Nissan's flagship sedan - the Maxima - has always attracted its share of enthusiasts with its bold styling, roomy cabin, sublime VQ series V-6 engine, and its relative affordability. Now, aftermarket concept builder Street Concepts takes the Maxima moniker to new levels with their Street Concepts 2002 Maxima SE. Like their SE-R project car, Street Concepts didn't cut corners and gave the Maxima the works with more magic and power! We were lucky enough to have this phantom menace in our hands for a week or so to put it through its paces.
The 19" Lowenhart polished wheels were love at first sight for us with a bright polish and superb looking build quality. Even with low profile Toyo Proxes 245/35R19 tires in the front and 265/30R19 tires in the rear, this wheel and tire combo was strong enough to put up with some seriously pothole-infested Southern California roads. Inside the front wheels are four-piston Brembo calipers on cross-drilled rotors (the size of dinner plates - never mind, make that buffet plates)! The Maxima's standard brake lines also have been replaced with steel-braided lines to take advantage of the increased stopping power. Street Concepts didn't have a chance to upgrade the stock rear rotors and calipers yet, but
they plan on at least installing cross dilled slotted rotors for the rear
discs. We wonder if the 2002's standard Electronic Brake Force Distribution can be tuned to accommodate a stronger front brake capacity matched to weaker rear brake system.
The suspension has also been retuned, sporting new Tokico struts and Eibach springs. We were expecting a harsh ride once we were on the road, but were pleasantly surprised by how supple the ride was, even on semi-rough surfaces. However you can't defy the laws of physics because once we were on really rough roads, the ride became jarring. The suspension tuning has worked out most of the Maxima's roll and rear looseness on the corners. The steering feel has also benefited from the suspension work with reduced understeer when cornering.
During our test run on the Angeles Crest Highway and in the foothills of L.A., we were impressed by its stable and easy-to-handle demeanor at a 7/10ths pace.
On the L.A. freeways, this Maxima is a joy to take banking sweepers and
storm down on ramps to easily merge into traffic thanks to its eager VQ engine.
You'll definitely notice the custom front grille work courtesy of Twin Custom Concepts. It leads to a menacing and customized look indeed, especially with the custom-smoked front headlight lenses. The rear also sports smoked taillight lenses. Not much has been done to the paint or body claddings yet, but Street Concepts tells us to expect some surprises in the near future.
Street Concepts did install a direct port wet NOS system in the car, but it had not been fully tuned before our testing. We can tell you the fiber carbon NOS bottle in the trunk looks quite impressive. The car was fitted with a custom Area 51 intake, designed to free up a few more horses. Street Concepts also installed a custom Magnaflow muffler that delivers a throaty rumble during acceleration, but unfortunately reduces low-end torque power. Although mid-top end power does seem zippier. We are sure this Maxima will beat most front wheel powered cars at a stop light match any day of the week.
It's when you actually sit inside the Maxima that you are blown away. Most of the center dash and parts of the door are finished in a metallic like paint.
The dash is covered in a superb high quality suede material that's flawlessly
installed and could pass for a factory option. The shift knob is a Momo
aftermarket piece that fits perfectly with the the rest of the package.
Even the center clock has been replaced by a center DTS speaker.
A video monitor has replaced the standard double-DIN Bose stereo system. And then there's the superb Kenwood Excelon head unit that's mounted where the HVAC normally goes. "Where are the HVAC controls now?" you ask. In the center arm storage area of course! There's also an Audiovox rear view mirror a built-in LCD display that connects to a mini-video camera mounted where the trunk keyhole used to be!
The head unit includes a bright and easy to read color LCD display that hides away inside a slot. It's not a fully motorized
display unit, but it does includes an in-dash CD/DVD drive. It also support the full array of
music formats: DTS surround, DVD video and audio, CD, Sirius satellite, Music Keg (removable
cartridges that can store MP3 and WMA files), and GPS navigation features. Then there are two Excelon amplifiers and two sub-woofers mounted in the trunk. We thought we had heard top of the line audio systems before but this one eats the others alive! We played a neat DVD audio sampler
disc and were stunned at the awesome sound clarity and power this system belts out. Our only concern was we couldn't easily figure out how to turn off the main video monitor even when the head unit was turned off.
Did we mention the seats? These racing Cobra seats were reskinned by Katskinz' superb leather and suede materials. We really enjoyed the lateral and thigh support these Cobra seats offered and wished Nissan would improve the seats in the stock Maxima SE to something similar.
When it was finally time to return the keys, we were really impressed at the excellent work done - the suspension, interior, brakes, and did we already mention the audio system? We were disappointed when we had to hand the keys back! We can't wait until Street Concepts puts the final touches on this Maxima.
