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Spec S vs Spec R ... this might not be that bad of a comparison after all

After reading my post, which would you buy (if you plan on getting one)

  • Spec S

    Votes: 2 16.7%
  • Still the Spec R

    Votes: 10 83.3%

  • Total voters
    12
B

blahblop123

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i was looking at a japanese importing website recently and i was looking at the prices of s15 silvia's... i noticed that on average, a good spec S s15 silvia's were less than half the price of the good Spec R s15s.. and the only differences (correct me if i'm wrong) between the Spec R and Spec S are smaller rims (going to get changed regardless), the lack of a SR20 DET engine/gearbox (going to get taken out if you plan on doing an engine conversion) and the badge on the side that says "spec R" (going to get taken off if you get a newer body kit).. you still get the awesome looks and an awesome base car .. for less than half the price !... i'm a bit of a newb to S15 so correct me if i'm wrong..
 

DeanS15

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There is additional bracing on the r too, but if an s is less than half the price then go for it. If you are converting the engine then get an auto as it should be cheaper still and more likely to have had an easy life :)
 
S

S15 SILVIA

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Personally if I was going to be putting a different engine in other than the det, I would go for a spec s.
if you were going to be buying one to put a det in it, I would just buy the spec r instead.
If you factor the money in for the engine, ancillaries, braking, different parts, effort, and time, I don't think you would be far of the price of just buying a spec r to start with.
Everyones different tho, I just couldn't be arsed with the effort, and headaches you might get with teething problems.
Mike
 
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^^^^ This, once you add the cost of getting the S up to Spec R performance levels you will more then likely pay more then buying a stock Spec R.
 
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I bought a Spec S as well since im planning on a RB25DET conversion.
Why waste the extra cash while the major difference between the two will be removed anyways.

Sure the Spec R has extra bracing but nothing that cant be solved with a proper set of whiteline ARBs and some strutbraces.
 
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Brakes and dif are different too, I agree if you were planning on a rb or jz engine swap then get the s if you want it to have a det then just fork out the extra and enjoy it as its supposed to be
 
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there are heaps things that are different between the two, speaking about JDM versions, talking from experience as i have owned both. I would only buy the spec s if you were planning on doing something like a RB or 2J conversion then its worth it as you will probably change everything anyway , if you just want to put the DET in then buying a spec s is a waste of money.
Spec R has
4pot front brakes and a larger BM50 BMC v nissan basic singles all round with a small BMC
6speed box v 5speed box ( clutch & flywheel are different too) 6speed also has a factory short shift.
LSD v Open diff
12 extra bits of body bracing v spec s wobbly shell
Stiffer springs
and im still finding things that are different, with the JDM car spec s stands for Spec S*#t

just do a search on this site as this subject has been brought up many times
 
B

blahblop123

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DeanS15 made a very good point about auto Spec S'... the Auto spec S' are cheaper than the manual and are still in almost-stock nick even after 10 or so years with under 100k km.. great suggestion
 

DeanS15

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That's provided you are doing an engine conversion - if you are set on an RB or JZ then there would be no point buying an r, it would be a waste. Brakes are hardly a deal breaker between the two as you'll probably want to upgrade anyway as most people do, but a standard 4 pot front brake setup should you want it can be taken from a rusty s14 turbo for peanuts....
 
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Spoonman, do you happen to have a list of which braces they are?
Since i need to stiffen up my S15 Spec S to proper Spec R or better for the RB25 :)
 
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The differences between the two with body bracing and there may be more that i dont know about

Boot Brace (rear of boot) --- wont bolt onto spec s, but can be made to fit
Boot corner braces (front of boot) --- wont bolt onto spec s, but can be made to fit
Rear Subframe brace --- will bolt onto rear subframe
Front Brace --- will bolt onto spec s just behind front subframe
Roof Brace --- not sure on bolt on
Lower Pillar braces --- not sure on bolt on
Upper Pillar braces --- not sure on bolt on
Front lower control arms have base plate --- not bolt on
Front & Rear strut top plates --- will bolt on

If you are going to do a engine conversion i would only bother with the boot braces, pillar braces, roof brace and the extra brace behind the front subframe. The strut tops ones are pointless once you install front and rear strut braces, the lower control arms are pointless as you can get aftermarket lower control arms and then weld a bar between the two, the rear subframe brace is only good if you are keeping the SR rear subframe and not putting in a skyline one to hold the skyline diff as you will blow arse if you put too much RB power through the SR rear end.

OR

You could just save yourself a heap of hassle trying to get hold of these braces and just seam weld along the joins since you are removing all the running gear anyway, this is a good time to do it since it works better then almost any other option. Then as part of the course get better sway bars and all that extra aftermarket bracing as you so desire, then if you are still not happy a 6point roll cage to go and you will have a road car with the body flex of a track car. by now you car will have far surpassed what nissan did with the spec r's body

I can email you a heap of pics of what the spec r's bracing looks like if you really want it
 
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Thanks for the info :)
Im planning on swapping on my whiteline arbs, coilovers and such which should help a load already.
But some photos of the spec r bracing would be great. See if i can come up with my own solution for those things by creating or finding similar braces.
If you would like to mail them you can use "texhnolith" "@gmail.com"
 

B9NKO

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I have done the DET swap in my spec s, I have driven both a spec r and the spec s and I don't feel any difference in the cars, I have put the front lower bracing on from the spec r, I have a strut brace on the top mounts, and run coilovers, I don't think there is much difference to be honest! Not enough to matter, im also running the 4 pot calipers with the spec s bmc and they are fantastic brakes!!
 
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I have done the DET swap in my spec s, I have driven both a spec r and the spec s and I don't feel any difference in the cars, I have put the front lower bracing on from the spec r, I have a strut brace on the top mounts, and run coilovers, I don't think there is much difference to be honest! Not enough to matter, im also running the 4 pot calipers with the spec s bmc and they are fantastic brakes!!
If you drove them both in stock condition you would notice the difference alot more
 
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there are heaps things that are different between the two, speaking about JDM versions, talking from experience as i have owned both. I would only buy the spec s if you were planning on doing something like a RB or 2J conversion then its worth it as you will probably change everything anyway , if you just want to put the DET in then buying a spec s is a waste of money.
Spec R has
4pot front brakes and a larger BM50 BMC v nissan basic singles all round with a small BMC
6speed box v 5speed box ( clutch & flywheel are different too) 6speed also has a factory short shift.
LSD v Open diff
12 extra bits of body bracing v spec s wobbly shell
Stiffer springs
and im still finding things that are different, with the JDM car spec s stands for Spec S*#t

just do a search on this site as this subject has been brought up many times
does 6spd from s15 come with factory short shifter? I just know this...
 

meddler

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As a standard shifter it is pretty short. But a C's short shifter makes it better
 
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