Nissan SE-R

is a Nissan SE-R a good rally car any known problems

What generation SE-R? The boxy (b13?) early 90's one has been run with success by the Mendhams and others on the east coast and the Tabors and others on the west coast. If you're talking the later SE-Rs, I've never seen one rally.

Here's a thread where some of this was hashed out. I think the SS board (specialstage.com) has some stuff if you search.

http://www.rallyanarchy.com/phorum/read.php?1,5849,5853#msg-5853

The Cliff's Notes? You could do a lot worse. I wouldn't rule it out as a starter car, especially if it's already built, legal and priced right.

--Andrew

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Andrew Steere
Lyndeborough, NH
KB1PJY

91-92 SERs are the shit. They have the bulletproof Sr20DE motor with 150 ponies. Relatively light weight and eventhough its shitty they come standart with a diff. The most common problem on these cars is probably the 5th gear pop out issue. Almost all cars experience this but there are improvements for it. Suspension is available as well even the pricey shit like DMS off the Pulsar GTIR but I believe JVL has some for it as well. The problem with SERs is finding a clean, rust free shell. They start around 2500 on the east coast for clean examples with 100+K. Finding a good diff isnt a problem but gearing might be an issue.
Check this site out;
http://www.sr20forum.com/
Oscar

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rally gods would turn in their graves if they ever knew Lada's were now part of EU rallying!!!

The early SERs are probably the best starter car you can get. They are a total sleeper.

They handle incredible. Man I miss mine. You can just plain old drive those at 100% the whole stinkin' rally.

Real gears are expensive, like about 6k
A good diff will be about 900, I'd get one
200 hp will be about 2500, VE conversion that purrs like a kittycat.

The upside of the SER is that the brakes, steering, and drivetrain are all really good for stock. That motor could sit at 7800 rpm for years. And don't worry about the 5th gear popout problem. You won't use 5th gear on stage..

thx for the info some one else on another site steered me towards this car for a starter i was just checkin up on it ive found 3 so far that are with in 500 miles of me and are under 1000 all daily drivers

i cant say enough how much i appriciate the feed back thx

That someone else is on this site as well

Oscar

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rally gods would turn in their graves if they ever knew Lada's were now part of EU rallying!!!

There is plenty of stuff out there on the web about SE-Rs. Obviously, I'm biased. I have plenty of fond memories of them. And the price keeps getting better. I have owned several and never experienced this 5th gear pop-out BS. Also, you are a better man than I, if you are needing 5th on a stage road. The sr20 motah needs to spin and I think you will be moving along pretty well before you get to the rev limiter in 4th.
Best of luck,
Ted Mendham
www.rensport.net

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Ted Mendham
www.rensport.net

mavrick211 Wrote:
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> thx for the info some one else on another site
> steered me towards this car for a starter i was
> just checkin up on it ive found 3 so far that
> are with in 500 miles of me and are under 1000 all
> daily drivers
>
> i cant say enough how much i appriciate the feed
> back thx

The biggest question which Jakkoppi mentioned but didn't emphasise its seriousness strongly enough is this:
Whaddya gonna do when you've spent all the dough for a cage, and for Sooper Bitchinâ„¢ made-here-in-the-PNW-suspension, and gotten some extra wheels and tires, done a few events and you start to get used to the car, and NOW YOU WANT THE CAR TO GO FASTER ?????

Here, let me remind youwhat Jakkoppi said:
"Real gears are (fuckin) expensive, like about fuckin 6000 fuckin dollars---(back when the exchange rate was what it was when Jake checked 3 years ago)
A good diff will be about $900, I'd get one."

Now Jakkoppi could have mentioned and Ted could have mentioned that they don't drive their Sentras any more.

And in constrast I can say I still have my same Saab I used in my first event over 20 years ago.

Jake moved to where most guys are heading: RWD in his case a 1st Gen RX& that he got used but complete.

And he has said many times "And I am having waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more fun!!!"

My point is DO whatever you want, but if you really want opinions don't get all but hurt if somebody says "It's a dead end and in maybe 2 seasons you'll be thinking of selling cause there's no affordable way to upgrade the absolutely MOST IMPORTANT PART and THE THING WHICH MOST TRANSFORMS A NORMAL ASPIRATED CAR:
The FINAL DRIVE, and the GEAR RATIOS .

Look, I like the motors ( I build lots of motors and have supplied parts for a number of SR20DE road racing cars.) but we don't drive just motors ,
we drive whole cars.

