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1994 Nissan Silvia Q's review from Australia and New Zealand

"Fun RWD sports coupe from Japan"

What things have gone wrong with the car?

Nothing of any importance.

Put new clutch in at 107000km, but it started slipping at 115000km. I would recommend getting a heavy duty clutch.

Windows leak water around the pillarless doors.

Had water get into the taillights.

General comments?

Good car for people wanting a cheap, reliable rear-wheel drive sports coupe with a bit of power and excellent handling. The sr20de is a 2 litre double overhead cam, 16 valve engine with vvt on the intake side. My engine had some 4-2-1 extractors and a pod filter, as well as having the cat convertor removed. It provided a decent amount of go when needed, but revs were required (car is 160hp stock).

The standard open differential is rubbish, as with most open ones on sports car, and I changed it to a s15 helical torsen LSD (need to change subframe too). This gave the car a lot better wet road handling, and also dry road and cornering grip. The standard suspension was OK, but at 110000km I decided to go down the coil-over road, and installed a set of BC adjusties. With these in, the car handled extremely well and provided a lot of good fun through the touges around my area.

Interior is pretty plain-jane, but is very functional. Installed a CD player as well as some better front/rear speakers. Factory s14 seats are dreadfully uncomfortable, so changed them to s15 ones, which give more lateral support and look better (both s15 front and rear seats are a direct bolt-on to s14). Boot space is good for a sports car and I had no complaints. Rear leg room is a joke - you don't wanna be sitting in these seats!

Engines in these cars should last up to 200,000km; even badly treated ones. No need to change cam belt as it uses a chain. Most have been in crashes before, so it can be hard to find a good straight one.

Overall a great car for someone wanting to learn how to drive properly, and with some fun before moving onto better and more powerful cars. However be warned; like most rear-wheeled cars, they can be very easy to crash in the wet, but will provide you with hours of fun!

I am pleased that I bought a s14, and hopefully in the future I will go back and buy another Silvia, or one of its bigger brothers.

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Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Model Year1994
First year of ownership2004
Most recent year of ownership2007
Engine and transmission SR20DE petrol Manual
Performance marks 7/10
Reliability marks 9/10
Comfort marks 8/10
Dealer Service marks  
Running Costs (higher is cheaper) 6/10
Distance when acquired96000 kilometres
Most recent distance123000 kilometres
Previous carNissan Bluebird
Date of Entry 14th July, 2007

All Nissan Silvia reviews