Life and Times of Garagelu: S15 Build in the Dirty South
 

So I've been procrastinating and been planning on putting up a fresh build thread for this S15 that I bought back in June. So here it is, because I'm changing up a few things for the 2012 season. Hate it or love it...here it is.

Back in 05 I started out with this car.

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And almost 7 years later, I turned it into this. Fun 400 hp, reliable, great handling car.

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I always told everyone that I'd keep this car forever. I mean come on...I was the second owner of the car, 1st owner was a middle aged lady, and it was a unmolested s14. 7 years of blood and sweat, 7 years of memories, and 7 years of love is hard to let go.

But on March 20, 2011 I was browsing zilvia on my lunch break like I do every day and I see this s15 in the for sale section. I look at it and it's almost too good to be true. It was kind of funny because people were bashing the seller saying he is trying to scam someone. But come on, you'd be stupid to wire that kind of money without seeing the car. I immediately call the owner and after several emails and phone calls, I decide to buy this beautiful car. So fast forward about 3 months later I am the proud owner of my dream car... 2001 Nissan Silvia Spec R.

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Here is a condensed version of what's been happening since I bought the car.

Step 1: I had to get rid of those hideous Advan SA3R on the car. Fortunately I had a set of Volk GTU that I had bought for my s14 but never had a chance to put them on. BTW, GTUs are one of my top favorite wheels.

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Step 2: The wheel gap was wack so I needed to do something quick. The car sat on Ohlins struts and Espelir springs. The car handled amazing for a strut and spring setup but it had to go. I wanted something comfortable and performance oriented at the same time. I decided on HKS Hipermax 3 coilovers. Right after I purchased these, HKS USA closed down and moved back to Japan. Not a big fan of that so not sure how many HKS products I'll be buying in the future.

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Step 3: Got rid of the nismo exhaust. Nismo is nice and all but it was only 2.5 inch piping. I am a huge fan of JIC Magic exhausts so I bought a JIC bullet exhaust straight from Jon at JIC. Slip fit construction and beautiful welding.

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Stay tuned for the life and times of this S15!!! And finally, check out my recent feature on canibeat. Shout out to my boy Jordan Chronister. He does awesome work. Also check out his site called drivenmotive.

Storyteller: Kevin Lu's Nissan Silvia | Canibeat

HOLY CRAP!!!!! im tuned in

nice!
in for updates.

In for this.

nice parts

:jerkit: tuned in!!!! nice ride bro

so nice to see a car like this in the south, are you going to have it at ia Atlanta or anything?

You know I love this thing Kev... so cool! Excited to see the changes this year.

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It sounds like it was pretty easy to purchase this S15. If you don't mind me asking...was it already in the states? Or was it imported?

Yea I'll be at IA spring meet in Atlanta for sure. It's at Turner Field this year which is 5 minutes from my house. It'll be at IA Summer meet too.

It wasn't as easy as it sounds. There was definately some hurdles I had to get through. Luckily this car came with EPA, NHSTA, and bond release papers. And it was already in the states. I bought it from Seattle.

hope the kid that has your s14 doesnt wreck it, its so nice! and cant wait to see this at turner!!

i officially regret selling my s15.

^ yeah,. never a good idea

damn you're lucky, one day I'll own one.

Congratulations Kevin:hitit:

If you're not a fan of that, then you won't be a fan of a lot of parts...

This made me sad, but this thread has made me happy again!

God I can't wait till these are legal...

Well when you just spent around 2000 dollars on coilovers, find a defect in the product and can't get in touch with the manufacturer, you'd probably be frustrated as well.

I stopped by the place where I store my car tonight to get a few things done. I wanted to show you guys some of my garage neighbors. There are some dope ass cars here. This place is pretty sick for car guys. You can store your car here and included in the monthly membership fee, you get access to 3 lifts, tools, car wash, TV, internet, fridge, bathroom, shower, and some other things. Its got a full security system and a ventilation system. Considering that I just recently bought a condo with NO GARAGE (probably a big mistake on my part), this place definitely is definitely well worth it. Plus majority of the members are big into road racing and some are even instructors so I am considering on tracking my daily TSX this spring.

