Community Member Credit: Eddy
The air intake rubber boot cracked on my 2009 7thgen Nissan Maxima. I recently bought a 2020 engine for my 1998 Maxima and it just happens to come with an air intake. I installed it on my 7thgen and it fit worked. Didn’t need to buy a new one or try to hack my existing one.
Community Member Credit: luke95gxe
So I decided to install a cold air intake the diff is noticeable and I love it.
Tools Needed
Parts Needed
My ram air intake set up:
Here is the pipe I used. It was beaten up so I painted it.
Remove fuse box and battery on driverside drill pilot holes and cut a hole a lil bigger than 3” in diameter.
Remove drivers-side wheel
Remove the splash guard by Phillips head screws you don’t have to completely remove.
Install cold air piping through the hole
Install air filter
Put splash guard back on and wheel and enjoy a better breathing engine. Finished product
I can definitely feel a difference on pulls than the ram air intake feel free to comment sorry for the crappy pics taken with my cell phone.
Credit: 02whitemaximase
The OBX headers (02-03 Maxima, equal length y-pipe) have been out of stock for at least a year. For engine performance mods I have the Megan OE-RS Catback installed along with berk/Apexi intake and 5 piece spacers. I have compiled all of the information needed to get these headers installed correctly.
My first photo is of new OEM exhaust gaskets. Look at the part numbers and order those if you plan on doing a header install on a 3.5. Although you could get away with reusing the original gaskets, I would recommend spending 35 bucks for peace of mind.
The front (closest to the radiator) header measurements are as follows:
Runner length from where it meets the flange to where all three join cylinder 2= ~10″, 4= ~9″ 6= ~12″
Prices and part numbers:
The purpose of this thread is to display the newest batch of OBX headers. Exhibit how the install goes and post up some before and after pictures and videos.
My install went nearly flawlessly minus one heat shield bolt being seized and a secondary o2 sensor not coming out of the old converter. I know these headers are made overseas where quality control is not great. With that being said I think no two sets of headers are exactly the same which means that you may need to trim something during your install. I came to a couple of millimeters from having to trim my front motor mount bracket and my rear bracket went on no problem although it was very close. Probably about 2-3 mm from touching and my front bracket is literally 1mm from touching the header. My flex pipe has about 1/4′ space from touching the subframe.
As you can see one of the primaries comes very very close to the front motor mount bracket but it did not require trimming. Although some may be uncomfortable with how close they are, it is no problem. The mount and header will NOT move even though mine are basically touching it does not matter.
The y-pipe comes about 1/4 of an inch from touching the sub-frame cross member. Again this is not a problem. I have driven it like this enough to not experience any noise and the way I see it the motor really only moves front to back so this tight space does not come into play.
In order for the front primary to have enough wire slack to reach the new header bung, you will have to cut the tape holding the group of wires that travels directly over the middle coil from the larger harness that runs along the top of the valve cover. The tape was holding both harnesses together to about right in the middle of the top middle of the valve cover. Easy fix takes one second.
As you can see below the far left plug has to be unclipped from the coolant pipe in order for that primary to reach.
The rear primary wire has to be extended too. From all of my research people here have been saying to cut the primary either at the wire harness and add some wire to lengthen it or to cut the actual o2 wire and extend those by adding wire. Problem is that it can mess with the voltages. The wire is stainless steel which is nearly impossible for an amateur to solder correctly. My method requires NO WIRE CUTTING!!! You need to remove the wire harness cover pictures below and simply separate the o2 wires from the rest of the wires. First, you need to separate it from the green plug wires, then you need to slit the right side of the main harness that fees into the back of the plastic box. PLEASE TAKE YOUR TIME!!! Be very careful to cut precisely and slowly. Doing this will give you enough slack to reach the rear primary o2 sensor.
This next picture shows exactly where my o2 wire is coming out of the main harness. It is wrapped in a black plastic protector. This picture is taken along the firewall from the driver side, so the top of the picture is the passenger side, the bottom is the driver’s side and as you can see the top left is the upper part of that black wire harness box. The fattest harness coming from the box is what you need to slit the side of and separate the 02 wire from. My o2 wire is running out of that harness down toward the middle of the picture.
The following picture is of one of my secondary sensors. I have the antifouler setup and as of about 75 miles no CEL. This secondary is the one with a green plug and red wire cover. The wire running above it is actually the other secondary which is the blue plug with a white wire cover. Secondaries have different length wires so I recommend this configuration.
As you can now see the y pipe outlet is not quite at 2.5″ but pretty damn close
My new wideband bung on the y-pipe.
