Buying Tips, and First Mods for a S13

[ikellen]

Excuse me if this has been posted before. As you can probably tell, I just registered here a week ago, and I have been reading some of the threads. My friend was really into 240sx's, and I caught the bug from him. Now I wanna pick up an S13, and start my own 240 project. I've been watching the local ads (Im in San Diego) pretty religously, and it looks like I'll be spending around $2500-$3500 for the base car. my budget is $6500 so this would leave me with $2000 - $3000 for insurance and mods. Insurance will be about $500/year, so Im left with about $1500-$2000 for mods. I know very minimal about modifications for the 240, besides the ever so popular SR20DET swap. I probably won't due that, so what advice would you give me? I'm an autocross fan, so what suspensions mods could I do? Also what are some good cheap power adders? Excuse my n00b-ness, but hopefully I will be able to post my completed 240 project down the line.

Thanks for all the help!

[95civicEX]

personally, for autocross since raw power isn't really that necessary, if I were you I'd just spend the 2k on a tein suspension setup, and some really good tires

[Muzzy]

ok..autocross man....here is wut u need. intake...i guess AEM or injen... exhaust...probobly 5zigen fireball or a tanabe super madallion..not to loud...perfect piping dia"...maybe apex..both have good gains but the apex is way louder...pick up some plugs,oil, filter...basically do a tune up(yes thas all one mod...cant have one with out the other..plus the tune up is necessary cuz u dont actually know when the last tune up or change of anything was).

then with the remaining money rebuild your suspension...like sway bar bushings...all that bushing crap...T/C arms and the things that hold the spindle on at the bottom....then some coil-overs or some eibach springs on some AGXs or tein S.Techs on AGXs(i have teins..very nice)....oh yea finally...some tires(no suggestions on that one....not much experience...i do like yokohama a lot and BFgoodrich)

...if u are handy and skilled...u can make some pimp grounding wires like me for $35 instead of payin HKS $100 for the samething.

[ikellen]

Sounds good.......I meant autocross as it is just one of the things I am interested in. I want my car to be all-around in reality. Sorry if I didn't state that the first time. I'll be autocrossing this car, as well as hitting the drag strip, and the normal street attacks. So far I wanna mix bolt-on engine parts with some new coilovers. Once I generate some more cash after that, I may think about wheels and tires, but if the tires are bad when I get the car, then I will replace those first.

[Muzzy]

well NOS isnt in your budget...NOS sux anyway. neither is turbo.

i pretty much named all the "power adders" available except for headers, puttin an exhaust cam on the intake side for more power or goin with after market cams, and do a little port and polish work.

if u get wild like me...u take all the emissions crap off...if u dont have to worry about it that is. My engine by is clean as hell.( as far as clutter is concerned)


u could also go piggy back fuel management unit..but i dont think u would really need it.

edit: well...now that i think about it...port and polish and cams really arent "bolt on"

[mbmbmb23]

Insurance for $500 a year?? Wow...thats unreal. When I got my 240sx a year ago, I was 25 years old and I had zero accidents and zero tickets. I was paying $74/month for full coverage through State Farm. Unless you are only getting PLPD (personal liability property damage), OR you are getting added to your parents insurance.... I would double check that $500 number/year.

As far as mods for your remaining $2000. I would first replace as many bushings as possible. Front lower control arm bushings and ball joints, front tension control arm bushings, new tie rod ends, rear upper control arm bushings, rear lower control arm bushings. After that go for some performance/lowering springs + KYB AGX struts, and an exhaust. If you go with coilovers instead of the springs+struts, you might not have as much $$ left over for exhaust....but...if you are autocrossing then this might be better.


-m

[OptionZero]

Do also look into RS-R Race springs (5kg front/4.5kg rear) and KYB AGX's. Not as stiff as say...Tein HE coil overs, obviously, but won't kill your ass when you drive around town too.

Like others said, complete tune up, then complete bushing replacement, complete control arm replacement, and good rubber.

Oh, and Whiteline sway bars plus cheapo strut tower bars

[Rennen]

I bought my car for many of the same reasons. So here is what I would do if I were to do it again.

Find a nice car, take alot of time to make sure the car is clean, in good condition, and well maintained. Don't be impatient while trying to find a car.

1st mod = Tires, mount some decent all seasons on your wheels, and buy a second set of stock alloys and mount Azenis, Kumho MXs, R compounds, etc. on them for the track.

After that, buy a helmet, some magnetic numbers and thats it. Keep the car stock. Spend an Autocross season learning the car, go to as many events in as many different regions as possible. This will let you the driver know where the car is lacking in reference to your driving style. During this time save up your money for major mods later, and fix minor things that break. Also, talk to alot of people at autocrosses, and watch other cars in other classes. Use this a guide later on.

Now that you understand the handling of your car and its deficiencies, start to mod. You should have most of your $ saved up and have a good idea of what class you want to mod your car to.

Here is a rough outline of mods allowable by class:
http://www.zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?s=&threadid=33522

Use this to mold your car into one of the classes and start to concentrating on your driving skills, and cutting down times and most importantly, Have alot of fun.

-Matt

[ikellen]

Originally posted by mbmbmb23
Insurance for $500 a year?? Wow...thats unreal. When I got my 240sx a year ago, I was 25 years old and I had zero accidents and zero tickets. I was paying $74/month for full coverage through State Farm. Unless you are only getting PLPD (personal liability property damage), OR you are getting added to your parents insurance.... I would double check that $500 number/year.


Luckily for me, my parents are allowing me to add the car to their insurance. If that wasn't the case, trust me I wouldn't have posted this thread.

I bought my car for many of the same reasons. So here is what I would do if I were to do it again.

Find a nice car, take alot of time to make sure the car is clean, in good condition, and well maintained. Don't be impatient while trying to find a car.

1st mod = Tires, mount some decent all seasons on your wheels, and buy a second set of stock alloys and mount Azenis, Kumho MXs, R compounds, etc. on them for the track.

After that, buy a helmet, some magnetic numbers and thats it. Keep the car stock. Spend an Autocross season learning the car, go to as many events in as many different regions as possible. This will let you the driver know where the car is lacking in reference to your driving style. During this time save up your money for major mods later, and fix minor things that break. Also, talk to alot of people at autocrosses, and watch other cars in other classes. Use this a guide later on.

Now that you understand the handling of your car and its deficiencies, start to mod. You should have most of your $ saved up and have a good idea of what class you want to mod your car to.

Here is a rough outline of mods allowable by class:
http://www.zilvia.net/f/showthread....&threadid=33522

Use this to mold your car into one of the classes and start to concentrating on your driving skills, and cutting down times and most importantly, Have alot of fun.

-Matt


Hey man thanks for the tips. I really appreciate helpful people like you. I have heard your theory before, of not modding and learning your car. I was in a money spending mode, so I wanted to know what I could drop some money into. Now that I think about it, I think I will buy the car, and put money into some tires, and then save the rest.

Thanks everyone, keep the tips coming.