Theres 2 E30 M3, 600 hp E46 M3, a couply E36 M3, a couple 330s, Brian Fuller (2 guys garage) built 61 Impala, Year One built 67 nova, Shelby Mustang, 60-something Cuda, and more.

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damn do i love that gt500. You should pull a gone in 60 seconds moment on that car haha.

i like really like that kouki, so clean. if S15 will be legal in Cali, i'd snag one in a heart beat even if im broke ill sell my kindey

Good to see who bought this... I was the other buyer, glad you got it because I still have my Kouki and a Nismo Frontier now.

Oh and so everyone know this is a Grandfathered in U.S. Legal Motorex S15.... and it sold for hella cheep compaired to what some other non legal S15 owners are asking!!!

keep up the good work...

ah the gold kouki ka-t now I know who you are, haha. So many random car friends on facebook. You gave me a lot of helpful advise on ka-t.net or whatever it was. Never did build a ka-t obviously.

so does this make it full state legal?

Regardless of all of that, it may be federal legal, but not still not legal in California.

Um, sorry wrong person. I've never had a KA-T and never will. However, I am friends with you on FB.

Didnt I sell you my old SR head and GT3071 turbo kit?

Thats one of the cleanest S15 interior I've seen. On every S15 I've seen in Japan, the damn gray paint around the dash trim is peeling off. Shit looked tacky.

Smart man. Cool cars.

Thanks, yea the interior is mint. The car only has 21K Km on it. I bought it with 12K Km.

And I know for sure I didn't buy a 3071 kit. I did buy a full race twin scroll 3076r setup for my s14 from someone else on the forum. And I don't remember buying a SR head on here. I have bought a few SR heads but they have always been local.

Yes its 50 state legal. Not sure about Cali though. Not like it matters because I doubt I'll ever live in Cali, Lol. I love it out there but just can't see myself living there. Can't wait for WEKFEST SF next week!

I've heard about this place; seems like a cool place but how do they ensure your car isn't pillaged or taken by another member or member's friend?

Did you buy that S15 from Bryant? I love that gold Kouki.

im excited to see how this turns out, looks like a good start

Well there's a full security system with cameras everywhere so it would be tough. You need a code to get in the door and you also need to enter a code in the box once you walk in to disarm the system. Some of the cars in that place are quarter and half a million dollar cars so I feel pretty safe with them. And pretty much all the members are older guys and probably could care less about my rice bowl. They are all into beemers and muscle and they all have pretty baller jobs. You won't find a 18 year old kid storing his honda civic there. What I'm trying to say is that these guys will repect your property as long as you respect theirs.

And no I don't know who Bryant is. I bought this from a guy in Seattle. Thanks for the compliment on the gold car. I miss it a lot. The kid that bought it is local and he said he'd let me drive it sometime so I am looking forward to it.

Since I'm living vicariously through you, what do you have planned for this car?

I have a lot planned for the car this year but you'll just have to stay tuned! Here's something to hold you over. New turbo came last week. I'm talking to a few companies right now about retrofitting a billet compressor wheel.

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On Friday after work I got started disassembling my Brembos to get them ready to send off for coating. I did some research and couldn't find anywhere that stated the torque spec when you reassemble these calipers so I checked the static torque on the bolts before I removed them. Dynamic torque is usually about 5% of static so I'll be torquing them back at about 150 Nm.

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I started with the front calipers first.

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Used a pick tool to remove the dust covers. Right after I pulled all the dust covers from the front calipers, my buddy called me to see if I wanted to head out to Sweetwater brewery to get some beer. I definitely didn't say no after such a long week at work. Spent 10 bucks for about 7 or 8 beers...not too bad. So needless to say, I didn't get too far with the brakes.

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Cool! Didn't know there were nismo pads in there.

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Hey that was me! Your old stuff is still sitting in my basement. Lost my job soon after I bought that stuff from you so I never got a chance to finish collecting the right parts to throw it all together.

But now life is back on track and I am a ecu away and a few bolts away from putting it all together. Weeeee! </threadjack>

PS. One of the lifters is missing, where they stock or something special?

