Ewen

S13 180SX project Questions

Hi folks.

I've recently bought a good, stock / standard, UK Nissan 200SX (S13) - 180SX in most other parts of the world. It's a no-sunroof, facelift 1994 model with the CA18DET engine, VLSD, slightly larger brakes etc.

The plan for this car is to be a on ongoing project which will follow the same path most do:
Sort the suspension
Bigger brakes
More Power
Better LSD
Strengthen the body etc

plus I'd like to do the sil80 conversion on it. I'm looking to use it just for some fun and to give drifitng a bit of a go, but while I want it to be pretty good for drifting in, I don't want it to be an all out drift-only competition car. It needs to still be useable and effective on the road and to be a good, reasonably forgiving track car.


I've been doing lots of surfing about, reading up on things, searching forums etc but still have a bunch of questions I could do with getting answered. If anyone can help with any of them then that'd be much appreciated.

Engine
I'm no fan of small, highly stressed, turbo engines. So why did I buy a 200SX? Good question. I'm vaguely planning an engine swap. The 4 engines are:
RB25DET
VG30D / VG30DTT
LS1 (not very available in the UK)
less so:
SR20DET

I'd rather have a usable 270 - 300HP, together with lots of mid range torque, than a peaky and unreliable 400.
I know all the swaps can be done and of them I'd most prefer to go with the VG30, because:
It's still a Nissan engine.
It's a bit different.
S13s and Z32s seem to share a few basic suspension / driveline parts.
It's a short, alloy unit.
It should be happy making about 300 - 330 HP (I think).
It should be cheaper and easier to come by the engine and required donor parts.
I think it'd be quite a nice match for the car.
I like the noise V6s make.

However, this seems like a really unpopular swap. How come?
I know the engine's not a bullet proof as an RB25 / 26 but are VG30s really unreliable / untunable or something?
Fitting-wise, I've seen a site detailing a single turbod VG30 engine in an S13 so it does fit. Again, I know the R33 crossmember makes the RB swap quite straightforward (if not placing it in the ideal location), but I can find no gen on similar compatabilities between the VG30 engine and the S13 engine bay.

Does anyone know if it's a real swine to fit it in there or something? Is there an accepted set up you should go with?

Also, does anyone have any views on the non-turbo version? I reckon the twin-turbo route is probably the one I'll have to follow, but ideally I'd prefer no turbos. Does anyone have experience / views on tunability of this lump? If it could make 250 - 270 HP without resorting to major surgery then that'd be
really good.

SR20DET swap - I guess this is the most straight forward swap but I kind of feel that if I'm going to the trouble of swapping the engine out, maybe it's not a big enough change? However, does it make a big difference over the CA18DET? Is it much more flexible / torquey, or is it so popular because there are so many tuning parts available?


Suspension
To drift or not to drift: I want to lose the understeery nature of the S13 and am quite happy with relatively tail-happy cars. However, I'm not sure on fitting something like, say, a Tien Superstreet set up or the equivalent Tien drift set up. Just using Tien as an example by the way. I like the idea of it being a handy drift car, but if I go for drift suspension will it become an undrivable, spinning nightmare on the road? Does anyone have experience of both setups driven on the road / (non drift) track? What's the difference in feel / drivability / controlability / adjustability etc?
I know Tein's the kit to be seen with, but does anyone have a view on what's the most effective kit to go with?

5-stud conversion - I see these being very popular. Again, how come? Is it just to get access to a greater choice of wheels - eg S14 / Skyline kit etc? Or, is there more to it - eg do you swap out hubs / complete (more effective) brake setups etc from S14s / Z32s / Skylines etc when doing the conversion?
Once done, what's the proper wheel offset for something like S14 / Z32s 5-stud hubs in an S13? It'd be great to get some Rays / Volks Skyline wheels on there, but is that a no go?

Drivetrain
Thinking about swapping the diff out for a mechanical 2-way LSD. I believe this will make it more snappy (but controllable when sideways). However, again, does anyone have any experience to pass on of using a 2 way diff on the road / non-drift track? Does it work or does it make the car too unforgiving to enjoy?

Body / Interior
I'd quite like to stick a cage in there, but can only seem to find one made by Cusco. Is this really the only maker of a cage for the S13?

Seats - the standard seats are bl**dy awful. I quite fancy swapping them out for Impreza turbo / WRX seats (original shape). However, I'm aware that there's virtually no room under the current seats and they're a bit too high already. Does anyone have any experience of swappingin Scooby or equivalent seats? Does it work well? Can you get them low enough (ie lower than the standard ones) - if so, how do you do it?

Does anyone know where to get good, second hand Silvia front-end body panels in the UK with which to do a sil80 conversion?

Thanks alot in advance. I know there are a huge amount of questions above , but if folk can help with any of them that'd be greatly appreciated.