the 4sp tranny on the car developed a leak, so i decided to swap it for a 5sp.
while doing that, i decided the GC coilover kit should go on, along with my AGX's.
why not throw in my AD22VF brakes?
found some nice KN13 SE swaybars... might as well throw them on.
Buddy Club 15x7 wheels with Toyo V-rated rubbber needed to be installed as well.
so ya what was a simple weekend project erupted into a full-blown transformation. im waiting on the rotors n metalmaster pads. then i gotta bleed the brakes, tighten the front end parts, level out the struts... mount up the rolling stock.. done deal!!
please wish me luck! i dont want any bad karma or bad surprises. i did everything according to the FSM, so it should go off without a hitch.
i'll link up some pics of the finished product. it should go in for alignment on thurs/fri
in case u r wondering, the wheels r dark gold w/polished rim. the car is sky blue.
to keep a long story short, lets just say Napa sucks. i still have no brake rotors.
so i called greg vogel and he hooked me up w/slotted rotors. the only downside is the rotors will arrive on friday.
this car handles, and it looks... wow i cant describe the looks. its just too badass. everything works as planned, thank God.
braking has yet to be evaluated, as the pads have to be fully bedded in.
lets just say this sentra is prepared to do battle in the handling category. it doesnt hesitate in the least when u flick the wheel... yet ride quality is more than tolerable... with the coilovers wound down!
mille, feel free to stop on by for a test drive. this car has been utterly transformed. truly, the b12 chassis is great; it only needs to be exploited.
i have only begun to tune the chassis. wait until whiteline products find their way onto this b12...
pics to come, in the morning sunlight.
this may not seem like much to some of u, but this is a big deal to me. this car has been in my family since new, and its gotten a new lease on life.
the car tracks really straight with no vibration at the steering wheel;
on-center feel is adequate and turn-in has sharpened;
the ride can get a little bouncy when u hit large manhole covers in succesion: like 5 of em lined up in a row... i ran over em to test how the car reacts. massively undulating pavement will probably upset the car a lil bit
people around rough roads should dial back the spring rates. i have 350/250. for rough roads id lower the rates 50lbs at least. the roads i drive regularly r well-maintained, and i favor a taught ride. if i were living in the stix id rethink spring rates in a major way
pretty soon i'll check the car for high-speed stability. i think the ride height will really come into its own in this environment. the motor should be marginally less buzzy with the 5th gear. with the 4sp id hold it to 4k rpm on the freeway. lets see what speed i get @4k in 5h
im goin to my parents house. there i will finally take pics.
the car cruises at nearly 90mph, instead of 75mph. 4th gear is slightly shorter than the outgoing 4sp tranny. theres a 400rpm drop to 5th gear. the car seems to naturally settle into an 80mph relaxed cruise. it did the same thing w/the 4sp, but now it willingly goes faster, without sounding strained.
basically this suspension is made for high-speed travel. yes, the cars anemic powerband is now out in the open. it has no horsepower! a suspension re-work has a tendency to make light of other deficiencies in a vehicle. if u are down on power, u will really see it when the chassis is pretty well sorted. im happy with the behavior of the car at speed thus far. its real stable... more so the faster it goes. the hp limits me to the lesser side of 100mph. not like it cant do 100... it wouldnt like it is all.
I checked out your pics very clean I like your wheels how much did they set you back? as for the showing of your lack of hp that is how it should be instead of your new found horsepower showing your suspensions total lacking. Glad to hear that you like it. I will try and make it up there if I get a flight out of here this week you will laugh at mine now ha but every great car starts somewhere.
i got the wheels for $550 on ebay more than a year ago. they r comparable in weight to the stock 13x5 wheels, so ya they r lightweight i guess.
i splurged on lug nutz and got Ray's Engineering lightweight ones.
the tires r toyo proxes, i forget the model of proxes but its the best tire they make in 195/50VR15
i usually keep the car pretty clean although currently its dirty from bein worked on for 1.5 weeks straight.
whats next?
i will get a whiteline front swaybar and SMC short shifter pretty soon, and polish off the interior conversion... i need to swap in the passenger SE seat and get the GXE center console w/armrest.
the biggest impact will have to be the jdm bumpers... very very few people have them. i will be one of the few.
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