but I never really wanted to turn it into a speed machine. My I30t is my daily driver, so I wanna keep it N/A, its more of my automatc daily driver/show car (system, rims, basic performance + handling bolt-ons, paradox-systems lip kit, lots of interior goodies).

Now I recently picked up a car to work on, its a silver 99 SE-L 5spd in mint condition with 170k miles. I wanna turn this thing into a monster so I have something to take to the track, just for the fun in building up a car and racing it. I know I could of picked up something like a G35, 350Z, M3, Camaro, or even a 3.5 Maxima, or something thats more of a sports car to begin with, but I'm just in love with the 4th gen Maxima.

Now for my question... I'm starting from scratch and there are a number of mods I want to do, I want to know what is the best order to do these mods in price-wise and performance-wise, because I cant buy and install all these mods at once. Also, is there any other mods I need to make these mods work properly?

Stillen-Vortech V2 supercharger
Any type of engine work for better performance
Cams (if possible)
Cattman headers and 3" exhaust (does Cattman still make headers? and is a 3" exhaust nessessary?)
00VI or MEVI (which will work better with my setup)
Pathfinder or QX4 throttle body (info on the adaptor plate please)
VLSD tranny
Lightweight flywheel
Clutch kit (whats the best?)
Axles (anything good?)
Coilovers

Best fluids to use?
Any type of coolers that will help?

Lots of weight reduction including...
A/C delete
Back seats delete
Sound system delete
Gut out trunk
Anything else I can remove from the car tell me (i will give up comfort, my I30 has plenty of it, but I don't want the car to look like s*** on the outside, the inside can look like s*** though)

Light weight 17" rims
Carbon fiber hood
Carbon fiber trunk
Anything else carbon fibor that I don't know about?

My goal:
98 Infiniti I30t (Auto) - Pimped Out Daily Driver
99 Nissan Maxima SE-L (5spd) - FWD Project Car
???????????????? (5/6spd) - RWD Project Car

[aackshun]

There's a guy who did a whole carbon fiber front end (fenders and all), don't know if it lost him any weight though, certainly gained cool points.

And for your axle question, that's easy, raxles.

Also would you be planning any more internal work?

[Bamfy98]

Originally Posted by aackshun

There's a guy who did a whole carbon fiber front end (fenders and all), don't know if it lost him any weight though, certainly gained cool points.

And for your axle question, that's easy, raxles.

Also would you be planning any more internal work?

Yes I want to do internal work, especially if its necessary. I don't want to do an engine swap because this is my FWD project car. When I get my RWD project car I will do a complete engine swap.

[smai555]

as far as interior strip the SH*T out of it seats carpets the sound denting crap dash roof liner all you need is one seat(racing seat with harness) few gauges and a roll cage

what kind of racing do u plan on doing SCCA? or straight line stuff?

[Bamfy98]

Originally Posted by smai555

as far as interior strip the SH*T out of it seats carpets the sound denting crap dash roof liner all you need is one seat(racing seat with harness) few gauges and a roll cage

what kind of racing do u plan on doing SCCA? or straight line stuff?

1/4 mile, 1/2 mile, ect... I might just strip everything except the driver seat, dashboard, and gauge bezel.

[Feldman]

I would definitely start with internal work especially if you are planning on doing FI on an engine that already has 170k I know these engines are pretty sturdy but might as well do it right the first time around. then you can get around to engine management, FI, exhaust suspension, tranny, braking, wheels/tires, weight reduction etc.

order doesnt really matter for most of these things but you obviously dont want to do anything that will be obsoleted by your ultimate goal. so it is important to figure out what your ultimate goal is then you can plan appropriately from there.

[smai555]

Originally Posted by Feldman

I would definitely start with internal work especially if you are planning on doing FI on an engine that already has 170k I know these engines are pretty sturdy but might as well do it right the first time around. then you can get around to engine management, FI, exhaust suspension, tranny, braking, wheels/tires, weight reduction etc.

order doesnt really matter for most of these things but you obviously dont want to do anything that will be obsoleted by your ultimate goal. so it is important to figure out what your ultimate goal is then you can plan appropriately from there.

i agree start with the end in mind and then decide how you will get there if you

if you want to run 12s, figure out what it will take, how much HP, and what it will take to obtain that much HP(weather it be FI or N/A) and how much money it will take to do it

so the question you should ask is what will it take to run high 12s low 13s what kind of power to weight ratio would you need to obtain

and of course most importantly how much power can the VQ handle on stock internals

[bigpopaj369]

the carbon fiber car was bada$$! but i dont think ud shed much weight from the stock fenders. i would go with 16''s not 17''s ur car comes stock with 16''s i believe, anyways no sense in going bigger as im sure u can get even lighter 16''s and theyd prolly cost less too. definitely strip all the interior all the doors,rear deck,pilllars,headliner,seats and belts,trunk liner, spare tire,audio,A/C and anthing else i may have missed.