Dude, I'm seriously impressed with your Zenki build...looks gorgeous! Any links to your build? Great choice on the GT-RS, one of the best turbos for the SR20 by far. Looking forward to seeing your progress. Congrats on owning an S15!!!

Thanks, I miss that car a lot for sure. No I never did document much on that car. I took a lot of random pics along the way but never put it all together.

The GT-RS turbo will definately be fun. I'm not looking for a crazy amount of power on this car so I think that turbo is perfect.

Looking forward to this Kevin!

Glad to hear you were kidding about selling this thing haha.

I had a boner driving next to this thing on the way to IA. Just sayin' haha

Beautiful car.

I'm down with the choice of turbo...It's on my short list of ones I'd like to run myself...

I've been collecting parts for a while now and the wait is killing me! This thread should calm my nerves :)

Wheel faces removed tonight! They're ready to ship out to Cali for a new look!

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i want more of this XD

this thread is lacking

lacking more pictures!!!
beautiful car! were the brakes factory ? or do you have a z series brembo on them ?

well since i sold my s15 ive been driving an suv. you have inspired me to start my next s13 build, hence i ordered my rb26 today. so thank you and i am looking forward to seeing this build!

No the brembos were never a factory option for the S15. These brembos are actually off a r33 GTR. 100 percent bolt on with 12.75 inch rotors. I had STI brembos on my s14 and OEM brembos are very cost effective and plenty for an S-chassis.

MORE PICS COMING!!!

Your white S15 was pretty iconic so you are an inspiration to me as well. I still can't believe you sold that thing. I can't wait to see what you do with the s13.

I'm looking forward to your next build for sure!

And I like where this build is going so far!

Subscibed. Build is off to a HOT start. Just dont ruin it with something [email protected] like a v8 swap.

Damn that s14 was hot did you ever drive through the florida panhandle with it?

V8=EWWW, lol. A V8 in this minty S15 would just be wrong. Others may have different opinions but that's just me.

Actually, yea I did. This picture was from my drive down to Pensacola. I think this was during spring break in 08. I drove from Michigan, where I was going to school at the time, back home to Huntsville, AL, and then down to Pensacola.

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Got back into the ATL on Monday. What an amazing weekend in San Francisco for Wekfest. Got to hang out with all the PGK(Premium Garage Krew) guys, Frank from Downstar Inc, Ryan from Rywire, Joey from The Chronicles, etc. This was the first time seeing west coast cars in person and I am definitely impressed. East coast is so far behind it's not even funny.

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Today I finished up disassembling my Brembos.

Once you get the dust cover off, take the bleeder screw out so you can blow compressed air into the caliper. One thing I learned is to compress the piston before you try blowing it out. This will allow the piston to free up a little. If your caliper has been sitting for a while, it will be tough if you don't break it loose.

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After you blow the piston out, you have to remove the rubber o-ring.

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All ready to ship out! If you guys decide to do this, make sure you label EVERYTHING so you can put everything where it was originally.

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nice walk through on the disassembly.

lol wow wish i could see it back than i live in pensacola lol our beaches are pretty nice

Seen in person super clean!! Great guy too bought some parts from you in the past

Excited to see the brakes when they get back, Kevin! Looking good.

I see us becoming friends...

In for this build love it so far

Dam this is def baller status owning an s15!

that place where you store your car looks a lot like what i presume heaven looks like... i wish i had a place like that for my car :'(

subscribeddddd

shnice s15

Another episode of "what's in the garage"...I was up at the garage this weekend working on my car and saw this car for the first time. I sat there staring at it for a minute.

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Damn, life and work have been incredibly crazy and busy these past few weeks.

I got my brand new Z32 backing plates in from nissanparts.cc. Still waiting on R33 e-brake cables from them. Also I got my Agency Power front conversion lines and SPL rear lines.

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Since I had a S13 Greddy RSPL FMIC kit laying around, I decided not to let it go to waste and did some cutting to make it fit the S15. I finished mocking everything up for the most part. Just waiting on my Tial bov to come in so I can get the flange and piping all welded up.

