# Lots of questions



## Lusty240SX (Dec 9, 2002)

Ok. First of all, I'm still pretty new to the car thing. My 1992 Nissan 240SX is the first car I've had that I was even slightly interested in as more than a way from A-->B. I know my way around an engine a little (ie: I can tell the fanbelt from the timing belt, and I know what a distributor cap is and does, but not really how to adjust one)

The car is stock, has about 140k KM (about ~90k miles) on it, has had all regular maint. done on it. This car was babied from the day the chick who owned it last bought it. 

So here come my questions.

1) I want to upgrade a number of things.
-The brake pads/rotors(or is it just the disc that can be replaced?)
-Stiffer racing type suspention. I live near the mountains, and I want to be able to just FLY through those corners.
-Exhaust, more for preformance than sound. Though both is nice 
-Rims. Will most 17" rims w/ low profile tires work on this car or should I stick with 16"? Any suggestions for sites I can see some rims on my body style?
-Engine. Can I throw a turbo/intercooler onto my current stock engine, or am I just better off to do an engine swap (this would not be a problem, mechanic-wise , as I know lots of people willing to help who know what they're doing)?

Any advice on any of these subjects would be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance,

Lust.War.A.G0-G0!
Prowd owner, 1992 Nissan 240SX

Oh yea, what the top speed rating for my car? As is...


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## rudeboy (Oct 27, 2002)

hi and welcome to the 240 world 
wheels-4x114.3 bolt pattern with a 40mm offset 
www.tirerack.com
brakes- go for semi-metallic with slotted rotors. i use EBC greenstuff. i like em , they bite nice

suspension- all depends on your budget. a good enty level coilover set up are some Tein HA's. replace some of the stock rubber bushings with ureathane to help keep everything stiff on the touge runs. when you lower it, please use camber plates or bolts to correct camber alignment. get your self some strut tower bars to combat chassis flex(they work great on mid to high speed corners, especially if you use wider rubber)

you might wana just swap your motor if you want turbo, it'll be cheaper in the long run. 

exhaust- apex N1 buddy club racing spec are good. HKS, hotshot header too. 

injen intake or OBX 
tons of options,
more questions IM me rude240


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## Lusty240SX (Dec 9, 2002)

Thanks for the info.

I'll probably throw in a new set of brake rotors/pads on my next paycheque... horray for being paid on xmas eve! Re:AD22VF brake calipers/rotors. What are these, how much can I expect to pay for them, why does everyone seem to think that they are so wonderful?

Unfortunately, I'm one of those people who doesn't care what something costs, if it's worth the money. I am perfectly willing to pay double the cost of a cheap-medium level part, to go for the high quality one, that is not going to crap out on me, and will probably work better. Not that I usually HAVE the money, but... oh well. Overtime is fairly easy to get where I work 

When I do my suspention, I will want to lower it just enough to give me a slightly lower center of gravity (for those fun, fun, fun twisty roads!), without putting me into trouble when I see a speedbump. Any ideas on how far I should take it? 1/2 inch? 1 inch? how much front/back? (this will probably be on 215/45/17s, or pretty damn close) Also, someone I know had a '91 Prelude, and lowered it, quite a bit, not sure exactly how much though. They had to replace the steering rack 3 times over the life of the car... about every 20k (km, not miles) or so. What can I do to avoid this, or is it even a problem on Nissans? When I do this, I wanna do it RIGHT, the *1st* time. Rather than doing it three times, and paying for it every time. What am I gonna need to replace to do what I want?

For an engine swap, what would be a suggested drop-in? I've seen lots of engine designations on these forums, but I'm perfectly happy to admit that I have no idea what most (ok, any) of them mean.

Thanks for the help. Goin on friday to look at some new rims for the spring season.

I'm gonna spend WAY too much money on this car. *sigh*


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## rudeboy (Oct 27, 2002)

i don't know what those brakes are you were talking about. but a set of slotted rotors and semi-metalic pads are the most recomended.

as far as your suspension goes the TEIN HA is ride height and dampening adjustable. i personally don't think 1/2" or 1" will be enough. this car has a surprising amount of travel. i've olny heard of one 240 with a steering problem and that had nothing to do with a drop. 

get an adjustable coilover set-up. don't mess around with springs and what not if you wana do it right the first time.

top speed in you car is like 113-117 with the limiters in place. 160-165 with out em


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## Lusty240SX (Dec 9, 2002)

Hmm... I'll look into those Tien Ha's... anything w/ adjustable in the name automatically attracts me... I've been told that I'm a bit of a 'tweak freak' though that was mostly in reference to my computer/network...

And of course you would know what me next question would be... how do I remove/disable the limiters?

I've had the car up to about 108, and it felt like it still had a ways to go before it capped out. Could have been wrong though.

So with my suspention, you suggested "replace some of the stock rubber bushings with ureathane to help keep everything stiff on the touge runs. when you lower it, please use camber plates or bolts to correct camber alignment. get your self some strut tower bars to combat chassis flex"
-Where/what are the bushings, why is urethane (plastic polymer?) better? Stiffer?
-Camber plates/bolts... again, why/what? Camber is the angle my wheels sit at, correct? (WRT the ground, I mean.) Would the camber not stay the same even after lowering, or is that the problem?
-Strut tower bars... are these similar to swaybars? Same thing, dif name?

