Need info on 2000-2003 Maxima LONG

[Michael Jez]

2000 Maxima- 1st year of the VQ30DE-K engine. K stands for variable intake
VQ, which is the some purrists belive is the best engine out of all Maxima
engines due to the Variable Intake which allows the engine to pull like a
freight train from 750RPM to 6700RPM. Technosquare Inc along with Mines
Japan have cracked the code on every Nissan computer so far- haha JWT :P
They found out that the DE-K engine likes a very high redline cause its peak
power is at redline acctually with the "standard" mods- CAI, Ypipe, Exhaust.
The computers have not been dynoed on anyones car yet, as they are fine
tuning the fuel and ignition curves and have set the redline at 7200 RPM- I
got mine ready to be sent out with a 8K RPM redline for my JDM cams.
2001 Maxima- changes- it has 2 (one in the manifold) precats now and one
main cat- all cars are California Cars (eassiest way to spot is by 4 O2
sensor plugs by the front valve cover, 20th Aniversary Maxima debutes- LSD-
on 5spds, dark tinted headlights, bodykit, preforated leather interior, diff
shiftknob, pedals, ssteel door sill inserts, dark tinted gauges, and the
"Cefiro" muffler which brings the HP up to 227HP at the crank on the same
VQ30DE-K engine- all other models continue with 222HP.
MODS to the VQ30DE-K- Technosquare ECU-has proven to gain about 15WHP-not
peak HP eighter almost accross the board on a 350Z. Cattman headers- gains
have shown additional 24WHP on the K motor. Cattman, Stillen, Warpspeed
Ypipes- NOT used when the headers are installed, have shown gains of 17WHP
for around 400 bux- depending on if its Stainless, chrome or what not.
Catback exhaust- Greddy, Apexi WS, Cattman-IHMO best bolt on catback have
shown about 6-10WHP-Cattman on the K engine. Removing the MAIN CAT will gain
ya 16 solid WHP OVER the Ypipe, UD pulley- only one is the crank- shows 8WHP
on the dyno, UD flywheel is good for 10WHP, JWT cams- IHMO JDM cams are
better but thats through my research- have shown gains of 15WHP with no loss
on bottom end- gains accutally, most power is gained past peak power. A full
bolt on w/cams and ECU K motor makes alot more power than the VQ35DE at the
wheels. Turbo kits- about 6 of them avalible- at 6psi Stage I turbo kit from
CustomMaxima.com makes on average 305-320WHP and uses a straight T4
Turbonetics non ball bearing turbo with just a crappy Greddy exhaust, and a
VERY nice torque curve- These HP numbers have been dynoed on a 99 Maxima-
which makes less power than a 00 or even a 95. Stillen Supercharger kit
which can be had for around 3K bux these days makes about 260-270WHP with
stock boost- which I belive is 6- I hate blowers so I don't follow it-
everyone with a blower is converting to turbo nowa days since its only a gee
note more and makes ALOT more power- guy on the Maxima forums made 679WHP on
completly stock engine with over 590 lbs of torque on stock tranny- boost
was high- I got more info on that car but I'm not going to get into the
details- he runs 13psi of boost on the street most of the time and dynos
between 485-500WHP constantly :)
02 Maxima was the 1st year of the VQ35DE engine, 6spd was standard with LSD
optional- LSD is now mechanical. It made 255HP at the crank, and with a few
bolt ons it will run mid to high 13s in the 1/4 with no problems. Xenon HID
lights became standard as where the ugly clear tail lights- aka Altezzas.
Instrument cluster and some little pieces of the interior have been
redesigned- now included is a Trip computer which displays MPG, miles to
empty etc. Suspension was unchanged, other than diff springs, and swaybars
on the SE model over the 3.0L SE model. The 03 Maxima didn't see much
change. Mods- ECU, Ypipe, no cat, exhaust, pulley, are all avalible for the
3.5L engine.
I am the Maxima gurru nowa days, I still lurk around the SE-R list and
answer any questions and sometimes chip in my own oppinion. FYI- I have a 01
GXE Maxima 5spd, got it for 20K bux EVEN out the door with tax, title,
registration- brand new with 2 miles on the odo- I came in to buy a
Pathfinder 3.5L SE 5spd, but with only 2 in the whole nation I was leaving
the dealership and noticed a truck pulling in full of new cars, I went
inside asked if any are 5spd, and 30 min later I drove away in a new Max. I
smoked the tires right from the dealer lot, no break in period, my car has
sees redline on every occassion almost, I have 70K miles so far- in 2 years
of ownership- flaws- Tech Bulletin for Windnoise from rear doors- fixed, one
O2 sensor wire that got cut when I ran over something on the road- my car is
very low- wire got cut and the O2 heater was inop. That is it, doesn't burn
a drop of oil, no squeaks- only from my Ground Controlls at times, tranny
shifts smooth, clutch will burn 3rd gear still- ACT thou :P Working for
Honda- and comparing Acura (oranges) to my Nissan (apples) is something I do
on daily basis, and U can't get me to trade my car in on any Acura- they are
the biggest pile of shit car on the road, the manufacturer does not give a
shit about their customers nor mechanics- they build the worst trannies in
the industry- how can U have a tranny fail on a guys car 6 times by 30K
miles ? and that is NOT the driver- my boss drives a TL Type S and hes a
older guy who don't beat on it- car has 12K miles- tranny number 3 now !
They don't let us rebuild trannies- they send us "reman" ones.... this is
WHY I drive a Nissan Maxima- IHMO best kept secret in the automotive
industry in terms of power, size, comfort, reliability and bang for the buck
! ( hey a 40K dollar TL don't have folding rear seats ? wtf ? )
Mike Jez
Max Driver ex SE-R driver.