Saving for an S15 (Please Read)

[Keith Mac]

hey im saving for a Spec R S15 As first car. They are my favourite car and i have been in them numerous times.
Just wondering are they really worth it for day to day living from people whom own them and what should i look out for when buying it. I plan to have a Clean One with Aero Kit on it : )

 

[DeanS15]

they are perfectly useable day to day mate, even when tuned . sometimes people just get to a point where they no longer want to use them as a daily driver... mild and moderately tuned ones are still very reliable if looked after, sr20det engines are well known to clock up big mileages with few problems.

there are a couple of faults that pop up on them - vvt rattle which can happen but not cause problems other than a rattly noise, split wing mount intercoolers causing boost leaks, the standard brakes are ok but not great. listen out for noisy gearboxes and diffs and knocking suspension due to worn bushes....it's just worth checking all the usual signs of servicing and being looked after. check for accident damage and if its a fresh import have a look underneath at the condition, on one thats been here a while, look for rust....

there are a fair few for sale so take your time

 

[adz87kc]

hey im saving for a Spec R S15 As first car

'As first car'? As in your first ever car? . . . .

If so i don't mean to come across as rude but a fairly powerful RWD is not a good idea for a first car :no:

 

[DeanS15]

'As first car'? As in your first ever car? . . . .

If so i don't mean to come across as rude but a fairly powerful RWD is not a good idea for a first car :no:

damn, didn't notice that. i'd agree - hopping in to one of these as a first car isn't a great idea imo......even if you can afford the insuranceor even get insured.....

 

[Keith Mac]

Insurance aint a problem my folks own a company and we have multiple vehicles and they said they would insure it for me as a company car. I have about 2k saved already

as for jumping straight into a rwd, i drive regulary because we own land and yards so i drive anthing from a tractor, van or a high powered jeep. Also have a safe driving certificate that that i got from passing a safe driving course.

Any other things i should look out for in S15's?

 

[Jay]

oversteer?

 

[craig8585]

Don't take what's being said in a bad way. It may not seem like it but they are trying to help you. Having been on the forum for a few years now, it becomes obvious that the majority of people crashing occurs in the first few weeks of ownership when people think they are drifting gods! I don't know of anyone having a S15 as a first car, mainly for insurance reasons.

Safe driving courses are all well and good but you know as well as everybody else on here that your driving style will not stay like that for long!

 

[Nickichi]

they don't have underseal on them from Japan, so if you import a newer one make sure the dealer underseals the car to prevent it rusting out.

day to day they are fine to drive, mines still stockish but can be a little fun when its raining or snowing but I don't care. Guess that depends on driving style tho

 

[S15 SILVIA]

As above pretty much.
Don't see why you couldn't use one every day. Relatively comfortable. not the most fuel economical car going, but not the worse.
Not that you shouldn't, but don't think it's very sensible to have as a very first car!
Partly the size of the car, it's quite fast, and the fact it's rwd takes some getting use to.
Not saying your not a good enough driver, but it would help to have some experience of driving, and driving conditions before jumping into a spec r Silv.
It's also quite an expensive car to prang and get fixed. Parts are a little rarer to get hold of, and generally more expensive as it is an import.
Whatever you choose to do, welcome to the club
Mike

 

[Keith Mac]

Thanks everyone for the feedback it is very appriciated

 

[natune]

i use mine every day and its fine, more comfatable than my integra was! this was my first rwd car, and ive had a few moments when the rear tried to come loose.. but have now adapted my driving style and know when and when not to give it some, so to speak. and also recently changed all the tyres as the ones it had were pretty much half slicks all round

im not sure its an ideal first car to get used to the roads in, but if you can afford it then go for it.. just expect some minor excursions that are not going to come cheap.

 

[LuPix_S15]

Again I'm gonna sound like others... not being a killjoy but just passing on life's experiences lol...


Would strongly advise against a fast RWD like an S15 as your very first car. Experience cannot be gained simply by driving on private land... the more you drive in real world the more you appreciate that it's also other people you have to watch out for as well as your own capabilities. You have to get used to things like not braking midway through corners, learning how to read bends and braking well before them especially if it's damp/wet. These are skills which boggle first time RWD owners let alone first time car owners full stop lol!! :wack:

If you really want to own RWD then maybe suggest something that's lesser powered and also much less expensive to buy should anything so wrong - an older MX5 would still give plenty of fun... hell getting my first 2.0 litre car (Renault Laguna RT) was an experience and took me months before I felt it was 'normal' and I wanted more haha

 

[tooley]

an s15 will kill you! sorry but it will, my 2nd car was an FD rx7 and that almost killed me a few times!
i had a 1.1 206 for my 1st car for 3 years.

