Did your own work..........or Not?

How many of you actually do your own modifications on your car? I mean I can see getting a supercahrger put in professionally, but I mean an Exahaust or Intake? Personally, I think its pathetic if you cant put on your own Exhaust, Intake, Clear corners, etc. Everyday I hear of someone paying someone else to put on their shit on their own car, to me thats part of the fun of modifying your car is doing things yourself and accomplishing something.:sun:

Yeah, I agree. Since I just got my Max I havn't done much to it, but what I have done I've dont it myself. I think its great hearing and feeling the work you put into your car:)

ya, ive done everything myself that i have on my car (sept tint and cdplayer install cuz it was free) hell, i like jus takin the car apart to learn more about it

You know , I wish I knew how to install all that shit but I don't, I don't know where to learn or where to start. I also don't have the money to back me up if I f*ck my car up. Once I get a new intake or exaust , I won't know how to install it, the only thing I can do is get someone else to

You do have access to the internet so just go on to a maxima website how to, and read the steps it takes to put on whatever the product is. Also most parts come with instructions on the install so just read them. So it isnt that hard you just got to make some effort.:sun:

i dont kno what the hell im doin half the time either, i jus go by what i find on this site and others like it. i can tell u now, if u r gonna get a CAI give urself 3-4 hrs to do it. bein good at afro-engineering helps a lot too :frog:

Pathetic???!!! I think that's a little extreme. Not everyone has the know how to perform such modifications. Or even the capabilities...how am I supposed to put a new exhaust system on my car if I don't have a usable garage or a hydraulic lift or something to keep my car off the ground. And even if I did, I probably wouldn't do it anyways, because if I screw up, that means I have to pump more money into it, with the possibility of screwing up again...when I could have paid paid a little extra to have it professionally installed and warranted...now if I had the training and tools to do such things, and I was confident I would come out with a reliable product, then fine...but otherwise, I'm going to be smart with my money and make sure i'm not pissing it away, cause I certainly don't have the money to throw away like that. All I'm saying is that there are legitimate reasons that people pay to have modifications done, so please respect them for that.
:bandit:

I don't think anyone is suggesting that if you don't know what you are doing or have the correct tools to do a job that you should try it, but what we are suggesting is that if you do have the capability to do what needs to be done you should do it yourself because it will save you a lot of money. Most modifications are not difficult if you ask questions about any aspect of it that you don't understand, read the directions that are supplied with parts that you are adding or replacing, and work with someone else who has equal or better knowledge of automotive repair. One example of work that I decided to do myself was replace my CV Boot and my brake calipper, pads, and rotor. Luckily at the time it was only one brake that had went bad because the calipper was binding, unfortunately it was the first time I had done either the disk brakes or a CV Boot on any type of car. I was going to have someone else do the job but when I got the price quotes on the parts and labor I decided to do it myself. For my brakes (rotor, caliper, and pads) I paid about $140,
if a shop had of did it I was looking at about $300 I know I had brakes done on an older car and that's how much I paid without the calipper being replaced. For the CV Boot $9.49, if I had a shop do it, it would have costed me an extra $150 - $300 dollars. I spent about $80 on tools that I now can use for future repairs and $60 dollars to have my car alignment done since it has to be computer aligned (I'm going to have someone else align it next time because for that price my alignment is worst than it was after I got through working on the car). I have to replace my other CV Boot and brake calipper (only because you shouldn't put new brakes on one side of the car and not the other) but this time the job will only cost me about $40. So for about $330 I have a complete new set of brakes and CV Boots on the front of my car, rather than $600 - $800 dollars for the set. I also installed my complete audio video system myself and 95% of all work that I do I do alone.

Come on!!! You're telling me you can't put clear corners in? That has to be one of the easiest things to do... right up there with changing headlight bulbs. I personally was lucky and got most of my experience from my parents giving me the old broken down family car and the line "if you can make it run, you can have it". One full month and $300 in parts and tools later and I had a roaring 85 Bonneville with a Chevy V-8.

