# Minor/Beginner mods



## ScAvEnGeR (Jan 28, 2004)

I'm still a student but I'm working part-time at the colelge I'm in as a counsellor and I want to start working on my B14A GA16 Sentra... Any ideas on what to do? 

As of now, I've removed the stock air intake pipes as they seem to lead to nowhere and the silencer box that's just before the intake manifold. I've also adjusted the throttle cable for better response when I push the pedal. I'm also getting a chrome set of 4-2-1 extractors next month... :thumbup: 

Any more ideas on DIYs or mods that can be done with the limited resources that I have? (RM400-500/mth) The cost of things are around the same relatively so the budget there should be around the same


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## Token Moron (Mar 28, 2003)

do the timing..... 15* must run high octane gas tho


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## dbigdaddypump (Nov 20, 2003)

an unorthodoy pulley would be nice too......


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## Token Moron (Mar 28, 2003)

nah, if ur on a serious budget, timing would be the best "free" mod.....next if ur gonna spend money would be a tune up(not a mod, but helps)....then u move to CAI and go from there


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## ReVerm (Jan 13, 2003)

AjRaCeR805 said:


> nah, if ur on a serious budget, timing would be the best "free" mod.....next if ur gonna spend money would be a tune up(not a mod, but helps)....then u move to CAI and go from there


Not really: 
- If you change the timing, you will spend more money on gas, which will catch up to you in terms of cost. 
- If you can't/don't do regular maintenance, you shouldn't be modifying your car at all.
- UR pullies are excellent for throttle response and will increase drivability. The 2 pulley set is a simple install too. It's a good choice for a first or second real modification.


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## ReVerm (Jan 13, 2003)

ScAvEnGeR said:


> As of now, I've removed the stock air intake pipes as they seem to lead to nowhere and the silencer box that's just before the intake manifold.


...What exactly did you remove?


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## Token Moron (Mar 28, 2003)

ReVerm said:


> Not really:
> - If you change the timing, you will spend more money on gas, which will catch up to you in terms of cost.
> QUOTE]
> 
> ur kidding right? 10c a gallon more isnt gonna add up to a lot.....and besides, running 91 octane is good for the car.........


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## dry (Oct 21, 2002)

that does at up, 62 bucks a year for higher octane which isnt "good" for the car, persay, especially such a small engine, you dont need anything over 87. advanced timing is one "mod" I havent done and I dont plan to do unless I have a race car.


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## ScAvEnGeR (Jan 28, 2004)

AjRaCeR805 said:


> do the timing..... 15* must run high octane gas tho


Mine's an auto trans so I dun think there's timings is there??? I dunno... Just got into the modding thing


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## ScAvEnGeR (Jan 28, 2004)

dbigdaddypump said:


> an unorthodoy pulley would be nice too......


What's an unorthodoy pulley ??? Does it cost much?


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## ReVerm (Jan 13, 2003)

AjRaCeR805 said:


> ur kidding right? 10c a gallon more isnt gonna add up to a lot.....and besides, running 91 octane is good for the car.........


No. And no. There was a discussion about all this a short while ago (two in fact). 91 octane gasoline will not "clean" your engine nor will it extend the life of it.


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## ScAvEnGeR (Jan 28, 2004)

AjRaCeR805 said:


> nah, if ur on a serious budget, timing would be the best "free" mod.....next if ur gonna spend money would be a tune up(not a mod, but helps)....then u move to CAI and go from there


What's CAI??? Like I sed, I'm only a beginner in this field... So sorry for the ignorance...


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## ScAvEnGeR (Jan 28, 2004)

ReVerm said:


> ...What exactly did you remove?


 The intake pipes just look like bent PVC pipes that come out from the intake manifold with three sections. One's the intake right up front and then there's the filter box and a pipe that connects to the manifold which also branches out to a silencer box... I removed that box and the bent pipe upfron coz the bent pipe only lead to the bottom of the car which is closed and the other end is to nowhere... Kinda just hanging there... So I pulled them off... :cheers:


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## ReVerm (Jan 13, 2003)

ScAvEnGeR said:


> What's an unorthodoy pulley ??? Does it cost much?


NPM Project 200sx 1.6T UR "Ultra S" crank pulley install 

This is what we're talking about. I mentioned something about the 2-pulley/4-pulley set before. That was because I forgot you had a GA16. Sorry. In your case it's just the crank pulley (UR calls it the "Ultra S"). It's a tad pricey at about $200, but it's good to do because unlike many other mods, it will actually help streetability.

