Se-r knowledge desired

Oh all knowing grm mind.

If a b15 Se-r v has all of its butterfly screws and has the troublesome cat removed, is it a better or worse car than the b13 Se-r?

In dd duty, auto cross duty, whatever other duty you can think of.

Also, what the crap is a nx2000 and why hadn't I heard of them before? Better than either sentra?

tuna55 wrote: If a b15 Se-r v has all of its butterfly screws and has the troublesome cat removed, is it a better or worse car than the b13 Se-r?

That's a toss up between floppy wet noodle chassis B13 and shoelaces tied together B15 beam axle. It's certainly a newer car than the B13, so the B15 has more modern rustproofing, aerodynamics and sound deadening.

tuna55 wrote: Also, what the crap is a nx2000 and why hadn't I heard of them before? Better than either sentra?

It's the SE-Rs "integra" brother with t-tops. Better than either? That depends if you like t-tops.

Honestly, I love the SR20DE, but hate the B1# chassis.

How about a P10 or P11 chassis Infiniti G20? Nissan Primera goodness if you can find one with a manual and not the crappy 4 speed automatic.

06HHR wrote: How about a P10 or P11 chassis Infiniti G20? Nissan Primera goodness if you can find one with a manual and not the crappy 4 speed automatic.

I thought the g20 was the same thing as the b13. What are the differences?

I don't know that much about SE-R Spec Vs, but I do know that the headlights, front bumper, and wheels make it look much better than the base car B-15. I like the SE-R Spec V. It drives much, much better than the base car. I never drove a b-13 version.

Here's a Nx2000. I haven't seen any articles written about it, either.

Test drive all three and give us a review.

tuna55 wrote: I thought the g20 was the same thing as the b13. What are the differences?

The G20 got double wishbones up front. Early (P10) cars had B13 IRS in the rear, late (P11) cars got the B14/B15 beam axle.

Hey, I know a little about these. I had a B13 SE-R back when they were new. It's an awesome, awesome car. For its day, amazing performance.

Downsides? They weren't built to last forever. My paint was going by '95. I have heard (and seen) horror stories regarding rust, too.

B15 SE-R is cool, but it's a bigger, heavier car. Power to weight might be similar, but it's not quite the same thing. Four doors could be a plus, though. I haven't driven one in years, but I'm assuming that nicer examples are easier to find.

Hardtop NX2000s are out there, but they're rare.

I currently own a 94 B13 XE that has the powertrain out of an NX2000, a 98 B14 200sx SER, and I recently sold a 04 Spec V Brembo B15. I also have a 72 510, but you didn't ask about that...

I love the B13, but its a pretty bare bones car. The B14 is pretty much identical under the skin other than the rear beam axle, but is a little heavier and a bit more sedate inside. The B15 is not even the same family, really. Its heavier, faster, much nicer at highway speeds, and has spectacular brakes and a pretty nice LSD.

I bought the NX as a flood car, which tags it as non-repairable. I ended up swapping all the powertrain and suspension, because I'm an idiot, they never sold Sentra SERs up here, and I should have driven to Florida to buy one instead. My original plan was to take the dash and front sheet metal from the Sentra, stick it on the NX to get rid of the Renault looking headlamps, and the screw with the kids by calling it a JDM Sentra hatch. That started to look a lot tougher one I realized all the body lines were slightly different, and the doors had frameless windows on the NX...It started to get too stupid for even me to attempt.

I like the SR20, but if you are used to working on similar vintage Civics, you will HATEHATEHATE working on a Sentra.

I drove an early 2000s Spec-V and it was the torque-steeringest car I've even driven. Seems okay otherwise. I think the B13 SE-R is one of those cars that are about to get their vintage halo very soon. Spiritual successor to the 510.

I had a 1994 B13 se-r for a long time. I sold it a few years back. It was awesome and i would love to have another. Long story short i put a gt28r turbo on it and commuted 100 miles a day back and forth to work with it. I had to put in a B15 transmission as it ate original B13 transmissions. I drove it like this for years, over 30mpg on the highway. I did a couple HPDEs with it, what a blast. I miss it all the time.

I saw an NX2000 on the road about a month ago. It made me smile. The Nx2000 was the Nissan version of the MX-3. Toyota tried to play in the same arena and came out with the Paseo. These all were probably somewhat in response to the success of the Integras with the four little round headlights, although they are in some ways closer to a Del Sol than an Integra, except they all had vestigial back seats and the engine in the front.

In my mind these three cars are all grouped together as early to mid 90's pod cars. The NX2000 had the most Hp and largest engine. The Paseo was awful. The MX-3 had a cool but tiny 1.8L V-6 that is only cool because it was tiny. I liked the headlights of the Nissan pod car the best, but way back in 1994 it was an MX-3 that I bought.

