So I've been looking at picking up a nice little '04 Sentra 1.8s 5spd. 75K on the original motor and tranny...
Anywho, anybody have any experience with the B15 cars? I've not been into Nissan's since my whole 300zx pimply fanboy phase. I did a little research and found the 1.8s is the 2200 of the sentra world...very little aftermarket support aside from bolt on...and I haven't been able to find anything for internals of the engine...nor is there any info on motor swaps to say...a DOHC.
Before I buy this thing....is there potential in the little car? I have a bad habit of getting the "Underdogs" when it comes to trim levels on vehicles, and I'd like to know if I'd be wasting my time building a 1.8
I think its lose/lose with the Sentra all around. Now the 1.8 is a decent model if left alone. The 2.5 SE R and the Spec V, those things suck. I had the Spec V and it was horrible. Decent power, but i could never keep it running. Always had a problem. Engine Blew 2 times on it. The first time it ate a screw from the butterfly valve, and the second time, the cat on the header fell apart and got sucked back up into the engine. Ive had 3 friends that owned a Spec V and all of them had the same problems. Now, back to the 1.8. Like i said, its a good model, but not for speed. My buddy had one, it was an auto and he had CAI/Header/Exhaust and a few other things and he ran a 18.0 at the track. The 2200 would beat that, lol.
Rob Bradley wrote:I think its lose/lose with the Sentra all around. Now the 1.8 is a decent model if left alone. The 2.5 SE R and the Spec V, those things suck. I had the Spec V and it was horrible. Decent power, but i could never keep it running. Always had a problem. Engine Blew 2 times on it. The first time it ate a screw from the butterfly valve, and the second time, the cat on the header fell apart and got sucked back up into the engine. Ive had 3 friends that owned a Spec V and all of them had the same problems. Now, back to the 1.8. Like i said, its a good model, but not for speed. My buddy had one, it was an auto and he had CAI/Header/Exhaust and a few other things and he ran a 18.0 at the track. The 2200 would beat that, lol.
That's odd, I've known a few people with Spec-V's and they always had good luck. A local guy was making 400whp boosted on his never any issues. Guy at work at one as well with lots of bolt-on's and not bad at all either.
I bought an 06 brand new and had it for a few years. It was the 1.8s Special Edition. Meaning it had the alloy wheels, kicker sub, sun roof etc.. The car was amazing. Yes, it was a cheap car but it did not feel like it at all. Brand new I paid like 14k for what is fully loaded for a 1.8s. It did not feel like I was driving a cheap car though. The gas mileage was insane. They claim less gas mileage then the corolla yet I was getting better. They actually under rate it. Mixed driving I was averaging 32 on a bad day and up to 36 on a good day. It drove really nice, parts were cheap, easy to maintain. They aren't winning any shows but looks aren't bad.
The downfall...speed. God they are slow. They have an ok powerband so you wont have an issue merging into traffic, but if you want to mod the engine at all...pass it up. You'll never make one fast unless you swap a 2.5 or 3.5 into it. Even boosted they aren't hold any good amounts of boost to make any real power. You can boost it and make as much as a SER with minor bolt ons. If you want a good DD I say go for it they're great cars. If you want to mod the engine at all.......you're in for a huge disappointment.
Like its been said...the 1.8s are slow, slow, slow but fairly reliable... I would stray away from the Se-Rs because they are roughly the same price as the spec V but don't have the 6speed or the better interior. The 2 major problems with the QR25 in the Se-r and spec Vs were the butterfly valve screws, which is a 1 hour fix with a bottle of loc-tite and the precat failure which can be easily remedied with an aftermarket header...although, the QR sounds like a wasps nest with a header and stock exhaust...lol... My vote would be to get an 02-05 eco powered cav/sunfire, that way you get a little extra power, and still have great gas mileage....and parts aren't as frightfully expensive as nissans are.
My buddy blew up his spec v 5 times under warranty..... Rods through block, or valves eating pistons. It was at the dealer more than in his garage. They finally lemon lawed it not to long ago. His was one of the Nismo packaged dealer equipped ones. His was unmodified, other than the nismo dealer installed parts.
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Old Motor: 160whp & 152ft/lbs, 1/4 Mile 15.4 @88.2
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Airgazm wrote:Like its been said...the 1.8s are slow, slow, slow but fairly reliable... I would stray away from the Se-Rs because they are roughly the same price as the spec V but don't have the 6speed or the better interior. The 2 major problems with the QR25 in the Se-r and spec Vs were the butterfly valve screws, which is a 1 hour fix with a bottle of loc-tite and the precat failure which can be easily remedied with an aftermarket header...although, the QR sounds like a wasps nest with a header and stock exhaust...lol... My vote would be to get an 02-05 eco powered cav/sunfire, that way you get a little extra power, and still have great gas mileage....and parts aren't as frightfully expensive as nissans are.
Yes, but saying as the Cavalier is titled in my parents name, a stipulation of me selling my cav, buying another car, and them even thinking of co-signing it (Insurance, payments, blah blah, i'm under 25), the car would have to have less or close to the amount of mileage my '02 2200 has (it just rolled over 80k), and it can't be older than what i'm driving.
I think to myself...wow...Cavalier with 80k and a rod knock....or an import with a little over 100k and a good price that has barely started to scratch the surface of it's engine's lifetime.
Thats why I said eco...i've put 60k very hard miles on mine with very little maintenance...and its held up much better than i've ever had with imports....and I'm a honda fanboy at heart.
My friend had nothing but trouble with his SE-R. It was a nightmare to own it. I'd say steer clear of that model. But the 1.8 situation is probably exactly like our 2200 model j's.
Because the 2.4L motors in the Z24's were problematic, whereas the 2.2L Cavaliers were nearly bullet proof.
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Before I buy this thing....is there potential in the little car? I have a bad habit of getting the "Underdogs" when it comes to trim levels on vehicles, and I'd like to know if I'd be wasting my time building a 1.8
They can be reliable little cars. Might not be as reliable as the early 90's models though. I don't know if it's just me but I wouldn't choose a Sentra 1.8 to start throwing money in the engine.
