madindian, Thanks for the vote of confidence..

I used to do build engines from the ground up (hondas) and do custom turbo installs etc. That is where I get my knowledge from, it was a hobby that turned into my livelyhood for 2 years. I have been out of it for quite a few years (partners suck in busniness, if you have a partner, keep a VERY CLOSE eye on him) now so I'm not quite up to date like I used to be. But I'll do my best to answer your questions.
The Maxima... it's a surprising car it's a full size 4dr sedan that's built like a little pocket rocket. They have a rather advanced engine management system on it, it uses Mass Air system (commonly found in bmw's and other euro cars as well as newer american cars) rather than the manifold air pressure system used in honda's. What's the advantage? a mass air system measures the amount of air going into the engine and adjusts the fuel mixture accordingly. A manifold air pressure system estimates the amount of air entering a motor by the level of manifold vacum and the rpm's of the motor. It does not actualy measure but rather extrapolates the likely amount of air consumned by the motor. This is where a lot of shops and most do it yourself guys fall flat on their face. When you improve the airflow through a motor you change the actual amount of air going into the motor, but the parameters are for a set value that you just changed, so you start leaning out the air/fuel mixture which makes you car run like crap or kills the motor. On a Maxima, this is not the case.. since the car uses a Mass air flow sensor, if improve the air flow through the engine and consumes more air the sensor will detect that and compensate for that extra air with more fuel. This assures the proper air/fuel mixture in the motor despite having headers, airfilter, cam, etc. In short, when you tweak a maxima, there is less chance of you 86ing the motor.
Maximas have always impressed me with their level of performance (for a 4dr sedan) they are pretty quick on the get go. Quick enough to surprise quite a few little twits in their loud, slammed civics. If you want to learn more about tweaking nissans, Jim Wolfe Engeneering in El Cajon california(
http://www.jimwolftechnology.com) would be a good place to start, they specialize in tweaking Nissans . If you want a good all around performer that's still a 4dr sedan and does not cost a fortune you would be hard pressed to find better than the maxima. Besides, at the end of the day when you need to move 5 people and need luggage space you can do so, not the same for that little bitty slamned loud irritating civic. If you have specific questions, post and I'll try to answer..