CAI stands for Cold Air Intake. It's basically is an insulated pipe that connects the intake manifold to a location outside of your car (as opposed to that rubber thing on the driver's side under the hood). Cooler air = denser air, and air from outside is obviously cooler than air circulating in your engine bay, so you see a bit of an increase in power. Besides that, the biggest advantage of a CAI (as a modification) is that they are simple devices, which you could easily build yourself. Potential problems include the expense (cone filters are expensive, and if you buy a CAI kit from say, place racing, you can spend up to and past $250), the fact that it makes it easier to hydrolock your engine (there are workarounds), and the fact that it makes a lot of noise, which combined with a decent flowing header, could really irritate you during your daily commute.

A cold air intake isn't a horrible first mod, but at the same time, it isn't a great one. There are a lot of other things you could give attention to before that, especially if you're planning to do a lot of work on your project in the future.


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## ReVerm (Jan 13, 2003)

ScAvEnGeR said:


> The intake pipes just look like bent PVC pipes that come out from the intake manifold with three sections. One's the intake right up front and then there's the filter box and a pipe that connects to the manifold which also branches out to a silencer box... I removed that box and the bent pipe upfron coz the bent pipe only lead to the bottom of the car which is closed and the other end is to nowhere... Kinda just hanging there... So I pulled them off... :cheers:


Ah, I see. Well, as long as you don't disconnect any of the sensors or remove the filter from your intake, I guess you can do whatever you want.


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## bugnlv (Jun 24, 2003)

ReVerm said:


> Ah, I see. Well, as long as you don't disconnect any of the sensors or remove the filter from your intake, I guess you can do whatever you want.


timing is the first easy mod... and actually 91 oct gas burns slower and runs smoother. the biggest dif is the smoothness of my cars idle... and even better is 100 oct which i drove 300 miles on from lake havasu az... where it was 2.09 a gallon and 110 was 4.99 hehe either way get the timing changed and also a wai (for a budget) and cai if you have the money.


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## ReVerm (Jan 13, 2003)

bugnlv said:


> timing is the first easy mod... and actually 91 oct gas burns slower and runs smoother. the biggest dif is the smoothness of my cars idle...


The octane level does not determine the smoothness of your idle. If you think it does, you either have carbon deposits in your engine, a differently formulated premium gas (as opposed to the regular that you run), or are experiencing the placebo effect.

We've already ran two threads about this, both of which ended up in the same place. We don't need a third.


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## ScAvEnGeR (Jan 28, 2004)

ReVerm said:


> Ah, I see. Well, as long as you don't disconnect any of the sensors or remove the filter from your intake, I guess you can do whatever you want.


I din do any of that sensor thingies...


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## ScAvEnGeR (Jan 28, 2004)

bugnlv said:


> timing is the first easy mod... and actually 91 oct gas burns slower and runs smoother. the biggest dif is the smoothness of my cars idle... and even better is 100 oct which i drove 300 miles on from lake havasu az... where it was 2.09 a gallon and 110 was 4.99 hehe either way get the timing changed and also a wai (for a budget) and cai if you have the money.


I'm driving an auto trans... Do I have the timing belts? Or whatever it is that you're asking to change? Could you please explain further?


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## ReVerm (Jan 13, 2003)

ScAvEnGeR said:


> I'm driving an auto trans... Do I have the timing belts? Or whatever it is that you're asking to change? Could you please explain further?


Here's what it basically is:
Timing How-to on Naji Dahi's site 

For ideas for what you can do in the near future, look at the following two projects:
Nissan Performance Mag Project 200sx 1.6T
Sport Compact Car Magazine Project Sweet 16


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## ScAvEnGeR (Jan 28, 2004)

thanks man... cheers~!


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## ScAvEnGeR (Jan 28, 2004)

ReVerm said:


> Here's what it basically is:
> Timing How-to on Naji Dahi's site
> 
> For ideas for what you can do in the near future, look at the following two projects:
> ...


I've checked out that 200sx before and the thing is, I don't have the money to do those mods... And to do that I've to drive like 300kilometres down south to do so and I don't think I wanna do that at the moment~! :fluffy:


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## ReVerm (Jan 13, 2003)

ScAvEnGeR said:


> I've checked out that 200sx before and the thing is, I don't have the money to do those mods... And to do that I've to drive like 300kilometres down south to do so and I don't think I wanna do that at the moment~! :fluffy:


You don't have to do every one, or even any of the mods on either of those cars. I just consider them good guidelines for what you can/should/shouldn't do if you've just started tuning your Sentra/200sx.


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## ScAvEnGeR (Jan 28, 2004)

Right... Thanks man... Really appreciate it... Much effort put into those cars and all GA16 adapts... Cheers~!


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