The Stillen High-Flow Intake / Air Filter was the
first performance mod I did on the car. It replaces the
restrictive stock air box and is good for about 6 hp. Stillen (http://www.stillen.com)
uses
a genuine cleanable K&N air filter with their own custom hardware
which is designed to fit the Max perfectly. You never need to
change the filter - just clean and oil it and it will last
forever. Performance is improved across the power band. Most
notable is the fact that when you get on it, the air rushing into the
filter becomes LOUD. The first time I stomped on the gas with this
thing it scared
me. Drive the car like a normal sane person and you would never
know what's lurking under the hood. The improved air flow,
however, makes it even more obvious that the car is begging to have the
exhaust opened up a bit.
Installing the Stillen intake is very
simple even if you are not that mechanically inclined. Once the
stock airbox is removed, there is room to install the Stillen-supplied
bracket for the intake.
The photo far left shows the bracket installed, and
the MAF sensor removed.
The Stillen-supplied velocity
stack secures to the bracket (above) and the Mass Airflow (MAF) Sensor
using the same 4 bolts that secured the MAF sensor to the stock air
intake box.
All that is left to do is
install the K&N air filter and tighten the clamp. Adding the
Stillen High-Flow air intake is one of the cheapest easiest power
upgrades you can do to the Maxima. The intake will make quite a
nasty growl upon hard acceleration, but otherwise is quiet during cruise
and ordinary driving.
Stillen Instruction Sheet - 4th Gen Maxima
CARB exemption for the Stillen intake,
K&N Air Filter cleaning instructions, Stillen instructions for the
intake.
Stillen Instruction
Sheet - 5th Gen Maxima
Here are the Stillen
Instruction Sheets for the High-Flow intake for 5th-Generation
(2000+) Maximas.