Also received my Greddy intake pipe in. Since inlet is 3 inch for z32, I'm planning on getting a spacer made so I can use the stock s15 maf on it for now....instead of using an ugly 3 to 2.5 inch reducer coupler.

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And since S13 and S14 intercooler mounting points are different on Greddy kits, I made mounting brackets for it. I bought 6061 aluminum flat bar and bent it on a vise. I didn't have a torch handy so I went ahead and bent it and then welded where it cracked...should work great!

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You're alive!?!

Just playin' :) Thanks for the update....

Awesome build. Been a good week on Zilvia among S15 owners past/present.

More parts! HKS purple is so beautiful...

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Love that oil cap, have one myself :) Funny that thats the wastegate I'm planning to get for my purple bay too haha

What do you do for a living if you do not mind me asking?

Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201

That's actually a bov.

Na you're good. I work for a company called The Tool and Gage House. I'm the site manager for my group that works on site at Caterpillar Griffin, GA. We do all of CAT's tooling so this includes everything from fixtured spindles to air guns.

You don't have to be rich to own an S15. You just got to be ready when the opportunity comes along.

BOSS!!! :bowdown:

Finally received my wheel faces back from polishing. Spent some of Saturday doing some touch up. A company in cali called California Chrome Wheel did the work. I only paid 300 bucks plus shipping there and back. I felt like it was an amazing price considering other companies were quoting me 500+ dollars for the work. There was even one company that quoted me 800 dollars.
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Then spent today doing the final assembly at the garage. Still need to install my Volk Racing center caps that I recently bought new so people will stop calling these things VS-XXs. 160 dollars for center caps was hard to swallow but oh well...
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Snapped this picture of my buddies LS FD while I was driving home from the garage. This is my first rolling shot and considering I was driving while taking the pic, I think it turned out pretty nice.

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I'm loving the vibe in this picture (and the rim choice)...

dang that was an amazing price! not too many chrome guys out here do stuff for that cheap. just wish i contacted them before i redid the chrome and seals on my works.. =\

Looks great Kevin!

Dang, that is looking awesome Kev! You made the right choice for sure.

man i just got a chubby...updates!!!!

Today I took my greddy intake pipe and chopped off the bov recirculation port and the port where one of the crackcase vents goes. I am not recirculating my bov and I guess this was made for s13 sr since there is already a crankcase vent port on the turbo inlet that bolts to the stock turbo so no need for either. I filled/welded the holes up first.

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Then I grinded the welds down smooth. I need to go back and fill some of the thinner areas. I'll regrind and go back and polish the whole thing.

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I got the intake all done. Just need to do some final sanding with 3000 grit and polish it. I took a hone and smoothed out the inside of the intake as well.

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Here is the plastic spacer I had machined so I wouldn't have to use a reducer coupler.

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Bryan Fuller built Impala. Every bolt on this car is ARP.

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I'm working on having a friend do something similar to my GReddy intake pipe right now, haha. Looks good man!

Nice running into you and seeing your car. Thing is sex on fire.

I have the red kouki that was lost and asked for directions, haha.

I love this car so much! Looked amazing as always at IA this past weekend!

looks really nice bro

Favorite car at IA hands down, wheels look great!

Thanks man. I do not remember giving anyone any directions but then again I was so zoned out the whole weekend. I had been stressing out all week to get the car running for IA and finally got it done at 8PM on Friday.

Wow, that is one clean and beautiful car. :wackit:

Can you post some pics of the interior and engine bay?

Haha, it was when everyone was leaving sunday, you were making like a 6 poin u-turn in the middle of the street and I was behind you trying to find 75 north.

But anyways. Moar updates.

Yea that definately was not me. I didn't make a u-turn anywhere after IA. Me and the PGK guys left around 2 PM to go eat Taco Mac. We were trying to avoid the post-IA traffic.

Updates coming!

Awesome shot from my homie Khris H. at the Southrnfresh Welcome to Atlanta Pre-IA meet.
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My instagram photo from IA spring meet. Follow me! @garagelu
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new color on the wheels is looking great man