# How do you feel about your Spec V, really?



## bm14582 (Dec 14, 2002)

I'd really like to know how you feel about your Spec V. The results of this thread will make it into an article I'm writing. I would like for you to be as descriptive as possible.

And let's be a little restrained on the extreme comments like, "the Spec V can beat everyone," and, "the Spec V is the most worthless car ever produced." If you feel compelled to make these comments, then at least back them up with statements at least based on real facts.


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## BlackoutSpecV (May 8, 2002)

I own one of the suposedly troubled early production '02 models. I have not experianced any problems with my car to this point. I am a 20-someting, so i do not drive the crap out of the car, it was broken in extra gental and the oil was chenged 3 times before it ever hit 2,000 miles. To me the key to any aluminum engine is to break it in right. Oh yea, by the way, I used to work at a shop in college, i have built sevral SUB-10sec mustangs and a few turbo hondas that have broken in the 12's. Just some background on me.

That being said. The Spec V is value for money, there are many better cars out there, but not for under $20,000. The spec v in its stock form offers a great suspension, and powerful tourque band. The 6-speed transmision, while imporved upon in the '03 line, provides fun in the turns and on the side streets. Driving this car to work every morning and home every evening is no autocross or stock car race, but it alows for those days when you just feel a little need for fun. The sentra is an economy car, make no mistake about that, the SE-R and Spec V are also economy cars. They get over 20 MPG and they run clean. Their intrenals are thin and light weight to reduce friction and consume less power. This car was not built to hold a 100 shot of NOS or to have a turbo slapped on. It was built as a drive off the lot and onto an autocross for some fun car. Import tuners pride themselves on tuning cars to an extream they were never meant for. Nissan went ahead and did most of that tuning. As we all know there is much to be gained from some better A/F ratios, and a few horses locked up in the intake and exhaust manifold. But thats just for comfort and sound control, easy fix. 

Final analysis, this is not a sports car, its a sport tuned economy car. That is all it will ever be, no matter how fun it is to drive on twisty back roads.


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## Berto SE-R (Jul 10, 2003)

I have owned an 02' spec v for about two months. It hasn't given me any problems with the engine nor tranny. It's a powerful car for a 4-cylinder, especially the tork. The suspension is very stiff and it handles well. The tires although aren't the best, it feels kinda rough and it sometimes feel like they need balancing, but not at high speeds, at high interstate speeds it's not that rough. The shifting is fun but not the smoothest, shifting can be a little rough. I think it's a great car for the price. I guess with a couple of bolt-ons you can gain considerable power, wich is good compared to the RSX or others. Although it could be improved in certain aspects, I like it. It's fun to drive.


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## MDMA (Oct 23, 2002)

LOVE it... I have 38K on my Spec and still have a smile on my face everytime I seat in her... :thumbup:


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## SilverBullitt03 (Apr 18, 2003)

*mixed feelings*

I bought the Spec to be a practical car. I was a lil miffed that bird droppings ate my paint in a matter of three hours. The build quality is ok but I am getting tired of recalls. The car is spunky for what it is , but it is far from quick. 

I think the Spec should have been offered like a true race car. Heck with power options, put the extra money in the engine and drivetrain. I have read up on how the ol school 2.0 liter was and this new engine is deffinately not as stout as the old. Sure it may make more power stock vs. stock but it cant handle the boost like the old one.


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## Lazarus_023 (Jun 3, 2003)

hmmmm. frankly, i would be lying if i said i were disappointed. however, that only gives a little hint at my rather negative attitude...

i bought this car because:
-the gas milage doesn't suck (my toy got 11 mpg hwy...)
-it has just enough power to get out of its own way (my toy is a better passer, but whatever...)
-it handles ok (i think my B11 was a little better...)

it does these things. i am, however, a little disappointed in the following:
-Recalls 
-Less acceleration than i had imagined
-crappy, waiting-till-the-day-after-warranty-expires-to-fail-on-me transmission.

it does get me to work nearly every day ('cept for the ones it spends in the shop for above mentioned recalls), and i haven't had to throw it in the ditch to avoid oncoming traffic while passing. yet. so i'll give it a "0".


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## muphasta (Aug 12, 2002)

I like my car (02 specV). I am 32, and do not race at all. I do occasionally take her up into the high 80's or even into the 90's sometimes. It is rare though. I got in a wreck in April of 03, and went through withdrawls for 3 months it took to fix. 
A week before I got hit, Magnaflow gave me a prototype cat-back, which I love. After the wreck, I got an aem cai, and a CF hood. The car is fun enough and quick enough to handle some quick take offs. I will not be setting any land speed records, but it is fast enough to keep my interest. There are other cars I would like to have, but they were not in my budget at the time of purchase.


