Reader’s Rides & Import Tuners

The Nations First 6th Gen Nissan Maxima Turbo “aka Red Heat”

Name: Chernmax
Location: Lexington Park, Maryland
Car: Nissan, Maxima 3.5 SE, 2004


Current Mods:
- Speed Force Racing Custom Turbo Kit (Page 2)
- GReddy Profec B spec-II electronic boost controller
- AEM UEGO wide band monitor
- A/F control computer with 440CC injectors
- Turbonetics T60-1 Turbo
- Tial Wastegate and blowoff valve
- Kinetix Intake manifold
- Wilwood 4 piston BBK with 13.23 inch rotors (awaiting the rear kit with 12.9" rotors)
- D2 Racing RS Coilovers D2-N06
- Activetuning S4.1 Grill (red with powder coated diamond mesh grill)
- Activetuning ground wiring kit (Blue)
- RedLineMax Front Bumper is PIAA Hyper white Halo fogs.
- Stillen Sides/Rear Ground effects
- Rims: O.Z. Crono HT Black Painted (19.5 lbs) (18X8 - 5x114mm offset)
- Tires: BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDW 2 (Ultra High Performance) (255/45ZR/18-99Y)
- G-2 Caliper painted calipers
- Wilwood SS Performance Kevlar/steel braided brake line
- UPD racing Pulley
- Hotshot Headers with High flow cat (modified for Turbo)
- Greddy SP-II catback system with custom Remus Duel Turbo exhaust muffler's.
- Braided engine hoses
- Greddy oil & radiator caps
- Custom hand painted and airbrushed engine cover (80 hours by graphic artist Joe Kerner)
- Stillen FUSB (custom polished)
- Stillen rear anti-sway bar
- Racingline Front and Rear Endlinks
- Racingline Motor Mount inserts
- Debadged trunk with custom Nissan Emblem
- G35 Rear Spoiler
- Tinted reverse light and HID blue reverse/license plate lights.  
- 35/20/35% window tint (MD state legal)
- Momo red crystal shifter
- Momo racing peddles
- Momo Floor Matts with billet inserts T2000
- Tenko-R billet aluminum e-brake handle
- RedLineGoods custom calf leather e-brake boot
- Real burlwood dash kit
- Customlightz front headlight mod (Painted semi flat black with upper/lower blue halo’s)
- Custom carbon fiber side mirror covers
- Optima Red Top power cell (trunk mounted)
- Stinger battery terminals with LED readout
- Optima custom battery bracket    
- NWP Upper/Lower Intake Manifold Phenolic Spacer

Other mods planned for the car include:

- JDM Style roof spoiler (Received but not installed yet)


My Story:  

I decided to hang up his uniform in 2003 after serving 24 years in the United States Navy, I headed for the nearest Nissan dealership he could find and pulled one of the first 6th Gen Maxima’s off the lot, I initially went there to purchase an Altima 3.5L SE and the salesman asked me if I had seen the new Max.  He led me to the back gated area where the car was still wrapped in transport plastic. My heart started beating fast at how beautiful the new 6th Gen looked to me.  One of my overseas assignments when I was in the Navy was a 12 year tour in Japan, after coming from the Chevy V8 rear wheel drive community, I quickly learned to appreciate the engineering and feel of the Nissan lineup having driven Skylines, Fairlady Z’s (300Z), and my last car in Japan, a Bluebird SSSG (Altima SE). All were fast and fun cars to drive.

While in Japan I also attended many meets and quickly gained a newfound respect for what our overseas Nissan brothers and sisters were doing to their rides.  With a turn of the key on the new Max, I grinned at the salesman and said SOLD!!!   As I was driving the Max home for the first time and smiling like Bob on the male enhancement commercial, I was already envisioning some of the performance and handling mods I wanted to add.  Then reality struck, first I was no longer in Japan, second it would be months if not years for aftermarket parts to be made available for a new car platform.      

Most modders have goals, some like show, some like go, I tend to lean toward the latter myself.  As performance parts for the new Max moved off assembly lines at a snails pace I decided to take a more proactive approach and started calling companies.  My very first mod was an Injen Cold Air Intake and I never looked back.

I then started networking with other Maxima owners on Cardomain, Maxima.org, 6thgenmaximas.org, and NYCmaximas.org.  As the years passed I continued to mod with handling and performance goals in mind and the help I received from around the country led me to achieve several firsts.  The first was when my former sponsor RedLineMax and I installed a set of Hotshot headers that were initially made for the Altima SE-R, while other were saying it couldn’t be done, we did it with no modifications to the car or headers. So that was the first pie I tossed at the non-believers faces.

And now here I sit behind the wheel of the nations first 6th Gen Maxima Turbo with my Bob smile again and loving ever minute of it.  My max is still a work in progress but when all is said and done Speed Force Racing estimates 370-400whp if tuned correctly, they were the designers of the kit and successfully installed the Turbo Kit in another veterans car, a 2002 Nissan Altima 3.5 SE out of Southern Cal, that car put down 378whp on the dyno with the stage 2 upgrade, I’m hoping for similar if not better numbers.  

Last, I want to pay a special thanks to Four T’s Garage in California Maryland, in particular Tommy (the owner) and Grasshopper (you read it right) who was the lead installer of the Turbo Kit and put forth a superb effort on a quality install, these guys did it right the first time, thanks bro’s.  So to those who said it couldn’t be done, enjoy your pie with this issue of Import Tuner