best bang for the buck

[shodown24]

What should i do first to my 02 spec v. I think maybe intake, or exhaust i really don't know. Also if anybody has a name of an exhaust that doesn't have a high pitched whine to it I would like the name.

[nacho_nissan]

first do intake...not sure what kind of exhaust you want,but make sure you get all JDM quality parts..(apexi,HKS,etc..)

[Eternal916]

I was at the local nissan dealership and they told me to get stillen or nismo because it won't void the warranty on your car if you have one... apparently the designer for stillen used to work for nissan so it's a good bet to do that... he said if you get the stillen CAI, headers and exhaust it'll sound clean... he said it sounded really good on the 03 models... now nismo seems like it's the best bet becuase it's... well... short for nissan motorsport, but... the stillen parts are cheaper and you et more horsepower... so I say go for stillen...

[sr20de4evr]

Originally Posted by nacho_nissan

first do intake...not sure what kind of exhaust you want,but make sure you get all JDM quality parts..(apexi,HKS,etc..)

hmm....well considering the SE-R isn't even sold in Japan, I don't know what the point in getting "Japanese" parts would be (especially since none of them even make parts for the SE-R in the first place).

The first mods are normally an intake and exhaust, but it really depends on your interests and goals. You could go for a short shifter instead, or maybe some better tires, sway bar, coilovers, etc before even touching the engine at all. For intakes, look at Injen, AEM, or Nismo. For exhausts....well you're on your own there, there are way too many to list.

Don't even get me started on Stillen....in short, stay away from them. That part about not voiding the warranty is wrong as well. Anything by Stillen will void it, and anything that is "r tune" by Nismo will void it (pretty much everything you would want).

[Eternal916]

ummm... yeah it doesn't void the warranty otherwise the guys at the nissan dealership wouldn't ahve told me so... so yeah I'm sure they know what voids the warranty becuase they are the ones that handle it...

[sr20de4evr]

haven't you learned yet?
The people at dealerships have no idea what they're talking about 95% of the time. I absolutely guarantee you, anything made by Stillen WILL void your warranty, as will any R-tune product by Nismo. Nismo's S-tune line doesn't void the warranty, but this includes things like shift knobs, decals, and other mods that wouldn't void anything no matter what company they're from.

[Eternal916]

ok... even if they're wrong about whether or not stillen is a reputable company... they the guys at the dealership must know something about the warranty that THEY offer... so as much as I respect your opinion I'm going to go with the experts on this one... and by experts I mean the people from which my original factory warranty came from... so yeah...

[sr20de4evr]

Did you talk to the head of the service department (the one who actually decides if something is covered under warranty or not), or did you talk to a salesman? Salesmen talk out their ass all day, every day, you can't trust a word they say really. There is an occasional good one, but the rest just go around telling you what you want to hear so you'll like them and buy stuff from them. I doubt half of the salesmen at your dealership even know what an exhaust manifold is (it sounds stupid, but you would be surprised).

I was at a Mitsu dealership looking at the Evos, the salesman was standing over my shoulder reciting all these little detailed specs (which I found out later were word for word what was in the booklet for the car) like the size of the front and rear brake rotors to the 1/10th of a millimeter, etc. I popped the hood, glanced at the engine bay, noticed the turbo was slightly hidden under some misc hoses and pipes, and I decided to have some fun. I asked him where the turbo was and I just got a blank stare. He had no idea what a turbo was, and couldn't even find it after searching the engine bay for a good 5 min (probably looking for a hunk of metal that said "turbo" on top of it). Like I said, salesmen have no idea what they're selling, much less aftermarket parts FOR anything they're selling.

[Eternal916]

you're right most don't know what they're talking about... but he wasn't doing a sales pitch... so he wasn't embellishing anything...he even gave me the number to the stillen headquarters so that I can get a list for the 04 spec v... and I'm sure this guy knew what he was talking about... he also explained that the r-tuned parts from nismo would void my warranty so he definitely knew what that was all about... and yeah stillen won't void the warranty... I mean... why would they sell stillen parts at the dealership if it voids the warranty.. jsut doesn't make sense...

[sr20de4evr]

they sell Nismo r-tune parts at the dealerships and those void the warranty....

[Eternal916]

touche