# Skyline / Silva - For a Daily Driver / Street Rod / Drifter



## Gryphon_D1 (Apr 26, 2009)

Please forgive me for I am a :newbie:

I am looking for a PRIME canidate to be my street racer / drifter. I will also be driving it on a SEMI daily basis. I really like the look of the Skyline as well as the Silva. I live in Oklahoma and am looking to purchase one. First off, can anyone give me some information on these two cars? pro's and con's. And perhaps OTHER suggestions. I am not looking to spend A FORTUNE, but I also realize that they are NOT CHEAP. Just looking for a little guidance and some opinions.


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## Shadao (Aug 14, 2007)

well first... welcome to the quiet forums 

between the 2 cars id go for a 240sx...

now i own a GTR32 and there is a good reason im saying to go for the 240sx... and it is price... since you want to have this vehicle as a semi-daily as well as a track/drift car( im against street racing had a few friends die due to there own stupidity) sure both a skyline and a 240sx can do both but it comes down to price and reliability...

both cars are reliable when you dont mod them up, just like most cars... but when something breaks(not if) you have to fix it... since the skyline was never offered here in north america brand new it makes sourceing parts a lil difficult, you could compare this to finding authentic resto parts for old collector cars... you gotta know where to look AND know what it is you're looking at...

since the 240sx was offered here there are a ton of parts and tons of cars to choose from...

where as with the skyline unless you know the loop holes and can get through all of them you might be SOL on getting a legal one imported, which is why if you choose a skyline, you should go for one already landed...

the 240sx is lighter and has more responsive steering compared to GTS skylines(i could compare against the GTR but you dont drift GTR's due to there AWD, not that you cant, but its not as easy)...

the 240sx(or 180 or silvia or what ever you wannacall it) comes with a SR20DET(the north american version comes with the KA24, some people love this engine but most swap it for a SR20DET) which is a 4cyl turbo engine capable of 350whp without doing a full rebuild, just some basic bolt ons and a retune of the ecu... toss in some decent coil overs and a 1.5 way LSD and you have a great lil drifter/track car that is still daily driver friendly, and will get you decent mileage

the skyline GTS has either a RB20DE, RB20DET or a RB25DET... chances are if you are getting one already landed it will have a RB25DET since that was the most common engine in R33 skylines.... the R32 had the RB20 but the R32 is not legal in the USA... the RB25DET is capable of 400whp without a full rebuild, with a bigger turbo, intercooler HP kit, re-tune ECU, etc etc... you will need good coil overs, bigger sway bars and a 1.5way LSD... the car is heavier than the 240sx so it will take more hp and more aggressive driving to do the same drifting and tracking, it will also suck up more fuel due to the bigger engine and heavier chassis...

when parts break are you gonna do the work yourself? or take it to a shop? and if you do take it to a shop does the shop know anything about skylines? prolly not where as you could take your 240sx to a stealership to get work done... but you can do most of the work yourself since its not as complicated as a skyline and there are a ton of resources out there, tons ofwebsites that have HOW-TO's where as skylines not so much... there are 3 skyline forums around the world that are useful, there are hundreds of 240sx sites

another thing to keep in mind, especially about skylines is there attention factor... you will get alot of it and not always the kind you will want... cops can spot them supereasy due to hte RHD, RICERS will do fly bys just so they can say " i beat a skyline " people at lights will ask you if you have 1000hp chip... you will get more attention from men than you will gurls, because most gurls think a skyline is where the sky meets the ground...

also because drifting is a VERY risky sport you will be doing body work and having to replace parts alot... so a 240sx is much better for that pourpose alone...

say you go into a nice drift but clip your rear bumper in your skyline... you could be waiting over 1 month to get a replacement bumper, and it could cost you over 1000$ just to get one...

now say you do the same thing in a 240sx.... for 1000$ you could by a complete donor car and swap out all the panels and any other parts needed as you break them...

