Wanting SR20 Power

I have seen a few challenge priced SR20 powered vehicles popping up in my region lately and of course it is making money burn a hole in my pocket. Most of them are of the B14 200sx and P10 G20 variety, unfortunately all of the B13s in the area have rusted into oblivion. I know the G20 is heavier but has a nicer fully independent suspension setup whereas the 200sx has a beam out back and lighter weight. Given the choice between the two which would you go with?

This or that as the hamsters say?

Depends on what you want it for...DD? Gdub all the way (sedan > coupe for daily duty). The 200SX is gonna be sportier thru lightness, although I did read an issue of Project Car GASP where a prodded P10 went head to head with a frankencivic down the 1320 and it was pretty close matchup. A P10 can be a hoot to hoon around the cones too. Thing is, with a Infiniti, you ARE lugging around luxo junk you dont need. It all depends on what your goals are.

Four door DD, don't forget the 00 & 01 B15 Sentra SE.

Mine is an 01, with a stick, and man is it fun. Has the same suspension as the 200sx, but four doors, rear seats fold down, and its got the 145 HP roller rocker engine in it, the most powerful USDM version.

I simply love mine, recommend them to anyone. Alot of people think it's an SE-R though.

I liked my 200sx SER, but it was a rust bucket. Light and tossable. Either car you buy add a short shifter. I had a TWM shifter and it made the car much more fun. MPG not so hot around town. I felt as though the 200sx was a little quicker around town than my SVT Focus.

sr20+slushbox is NO FUN...trust me 3 pedals or other car, those are the only real options

I want a G20 as a winter DD. 5 spds are available, although the LSDs are pretty rare :-(

I was thinking fun DD for its main purpose. Maybe even a rallycross even I can find one close enough. Five speed would be a must.

I have a lead on two decent ones.

93.5 G20 125k, fifth gear popout and some scratches down the drivers side. I was thinking $800 + $200 newer LSD trans from a B14. I could drive it home but it'll need the trans work eventually.

96 SE-R 125k, non running. Body is in nice shape but it has been sitting for three months and the car lights up in side but no signs of life from the starter. Starter shouldn't be killer, and I could try roll-starting it for a test drive. Fuel pump wouldn't be difficult to replace either, but I would most likely need to tow this one.

There's a cheap temp fix for the 5th gear popout. It's sometimes called "flipping" fifth and you do exactly that. You just flip the 5th gear on the stack exposing the unworn side of the teeth to the synchros. Never tried it, but was told it would work for awhile. Of course you have to pull the trans and take it apart so you might as well buy the parts you need (cost me $150) and put them in instead.

How long ago did you get those parts?

The best price I have seen was ~$350 for all of the parts to fix the problem. I have seen newer limited slip transmissions for less than that.

http://www.courtesyparts.com/5th-gear-pop-out-kit-p-613191.html

P10s are slow dogs, unfortunately. Especially with an automatic.

with an auto, yes they are slow. A P10 with a 5 spd tho is a pretty quick and fun sedan, comparatively speaking. Its not faster than an SRT8 Charger sedan, but it is a tick quicker than a comparatively optioned 5 spd Integra sedan thanks to larger displacement and willingness to buzz around above redline.

Theyll pull a premium a week before race Wars.

They may be out of your price range, but the "2nd gen" G20 did NOT have the same rear suspension design that the 1st gen. used. 2nd gens have that same beam rear axle design used by other Nissan products.

I owned a '92 G20 with the 5 speed.....I still miss it. I prefer to think of these cars as being SOLID instead of heavy. And in decent shape they hand the roads like they are on rails. Mine was sold to me with a 5th gear pop out, but on the condition it was fixed first AND warrantied. They are also great little "sleeper"/Q-cars, as they look like a run-of-the-mill 90s Japanese small car. To my mind, tne biggest mistake Infiniti made was not offering this car in more "youth oriented" colors....they would have sold more of them. BUT, their low profile looks make them great used cars.

I'm driving my 2nd P10 5spd and love it. Drop a good set of shocks and a big rear sway bar and it handles great! Header, CAI and underdrive pulleys and it is fast enough to be fun. As mentioned a great sleeper, it looks so generic.

