Advice for a newbie

[jeffreyliu838]

I'm planning on getting a Nissan Silvia (Really digging the S14A) sometime in the future, and with the money saved up, I think I'd have a little left over to make it better. This won't be for racing or anything. Just everyday driving, so I don't need like 0 to 28321032170312 mph in 2 seconds, but better mileage is always a good thing. Suggestions and recommendations will be appreciated. I'd prefer to not go over 15,000 dollars after everything (including car). I'm just looking for some upgrades that will make it run smoother, and more efficiently. Thanks.

EDIT: Also, I'm not really into cars that much, so I'd probably end up paying someone for labor, unless it's a simple task.

[munkekiller]

You start with a cold air intake with a K&N air filter, Msd ignition, 8mm spark wires (msd brand). Those are some what cheap upgrades, then look into cams and pistons when doing a motor rebuild, you think about setting up your motor for NOS? then body kits? Or maybe a turbo or two?

[jon@af]

Originally Posted by munkekiller

You start with a cold air intake with a K&N air filter, Msd ignition, 8mm spark wires (msd brand). Those are some what cheap upgrades, then look into cams and pistons when doing a motor rebuild, you think about setting up your motor for NOS? then body kits? Or maybe a turbo or two?

Everything up to the point of pistons and cams, etc. is decent advice. After that, I doubt it's something he'd want.

[slideways...]

first of all im not sure why you want a silvia. you really cant buy one with dollars. even if you found one, i doubt it would leave you with anything left over after buying it, and the tickets you get for driving around a non street legal car. so i guess im just going to assume you got your info from super street and you really mean you want a 240sx.

you dont need upgraded ignition. just make sure its in good shape. any extra money spent in this area is wasted. a nice air filter, muffler/exhaust, rims/tires, maybe some upgraded bushings, short shifter, other minor things. check out courtesyparts.com
they have many high quality OEM and aftermarket parts.

[jeffreyliu838]

What? The S14 is illegal?

I've seen it a few times looking through used car sections in papers, websites, ect.

Seriously? It's really illegal to drive?

Anyways...I read that thing about boosting power on a 240x (The sticky). I guess if I find one with the SR engine, I'll just stick with up, but if I pick one up that has the KA, I'll get someone to read that budget boost thing, and do whatever they do.

So, what's the verdict? cold air intake with a K&N air filter, cams and piston, muffler/exhaust, rims/tires, maybe some upgraded bushings, short shifter...Anything else? Anything that I shouldn't get?

Thanks.

[slideways...]

you should not modify any internals unless you are going to turbo the KA. only because you seem like you dont know how to tune a car. a KA can handle serious turbo power but not if you dont know what your doing. if you find one with the SR, you should also leave the internals alone, as the stock ones are forged anyways. just put some simple bolt ons on the car, and learn how to drive it. driving skills and tires are the two biggest modifications that anyone can do. dont try and spend a huge amount on a dyno slut/trophy car, only to back it into a school your first time trying to drift or something.

[slideways...]

dude and learn what cars are called at least. i said silvias are illegal. 240sx are legal. i dont care what super street thinks is cool, a 240sx with an SR swap is not a silvia. please do us all a favor and cancel your subscription to super street(or import tuner/modified mag/teen beat) and burn all your back issues.

[jeffreyliu838]

Dude, calm down. What's the point of being so rude?

First of all, I am not subscribed to "Super Street". Like I said, I found an "S14a" in the classifieds for like 7k, and I think that's a good price for a car with decent specs. Secondly, I said in my original post. I am using this for normal driving purposes. MPG and reliability are king here. Not "drifting", nor racing. Third, read my post. I asked why the S14 was illegal, and then I discontinued my use of that term, and used 240sx. Lastly, I did say that I'd probably get my car into the hands of a professional for tuning. My friend's uncle owns a shop.

"So, what's the verdict? cold air intake with a K&N air filter, cams and piston, muffler/exhaust, rims/tires, maybe some upgraded bushings, short shifter...Anything else? Anything that I shouldn't get?"

Doesn't sound like a trophy car to me. Sounds like a plain Jane that gives me the privilege to laugh when my friends dump 100 bucks into gas, while I make one fill last a month.

I respect your position as someone who is more experienced, but if you're gonna be a elitist prick, I'd rather not have to read what you have to type.



Any more advice from anyone else?

Thanks.

[slideways...]

huh? did i miss something? you wanted to buy a silvia, i told you why you shouldnt try, and it seemed like you completely misunderstood my intentions. i really think you need to calm down. but thats besides the point. if you want reliability, stick with intake and exhaust, suspension, clutch, rims and tires. you dont need more than that and more will just detract from your first two priorities. if you have the SR, same thing. spend your money maintaining the car with quality parts. keep it clean and reliable. dont mess with too much mods. every mod you do detracts from OEM reliability. you can boost gas mileage a bit with an intake and exhaust, lighter rims, lighter suspension parts, and an interior/exterior diet, but thats about it.