Anyways, my point is, things like an intake are pretty easy to install, if you can follow directions, use a little common sense, and don't just throw stuff around haphazardly, you'll do just fine. A CAI on the other hand requires some drilling. Converting tail lights to red/clears requres a light touch.

Even with all my experience, I'm kind of scared to do the Valve Body Mod. I just don't have a garage or a clean area to keep the car while I send parts out and getting dirt in the wrong place here can be deadly to the tranny.

As for difficulty, I think www.maximadriver.com does a great job of rating the difficulty of the different jobs.

Don't be scurred, Mod Away!!!

There is some people who are just scared to touch something because they think it will break and can't be fixed. I teach computer classes and I see so many people scared to touch the computer. For me there is no greater joy than seeing a job well done and people comment on how good it looks, sound, or perform. Like when I tinted my windows even though I knew the mistakes that was made I still had people asking me to tint their car windows, and I always have someone asking me to there sound system. Mods like intake or exhaust I haven't done but I'm confident that I can do them with no problem.

i think people who make snap judgements about other members don't belong on this forum, especially newbies. i did all my mods myself except for the exhaust, but not everyone is mechanically inclined. not everyone has their own lift so it can be hard to do an exhaust. not everyone has an air compressor with an impact gun, so that makes it hard to do your own pulley set or fly wheel and a nissan wiring harness is one of the most confusing jumble of wires i've encountered. An intake,most people should be able to fugure out but if you can't, no biggie. And what happens when you try something like an exhaust or clutch or flywheel for the first time and get hung up with something, you get fucked with the problem of getting your now debilitated car from your crib to a mechanic. Everyone's here cuz they like nissans not to be or become master mechanics

Let me clarify that I'm not trying to flame anyone.

I just think everyone sould at least know how to change their oil (or at least be able to check it and know how much its low by) and a flat tire (moreso the flat tire). Even if they never actually do this, it would eliminate a rediculous amount of ignorance. I also think that it should be a requirement for everyone to learn to drive a manual transmission as part of obtaining your driver's license. I can't tell you how many times someone's needed to borrow a car from someone else and I offered mine, but they can't drive stick.

Honestly, I have no respect for kiddies that mod their cars but don't even know where their dipstick is. What's the point of modding your car if you don't even know what the mods do or how they work. If you don't take the time to at least learn what's going on, whether you know how to actually do the work or not, why are you doing it? The answer is that the person probably thinks it's "cool". In the 80s, these kinds of people were called "posers". If you love your car so much, you should at least have the interest to learn about it. Nowdays, we call people who mod their car, but don't know why "rice" (not the derogtory connotation).

Again, I'm not flaming anyone here. If you pay someone else to do your mod work, fine, we all have our abilities and time contraints. But if you don't even know why you have a Front Strut Tower Bar, why did you get it in the first place?

If all you want to do is dump a bunch of money into a car to make it fast, there are plenty of cars that are built like that originally, it would probably also be cheaper too.

Know your machine is all I'm saying.

I totally agree with you MaxPayne if you are going to go out and have all that work done on your car at least know what its for and how it works. Just having knowledge about your car can save you a lot of time and money mainly because no one can tell anything bogus just to get you to spend more money and they will try it. One autoshop tried to get me to replace my ignition coils when my car wouldn't start and all it was was the starter. Remember knowledge is power

I don't think there is a lot of people who mod their cars who don't have a clue what the mods are doing, and if they don't know what's going on, then you're right, they shouldn't be doing it. I could explain what an aftermarket exhaust and intake do, and tons of other things, for that matter, and at this point I would still probably pay to have them done...well, maybe not intake, but exhaust, definitely...the point I'm trying to make is that performing your own mods is inherently risky, and for some people, the peace of mind of knowing that your vehicle is going to run without trouble, especially if warranteed, is worth the extra money (Could even save you money, too, if you screw up)
:bandit:

tru about the ppl being afraid to mess up their engine and stuff, but it u r jus doing basic mods, y not grow some balls and at least attempt to do it urself? instead of payin some guy a LOT of money to do it?

i think the average person is aware of their capabiliteis and limitations, if you don't think you can do it why risk the well-being of your car?