My understandin is that the LSDs wear out around 125K miles...still want one though

appleseed wins

Yes the 2nd gen does use a beam rear end, but also has a broader footprint, so its a tradeoff. Unfortunately the RR motor does not make up for it larger girth, although dropping in a 92/3 intake cam allows it to breathe better with longer duration of lift, so you can squeeze it a bit. And yes, underdrive pulleys and a bigger exhaust does free it up a bit more too. I love my P11 for its looks, but wish it were a P10 for that cars abilities.

I always thought the P11 would have been a little too heavy for the small displacement to move around, but that said they are nice looking cars.

Race Wars?

In reply to Nitroracer:

Fools running a honda 2000.

heres a couple finds for ya

http://york.craigslist.org/cto/2092154801.html

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/mld/cto/2104942487.html good deal

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/cto/2104917123.html had to laugh at that one

I still vote gvr4

SR20VE cheap and make great power. I had one in a 1994 B13 as well as a 1994 P10. You can get them on ebay for around 1000.00 and they bolt right in. I had a CAI, ebay SSAC header and a 2.5 inch exhaust on both cars. I had a Calum ECU and an MSD window switch to control the cams.

If I remember correctly I sold the P10 last year for around 3000 with the swap etc.

Here is a dyno from the b13.

Here is the G20 that I sold...

The VE head is way way WAY better design than the DE head. It revs better breathes better and doesn't grenade if you bounce it off the rev limiter a few times.

Im pretty sure the DE is robust too, I had an NX2000 when I was 16 and Im sure it saw the rev limiter pretty often. Still got over 30 mpg driving it like that too.

The 200sx is sold, so hopefully I can take a look at the G20 next weekend. Have some finals I should try to concentrate on for now.

Johnp2, I think the gvr4 reference gives you away.

Nitroracer wrote: Im pretty sure the DE is robust too, I had an NX2000 when I was 16 and Im sure it saw the rev limiter pretty often. Still got over 30 mpg driving it like that too. The 200sx is sold, so hopefully I can take a look at the G20 next weekend. Have some finals I should try to concentrate on for now. Johnp2, I think the gvr4 reference gives you away.

It may just be under boost or something. The rockers on the DE head are not the greatest design. Under extended high RPMs, they get thrown, and bad things happen.

276,000 miles and counting on my track toy B13. Original engine and tranny... It sees the red line lots.

My friend has a JDM SR20 DE in his B13 SE-R (has slightly higher compression than the US version), and I love that motor. It feels like the M52 in the E36, but it keeps going until 8K RPM. The motor is good enough that I'd take one in just about any car that included a 5 spd manual.

The P10 is a bit of a sleeper. I've been in a few at track speeds (instructing at the SR20 Convention a few years back), and I came away really impressed. If I found a rust free 5 spd. in good shape, I'd be hard-pressed to turn it down as a winter DD.

The SR20 has a relatively small amount of oil (under 4qts IIRC). In addition to that, if the pan gets dented, chances are the pickup got crushed. They're very sensitive to oil level and temps. Keep a close eye on both, and I'm convinced they're actually a pretty robust motor.

IMHO, VEs are a mixed bag. Sure, you get the extra power up top, but there's really no advantage down low. They can run hot, so you'd pretty much have to take the same steps for the cooling system as you would for a DET. Honestly, I'd rather have the DET...

Were you instructing at the convention a few years back at Roebling? I instructed as well. It was a good event. Lots of track time...

I've flirted with a VE swap in mine, but I really like the mid range torque that the RR has. I can shift it at 2500 and get up to speed in traffic at a decent pace, and not have to rev the E36 M3 out of it. Although, I've hit redline in 3rd and was seeing 80MPH. My gas mileage has gone to pot, I need to scan it and see what's up, but other than a few astectics (like a bumper falling off, rebuilt car) I have absolutely no problems with it. I love the piss out of that little car.

Yeah its fun to drive and yeah its pretty economical, but it took my to college, it brought my baby home from the hospital, it took me on my honeymoon.

I freaking love that car.