thecolonelcm

I just purchased a '98 200sx SE with a manual tranny and 60,000m on the clock. I'm a college student (who's parents feel that i should be financially independent) so i'm on a budget. I'm saving up for an SR20DET swap once my GA goes (or sooner if i have the loot), but what can i do to make my car a bit more fun? I heard about the timing thing, but i'm not trying to run premium fuel... thats why i got rid of my 300zx. Is there anything besides the CAI, Exhaust, and HS header that i could do?

Or just any cosmetic changes to make it somewhat "unique"?

mmmmm beeeer

 

roman4189

Go to like Home Depot, or some store like that and get some gutter mesh, it's cheap like 5 bucks for 5 pieces, and then put on the bumper, right where that hole is or use it to change the front grille, where the Nissan sign is. You can get some neons like I did insode the car, and you don't have to put them where the feet go, could put it under the seats. Also you could get some Headlight bulbs that are blue, don't have to get the real HID, just get some that look like them for 20-30 bucks on internet or some car store(autozone or advanced auto parts). I don't know if you have rims, but you can paint the calipers and the rear drums, cosmetics and helps to stop the rust, I saw a Duplicolor kit in advanced auto parts fro 15 dollars to paint 4 calipers, so that should be enough.
What you should do is go to cardomain.com and search for rides there to get some ideas, go to some car parts store, and search nissanforums about this topic.

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chimmike

anything besides those? Save your money.

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himbo

i would just save my money for the swap, or do what i'm doing and turbo your G

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thecolonelcm

thanks for the suggestions. i'm gonna save my money for the swap. in the meantime however i'm going to upgrade the suspension and get some wheels. Any suggestions? .... keeping the budget thing in mind?

ebay strut bars? floor bars? Springs?, coil overs? etc...

 

1CLNB14

Here is the deal...

You can go ahead and buy cheap coils, springs or whatever...only to find yourself spending more in the end because you have to replace the crappy products down the line.

I think you should run premium even with the I/H/E set up, but that's just me.

This is not a cheap hobby, especially if you expect the products to perform and last.

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thecolonelcm

I def. understand its not cheap. i'm just trying to not spend more than i need to.

I'm in a constant debate in my head....

Do i turbo the GA, or do i swap it to the SR20deT?

How much boost can the GA handle without upgrading internals? It just seems a bit fragile to be boosting. i am aware of the nissanperformancemag project car and other successful attempts to turbo the ga, but what about longevity? I dont ever plan on running over 10psi on any occasion regardless of application. But i want a daily driver and i need this car to last me till i have a degree and a stable job.

Thank's for your patience everyone.

himbo

ummm actually, the GA is a mule engine, its a really tough motor with a 9.5:1 compression ratio. wes has his at 249 whp, with no problems, and mike younng has his at 230+ whp. i believe he's running at 12psi daily though i'm not too sure, and if i'm not mistaken, he's taken it to 20psi on several occasions.

our motors (even though they're small) are not fragile like the high compression hondas. we have seriously strong bottom ends and our top ends seem to be designed perfectly for a turbo. check out nissan performance magazine (click it at the top of the page of this site) and read up on their Project Turbo 1.6, it is very insightful.

Good luck and Welcome

btw... i plan to run a turbo with in the next year or so. i just have to gather up the money first, and i wanna build up my suspension, tranny, and brakes first. i plan to run 10-12 psi daily.

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xbrandonx

ebay strut bars would be a nice start for your suspension and as far as being on a budget goes, look in the classified section and get used parts. that'll save you some money. I got both of my strut bars on ebay (rear isn't installed yet) but they were like 20 shipped each.

Remember this though. Buying a header for your 1.6 will be good for now, but when the sr20 goes in, it won't work. Geting a 2" catback for your 1.6 is great for now, but when the sr20 goes in, it'll be restricive.

Honestlly anything is gonna end up costing you some extra after the swap as far as performance goes.

I suggest save up and doing the swap before anything.

Also for cosmetic, a shift boot and knob would be nice. Remove the letters off the car.

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himbo

nicely said. if i were you, and were dead set on doing a swqp, then i wouldn't do any engine work. instead focus on the aesthetics and the suspension, you will not regret it. especially for the suspension

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thecolonelcm

Perfect.

i think i'm going to get kyb agx's but i have no idea what springs to get....

Suspension work sounds good. anybody got a picture of what the rear strut bar looks like on a 200?

itsG.A.riffic

i think if you put lights in the oven you can melt the glue and paint the inside any color but iono if this works ive been told it does