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## SpecVeezy (Aug 16, 2003)

I have an 02 Spec V and I love it. I have had some problems with the recall but overall its a good car, it handles good,great launching if you know how to drive like alot of people dont. It looks nice stock off the lot, cant say the same for the 04's tho


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## tekmode (Feb 22, 2003)

I like my car becuase it is faster than most others


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## Blue2003SpecV (Dec 12, 2003)

I just bought my 03 spec-v and I think its great. Traded in my 93 probe gt. Not as powerful as my 95 Z-28 but different class all together. The only two things I don't like is the 6 speed MT is a little difficult the one on the my Z-28 is alot easier to work with. Also the cup holders kinda suck. They are in a crappy place.


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## simeronbugh (Aug 22, 2003)

On a scale of 1-10, I would give the Spec V a 5. It was outdated the day after I bought it. Just about every other sport compact in it's price range is smoking it now. I do have to admit it runs good for a NA 4-banger though. 

Some positives include:

Still a fun car to drive
Decent gas milage
Good looks IMO
6 speed is geared quite nicely with a broad torque band
It's a Nissan

Some downfalls include:

Cheap plastic interior
Multiple major recalls
Rough noisy ride
Cheap body assembly
Cheap paint
Numerous minor warranty repair
Slow warranty work
Aftermarket performance parts are limited
Have yet to see a QR25 successfully turbo'd without serious internal work
Nissan consumer affairs is a joke (not funny)
Made in Mexico
It's a Nissan

You know, it seems that the negatives outway the positives. I'm going to change my scale of 1-10 to a rating of 4. People say that the Spec is a great value for the money. I disagree. You don't get more than you pay for. I believe Nissan cut alot of corners on this one to get the price down.


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## V Dude (Oct 22, 2002)

I really like it and I think most people really like it. Just look at all the aftermarket support we are getting. Just by the amount of money people are spending you can tell they are excited about the car. Bottom line is that it's just a fun car to drive, even if it doesn't have some of the refinement of the competitors.

My big complaint about the car is the torque steer, which is a problem that was more or less fixed in the newer Spec V's. I didn't think it would bother me when I bought it but it does. It really makes me mad because the '03s were just coming out when I got it.


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## Bror Jace (Apr 26, 2003)

A lot of folks summed up a lot of what I feel about my '03 Spec-V. I like mine ... but don't exactly love it.

I came from Honda after owning a '90 Acura Integra and a '95 Civic Coupe. This car doesn't have the same quality feel in the overall way the car was put together nor the feel of switches, etc ... This Nissan is not bad ... it's just not as good as the Hondas I've owned in terms of "quality feel."

Still, this Nissan is a lot more car for the money and I don't regret buying it.

As far as the car's personality, it feels a lot more like a mini-muscle car than a "sport compact" car. In fact, the formula is exactly that. Take a family car's engine (Altima 2.5L) and stuff it into something smaller. 

The ride and stance is stiff and tall ... almost truck-like ... and the handling isn't as nimble as some of the other cars in its class. Oh well. It's still a pretty decent car ... especially for the money. It's 90+% an Acura RSX-S for $6K-7K less.


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## GSRMx (Dec 11, 2002)

simeronbugh said:


> Made in Mexico
> It's a Nissan


Okay, you don't like Nissans and you don't like Mexico, why do you have a Nissan, and face it, ALL B15s are made in Mexico, and I say it proudly as a Mexican!!
:loser:


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## caveman (Dec 20, 2003)

The wife and I have 16K on our car and so far, I have been really disapointed.

We bought it at night and that was our mistake, but later we found that the clear coat was not fully baked on or something. There were some color spots on the car. The fix was for the dealer to take a heat gun to the paint. The hood and trunk line up pretty crappy, but I didn't notice that at first. I was tring to figure out if I like the way it drove and if the controls were layed out nicly.


At 16K miles, the shocks are starting to wear, but we have not done any racing in the car, the brakes are warped, but we have a funky wear patern on one of the front rotors. We are figting with the dealer on this one for waranty work. The cabin sure leaks a lot of air, but I guess that is common. 

If I could do it all over again, I would not buy it or any new Nissan. I more then disapointed in this car. Oddly enough, I just test drove a 94 na 300ZX with 77K miles on it, and I thought it drove better then our brand new car. Clearly quality was way better as well.


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## lowridin23 (Jul 23, 2002)

Sounds like you just got a bad one. Is it a 02?


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## caveman (Dec 20, 2003)

It's a 03. Maybe we do just have a bad one, but the dealer won't help us out.