Can't help on the Sentra question, but I am a bit excited to see that on my local Craigslist I could go out and buy an MX-3 GS, or a NX2000 with T tops, oa Paseo each for under challenge money.

For the price these are going for, they are very intriguing. Sounds like they all could be good fits.

RE the B15:

Does anyone have any pictures on how to quickly check those butterfly screws?

Also, is there any nondestructive way to check the cat for destruction?

I've owned a B13 SE-R (swapped because we never got those up here) and 2 B15 SE-R spec-V (first modded, second stock). They are very different cars.

B13: Great revvy engine, crappy trans, lovely balance (for a FWD), great fun. The NX2000 is the same to drive.

B15: Torquey, but rough engine, fantastic HLSD attached to good transmission, comfy on the highway, crappy suspension, lots of room for big tires. It reminds me more of my 4th gen Maxima than the B13

Stock for stock, the B13 is a nicer drive. It feels light on its feet. But if you want to go nuts with the modifications, the B15 is a much better starting point. In fact, I find my B15 to feel underpowered in stock form.

GRM years ago did a comparo between the NX2000 and the MX3. I believe they gave the nod to the MX3 as well.

I know this doesn't really help OP on the subject of Sentras, but given the choice between an MX3 and an NX2000 today, i'm not sure which i'd choose. Both have easy 200hp engine swaps available.

I have a 04 spec v at the challenge and I know of another mid 90s se-r coming. I am not sure of what mods he has. Interested in how they compare.

I co-drove a B13 SE-R from CA to CT a few years back and loved it. The SR20 has a well-deserved reputation as a high-RPM screamer, but it's also a very linear motor, with good torque down low.

I was also impressed with the P10 G20 I rode in as an instructor at the SR20 Convention at Roebling Road. If I were looking for something with an SR20 in it, I'd get a later G20 (I think the Touring package gives you an LSD of some sort, as well, but is pretty rare and pricey).

tuna55 wrote: For the price these are going for, they are very intriguing. Sounds like they all could be good fits. RE the B15: Does anyone have any pictures on how to quickly check those butterfly screws? Also, is there any nondestructive way to check the cat for destruction?

don't the transmissions explode pretty easy too? I kinda remember when they were newer someone won g stock at the nationals with one, but that was enough that it needed a new transmission after.

tuna55 wrote: For the price these are going for, they are very intriguing. Sounds like they all could be good fits.

I found one up here that had a new motor at 60k miles and the body had 120k miles on it. They guy wanted $800 for it and it was for sale almost 2 months. I bet it went for $500 or less.

I both loved and hated mine. It was relatively fast stock and with a few bolt on mods, it really came alive. It sounded great with a decent exhaust added on. The Nismo rear sway really tightens up the handling. It made a decent autocross car even without expensive suspension bits. The trans isn't exceptionally smooth, but with a weighted knob and poly shift bushings, it was passable. The LSD was a thing of beauty. Everyone complains about the torque steer and it can be a bit shocking a first, especially coming from a Honda, but you get used to it.

The hitch is, I never really trusted the motor. I did the butterfly loc-tite fix and pulled the stock header off soon after I bought it. (There's a nice power bump from an aftermarket header, BTW) But it always burned a little oil and the Spec V specific boards had about 2 or 3 "My engine blew up" threads per week.

As for Tuna's question - you have to pull the intake to check the butterfly screws. The precat damage usually manifests itself in oil consumption, so look for a blackened bumper. If its really bad, it will show up on a compression test.

The throttle screws take maybe an hour to fix. The top half of the intake comes off pretty easy. There are at least a billion Chinese headers available for those things on Ebay. I bought a stainless one for just over $100, and it fit and looked perfect.

If I were ever to buy another one, I'd try really hard to take it for a 300 mile test drive to check oil consumption. Mine ran perfectly, didn't smoke enough that you could see it in the mirror, and burnt a liter of oil every tank of fuel.

B13 or B14, SR20VE swap. About $1000 for a nice JDM motor with Honda VTEC style cam lobe switching on both intake and exhaust. Could be a really fun FWD N/A Nissan that will sorta run with the Hondas, at least $ per $.

I'm gonna throw one of the heads on my RWD SR20, they flow really well in stock form and the cams are nice for boost. Also captive rockers on a shaft so no nonsense with higher revs.

heh..... I'm just now getting to learn about the SR20....

I had a B13 SE-R with almost 200k on it and it was actually well maintained. I bought it for $800 several years ago. Our love was short lived (stolen after only a few months). It was a great car with good torque/gearing. Very tossable and neutral. Some of the best stock seats I have ever sat in! These days I don't think I'd want to DD one, but at the time it was great fun attacking corners, on/off ramps, and surprising people off the line. Some suffer from 5th gear pop out (mine didn't). Having driven a P11 I would rather have the SE-R.