 

[sliding-r]

if u got money dude go for a front driver with a little power, EK9 or something would be a cool first car...

rear wheel drive is much harder to control on the limit than a front wheeler and if there not much experience under the belt then it will be lethal.

 

[s15dave]

rear wheel drive is much harder to control on the limit than a front wheeler and if there not much experience under the belt then it will be lethal.

FWD can be just as difficult too if you dont know what you doing. over cook it into a corner and get severe understeer in a FWD...not much you can do about it except go easy on the brakes and ride it out, bit of handbrake action maybe.

main problem with RWD car, if you get a little enthusiastic coming around a corner, it will step out, and with ~250hp standard in the s15, it will step out hard, and if you dont know what to do with it, you will find a tree.

but this all comes from experience, which as a first car, you dont have. but on the other hand, experience is gained directly after it is needed.

upside is the standard s15 is very controllable in stock form, if you are ready for it to bite you.

i think it all comes down to driver attitude.......few mates of mine got huge bank loans and got highpowered R32's R33's as first cars, some of them smashed them in a few months, howeever a few of them had them for years never crashed them. maybe they were lucky, or maybe its because they drove sensibly...

 

[S15 SILVIA]

Let's be honest, when you first drive, you don't drive sensibly, and if you were going to, you wouldn't buy a spec-R!
You generally buy S15s if your a car enthusiast. So he will no it's potential!
I understand you learn how to do things by actually doing them, but this lad has zero experience of driving on the road, and driving around other road users. He is increasing his chance of having an accident massively, by having a rwd car with a fair bit of power, and zero experience.
Learn the basics of the road first with something that is less likely to kill you and others. Something that is less likely to catch you out or put you in a sticky situation.
Let's be sensible here!!

 

[gunner93]

Avoid braking on the turn is one but it takes years to undo my muscle memory to avoid off-throttle under a fast turn when the rear looses traction...

 

[sliding-r]

FWD can be just as difficult too if you dont know what you doing. over cook it into a corner and get severe understeer in a FWD...not much you can do about it except go easy on the brakes and ride it out, bit of handbrake action maybe.

main problem with RWD car, if you get a little enthusiastic coming around a corner, it will step out, and with ~250hp standard in the s15, it will step out hard, and if you dont know what to do with it, you will find a tree.

Hmm front wheel drive as difficult?? if you have something which is well setup like a ek9 it would be alot easier to control fast than say a S15...

I know i have had both,, if you over speed a corner then you get understeer whatever platform you drive FF, FR, 4WD. but corner exit and mid corner acceleration is easier in a FF or 4wd as you dont have the worry of the rear end ending up on the other side of the road and hitting oncoming traffic. so a sort of feathering of the throttle is employed to limit this in a rear wheel drive.

I used to own a 350HP civic Jordan turbo and was ace cause you could plant the boot and if you have a LSD fitted like me it pulled it in limiting understeer quite considerably, do that in my spec r half way round a bend and your be drifting to the sunset hanging out in the road.

but I love driving the Spec-R all the same, and there great for pushing hard at the track where there is room for the tail to slide..

 

[DeanS15]

i had an fto before this, it's not really a performance car, but it does have a v6 lump sitting over the front wheels and 200bhp... i never got into trouble with that car, if you started to understeer entering a corner then you just had to lift off and it would find its feet again. the s15 has **** me up a number of times (even on the standard turbo as you dont tend to respect it as much when it's 'only' got 250bhp....), its all part of the fun of this car, but its not a car to be taken lightly....

 

[GTuned]

I'll be slightly different here... I think it's a good thing to start off straight away with a RWD car, so that driving RWD cars becomes an instinct. The longer you drive one, the better. A daily driver, even better in my opinion.

I would suggest get an S15 Spec-S, whilst still saving up for the Spec-R, enjoy the fun of a light RWD car, and when you have enough money saved up for the differnce in price of a Spec-R, sell the Spec-S and get the Spec-R...

Seriously, I have owned all sorts of crazy cars (some with mad power) in the past 10 or so years, and the Spec-S was awesome to drive daily. Trouble free, reliable, tail-happy in a really safe way and quite quick. When I say "safe" I mean the likelihood of rescuing a turn gone horribly wrong is easier; by no means is it a crappy car (and I'm not necessarily a Nissan fan and am blinded; I've owned all types and brands of cars).

Horsepower.. don't believe the hype, and you will remember me someday; all those big numbers.. pointless if the drive isn't fun or really frustrating if you have to keep fixing parts that are breaking. Doesn't meant don't do it, but do take your time and enjoy the car when you get it

Good luck!