SE-R Build Thread...

[EGProject]

So, about 3 weeks ago, I sold my Civic (previously Jeefs) and picked up an 04' Sentra SE-R Spec V. Black on black. only 52k miles on it and relatively good condition. Aftermarket head unit, new tires, etc.

Future plans involve new brakes, lines and fluid, Nismo sway bars and springs. The power mods will be put off until next spring for now.

Here's some pics...

After doing the ever-well known foglight mod. Stock, the foglights can only be used when the headlights are in the LO position. I used some spare wire and jumped the foglight relay to a switched KOEO signal source, so that the foglights can be used anytime the key is in the "run" position.

Debadged the rear (sides are soon to come).

Come spring time, expect either a good set of bolt ons, or it's going away for a VQ35DE swap.

 

[BodyDroppedNikes]

nice looking car homie. got any interior and motor pics as well as a side view?

 

[EGProject]

Motor is stock, and so is the interior, lol. I'm gonna be washing it today, so I'll try and take more pics.

 

[EGProject]

Washer her today, threw on a quick coat of spray wax, shampooed the interior, and threw on my new Nismo shift knob...






I'm kinda suprised on the mileage I'm getting. I do primarily highway driving, and with my old Civic I managed 38-40 MPG. Still, with a heavier car, bigger engine and A/C useage, I'm still on the fringe of 30MPG.

So far I really am impressed with the car, but it desperately needs bigger sway bars and a drop.

 

[BodyDroppedNikes]

looks sharp man

 

[CIVICTRON]

nice bro but u dsowned a honda lol what...

 

[EGProject]

I was tired of not having options, dealing with theft, no A/C, police attention and other unwanted attention. I hate having to get out of the Honda game, but to be blunt, everything has been done before and it's really hard to be individual these days with a Honda. I wanted something I could drive every day, auto-x on weekends and still be able to have have fun with. This car is great in that - I don't have to worry about someone stealing it - police don't even look at me twice - I don't see the same car 5 times a day.

I'd like to get back into a Honda later on in life, with maybe an S2k or nasty track whore, but for budget I was in, I found a good deal.

There is life after Honda. Just ask 3/4 of the forum OG's.

B- Del sol, then M3
Turbomirage - EG, then Mirage(s)
B16 - Del Sol, then Evo (and del sol)
Jeffiie - Civic, then nasty 350Z

The list goes on.

 

[TurboMirage]

mirage is basically a civic though, with torque and bolt in turbo swaps.

love the SE-R though. cant wait to rip it apart at an event

 

[EGProject]

I has teh torx though.

Naw, won't be auto-xing it till next year, so I can get my hands on a set of RE01Rs and a nasty rear sway bar.

FYI, stock SE-R Spec V runs a faster 60' slalom than a track package 350Z and an STI....

 

[BodyDroppedNikes]

BDN....bagged Ford Ranger Splash, 2004 Mazda3 S

add that to the list

 

[TurboMirage]

im pretty sure your torque dynos at what mine has at the crank right now.

and the mirage does that too. fandacone (last years CART driver of the year, 350z with slight mods) has funrun'd it a few times and loves it.

 

[CIVICTRON]

ya here ya about all that honda shit... its kind hard to roll honda these days lol

 

[EGProject]

Installed a set of Eibach pro-kits yesterday, and they made a huge difference in the attitude of the vehicle in corners, and finally lowered the ride height to a normal level. I feel the drop was perfect for the car - 1" in the front and 1.2 in the back. Not slammed at all, just right.

I'll post some pics up later, I'm still uploading them.

As for other updates, I did front rotors and pads - currently running Axxis Metalmasters up front with Bendix rotors. I modded the airbox (no resonator) and dropped in a K&N panel.

Next on the list is a shorty header (close coupled cats blow), and a Nismo lip ($288, ouch). After that it will probably stay the way it is for the winter as I need to buy a shitload of tools, and save money for when I go to PA in the spring for school.

 

[TurboMirage]

saw the pics on FB, looks good

 

[VTEC_CBR]

That looks like the one I had recently, same color and all. I bought it when I was in Vegas, so I went with the non spec model because I was sick and tired of the terrible traffic. It was only a DD, so I didn't mind the auto. My car before it was a 97 civic EX. Going from the 1.6 to the 2.5 was a nice difference in torque. I never bothered modding it, but it did handle surprisingly well. I can only imagine the difference the LSD that yours has would have made. Looks good man, I kind of miss mine. FYI you may want to Loctite the screws in the butterfly valves in the intake manifold. They've been known to come loose and get sucked in if you drive it hard. I used to skim www.b15sentra.net but I haven't been there in quite a while. They had a nice Turbonetics full turbo kit with engine management and everything, and warranty. You may want to check it out.

 

[phyregod]

Looks very bland.. Like an escort or contour.. bred with a cavalier.

I dunno. I like to look at a car and see passion.. Art, something that evokes emotion. That car just doesn't do it for me. Generic vanilla ice cream like.

 

[EGProject]

Yeah, the car really needs a lip to look normal, I kinda like it. It's very much a sleeper and the handling with a set of springs and decent tires is very good. Not to mention I won't be going crazy with this car either. a few bolt ons and all it needs to do is get me through another year of work and school until I can either upgrade, or pick up a project car and use the SER as the DD.

 

[Briansol]

good luck with it.

a buddy had one and went through 4 new motors. just kept blowing up

 

[hosmer]

FYI, stock SE-R Spec V runs a faster 60' slalom than a track package 350Z and an STI....

just a minute there johnnycomespeedy...

Z:
test data 0-60 mph 5.5
1/4 mile, sec @ mph 14.0 @ 101.2
braking, 60-0 mph, 116ft
600-ft slalom, mph 69.7
200-ft skidpad, lateral g 0.86

Spec V:
0-60: 7.3
1/4 mile: 15.6 @ 89.8
Slalom: 67.1 mph
Skidpad: 0.88g
60-0 118 ft
80-0 206 ft

-and the STi #'s are better

-fellow Nissan owner

 

[EGProject]

Yeah, I basically got the info from a SCC article a while back, so don't quote me directly. I wasn't trying to be the cool guy and exagerate my cars performance.

Reliability problems stem from precat failure (certain VINS, and older 02-03's), and secondary butterfly screws/plates comming loose).


As far as updates, I tore it down at work last weekend and Loctite'ed all the butterfly screws in place (a major issue with older SERs), changed the oil and checked the plugs.
Car is running great, uses pretty much no oil (sometimes a problem with precat failure), and drives good. With the Eibachs in, it's pretty clear that it needs more tire underneath it and a bigger rear bar. Tires might come before the winter, but most of the other mods will need to wait till after the snow melts again. I'm going to be changing the trans fluid this weekend at work, and throwing on a set of Falken Ziex 512s I managed to score off a CPO car that came in.

It's definately a step up from my Civic, but come a year or so from now, I may have moved onto something else.