I recently purchased a 1991 Maxima with a 5 spd. the car runs/drives great, although it idles and accelerates a little roughly, which I found out is probably the vaccum lines since theyre cracked and old. I plan on replacing the spark plugs as well. now maybe somebody could explain to me - is getting platinum really worth it?? will I notice an increase in power? do they simply last longer? I keep hearing different things. I want to kind of soup it up, that is, more horsepower/acceleration, but not neccesarily like a street racer. I would like to hold my own so to speak. My understanding is that I need to add a new air filter kit, right? What kind would you all recommend that would be best for this year and the most cost effective? Also (I know this is a lot of questions but I am pretty dumb when it comes to cars) I was researching this product called a "vortec cyclone" that is supposed to increase gas miliage and horsepower. Anybody have experience with these? so basically, what little things can I do (that dont cost more than 300 bucks) that would "soup up" my engine?
Thanks
Don't waste your money on gimmicks like the "vortex cyclone". Can you say snake oil?
Honestly for less than $300 you aren't going to able to do much. Horsepower costs money, it is rarely inexpensive.
Invest in a cold air intake kit from warpspeed performance. About $200(from warpspeed). Then get a Warpspeed performance y-pipe. About $100 (ebay). That will give you some increase, about 15hp.
I can't tell from experience anything about platinum plugs. For plugs I run Denso Irridium. They are about $12 per plug. IMO worth it. And get some low restriction wires, like Accel. Nology makes awesome wires for about $200.
Ok cool...Im definetly going to pass on the vortec thing. I had a funny feeling about that anyways. So you think iridium plugs are worth it eh? Well at Auto Zone they sell NGK iridium plugs for like 8 bucks a piece...maybe I should go for that instead of the platinums? Would it really make a difference if say, I got iridium plugs but didnt get the low restriction wires? dont you need all of that together to really make a difference? Say for instance I got a really good air filter. Ok, so now do I need the cold air intake thing to really get extra out of it? So many questions, I know...
Heh...well really, I dont think I make enough money to be so concerned about horsepower... I mean I would love to soup up my car but I guess I just cant afford it right now. Im not sure I really understood how much $$ this costs.
I think I should probably just be concerned with getting it to run really good first, then when I get more money I can invest in all of that other stuff.
Thanks for your reply man, and any other info that other ppl have would be great.
It sounds like you're coming around pretty quickly.
First, get your car running properly. If you still have money, then look at investing in some toys.. but get the darn car running first!!
And yes, horsepower costs money. and the more power you have, the more it's going to cost to keep it running.
example: bigger, wider wheels sure look cool, but then think about the extra cost of tires.
15" tire for stock wheel: $60 each, installed. lasts 60k miles
17" tire for my wheels: $150 each, installed. lasts 10k miles if I'm lucky.
My current tire budget is roughly $1200 a year. and that's just for street tires. add in my race slicks when I go to the track, and I can throw in another $1000 a WEEKEND for tires. but that's a different story altogether.
point of the matter is, if you're on a budget, the best thing to do is to NOT modify your car. just get it in good running shape and enjoy the comfort of a stock car.
As for the spark plugs, just use the standard $1.25 NGK plugs. unless you're running some serious mods, the platinum plugs just aren't needed and won't net you any gains at all. neither will plug wires.
It sounds like you're coming around pretty quickly.
First, get your car running properly. If you still have money, then look at investing in some toys.. but get the darn car running first!!
And yes, horsepower costs money. and the more power you have, the more it's going to cost to keep it running.
example: bigger, wider wheels sure look cool, but then think about the extra cost of tires.
15" tire for stock wheel: $60 each, installed. lasts 60k miles
17" tire for my wheels: $150 each, installed. lasts 10k miles if I'm lucky.
My current tire budget is roughly $1200 a year. and that's just for street tires. add in my race slicks when I go to the track, and I can throw in another $1000 a WEEKEND for tires. but that's a different story altogether.
point of the matter is, if you're on a budget, the best thing to do is to NOT modify your car. just get it in good running shape and enjoy the comfort of a stock car.
As for the spark plugs, just use the standard $1.25 NGK plugs. unless you're running some serious mods, the platinum plugs just aren't needed and won't net you any gains at all. neither will plug wires.
Haha, well its too late, I got the platinum ones. :-/ I hate to think I wasted my money, but oh well. If anything they should last longer right? I installed them today, and changed out the cracked vaccum lines for new ones but it still runs the same. Im thinking it could be the EGR valve or the timing belt. The book also says it could be worn Camshaft lobes or clogged throttle body ports. I sure hope its the EGR valve or the timing belt.
Youre right, I should just focus on getting it running smooth before I even think about modifying it, even though it sounds like fun.
Anyways, thanks for your help and for answering a common newbie question...I see that its common now that I researched a little :-P
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