As the title, i'm considering possibly getting one imported for a bit of fun and something different. Would be looking for a S14

Who's had experience with these cars? And was it good or bad? What goes wrong/weak points?

All opinions appreciated

Thanks, Alan

 

You'll need to be a bit more specific, there's a few different models.

 

you mean something like this http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/606673.htm
i was looking at these earlier, seems alot of car for the cash

 

ah, should have said...S14.

 

Didnt you check my link out?

 

Yeah, thats exactly what i'm talking about. Think it would be alot of fun. Amazing what spec you can get relatively cheaply.

 

aint it

I think most of the reviews on here have been good.

There was/is a chap on here who owns one, i forget his user name though

 

Aye, I've seen the avatar, but like you cant remember his name. White one IIRC.

Obviously they will have their problems being quite old, but I'm used to expensive repair bills with the subaru.

 

Wait for the nissan bods, they will soon give you the low down

 

No doubt someone will correct me but other than VVT rattle I don't think S14's suffer from much at all. Cracking cars for the money.

 

S14a is the facelifted (and most think the nicest) version of the S14. They have a more aggressive looking front end. S14, S14a and S15 all have the SR20DET engine (some were SR20DE, which is non-turbo, but not many over here).

They are great cars for the money, providing, of course, you get a good one.

Expect VVT rattle, which will cost around Ł500-600 to sort, but it could be argued that the root cause is a high mileage or poorly maintained engine. Big-ends are another common cause of problems and can easily begin to clatter at 80,000 miles.

Watch out for Jap import cars that will most probably feature parts that cannot be worked on over here, like certain ECU's and Coilovers (which may need rebuilding, but may not be supported in the UK for parts). Also, imported cars usually have a cloud of doubt over the detailed spec, which can be restrictive.

The SR20DET has a timing chain, so no belt to replace. Rear bed bushes are another prone area, there are 4 bushes, 2 of which are silicone filled. These become sloppy and are a fairly big job to replace, although there are other options.

Anything else??!!!

 

were you looking at the pre-facelift (S14) or the later (S14a) cars ? Personally I prefer the earlier less aggressive looking S14.

 

i prefer the one in my link, its like the front end of a DC2 integra

 

Christian and Beccy - Thanks for all that: very helpfull and you obviously know what your talking about. If you got a car with an ECU that couldnt be worked on, surely just replacing it with a standalone and getting it mapped is the answer? Plus that would mean it would be perfect for whatever fuel you wanted to run it on. Think I would probably have that done anyway infact, with any import.

Jamz - Dont have a set budget really, I buy cars going by how good value for money I think they are. But I have to say I prefer the later, facelifted version.

VW_08 - I do like the look of that. Not a big fan of bodykits but that isnt too over the top.

 

Alan i only just realised its got a kit on! looks alright though yeah

 

Yes, you can replace the ECU. It's just that most people who buy these cars expect to get a great car from Japan thats been put together properly and will have no issues. Sadly thats often not the case. There is 2 very opposing approaches to tuning cars over there. You get your no-expense-spared cars, which are few and far between, but when they come up they really are proper, but you also get your shonky shit, which really is shonky.

We love PowerFC ECU's, you're looking at around Ł1000-Ł1200 for an ECU supplied fitted and mapped and including the Commander (Monitor display for in-car info). They are plug-and-play and extremely good for the money.

 

Thanks again. Yes I'm a big fan of the Power FC. Getting one fitted and mapped to my subaru in a few months. Andy Forrest

The "shonky" shit does worry me when it comes to imports...i've been to keighley trade . God I hate that place...anyway, thats for another thread. lol

 

I would have thought the PowerFC is fairly redundant these days since you can live map the stock Nissan ECU with a Nistune daughterboard and software?

EDIT: scratch that, looks like the daughterboards aren't yet compatible with the S14a's

 

Dont know much about them but this one was quite nice at the uxbridge show the other day.





Tony

 

Thats an S15 above, not a S14.

S14s are fantastic for the money, standard for standard better in every single way to a Cossie.

And I fucing love cossies.

 

I came to my cossie from a 1997 S14a, great car, for some time, i thought i was a HUGE mistake selling. you get a hell of a lot of car for the money, and i will be getting another when the cos goes, some time in the future.

really, apart from VVT ratttle, blowing turbo gaskets and split wing mount I/c, never heard of many problems. mind you, they do use a stupid amount of fuel when you start to abuse them a bit

Great car, though

 

Why is it that people say the nissan gtir is unreliable but the 200 is quite good, they both have RB20 engines??

 

SR20DET not RB20

Although they share the same name the engines in the 200SX and GTi-R are different.

The Pulsar only has a bad rep because of it's gearbox, the engine is better than the 200's

 

I've had an S14 that I bought as a non-runner and spent a lot of time working on it to correct some strange re-assembly techniques of the previous owner.

The SR20DET engine is great but I hated working on it because of the tight access. I find working on the Cossie so much easier because there's more room. Most of the Nissan's engine bay is designed to be accessed by Japanese hands and as I'm a 6'3" Brit I found it difficult to get into tight spaces.

Good car though - goes well and looks nice. I prefer the simple looks of the S14 which doesn't need a kit and I think looks best in white with nothing added, just a bit of lowering:


Charlie

 

yours has aftermarket side skirts and a laguna splitter tho!

looks good in white tho, needs rear bumper spats or something tho, as the skirts are too deep compared to the back bumper imo.

 

Thanks for all the replies.

I think I definetly prefer the facelifted S14, so thats what I will be looking out for from now on.

Bloomers - That car looks cracking

So the sylvia is definetly the one to go for?
The UK 200sx' seem to only have 1.8 turbo engines?

 

Christain - some questions?

What the most bolt on hp you will see and still be a nice car eg gt30/manifold/injectors etc or what is the real max hp you have to go internal?
Do you need to change out the std HG or can they take it?
Do you remap the original ecus?

What do the std gearboxes,clutches and diffs last up to if giving the car regular abuse? E.g cossie rear diffs can get unhappy 360 odd hp but T5 boxes seems to take 500hp for a good little while etc.

Cheers

Martin

 

i love mine ive owned shit loads of cars but mine does buzz me even when its broke lol

gearboxes are my only issue but a good rebuilt box should last

 

no they dont

 

That's the older S13 mate, you're looking at S14a's and there's plenty of UK S14a's, don't need to go looking at imports unless you find something specific you want.

 

Silvia's are old S12s, the notchback import only S13s, its the Japanese name for S14s/S15s, just a 200SX basically.

1.8 turbos are UK S13s and early jap S13s, all S14s, uk or not, are 2litre.

The 1.8 engine is totally different.

Most bolt on power is similar to a cossie, 400-450 realistically with half decent reliability.

Diffs are decent and rarely seem to break, but boxes die a lot at 400bhp+ when used mega hard, but prob fine in road use.

 

loose the side skirts and put some ROTA's on it and that would be a sexy car!!

 

Agreed. I think it's a shame when people put kits on. I couldn't find a good pic of a white one without any kit at all.

That's not my car by the way.


Charlie

 

Theres nothing much I can add rarely that hasn't already been said by either Stavros or Christian other then I love mine

 

Your the guy i was referring to in my post near the top, always remember a nice car me

 

Ive had 2 S13's and 4 S14's great cars all round other than a couple of issues mentioned above

Heres my old Sil80

Yodi

 

Ma' ride:



UK bumper rather than Yank bumper as before.