Please comment on my plans

[PhopsonNY]

Please comment on my plans
Hi all,

I have been ruminating on what to do with my car for quite a while and have come up with this general plan. I will have to admit that I am a general newbie with cars, but I like tweaking and this car is my next subject. This is mainly to have a daily driver, I might do autocross one day, but definetly not a drifter.

I have come up with this general plan but, I need to know that I am not making any mistakes or missing oportunities.

Presently have a 1989 s13 fastback 240sx, badly in need of body work


Phase I - Interior comfort

New stereo and speakers - done
Fix AC
Reupholster interior - have new GTS - t seats waiting to go in


Phase II - Suspension & drive train (realy need help here)

S15 HLSD - have this waiting to go in
Suspension techniques sway bars
Nismo power brace
Tein Flex with EDFC
New bushing - which set?
Should I consider new control arms


Phase III - New engine and tranny swap

RB25det with manual tranny swap - for fun driving, no street racing, hoping for about 350/375whp


Phase IV - New body and wheels
Considering Abflug RPs13, Bumper type II maybe with Grim lights - so cool

Abflug kit (http://www.takakaira.com/asp/table.asp?id=511&cat=1&prodid=TUuQrRrmoNplsOn)

or simply the Nismo s14 side skirts and rear, with G-grow 180sx Ideal ver. II Aero Kit - cheaper
g-grow kit (http://www.raretrick.com/store/images/products/7006_prime.jpg)
nismo sides & rear (http://www.importfan.com/ProductImages/catalog/240sx_89_94/240sx_89_b_gtp_nsmo_s14_rb_01.jpg)

It will look something like the clearcorners car, but better
clearcorners (http://www.clearcorners.com/products/nissan/240sx1/imgs/featcarA05.jpg)

Big brake kit
Wheels/tyres, not sure yet; maybe 17" Nismo with
9" on back and 8.5" on front.

thats the gist of it...
I know it might be cheaper to buy a new car, but I enjoy doing this stuff so I am looking forward to doing this over the next 18 months or so.

Please comment freely

TIA



:hsdance:

[smellslikecurry]

............. :cry:

[wanganwonder]

what do you want us to say?

[AutoRnD]

ummm ok.. phase 1 seems ok.. LOSE AC!!! wont be keeping it with the swap anyways..
phase 2 would be..
Silkroad or gp sports coilovers from me...
silkroad rear upper control arm from me...
silkroad tc rod from me...
silkroad subframe spacer from me..
Nismo power brace.
suspension tech sways.

Phase 3 = eh... that is alot of work... and alot of money..

Phase 4 = eh... Get something nice.. like gp or vertex or ings.. from me of course hehehe

and phase 5 = get whatever wheel you'd like from me of course.. as well as a big brake kit..

WOW GOTTA LOVE THE BLATANT ADVERTISING =)


but onto the serious subject.. hopefully you don't think this car wil be done in a year.. unless you have a lot of cash...

[sykikchimp]

all looks pretty good to me..

might want to get some nismo t/c rods. (good for street car)
whiteline bushings are nice, and you can get adjustable bushings that will allow you to alter camber and such in the rear without sacrificing ride harshness.

and I would recommend whiteline sways over ST.. The ST work fine, but if you like to tinker, having the adjustable whitelines allows you to tune your suspension and handling much easier.

[mrmephistopheles]

well, they sure do look like plans.

[AutoRnD]

on the whiteline sways.. I say stick with suspension tech. I used to live in nyc tri state. And a couple of my friends had whitelines.. and their endlinks started rusting after first winter. Which sucks.. considering that the whitelines are almost twice as much as suspension tech's.

[theronin]

here ill say something, your plans suck

is that what u wanted to hear?

[PhopsonNY]

Thanks for the comments... I appreciate the help.

I just wanted comments from from those with more experience to see if I was making any major mistakes or had any gaping holes in the plans.

I will look into the Nismo t/c rods, upper control arms and subframe spacers as those seem to be the only things that I did not consider.

It seems you can keep the AC with the swap
I had some conversations with McKinney auto...!!!

I will also replace the stock STech sway endlinks with SPL endlinks

All the wise cracks are par for the course and I appreciate them too.

Hey, this may all take a while, but at least I will have some sort of direction. :rolleyes:

[MakotoS13]

bushings: i'm currently installing a complete set of energy suspension bushings. they appear to be of very high quality (despite being able to buy them at autozone) and the instructions that accompany them are AWESOME. they have actual PHOTOS with the instructions. the kit has almost all the bushings ya need and goes for like 150 shipped. i got it from enjuku last week.

[420sx]

yea if you are not going ball bearing, bushing replacement is a must. i dont care if they are fine, they being in your car since 89. they gotta go. also you might wanna consider a Ruca and front Camber plates. they dont stiffen much up. and if you decide to get a lil more serious about steering might wanna ditch the bushings. it wont make the ride that much harsher, you get used to it. but hey, mad responce. everything you put in the car has a side effect.

no pain - no gain.

[orange-grey]

Aren't the Flex pretty soft? I have HAs and wish I would have gone with something firmer, and the Flex are even softer than the HAs. You didn't say what you plan on using the car for, but I'd assume you want to do some sort of driving events. The ST sways are cheezy and don't really fit right. If you get stiff enough spring rates you might want to just use poly bushings on the stock ones, or else spring for a JDM sweet set. And skip all the body kit crap.

[Salty_X]

Phase II - Suspension & drive train (realy need help here)

S15 HLSD - have this waiting to go in
Suspension techniques sway bars
Nismo power brace
Tein Flex with EDFC
New bushing - which set?
Should I consider new control arms

Skip the EDFC and use that money to get some new T/C rods and tie rods. Coilovers are easy to adjust, just pop the hood and the trunk/hatch and go to town. Front lower control arms would probably be a good idea too. Don't use Energy Suspensions T/C bushings though, as they've been known to cause LCA cracking. Pillowball T/C rods (like SPL Parts ones) would be best.