Any suggested brand on these, or will they come as a kit with the coilovers?

*hands rudeboy a cupcake* Thanks sooo much for the help and patience... it sucks to not know anything... lol


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## rudeboy (Oct 27, 2002)

thanks for the cupcake 
as for adjustable coilovers, it's almost necessary to have. this way you can adjust ride height when winter comes to get ground clearance. and you can adjust how stiff your ride is.

the "best" way to remove the speed/rev limiter is the Apex'i Rev/Speed meter. there was alot of speculation as to if the apex unit actually disabled the limit and it does. 5th gear rev limit is 5100rpm. 
the urethane bushings are the plastic polymer type. they offer les flex for better steering response and less slop in the suspension. the coilovers ( Tein HA) are the best entry level for the buck. the camber plates will give you the ability to keep your wheels flat on the ground when you change the geometery of the suspension. it' will also help to dial in your suspension when you feel like getting a little aggressive on the twisties.

strut tower bars connect the two front/back strut mounts together. the open space where your engine sits has nothing to stop the flexing of the strut tower. with the bar in place that flex is reduced greatly and no-more unwanted camber changes.cusco makes good strut bars.

the sway bar goes under the car to stop the lean through turns.there are adjustable end-links for sway bars also. whiteline makes a good swaybar set with adjustable end links.

if you have instant messanger just IM me rude240


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## Lusty240SX (Dec 9, 2002)

So now I've picked out pretty much all of the parts I'm going to be getting for my car... 

Couple of quick questions about engines. Having chosen to go with a SR20DET, what is the difference between a S13/S14/S15 model, other than color, price, and age?

I would assume that the S15 model uses slightly newer technology, but is there a big power or reliability difference? Will it really be worth it to me to spend the extra $2000-3500 to go with a S14/15 over the S13 model?

I *am* still in school, and although I don't really have a problem with spending every single cent I get on this car (OK, I plan on it), I would rather spend that extra cash on other stuff...


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## rudeboy (Oct 27, 2002)

the olny real diffrences between the redtop and blacktop is basically the ecu and booost level.
the s14 blacktop had vvti
the s15 really isn't worth the extra money unless you plan to keep the motor pretty stock.
either SR will do the trick. but the s15 will be a difficult task. go with the blacktop for less miles and all that. 

enjoy the ride


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## Lusty240SX (Dec 9, 2002)

I do plan on keeping the motor pretty much stock, for now at least... I'll probably stick with the S14...

I don't know enough about engines to start replacing or upgrading much... intake, headers, better cams, bore out the cylinders, better pistons... thats about all I plan on doing to the engine itself...

Are the prices at unstable-hybrids pretty accurate?


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## rudeboy (Oct 27, 2002)

well i have tons of engine places bookmarked. and i gave u a list but i accidently hit the back button. so that sucks. there are better prices out there then unstable. how about redtops for as low as $1500.......


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## Lusty240SX (Dec 9, 2002)

$1500? W00t! I assume probably around $2500 for a blacktop S14 then?

Hrm. Of course, I would have to borrow or steal a truck to pick it up, but... heh.

Would these have limiters on them? Cause I'm looking into getting an A'PEXi Rev/Speed Meter... might be able to get one for relatively cheap. If I don't need it though...


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## rudeboy (Oct 27, 2002)

yeah, the japanes also impose speed limiters 
on their cars. so get a rev'speed for what ever engine u decide to get. i'm not sure if it's universal.
depending where u go you can get an exelent price for the blacktop. be sure to get an uncut harness ans the igniter chip. also some places offer the side mount intercooler w/ piping too. so just look around. the rev/speed is like $150 i think


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## rudeboy (Oct 27, 2002)

http://www.afterdark-tuning.com/
keep an eye on this place........


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## Lusty240SX (Dec 9, 2002)

Heh... it is gonna be really funny when I start dumping money into this car... there's a bunch of honda-boys across the street... one of them does have a nice Integra though... but I'm gonna have sooooo much fun with these guys when I get my SR20...


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## rudeboy (Oct 27, 2002)

if you remove the speed/rev limit you can reach like 170mph
probaly more if you do some headwork.
now THATS fun


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## Lusty240SX (Dec 9, 2002)

Headwork? As in headers? Or...?


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## rudeboy (Oct 27, 2002)

the SR20 is a revvy engine but the rocker arms tend to break when subjected to very high revs all the time. take care odf that and you are really good to go


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## Guest (Dec 17, 2002)

Hye, i know this was said awhile back but, there is more difference between the s13, s14, and s15 SR20DET's then originally said. The S13 red top has a completely different head design then the s13 or s14, it is a much better design actually and it makes breathing for the engine alot easier. The s13 although starting with the least amount of power is the easiest to squeeze the real big power out of it. The s14 SR does get variable valve timing but a lower quality head. An the s15 R has a more advanced version of the valve timing, bigger iinjectors, more boost pressure, and is fed with a more powerful fuel pump.


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## rudeboy (Oct 27, 2002)

feel better now?


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## Guest (Dec 17, 2002)

yes.... yes i do


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## rudeboy (Oct 27, 2002)




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## Lusty240SX (Dec 9, 2002)

I like cupcakes.


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## rudeboy (Oct 27, 2002)

me too


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