The relocated rear header primary bung and plugged original location
Community Member Credit: Maxxi12
Hello everyone!
I recently toyed around with the idea of putting an intake in my Max, so I started reading some threads on here. After looking at the posts and my own engine bay it’s pretty obvious that all intakes are pretty much going to be the same for this car…there’s only one place to go. The filter on the end of it is really the only variable.
So, I went with a bit of a gamble and got a little known (but all over the bay) intake kit from a company called Check Point Tuning, or CPT for short. They have two options for their kits, $99.95 for one that comes with what looks like a ‘Spectre’ type knock-off filter, and $139.95 for the same pipe – but with a K&N filter included. I went with option B. At that price it undercuts K&N’s own air intake system’s price by more than half, and K&N is already on the cheaper end of the spectrum for intakes. So, I’m putting this review out there for people like me, who want to check out their options and maybe came across this low price company on the bay.
Now to get this out there…what every other thread out there for the 7th gen Maxima says is true. No out of the box intake swap will gain power in this car. I’ve built true CAI’s for other cars before and the stock system truly is about the best you can do performance wise. It’s pretty well thought out. So, you won’t be gaining mad VTEC or anything, but if you go into it for the sound, like I did, you won’t be disappointed.
That being said, while I didn’t gain any performance I don’t feel like I lost any either. Driving dynamics are essentially unchanged. So that’s a plus. No low end power loss or any other abnormalities.
Sound wise, well it’s just nifty. Google Maxima K&N intake video and you’ve got the sound, it’s nice. Noticeable even in low RPMs but obviously gets more so as the engine is pushed. Sounds just as great as the 2x expensive name brand with exactly the same level of protection. All around fantastic, unless you’re my gas card.
Now, for the negative –
Yes, it does come with instructions. They are not very good. I suppose that’s because I’m a visual person and I like diagrams, but I’d say if you’ve never really worked on an engine or installed an intake…WITHOUT instructions…this may not be the kit for you. I had to double back a couple of times just because things weren’t completely clear.
Secondly, my third drive after the installation did throw a check engine light. My car had been running and driving as smooth as ever so I knew there was nothing wrong. I cleared the code and it hasn’t come back in days, so I think I’m in the clear. Just a false code more than likely, but still something that others may face.
Lastly, it does come with a heat ‘shield’ but it doesn’t do much. Again though, with these cars there just isn’t any cold air to pull unless you custom build or use the factory intake. Don’t buy a kit and expect performance…it’s all about the sound pretty much, so spend your money on a good filter. The pipe and the shield really won’t matter when compared to other kits.
All in all – great value. That great VQ sound is there, NO performance loss (or gain), and I spent less than half (or even less than that) of the price of the name brand kits with the same K&N protection. What’s not to like?
Please excuse the dirty engine pics. It’s been a long summer.
Credit: pimpin02max
Alright…there seems to have been many many questions about the install of the newer OBX Headers/Y-pipe. So I have decided to do a small writeup on the installation of these headers/y-pipe. So below I have made a faq with some of my answers that should be right but if I am wrong on anything feel free to let me know…and like everything else, this is a guide to help you on your install and any questions you have, so if you screw something up it is not my fault
FAQ
1. Are these worth saving the extra money over the Cattman’s?
(Answer) If you are a do-it-yourself kind of person then yes definitely, the Cattman’s are an awesome product and have no fitment issues whatsoever (I have owned a set of Gen III’s) and the peace of mind is nice, but if you aren’t afraid to do some small modifying and saving around $500 sounds good then yes the OBX headers are for you.
2. Do these make decent power compared to the Cattman’s?
(Answer) The OBX Headers make just as much power as the Cattman’s. Depending on who you ask some will tell you they make more but I think that since the dyno’s differ I would say all around they make around the same power.
3. I have heard you have to extend the O2 sensors, is this all 4 or just the primaries?
(Answer) Alright, when I installed my headers all I had to extend was the primaries which are the O2 sensors in the collectors of the headers…now if you choose to plug up the secondary O2’s then you might have to extend them, I don’t know because I did not hook mine up.
4. Do you have to relocate the rear bung for the primary O2 sensor?
(Answer) Don’t know if you absolutely have to but I would 100%…it makes the install a lot easier and you won’t be so worried about it hitting the steering rack and whatnot. All you need to do is move the bung 90* to the right on the collector and your good to go, you could have a shop do this for you or for the DIY’r you could do it in your garage (like me…lol)
5. Will I throw a SES with these headers?
(Answer) Yes most likely, since you do not have any precats for the secondaries to monitor you will throw a code which is why it is useless to plug up the secondaries to begin with since they will still throw a code because there are no precats. The SES light thrown will not effect your performance at all because the primaries are the only O2’s that affect your A/F ratio. Now all you need is a dual output O2 simulator which you can get from here: http://www.02sim.com/ Some have reported not throwing a SES and most get one. When I installed my Cattman’s I threw one upon first startup, with the OBX’s I have been driving around for 1 1/2 months now without a simulator and have yet to throw a code, but that’s just mine.
