1990 Nissan 200SX Turbo 1.8 turbo

Summary:

I love this car!!

Faults:

Turbo gasket blew.

Exhaust manifold gasket blew.

Chassis was rotten.

Rear anti roll bar bushes needed replaced.

Synchromesh in gearbox needed replaced.

Brakes were poor.

Clutch was slipping.

It had an idling problem where it would idle to high or try to stall, which I've since learned was caused by the wrong type of dump valve being used.

General Comments:

Although my car had an abundance of faults, I still loved it!

To be fair, I think my car had been a bit abused in the past.

The hardest problem to diagnose was the turbo gasket which confused even my local Nissan dealer.

I had to get rid of the car in the end, but plan to by another, well looked after 200sx very soon!

The performance even when standard is excellent.

It was much quicker than my mates FTO.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 5th September, 2004

1990 Nissan 200SX s13 1.8 turbo 16v

Summary:

The original beast from the east

Faults:

Possible manifold gasket or cracked manifold I'm yet to have this checked.

Turbo has an extremely loud wail which has been there since I bought the car in January, but has gotten worse.

The right support bar on the drivers seat has snapped and the usual rust on the boot-lid under spoiler, also on passenger front wing.

General Comments:

This car isn't as fast as I expected, but that could be down to my turbo problem and even so is still relatively quick going off the clock at 150mph.

Everyone says this car should do 0-60 in 6.5 seconds, but I clocked mine at 8.7 seconds.

Otherwise this car is superb she handles like she's on rails unless it's wet then you might find the back end gets a bit carried away, but remains reasonably controllable.

Although I do remember 1 incident when I left a garage by the exit accelerated to hard and literally went right back in the entrance.

Seat's aren't very supportive, but then again mine is broken and the back is being held up by an old bass box.

Cabin is a bit boring, but also simple and everything is easy to find.

You may find you have problems fitting an after market CD player and will probably have to strip the shiny bit of the center console.

Parts are expensive, fuel costs are high, but it is a reliable car and treated properly should serve you well for years to come.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 21st June, 2004

1st Jan 2009, 18:24

Owned the car now for over 8 years and no problems yet.

Only had to replace the original battery 3 months ago.

Average under spoiler rust, but otherwise no problems.

Still very fast off the line.

Excellent car; very reliable and looks better and better as the years go by.

1990 Nissan 200SX S13 1.8 turbo

Summary:

A high performance bargain

Faults:

When I bought the car, the clutch was slipping, so new clutch had to be bought and fitted. Since then, nothing has gone wrong with it apart from a few things, which I should have checked when buying.

Remember to listen out for big ends if buying; don't disregard this.

If you are looking to buy, I very strongly suggest you visit an owners club like www.sxoc.com and learn about big ends, and what they sound like. This is the biggest problem they have, and is usually the main reason for sale.

General Comments:

Best car I have ever owned. Since buying mine, 5 friends/associates have also bought them due to being in mine. They are fun, very fast high performance cars.

As standard they feel fast enough, but modding to Stage 1 or further brings lots of fun.

I am now at Stage 2 with 270bhp (about £600 worth of mods) and you can't beat it, literally.

Small money spent on a 200sx can easily beat anything up to the top Skylines. Just respect it and always be careful in the wet, the 200sx has a thing for catching you out on roundabouts too, so take it easy! The 200sx is a real driver's car; don't expect it to forgive you!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 3rd May, 2004

20th May 2006, 08:18

Norris designs did a 600bhp s13.