I wonder how many people on here talking about doing their own mods bought a midpipe. Talk about easy and saving money.

Here's how to make an intake

http://www.drwebdesign.com/mymaxima/upperintake.html

I made ports to run both vacume hoses BTW.

Wow, that's awesome, I think I'm going to make one of those, nice directions and details on everything :) :) :)

Before you go ahead and build your own intake, let me explain a few differences between a professional intake and the "Home Depot" intake.

The most significant difference here is the CV joint boot they use to connect the midpipe to the throttle body housing. See all those ribs? It may be nice and convenient to use this, but the problem is the airflow will become extremely turbulent across this section and will rob your car of power at higher RPMs.

This intake that this guy built does not increase your engine's performance, and specifically states so at the bottom of the page. So, this mod is more or less a "noisy engine" mod that just makes your car sound louder.

Basicly a Rice Mod. Zero Performance Gains if not any losses.

Oh...:bandit: :eshooter: :badass:

The best i can tell you is try it out. If you mess something up it can always be fixed. Now im not telling anyone to "try" to change a Cam shaft or timing belt if they've never had any experiance, but putting in a new radio or installing an intake, things like that aren't hard and if you have the manual, tools, and maybe a few friends who know their shit, you'll get a feel for it pretty quickly. Soon you can try more difficult stuff. Give it a shot, at least then no one can say you never tried.



:argue:

I am the guy who made that pipe and I think you have made a couple of wrong assumptions.

- it does make power more than stock, I dont have the dynos to prove it, but other name brands do. I just stated on my site that it doesnt seem make a big difference when you remove the resonator and you already have an intake.

- the flex joint or cv boot is not as turbulent as you would think, once the pipe is made it is actually almost touching the throttle body, therefore bypassing the flex section. It just holds it there without buying a coupling adapter. Kind of like a sleeve.
Another point, thought not as strong, is that it is the same part used by Nissan, so it cant be all that horribly bad.

I wouldnt have said anything but you called it Rice , and that just hurt man it just hurt ...Now you must lose to my max and look at the altezzas when I pass you:flash:

no disrespect but altezza's are kinda rice :( lol...but i like your mod and i think its real cool, thanks for doin all the huntin for the parts and makin it so we can do the s ame :)

yeah, they are rice. I just put that in there for effect :)

the only reason to buy a set of altezza tail lights for a maxima is to make the skylinye light conversion. otherwise they are UGLY

Originally posted by Danielsan
I am the guy who made that pipe and I think you have made a couple of wrong assumptions.

- it does make power more than stock, I dont have the dynos to prove it, but other name brands do. I just stated on my site that it doesnt seem make a big difference when you remove the resonator and you already have an intake.

- the flex joint or cv boot is not as turbulent as you would think, once the pipe is made it is actually almost touching the throttle body, therefore bypassing the flex section. It just holds it there without buying a coupling adapter. Kind of like a sleeve.
Another point, thought not as strong, is that it is the same part used by Nissan, so it cant be all that horribly bad.

I wouldnt have said anything but you called it Rice , and that just hurt man it just hurt ...Now you must lose to my max and look at the altezzas when I pass you:flash:

Well, if you were sure to make the intake as smooth as possible, then more power to ya, and your Max. I made a Home Depot intake out of PVC pipe for my 90 Sentra and I think all it did was make it louder. It was fun and I had nothing better to do at the time, but I definitely wasn't winning any races with that thing.

I'm going to put up the $$ for a CAI though.

Countdown 5 days till my Max is in my hands again.