Talk to me about: The Nissan 200SX (S14/14A)

Saytan

Saytan

Saytan

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In a few months i'm going to look to chop in my Ford Focus 2.0 Zetec

my main priorities are

1) a bit quicker
2) a bit less practical

and the above fits the bill perfectly. My budget is gonna look to be around 3-3500 and it seems i can get a tidy later example for that. Clean and unmodified is what i'm going for - maybe some rims, but no more than that for the time being - anything that gets done i'd prefer to have done myself, so that i know it's right

So what do i need to know?
 
You can get one with some choice mods on it for that, be silly not to imo. They have silly small wheels and wallowey suspension standard so you'll want to change those things anyway.
 
Clarkey said:
You can get one with some choice mods on it for that, be silly not to imo. They have silly small wheels and wallowey suspension standard so you'll want to change those things anyway.
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these are the two things that i'm prepared to consider mods-wise.

I'm very well aware that as turbo cars get older, they fall into the hands of people who are quite prepared to do crude engine mods for more power with little regard to the consequences.
 
Easily ruined if not serviced properly, need to use correct engine oil and gearbox oil especially (all others are important too obviously but I think those 2 are the most common).

Easy to spin out if driven like a plonker due to a light rear end. Same as most RWD cars with no electronic aids I guess.

Following the fate of most S13s - rust, rust, rust.

Easily tuned and therefore many of them are falling into the 'wrong' hands but it seems you may avoid that if you're going for a standard car.

Original fuel pump packs up around 70k miles roughly. I think the turbo gaskets usually go around this mileage too, turbo oil and water feeds are a weak point too and are worth while getting changed at the same time as the gaskets. Good thing to look out for if the gaskets have been changed already.

www.sxoc.co.uk :)
 
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Quick but not rocketship fast - you will definitely be impressed after driving a Focus. Suspension is a bit soft as standard, particularly if it's racked up a few miles. Brakes aren't exactly overwhelming. Boot space is very shallow. Windows don't always seal brilliantly (pillarless) Turbo gaskets go - not an overly expensive job but set aside a good 7 hours or so if you are doing it yourself as it's a significant amount of dismantling to get to the parts. Bottom end can let go, listen for a harsh knocking on acceleration and then lifting off. Don't confuse it with the rough/clattery VVT rattle that some of them have on startup which is pretty common and not worth worrying about/avoiding/trying to repair. Side mount intercooler is crap, often cracks as well. Replace it with a front mount.
They rot round the rear arches a fair bit. Poor soundproofing. Get the leather interior (Touring spec) which is much nicer than the normal fabric. Don't buy an auto.

Coming from a Focus you will find it very very very very twitchy in the wet, you have been warned. I don't like to scaremonger but this is something you must be aware of, especially if you drive it through a dry summer and get used to the power. Try driving it the same way in the wet and it will chew you up and spit you out. Personally, being a RWD/sideways fan I found it incredibly progressive to slide and very controllable. Someone like my mum would have been backwards through a hedge and on fire in about 30 seconds.

Kate had one for a year before it got totalled by an uninsured driver, we both really really liked it to be honest.
 
Lopéz said:
Quick but not rocketship fast - you will definitely be impressed after driving a Focus. Suspension is a bit soft as standard, particularly if it's racked up a few miles. Brakes aren't exactly overwhelming. Boot space is very shallow. Windows don't always seal brilliantly (pillarless) Turbo gaskets go - not an overly expensive job but set aside a good 7 hours or so if you are doing it yourself as it's a significant amount of dismantling to get to the parts. Bottom end can let go, listen for a harsh knocking on acceleration and then lifting off. Don't confuse it with the rough/clattery VVT rattle that some of them have on startup which is pretty common and not worth worrying about/avoiding/trying to repair. Side mount intercooler is crap, often cracks as well. Replace it with a front mount.
They rot round the rear arches a fair bit. Poor soundproofing. Get the leather interior (Touring spec) which is much nicer than the normal fabric. Don't buy an auto.