[jeffreyliu838]

Originally Posted by slideways...

huh? did i miss something? you wanted to buy a silvia, i told you why you shouldnt try, and it seemed like you completely misunderstood my intentions. i really think you need to calm down. but thats besides the point. if you want reliability, stick with intake and exhaust, suspension, clutch, rims and tires. you dont need more than that and more will just detract from your first two priorities. if you have the SR, same thing. spend your money maintaining the car with quality parts. keep it clean and reliable. dont mess with too much mods. every mod you do detracts from OEM reliability. you can boost gas mileage a bit with an intake and exhaust, lighter rims, lighter suspension parts, and an interior/exterior diet, but thats about it.

Forget about it. If you're gonna insult someone and not stand up to it, fine, whatever. If you really didn't mean to be insulting, I'm sincerely sorry. I might simply be too easily offended.

What exactly OEM reliability? I know what OEM stands for from external contexts, but I'm not sure what it means here. Also, what exactly is an "interior/exterior diet"? Yeah, I know, I suck with this stuff. But everyone starts somewhere, haha. So, with the exception of the "diet" and the intake and exhaust, the parts are good for mileage because it dectracts from the overall weight? Could I run rimless? I see cars all the time with no rims (At least, seemingly no rims), so could I just take them off and sell them? So, a bolt on turbo will not help with mileage on a KA?

Thanks.

[munkekiller]

I am sorry for starting a fight here. you wanted something that helped with performance and saved gas too. I would look into getting the car you want. Then you go and check what is available for your car online. If it has fuel injection, you can get a cold air intake with a k&n air filter. I run royal purple for all my fluids, engine to transmission and rear axle. I notice a very small gain. I have 8mm spark wires. cold air intakes run from about 100$ and up, My wires run a bout 60$, and k&N filter about 50$. Royal purple is pricey, but I don't mind.
maybe look for the car you want, then look on the web for upgrades that you would like. Before doing anything talk to your friends uncle about what you would like to do.
And again I am sorry for starting fights, I was just trying to help out.

[slideways...]

Originally Posted by jeffreyliu838

Forget about it. If you're gonna insult someone and not stand up to it, fine, whatever. If you really didn't mean to be insulting, I'm sincerely sorry. I might simply be too easily offended.

What exactly OEM reliability? I know what OEM stands for from external contexts, but I'm not sure what it means here. Also, what exactly is an "interior/exterior diet"? Yeah, I know, I suck with this stuff. But everyone starts somewhere, haha. So, with the exception of the "diet" and the intake and exhaust, the parts are good for mileage because it dectracts from the overall weight? Could I run rimless? I see cars all the time with no rims (At least, seemingly no rims), so could I just take them off and sell them? So, a bolt on turbo will not help with mileage on a KA?

Thanks.

i didnt mean to insult you, since i pretty much got the wrong picture of where you were coming from. anyways. OEM reliability, which you will come to find out, means that nissan manufactures their cars to last. like every company. very very few aftermarket companies, especially in the performance department, can offer the quality and durability that nissan can. almost every modification you do to your car will make it more janky. therefore if you want reliability, stick with what a multimillion dollar company has tested and proven to work. not what a company has made 15 per year of and only tested it on one or two project cars.

about the gas mileage, aerodynamics, weight, and engine efficiency are what determines a cars gas mileage. weight you can do yourself easily, as its pretty self explanatory, you just have to decide if its worth it to roll without carpet and sound proofing to save 15 pounds. its about comprimise. but adding lighter brakes, wheels, tires, and suspension will help handling, acceleration, braking, and gas mileage. all those things fall under the category of unsprung weight. i.e. weight that isnt supported by springs. this has the greatest effect on the dynamic performance of a car in every area. and steel wheels are not lighter than most quality aftermarket rims. if you want to keep quality and durability, stick with rims that are made by companies who make rims for car manufacturers. for example, enkei, OZ, RAYS/volk, ect. these do tend to cost more but the quality is proven.

as far as what performance/engine mods help mileage, basically anything that adds a serious amount of power will take away from gas mileage. because of the nature of an internal combustion engine, power = compressed air and fuel. an intake and exhaust will help your engine run more efficiently, usually with the only comprimise being noise. they dont make the engine use more air, just they allow the engine to use all the air it needs with less restriction working against it. a turbo on the other hand, forces a great deal more air into the motor, and in order for the extra air to do something, you have to add extra fuel. which, as you can guess, the more fuel you need to run the car, the worse gas mileage.

EDIT:
theres not much you can do in the aerodynamics department, for the same reason as other aftermarket parts. body kits, spoilers, ect. 99 out of 100 companies do not have any basis to say that their parts improve the cars aero profile. car manufacturers on the other hand, usually have access to a wind tunnel and can test their aero parts and actually make something that works. big spoilers are not what im talking about, since they provide downforce. the other side of it is downforce increases drag. which lowers gas mileage. theres not much you can do about it. you might be able to find a company or two that sells an aero kit that reduces drag, but you really have to make sure. most companies that do make aero parts, even OEs like nissan, do it to compensate for a general lack of downforce that stock cars have. this adds more drag. usually. you can add a splitter or some vortex generators and achieve some improvement in drag reduction, but usually its minimal.