Experiences with Nissan 200sx
Turbo Mini Forums

I know a few of you on here love your jap drift cars so just looking for a little guidence. Im going to look at an S14 later today and just like a little heads up on any foibles to be wary of. The cars a T plate with 98k, alleged full service history.
Thanks in advance
Shane

Excellent choice mate.

Do a HPI check, lots of these have been bent round lamposts.

Check rust on sills, rear arches.

Check for VVT rattle on idle/startup. They have a simple cam timing system to increase low end torque, after time the actuator gets worn and this causes the rattle. Don't mistake for noisy injectors as they can make a racket at idle.

Check turbo/manifold gaskets, very obvious if gone, have a look see if the water/oil pipes to turbo have been replaced for braided, as the standard ones can break when the turbo is removed.

Be careful of any mods to boost, very dangerous to raise the boost without changing fuel pump(in tank) and plugs for iridium ones.

Try and have a look at the standard wing mounted intercooler if it still has it. Check for oil stains, indicating boost leaks, they leak commonly.

Manual gearbox can be notchy from cold, should free up nicely once warm.

Please don't read negatively into this lot, they are fantastic cars, and if looked after extremely reliable. Fantastic drive, but can catch you out in the wet/cheap tyres!

Hope its a good one mate.

I owned an S14 for quite some time and was probably the best car I've ever owned and wish I'd never gotten rid of it.

Can't really add much to the above, but rust is a big point with these cars now as they're getting old. Check for rust in the engine bay also around the inner wings and the sills also are prone to going.

The fuel pump thing isn't only pertinent with boost mods, the standard pumps have a horrible habit of failing right at the wrong time. Best to replace with a Walbro and you'll have no issues.

Standard ECU won't like anything over 1 bar boost without a chip (Horsham Developments do the best off the shelf maps), standard turbo is good for about 1.2 bar if you're lucky but not much more.

Don't worry about the VVT rattle, they almost all do it and it shouldn't cause any issues. Mine rattled from day one but only when initially pulling away before the oil filled the mechanism properly.

But, if its a good one, go for it Shane. You won't regret it!

Edited by Coupe on 30th Aug, 2010.

oil filler cap off and check for wear on teh cam lobe thats visible. due to poor servicing / crap oil / blocked spray bar.

check the sills thoughrily!! particularly near rear subframe mounting points.

listen for bottom end rattle, and check the dipstick for signs of "white metal" indicating an impending big end failure, that asside, good motors :)

turbo 16v k-series 11.9@118.9 :)

Denis O'Brien.

Just bought an s14a myself 3 weeks ago. Still love it. Doing 80 miles a day to work in it and got absolutely no complaints. With some careful granny driving, hovering around 60 on the mway, I'm getting 40mpg!

Car does go sideways nicely too, but on std suspension its very wobbly and flicky coming out of your spectacular drift heroics.

Third gear power is awesome by the way. (boost is limmited in 1st and 2nd)

Oh and an air filter, de-cat exhaust and the 'hole mod' on the dump valve will make it much more responsive as well as making crazy chirpy and wooshy noises

SXOC and driftworks are good resources for information too

Thanks for that chaps, just the sort of info I was hoping for. The car is mint, paintwork is very bright, could only find one tiny spot on the door, sills are mint, removale of trim pannels and the car seems to have been treated to a good dose of cavity wax. No rot in the arches either. A friend is carrying out an HPI check for me. There is a very light "ticking" noise at idle which I suspected was the VVT but having never looked at these before was unsure. The turbo elbo gasket is blowing but not a major issue. The engine bay is dry, showing no signs of oil or water leaks. Owner couldnt find any of the paperwork for the car so will be headed back to him when he locates it, so havent seen history or proof of servicing. Just need to chase my insurance co for the settlement of my written off Bm.
Thanks again
Shane

Shane, the ticking will probably be a combination of noisy injectors and the turbo elbow gasket. The VVT only rattles when you put it into gear and rev the engine for the first time after firing it up.

It'll be nothing to worry about.

isnt sxoc the club that came here trying to bitch slap us :S

Yes i moved to the darkside

Instagram @jdm_brett

Thats very reassuring, I may have neglected to mention its an auto! I know its not as fun as a manual, but its a good price and cant see the conversion being too costly or difficult, but feel free to correct me!
Cheers
Shane

turbo 16v k-series 11.9@118.9 :)

Denis O'Brien.

That was the starlet/galanza chumps

The spray bars are the main problem with the engine on the SR20's. Thats pretty much the only reason those engines will eat their big ends in standard form. (Ignoring the random/stupid misshaps).

Great engine though! Very little will see you to 300+ bananas.

SXOC is good, but there are only a few on there with proper decent tech knowledge so be conservative with what you take from it.

Auto to manual conversion is easy!

you'll want:

Manual gearbox loom
Gearbox
Gearbox crossmember
Prop
pedalbox
clutch gubbins (fly, slave, master etc)

Then just bolt it all up. Pretty sure the auto ECU's have slightly different settings on them and they do funny things with boost limiting and are possibly slightly down on power over a manual.

Abit of research will get all the truths out.

Oh and suuuuuper easy skyline conversions.

Nissan have so much stuff off their bigger cars thats uprated parts over the standard 200sx stuff which bolts straight in place. I love them.

Cheap to replace/repair parts aswell.

Basically a very good car!

Well i took delivery of it this morning! and im pleased as punch!! just needs a service, possibly a timing chain (clueless on the interval of these) and a rear calliper rebuild!
Shane

The don't really have a life span as such really. They normally don't need changing. Just check that its got reasonable tension.

Marvelous!! I now feel a tad guilty for using it to kick the guy down on price!! PMSL!
Shane

Lets have some pics mate!

Sorry for delay, pics as requested, got a set of lowering springs chucked in with the car, now trying to choses a set of alloys for it, but need to get the niggles sorted first.
Shane

R33 GTR wheels always suit these Shane, might be worth having a look on the Skyline forums to see if anyone is ditching a set.

a nice looking example

Yes i moved to the darkside

Instagram @jdm_brett

I was initially looking at fitting 17s (as I have a set of 225 55 17s in the garage) but after offering them up I dont think they will fill the arches, I then started looking at the 6 spoke 350z 18s, but the o/s brake calliper seems to have thrown a shit fit this eve so wheels may have to take the back burner at least till the Bm has gone.
Yes its a tidy one, had a friend who works for a nissan deaker cast his eye over it prior to purcase, he said its oneof the cleanest hes seen for a while. Needless to say im chuffed to bits with it.
Shane

Don't do it mate, stick to 17's! The ride and handling is so much better, I got hold of some 17*9.5" Split rims and they made the car...





Thats with a small drop via some Tein Springs to mind..

That looks sweet as!!! So far these are my possibles.
Ebay, 140439997071, 110575275961, 190433425000. 17 x 7 is looking favorite as I know the 225 tyres I have will fit without being streched, after having a 205 trye popping off a 7" rim in the past im not keen on the idea, but I have fallen for the 18s, but will probably sway away on keanes advice. On a plus side ive freed the calliper off!!
Shane

run staggered? a friends old 200 had 9x18 on the rear and 8x17s on the front