Also, anyone else having trouble with a tranny in really cold weather? Ours is really hard to shift from 1st to 2nd and sometimes even grinds.


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## Blank (Aug 21, 2003)

i got an amazing deal on my spec.. 14400 after destination, and i loved ever second with it, Until my work startred sending me out with some 350z's... nothing makes your car feel slow like driving a Z around for 4-5 hours. I loved my brakes till i felt a Z's, then i drove a track with BREMBOs... now i cant wait to upgrade mine...handling is still good because the spec has a great suspension, i love the launch, but 30-70 just dosent seem as fast after driving some higher HP cars... i know i saved about 15grand from the Z to the spec, and i love my car, but driving other (more expensive) stuff puts you in perspective...


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## nissanpirate (Dec 20, 2003)

my '02 is a sick torque monster but it does have it's down falls. My '02 tranny started buzzing into thrid and was just plain rought into almost every other gear. Luckily, warranty covered me getting a new '04 tranny just 3 or 4 months ago. I drove my car and buzzed third only once and i could feel the syncros loosing it. every once and a while, it will buzz into third no matter how far in the clutch is and same with second. I also had to get my cd changer replaced but that was my fault(got jammed) and that crazy header heat sheild rattles around and nissan had to fabricate their own or something but it looked ok when i still had it on. Other than those things, this car is awsome. It;s got a sick interior and more torque than any of those hondas, even the s2K i think.


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## simeronbugh (Aug 22, 2003)

GSRMx said:


> Okay, you don't like Nissans and you don't like Mexico, why do you have a Nissan, and face it, ALL B15s are made in Mexico, and I say it proudly as a Mexican!!
> :loser:


If you would kindly notice, "It's a Nissan" is posted in the positives and negatives columns. Which means Nissan has their good points and bad points. Being made in Mexico isn't putting down Mexicans as a race (being half Mexican myself) it's saying that Mexico isn't known for quality workmanship, it's known for cheap labor. Same as China, Hong Kong, Taiwan etc. etc. If your going to argue that any of these countries build quality products, well, you're an idiot. :dumbass: If I would have known that all Sentras were built in Mexico when I bought it, I wouldn't have bought it. I thought they were still being built in Tennesse. Lack of research on my part.


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## Slayer2003 (Jun 4, 2003)

HAH..........my saving for one of these just changed to another car from the posts here. ty for not letting me waste my money 



.....besides...........theres tons of these everywhere i go now...especially in yellow......i still want a car noone really has around here......like a 240


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## Bror Jace (Apr 26, 2003)

*caveman*: _"Also, anyone else having trouble with a tranny in really cold weather? Ours is really hard to shift from 1st to 2nd and sometimes even grinds."_

Yep, me too. So I changed the tranny fluid:

http://www.nissanforums.com/showthread.php?t=31914


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## Marooka (Sep 5, 2003)

I know this sounds cliche, but IMO, it's the "Best bang for the buck." Period.


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## BikerFry (Jul 31, 2003)

I love my 93 Sentra XE, but after all the reading and research I've done on the Spec's, as an educated consumer in search of a good car, I won't let myself buy one even though I want one. I have never seen one of them described as "well built." Anyone can build an economical car. Anyone can build a well performing car. Anyone can build a quality car. It's not hard to do 2 of the three, like Nissan has done with the Spec V. What I want is all 3, like Nissan did with the B13 SE-R's. I bet I can find a better combination of all 3 in, say, a Mazda 3 S or an Impreza.


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## lowridin23 (Jul 23, 2002)

Mazda maybe, but impreza..no. Keep looking.


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## BikerFry (Jul 31, 2003)

I'll research the Impreza farther to find out why "no." Thanks for the tip. I'd like to find something GM cuz I could take off 1500 bucks with my GM card savings, but there ain't much I'd consider. I sorta like my buddy's Ion quad coupe, but there's just somethin shady about them that I don't like. I would really like a Colorado Sport with the 3.5 I5 and 5spd though.  I'm learning to love foreign cars, but I'm a pickup man at heart. :crazy:


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## mycarisaser (May 17, 2003)

the impreza has worse build quality than us. the mazda 3 looks nice


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## caveman (Dec 20, 2003)

mycarisaser said:


> the impreza has worse build quality than us. the mazda 3 looks nice


Why do you say that?


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## mycarisaser (May 17, 2003)

I dont know if you have been in one or not but there is a lot of road and engian noise and the plastic interior scuffs up easyer than ours(now thats bad).Most of the reviews state the same. I did like the wrx the ride was nice and it seemed to be alot faster than my ser. Oh the interior layout was nice too. Just thought the parts were cheap and needs more Inslation(spelling sorry) Just my 2 pennies.


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