Small, sporty sleepers have been enthusiast favorites for decades, and for years Nissan’s entry into this category has been the Sentra SE-R. That original 1991 Sentra SE-R added plenty of punch to Nissan’s economy car platform, including more power, stiffer suspension and even a factory limited-slip differential. The result was simply amazing performance for a base price south of $11,000. …
When was the last time you saw one of these on the road?
In reply to Jordan Rimpela :
Every day. there is a local guy who loves these.
In reply to Jordan Rimpela :
I have a friend who bought one last fall. They love to destroy cats and cause the motors to fail catastrophicly apparently and that's why my friends are getting rid of their already after 6 months of ownership.
I imagine this is a large part of why you even have to ask this question and they're not all running around with buzzy exhausts and teenagers at the wheel..
Nissan should have put the VQ35 V6 in it factory and created an SRT-4 killer. It would have been very easy.
I owned two that I had bought from salvage. I really enjoyed driving them, especially the one with the Brembo brake package. Shame about the engine killing cats. I'd imagine that sent more of them to the wrecking yard than anything else.
Drove one long ago when they were nearly new. The Spec V had some mighty torque steer as I recall.
These seem like they would make great LeMons candidates, but I can't recall seeing one.
anyone who didn't know about the cat issue either doesn't have internet or spent all their time watching dumb yt/ig vids. Heck even being on faceballs you couldn't miss stories about that problem. But it does make our hobby much cheaper.
Now I'd like to state these kinds of articles impact my ability to get one of these for a song in the next year or so.
There are consistently 2 - 3 different ones popping up on the DC CL every week and for under $3k.
I'll have to read the article to remind myself of the 'Skyline' front bumper cover years. 
One of the pizza delivery guys in my neighborhood runs one of these
Also seems to be the only one around too.
nutherjrfan said:anyone who didn't know about the cat issue either doesn't have internet or spent all their time watching dumb yt/ig vids. Heck even being on faceballs you couldn't miss stories about that problem. But it does make our hobby much cheaper.
Now I'd like to state these kinds of articles impact my ability to get one of these for a song in the next year or so.
There are consistently 2 - 3 different ones popping up on the DC CL every week and for under $3k.
I'll have to read the article to remind myself of the 'Skyline' front bumper cover years.
If you find one, I went two ways. First one got rings, second one got an engine from a highway driven automatic transmission Altima. Both were successful, but I made more money parting out the rest of the Altima.
Both got Chinese headers, too.
Run_Away said:Nissan should have put the VQ35 V6 in it factory and created an SRT-4 killer. It would have been very easy.
I came here to say this. Or at least a VQ30DE-K.
Though I do know a guy who put the VQ35 in, and it was an extremely tight fit and required some customization. Not a drop-in ....
There's a vq35 swap into one documented on this forum.
Sometimes I miss mine. Then I remember pulling the dipstick ever couple weeks and thinking, "I wonder how much oil it burned THIS time?" Then I remember why I sold it.
EDIT: I should say that a fairly simple loctite fix on the intake screws and header replacement greatly improves longevity. The problem is you don't know how much damage has already been done. Mine had about 45K on it when I bought it if memory serves and it was just starting to use oil. I did the two fixes, drove it for several years and sold it approaching 100K without any major issues. I never really trusted it because of the oil usage, however. It was never QUITE enough for Nissan to replace the motor, but enough to always bug me.
On the track, these things would eat outside front tyres like nothing else. The rear beam gave the car so much grip that it completely overpowered the fronts. End result was that it would chew up the fornt tyres whenever you asked it to turn in.
Perhaps an ignorant question, but how did the cat cause the engine to fail? I've heard of engines running too rich killing cats, but never the other way around?
Then again, I've only ever owned one Nissan, and never heard of this issue from any other car... rare issue in the car world?
In reply to te72 :
Apparently, during certain conditions, the engine would "scavenge" from the exhaust header and draw the broken down cat material into the motor, damaging the cylinder walls. This would cause progressively worsening oil consumption and, eventually, engine death. The solution was to ditch the stock header for an aftermarket header which was either catless or at least had the cat farther away from the block. A "stand alone" air/fuel controller also supposedly helped keep the fuel/air mixture consistent and slightly leaner during heavy duty cycles. Both also generated a decent power bump.
I had to join just to post this. I bought a Spec-V new in February of 2003. I still drive it every day. 210,000 miles, original engine, original transmission, origina clutch somehow... AMA.
I wouldn't necessarily recommend them, except as a toy. But mine has been good to me. :D
https://photos.app.goo.gl/RBSEW61yyPkhqUXN7
I owned two of these. A 2002 and a 2006. They were quite different. While I quickly got rid of the 2002, I kept the 2006 for three years (a long time for me) and I really liked it.
The ones to get are the 2006's. They introduced a bunch of small changes to the engine and brakes that should have been there from the start. They finally made the engine reliable for that year. Mine had 118k miles with the cat still in place and didn't burn a single drop of oil. And it had a hard life of drag racing and autocross. The rear discs are bigger (even though the every parts store will tell you they are the same size as 2002-2005), which helps with the modulation.
Then I made the mistake of modifying it and I eventually sold it.
If you could find a stock 2006, I think they could still be a great choice to run in HS class. The HLSD is great, I was able to get -1 deg of negative camber in front with the stock suspension and the rear beam does not have too much grip because there is always a wheel in the air.
I see one in my driveway every day. Its for sale.
The diff makes these fun off road.
kazoospec said:In reply to te72 :
Apparently, during certain conditions, the engine would "scavenge" from the exhaust header and draw the broken down cat material into the motor, damaging the cylinder walls.
This was also a fault in the 2.5l Contour/Mystique/Cougar. The cats would break up, resonance would drive the chunks back up into the engine, and the engine would die catastrophically.
Ford did a recall and replaced the converters.
Knurled. said:kazoospec said:In reply to te72 :
Apparently, during certain conditions, the engine would "scavenge" from the exhaust header and draw the broken down cat material into the motor, damaging the cylinder walls.
This was also a fault in the 2.5l Contour/Mystique/Cougar. The cats would break up, resonance would drive the chunks back up into the engine, and the engine would die catastrophically.
Ford did a recall and replaced the converters.
Didn't the 1zz in the MRS have the same issue as well?
I saw a bright yellow one at the Detroit Auto Show in 2001 (or 2, I forget) and bought a new one in 2003. Lots of TSD rallies and autocrossing. Sold it in 2011, but wish I didn't. It was a fun car and mine, at least, was relaible.
In reply to Run_Away :
I believe I own one of the few VQ35 swapped Sentras. It is a blast to drive. Not the best handling car I’ve owned, but it’s very quick and very fun!
Didn't these have timing chain issues as well or am I mistaken?
Always thought they were great sleepers even though I don't hold a very high opinion on Nissan products.
I have a 2006 Spec V that I bought three years ago. It had 99,000 on it, was stock, and I am the 7th owner. Odds weren't in my favor, but it's been good to me. I swapped out the exhaust manifold for a cheap ebay header right away to try and limit the cat issue. The 06s had different butterfly screws so I never bothered loctiting those. It's my rallycross car and other than I keep busting the original and rusted exhaust I don't have too many issues with it. However, I don't drive it much other than events. I've only put about 5,000 miles on it in the three years I've had it.
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