Coming from a Focus you will find it very very very very twitchy in the wet, you have been warned. I don't like to scaremonger but this is something you must be aware of, especially if you drive it through a dry summer and get used to the power. Try driving it the same way in the wet and it will chew you up and spit you out. Personally, being a RWD/sideways fan I found it incredibly progressive to slide and very controllable. Someone like my mum would have been backwards through a hedge and on fire in about 30 seconds.

Kate had one for a year before it got totalled by an uninsured driver, we both really really liked it to be honest.
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this is excellent, many thanks. I like to spend time getting to know the drive characteristics of my cars, so i'll be careful, especially in the wet (where i tend not to press on anyway). I do drive the focus pretty hard, but i've had it for 2.5 years and 25k miles, so i know it fairly well - i dont spank cars unless i know them.
 
Rather then repost a lot of information already available, get yourself registered on SXOC forums and read up there about things to look for.

Some personal experiences....

- You'll pay more for an unmolested example, then one that's been modified. Most people take the car to 'Stage 1' (Air Filter / Exhaust / Fuel Pump / More Boost). Some people will just crank the boost up and not do the supporting mods (Uprated Fuel Pump / Colder Plugs) so check these have been done.

- They suffer badly from boost leak issues, infact if you look on the forums every other problem seems to be related to boost leak. As mentioned the wingmounts tend to split on the end tanks, replacement with a front mount is around £250 and a days work. I bought mine, and it had a boost leak.

- Finally, get use to the RWD on it. It's pretty easy to break traction in anything but bone dry weather, It's not going to kill you if you're prepared to deal with it. I spun mine once accidently about 6 months into ownership, too much power for a wet road!
 
Decent Tyres are a must too. Falken FK-452 complement the car really well i find. If you go to look at one check under the oil filler cap while running you should see a healthy stream of oil hitting the visible cam lobe. If not it has block cam spray bars which gives you a one way ticket to big end failure. I should know as i recently finished rebuilding my engine with forged internals.

Finally some pictures for inspiration.

P10100201024x768.jpg


P10100211024x768.jpg


P10100181024x768.jpg
 
The rear subframe mounting points and the floor pan near the exhaust are also areas where these cars rust. Pretty much all of them are rusting now thanks to poor treating from the factory and it's probably what is going to kill a lot of them off.
 
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I've owned one for the last 6 months or so, and have to admit I am finding it a little highly strung :p.
 
Just to highlight the warning, I wrote my S13 off round a lamp post coming out of a round about :(, the s14's are just as twitchy in the wet if you put the right foot down!
 
Definitely be prepared for the handling! Stock setup as said by Lopez is pretty wallowey and will be prone to some tail out junction. Shortly after getting mine on my commute home from work I went proper sideways coming off a roundabout in 3rd gear. Ok it was peeing it down but I wasn't even on boost! However the good bit is, it's really quite progressive.

Not yet started to modify mine yet and the stock feel is nice for commuting as it's good a smooth power delivery and is fairly comfy inside. However in the very near future I do intend to stage 1 it so that it feels a little more urgent :)

Also in regards to fuel consumption I get about 30mpg on my daily commute which is 90% dual carriageway roads and that is 50% sat at 65mph and the other 50% (i.e the way home from work :D) doing 75-80mph. Hope that helps a bit.
 
It's very different to an MR2. MR2s are a pain to get sideways as they tend to be a bit all or nothing, they don't hold a slide very well - they just tend to break away.
 
Lopéz said:
It's very different to an MR2. MR2s are a pain to get sideways as they tend to be a bit all or nothing, they don't hold a slide very well - they just tend to break away.
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Pretty much summed up perfectly. If you think, on the MR2 the engine is pushing the rear wheels down which is brilliant for traction and when it looses it, well, it's pretty hairy :eek: on the 200sx it feels like the most natural thing :D
 
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