[Coolsaber57]

I guess i'm not sure what the point of going all out on a FWD car is when you have plans for a RWD project car, but whatever.

If you're going "All-out" you're going to want to build the engine (how much depends on what you can afford, how much time you want to put in, etc), use the 00VI, and Turbo-charge, not Supercharge.

IByoudoallthiscrapandstilldon'tbreakoutofthe12s

[IHAVEA2KMAXIMA]

I would get better suspension first (coilovers) then go FI.

[aackshun]

And don't forget to make a build thread!!!

[sfhellwig]

Suspension will have to be mostly done before power or you won't be able to make best use of it. Even if you want to launch on a squishy suspension it would be irresponsible to not upgrade the brakes first. Don't add the power if you can't stop it. Depending on how big you go that might require a particular wheel set first. Might sound backwards but like someone said, don't make something obsolete. Do it once.

[bigpopaj369]

Originally Posted by Coolsaber57

I guess i'm not sure what the point of going all out on a FWD car is when you have plans for a RWD project car, but whatever.
IByoudoallthiscrapandstilldon'tbreakoutofthe12s

i 2nd this seems like a waste of monies to me why not just build the RWD race car and forget the FWD race car. and coolsaber ibetthatitdoesnteither honestly i would just build one or the other and use the money to pimp out either the RWD racer or the DD

[ajcool2]

Gut it, 3.5 it, build it, turbo it, tune it, find driver for it.

Also there is an all motor and supercharged section with everything you need to know. Also if your serious search post by Tilley99, eng92, sr20den, nealoc, nismology, JIME and dandymax. Plenty info here which is why I rarely post to ask questions anymore.

[The Wizard]

OP, what are your HP goals? Timeslip goals? This will determine if you need to do internal work or not. It will also aid with any advice given.

Within 3 months of purchasing my Max, I installed a brand new SC kit. Got the most expensive thing out of the way. LOL

My motto is to start with the most expensive thing first ie turbo/SC (internal work if needed) and work your way down. It's easier that way and the end goal is always easier/more fun to reach.

[Bamfy98]

Originally Posted by Coolsaber57

I guess i'm not sure what the point of going all out on a FWD car is when you have plans for a RWD project car, but whatever.

If you're going "All-out" you're going to want to build the engine (how much depends on what you can afford, how much time you want to put in, etc), use the 00VI, and Turbo-charge, not Supercharge.

IByoudoallthiscrapandstilldon'tbreakoutofthe12s

Well the FWD project is more of a FI project, while the RWD project is more of an engine swap project. My goal is 11 seconds.

The Maxima is my favorite FWD car so thats why I chose it. For the RWD I'm thinking a 240sx with a VQ35 or VH45 swap. My goal is 10 - 11 seconds.



And I forgot to mention, maybe nitrous?

[bigpopaj369]

u better post pics of this 240 build in the other cars section!

[The Wizard]

[SrgScott]

Originally Posted by Bamfy98

For the RWD I'm thinking a 240sx with a VQ35 or VH45 swap. My goal is 10 - 11 seconds.

[smai555]

well... ummm.. humm... to do that in a 240 seems like alot of custom work unless there are kits out there that i havent seen ... umm... yea.... how many projects do u plan on having at one time ?

[HandsonMaxima.]

^+1
inb4weallflameme
also inb4tehlock, seems like a pointless thread, no offense, you just dont have any goals and to much money to throw around. get a plan first, nothing wrong with saving money for a bigger project i cancel my plans often to save for bigger things.

buy a real sports car perhaps? my 3000gt i had for a couple days before i made the guy give me the cash back(long story), threw me in the seat everytime, and my 300zx i had was just...beyond words.
the maxima is all well as good, dont get me wrong i love my Maxima, and if your like wizard or flava, or all those other F/I guys, better than most cars on the road, but you have plans for a RWD car, skip the VQ unless your dead set on raising up a 4dr car to decent times with an undecent amount of money.
5k spent on turboing and suspension and brakes=monster heads and a decent lower end on a RWD car. just saying. but i dont know you or your money, so more power to yah.