Phase III - New engine and tranny swap
RB25det with manual tranny swap - for fun driving, no street racing, hoping for about 350/375whp
Just go with a SR, it can support those power levels easily. Plus you can keep your AC and the swap itself isn't as complicated.



It will look something like the clearcorners car, but better
clearcorners (http://www.clearcorners.com/products/nissan/240sx1/imgs/featcarA05.jpg)
Probably not.

[AKADriver]

Poly LCA bushings (energy suspension, whiteline, whatever) are fine. the LCA only has to move around one axis. it's the tension rod bushing that should either be stock type rubber (stock or nismo) or a pillowball... it has to move through two axes.

and I agree, skip the EDFC and skip the RB. What are you going to do with 400hp in a 240SX, besides beat off to your dyno charts?

and yeah, you're gonna have a hard time matching richard tang's car...

[nightwalker]

uh oh, I know you didn't say..."it will look better than the clear corners car"

MAN, talking about setting yourself up.

anyways, you must have like 50k worth just sitting around or to buy and do everything at once, because plans for cars NEVER stick.

[the240sxer95]

richards car is so awsome :) hahaa i love it! i wanted to trade my s14 for a s13 when i had my FIRST s14... but richard told me not to and if i did i would probably regret it :/ but i still kinda want to :) (second s14 now)

[Salty_X]

Poly LCA bushings (energy suspension, whiteline, whatever) are fine. the LCA only has to move around one axis. it's the tension rod bushing that should either be stock type rubber (stock or nismo) or a pillowball... it has to move through two axes.
Bah, you're right, I meant Energy Suspension T/C rod bushings, not LCA bushings. My bad.
Apparently the ES T/C bushings are too stiff for their own good.

[Dousan_PG]

your plans suck
why so manyp lans? get a general idea WHAT you want to do with your car and upgrade appropriately
i find the people who make so many plans usually fail. or change their goals.

i think u just want to hear yourself talk

i found w/ my car my original 'goals' were way off then what it became
you change over tiem the more you learn about the car and what you do with it.

another car i built i know EXACTLY what i need, when i need itand how useful it is. very precise and exact.

dont think so much.
and your car willl be hella ulgy w/ that aero. nismo style sides. fuck that its junk. that ab flug crap looks like junk too. wtf bad taste.


my money is on you cant afford any of that for a few years.

[PhopsonNY]

TIA for all the comments on tie rods and bushings... that is the info that is really useful to me. The critical info is great as i'll do as much of this myself as possible.

It's best to start with a plan that is costed out before significant expenditure. Any changes are then made against a baseline so things are under control. If it takes more than 18 months, and the plan changes as I learn more, then all the better.:x:

I think this is doable and if this is anything like as much fun :drool: and educational as I had assembling and customizing my Home stereo over the last 2/3 years, then I will be very happy. That was significantly more expensive than this will be.

thanks again for the comments
I think I have all the info I need to continue with confidence

ps: The clearcorners car is awesome...!!!!

[420sx]

i think u just want to hear yourself talk




and so do you :Owned: muahaha

[papershot]

Wtf did you do to your stereo and speakers to make them more expensive than those plans...

[Dousan_PG]

muahaha so do you :Owned:
yeah man, you reallyowned me. shit how can i go on. /sarcasm

[AAA240SX]

Ur plans are to detailed. Stick to a single project first. Too many things on the "to do" list will make your project fall apart. Odds are 75% of it will fall out: for whatever parts you run into along the way...

[Natty]

1. Driver
2. Tires
3. Brakes
4. Suspension
5. Power

[420sx]

dont forget a HelMeT so you can go out with your buddies and get haMerett . with a T.

[MakotoS13]

my plans:
1straighten body
2replace the broken
3replace the worn
4kill the squeaks
5mod the hell out of it

[AKADriver]

your plans suck
why so manyp lans? get a general idea WHAT you want to do with your car and upgrade appropriately
i find the people who make so many plans usually fail. or change their goals.

in general... yup.

I made specific plans for my first 240SX, I carried out almost none of them. I drive the car for a while and figured out what really worked for me... not what I thought I needed.

Make a general plan. Don't think about what you want to do TO the car... think about what you want to do WITH the car. and be honest with yourself and with us. Everyone says they "want to autocross" or drift or go to the track, but I see 10 times as many 240SXs pimping the starbucks parking lot on friday night as I do at sanctioned events.

[007jpang]

1. Driver
2. Tires
3. Brakes
4. Suspension
5. Power


i would have to agree. dont get too caugh up with what to put in your car
just up grade the parts that you need for now, like blown shocks, then just use the money left over for driving class, it will definately help for what ever car you drive.

st sways is the best upgrade i ever done, definately a must.
and for the wheel you might want 17x9 all around that way you can rotate tires.

[Maeda]

and so do you :Owned: muahaha

Yah he really does like to hear himself talk. :fruit:

Plans are good and fine, but your an idiot for posting them here.

I carried out my plans to the letter and you know where it got me?
250 RWHP to NO WHERE FAST.

I was a few grand poorer and the car wasn't what I wanted. I got what I wanted, but only after having I realized how many of the really important things I neglected. Basically I was very unhappy with where my money had taken me. Now i'm poor and am trying to cover the mistakes I made early on when I really should have just driven the damn thing more.

GET A 5 SPEED. Without it, you won't really be driving the car, you'll be riding it. THEN drive around some. Actually I lied. Drive around A LOT, and find out what the car wants.