So I want to tune my car and I know different brands work better for certain cars, so I wanted some advice on what brand for a tuner I should get. I know I’ll mess up my car if a get some stupid cheap tuner. It’s a 2004 Nissan Maxima with the 3.5L V6
No matter which “tuner” you choose in an attempt to boost the power output, there is a real chance of causing damage to that 18 year old engine and/or its transmission.
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How about you find a performance shop with a dyno and use them to help tune your Maxima? They would be making adjustments that result in actual performance improvements.
If you just want a modified computer, you might try posting this on a Maxima forum. Or look at the threads in one, I bet this question has been asked before.
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I’d also say that the “best” tuner is the one you don’t ever buy.
Save your money, young man. The girls or friends that may be “impressed” by a “tuned” 2004 Maxima aren’t going to be impressed for too long…
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Yeah, I went and did a number of modifications to my '83 GTI over the years, the only ones I noticed were the freer flowing exhaust (a bit louder) and the better tires/shocks/struts (better in the corners). I never noticed a performance difference from the cam, intake, and exhaust manifold in daily driving.
Short answer: get a cat back system if you want louder, get new tires/shocks/struts to improve handling, get new wheels for looks.
What is your exact goal here?
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Every time I have seen tests of performance tests done by actual auto magazines these computer chips have bee =n unimpressive showing no power gain over stock and in some cases, less power than stock,
… and, let’s not forget the sad tale from a few years ago, of the woman who posted the story of the destruction of her nearly-new Ford truck’s diesel engine as a result of installing a “performance chip”. Because it had been modified, the factory warranty was null and void, thus leaving her with a HUGE bill to replace/overhaul the engine.
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Exactly. I think about that story of the “tuned” Ford Super Duty every time I see a post about chips, programming, and that sort of thing.
That was a shame.
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And it was from what I thought was a ‘real’ performance shop, not a scammer.
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A tune on an otherwise stock car is largely a waste. “canned” tunes usually don’t do much. The type of hand held tuner you get will depend on which one your tuner (the person doing your tune) uses. The actual device really isn’t terribly important. “Tunes” help you extract the maximum benefit from other or existing mods.
The only “tuner” you should buy for any car is the one contained in an audio head unit. You should not attempt to tamper with the engine control computer, by way of a “tuner” or any other method. Also, your car has a NA engine, and cannot be “tuned” into giving significantly better performance without major and expensive modifications.
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The Maxima isn’t one of their core applications but they do offer a tune biut it depends on which ECU and the mod’s already done to the car. They may have a dealer reasonably close to you.
While I also wouldn’t purchase a tune for my vehicle, some people do have the goal of getting better performance out of a vehicle instead of just using it to get from point A to point B and reliability isn’t their top concern