6. Should I use the gaskets included with the headers or the OEM ones?
(Answer) Definitely use OEM multi-layer gaskets because the ones included like every other header kit are crap. Now if for whatever reason you have to use them then they are ok but plan on changing them down the road because they won’t last as long as your OEM ones.
7. Is there that much modifications to make these work?
(Answer) That depends on who your talking to. I didn’t think it was that bad. The only modifications I had to do was to move the rear bung 90* to the right, plug the 2 secondary holes in the y-pipe, trim down the crossmember like 1/2 inch for the flex section, and then grind down the rear motor mount bracket peice for the primary tube on the rear header. That’s it. Not bad at all. Some people claimed to have installed them without any modifications but I would plan on doing the above on your install.
8. Do you have to have a lift to install these headers?
(Answer) NO!!!! You can install these with your car on jackstands…I installed both my Cattman and OBX’s with the car in my garage on jackstands. Even with the one peice rear header/y-pipe deal it’s not that bad. The y-pipe header peice doesn’t weigh that much and once you get everything trimmed and out of the way it isn’t that hard to put up on the head.
That’s all the questions I could think of for now, I am working on the Install Writeup as you are reading this so I will post in a little bit, but I hope this helps out a lot with some of the questions and concerns people are having with these headers.
Now bare with me hear as I installed these quite a while ago, so if I left something out please feel free to let me know because this is going off of memory, I didn’t take a gazillion pics either so it will mostly be an overview because I’m assuming you guys can figure out the small details 
. So use this as a basis to go off of when you are installing your headers, it’s not an instruction manual but I’m sure it’s a good outline to follow.
Alright first things first. Here is a pic of the bung relocation courtesy of C-Young:
1. Remove your filter, midpipe etc. off of your intake.
2. Proceed to remove your intake manifold (12mm) upper only though.
3. Remove your Radiator fans, only 2 bolts on top (10mm) and 2 on bottom (10mm) unplug them as well.
4. Jack up the car and put on jackstands.
5. Take off the passenger side splash guards.
6.Take off the front heat shield off the header.
7. Undo the 2 front O2 sensors and the rear secondary. 22mm wrench or an adjustable wrench.
8. Unbolt y-pipe completely from the precats and the cat.
9. Unbolt exhaust manifold from head.
10. Drop the front manifold throught the bottom.
NOW THE EASY PARTS OVER….LOL
11. Undo the rear O2 sensor off the rear manifold
12. Now it would be easiest to unbolt the precat from the rear manifold but mine decided to be tricky and stripped out so I couldn’t undo it so it was a little hard to get to the nuts for the header.
13. Unbolt the rear manifold using a combination of underneath the car and from on top to get to the different nuts.
14. Bolt the front header to the head.
15. Go ahead and test fit the y-pipe/header and see where you’ll need to cut (even though you already should know by now…lol)
16. Grind down the crossmember so that it’s not touching the flex section.
17. Now grind down the rear motor mount peice on top that’s almost just like a cover for the top of the mount, this can be kind of tricky, I’ve found it to almost be easier to undo the mount from the engine and cradle and take out of the car and since all you are grinding is a plate you can just cut it all the way off…photo courtesy of datdude20.
18. Your header/y-pipe should now slide up into place.
19. Bolt on header to head
20. Bolt y-pipe to cat and to front header.
21. Plug in your O2 sensors. You may need to use some zipties on the front because my wire was being hit by the fan so I ziptied it so it wouldn’t hit.
22. Double check and make sure everthing is bolted up tight so you won’t have any leaks.
23. Lower car back onto ground.
24. Re-install fans, intake manfold, intake.
25. Enjoy your headers!!!!
Credit: Rene Saran
This setup is 2″ from the eBay headers, stepped to 2.25″ into a slip connector that goes to 3″ all tig welded stainless a d vibrant everything. The work was done by Centerline Motorsports.
There are many types of intakes out there on the market (including ones made out of PVC piping). They come in 3 popular piping sizes (3″, 3.5″, 4″) and models (SRI, Cold Air, Cooler etc…).
Which size are you likely to select for your performance modding?