i dont track or race or drift my GTR32 its my baby it stays in the garage most of the year just sitting pretty... i have thought about replacing my current daily driver( an 03 dodge neon) with either a nissan 240sx or a nissan pulsar GTiR(affectionately refered to as a baby GTR due to its AWD).... im more leaning towards the GTiR because i live in the Canadian rocky mountain range and we get lots of snow during winter and the AWD would make driving more fun and safer... the pulsar GTiR has a SR20DET(same as the 240sx)

but if i were to get into drifing i would get a 240 and call it a day


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## Gryphon_D1 (Apr 26, 2009)

Shadao,

Thank you for ALL of the information, you sure did give me a lot to think about. LOL
First question, what EXACTLY should I be looking for when searching for a 240sx? Specific year or model? Do you know of any GOOD websites with pictures? Perhaps BEFORE and AFTER..... lol I have been looking and MOST of the STOCK or STRIPPED DOWN 240sx 's seam....... well..... UGLY lol I have seen TOTALLY modded versions which look sweet, yet am CLUELESS as to what they STARTED with... year, model, specs. If you have any MORE help that you would be willing to offer, I would appreciate it DEARLY.


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## Shadao (Aug 14, 2007)

Nissan 240SX - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

wiki is a decent source for basic info...

anything from 1993-1998 will be your best bet.... most northamerican models come with the ka24de... some people build this motor but most just swap in a sr20det which was the standard engine in japan...

as for what to look for or look out for.... same thing with every used car really...

check the vehicle over with a fine toothed comb... look under neath for hidden rust or damamge... look under the hood is it filthy or clean... do you see any newer paint compared to the rest ofthe car(this could mean a recent repair due to a collision) look at the interior how has it been treated... what modifications have been done if any... and by whom...

if you want to get yourself a 240sx... i say join a couple 240sx forums and see what people are selling... a friend of mine who had a gtr32 had his car written off(some vandals litterally jumped on his car and kicked in every single pannel,,, and he lives in a small town) he picked up a beautiful 240sx minty condition a good list of mods, brand new paint job and rims/rubber all for about 10k... canadian

so i can easily see you finding one in similar condition down in the USA for about 5000k usd... maybe more maybe less all depends on whats been done


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## G35rider (Aug 25, 2009)

hey guys i have a g35 and was wondering if its worth it to do this swap for my car?


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## Shadao (Aug 14, 2007)

G35rider said:


> hey guys i have a g35 and was wondering if its worth it to do this swap for my car?


what swap in an SR20 to your G35? no that would be foolish... if anything just build up your VQ they are a good engine when treated right...


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## promises27 (Aug 25, 2009)

im lookin to get a nissan 240sx but im not sure which model is best surable. also it has a welded diff. is this good or bad. i want the car as dailey driver.


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## Shadao (Aug 14, 2007)

promises27 said:


> im lookin to get a nissan 240sx but im not sure which model is best surable. also it has a welded diff. is this good or bad. i want the car as dailey driver.


stay away from this 240sx... a welded diff means that both tires will spin at the same rate, be it in a corner, accelerating, deccelerating etc etc... the reason it has a welded diff is because the previous/current owner was/is drifting with it, so chances are the car has been beat on...

the newer and lower km/mi on the car is better, try to buy from someone who at least looks respectable, alot of 240's are being ratbaged because of the drifting craze


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## Garagebandking (Jan 12, 2010)

im just gettin into this i know im pretty green and all but im thinkin a 240sx is going to be the car for me... but i kinda want more power than the sr20det i was thinking about swapin it out for a rb25det... how bad of an idea is this? will it work out well?


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## pulsar86 (Aug 13, 2009)

promises27 said:


> im lookin to get a nissan 240sx but im not sure which model is best surable. also it has a welded diff. is this good or bad. i want the car as dailey driver.


Stay away from any car with a welded diff, useless and dangerous on the road especially wet road and most likely illegal in most places, it is here. Obviously the car has been a drift car and will have been abused.


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