And eventual;ly you'll start thinking of refining the car's powerplant from a fun "peppy" road car to a actual rally car,.
And at that point you're fucked.

Think about something you know either you don't need to use real race parts (Teds solution was to buy a Sub-a-rat, they're utter shit but they have a turbo, and more importantly, their gearbox and final drive ratios are "prett OK" match with the TORQUE the motor makes---and that's their secret), or you can upgrade easily and affordably.

Cause man I make the assumption that you'll want to do this a log time, cause it is fun as hell.

Just make sure you can keep a car and note have to dump it once you've spent the money on the cage, suspension and initial prep.


And a little sperficial familiarity of a certain car is no reason to build a whole car if theirs still a LOOOOMING DEAD END ahead.

---

John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

It's not as bad as JV says but there is some truth to it. I wanted RWD. And it is more fun.

However, the Sentra will go fast. You can work the motor with Jim Wolf stuff. You can also do the VE motor swap and the car will scoot pretty dang good. We did the swap and after Friday night of LSPR (a hp contest pretty much) we were moved to 8th on the road out of 50 or so cars for Saturday's stages. We also won 1 stage and were seconds from winning others at 100AW the next year. The car was fast. In the right conditions the car also would be fast enough to run with the top ten at National events. The highest place on a stage time was 7th, LSPR Gratiot II, driven by Silas "Scrap Iron" Himes.

I agree with JVs logic and method, I've preached it myself. But when the Sisu Passi gets together and we look back on rallies we did it we all agree that the Sentra never let us down. It didn't have the best gear ratios but it was tough and we drove the tits off that thing.

The best asset a Sentra has is that with little modification you can drive it at dang near 100% the whole dang race. Sooooo easy to drive.

It's true, I did retire the SE-R for a NWO-PGT-WRX. I have never bought upgraded gears or diffs for either. I can still get off with stock gearing. Maxiderm helps. I never blew up a SE-R tranny, but i have blown up a SubaRat tranny. I figure I'm really lucky (or not aggressive enough) that I only bought one WRX tranny last season.

Yes, I do like turbo boost! A LOT!

I also prefer driving front wheel drive cars. I like left foot braking. Call me a freak, I can handle it. ;-) Still thinking about going back to it.

It is FUN, and it's a monster that demands to be fed cubic dollars. And whatever you build and hopefully run, you'll probably be completely broke well before you get that way bitchin' sequential-close-ratio-flat-shift-dog-box from over the pond.

Build it quick before they change the roll-cage rules again, or you actually make a list of everything you'll need and realize that you'll either have to rob a bank or come to your senses. ;-)
Ted

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Ted Mendham
www.rensport.net

john vanlandingham Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> The biggest question which Jakkoppi mentioned but
> didn't emphasise its seriousness strongly enough
> is this:
> Whaddya gonna do when you've spent all the dough
> for a cage, and for Sooper Bitchinâ„¢
> made-here-in-the-PNW-suspension, and gotten some
> extra wheels and tires, done a few events and you
> start to get used to the car, and NOW YOU WANT
> THE CAR TO GO FASTER ?????
>
Much easier answer; don't invest a lot the car, just use it for what it is good for: a good, basic rally car in stock or near stock from. Then, sell it to someone else who is getting started and take the money towards the next car.....no need for all the fussin'.....

Mark B.

starion887 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> john vanlandingham Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> >
> > The biggest question which Jakkoppi mentioned
> but
> > didn't emphasise its seriousness strongly
> enough
> > is this:
> > Whaddya gonna do when you've spent all the
> dough
> > for a cage, and for Sooper Bitchinâ„¢
> > made-here-in-the-PNW-suspension, and gotten
> some
> > extra wheels and tires, done a few events and
> you
> > start to get used to the car, and NOW YOU
> WANT
> > THE CAR TO GO FASTER ?????
> >
> Much easier answer; don't invest a lot the car,
> just use it for what it is good for: a good, basic
> rally car in stock or near stock from. Then, sell
> it to someone else who is getting started and take
> the money towards the next car.....no need for all
> the fussin'.....
Right, just piss into the sand about 50 cents of every dollar spent on cage an suspension and exhaust and sump guards and extra wheels and on and on and on and
cause that's what used cars get you.

Sorry, Mark and i disagree fundamentally.
I say choose a car with good proven pedigree at the highest levels, and lots of growth potential in the first place, so you don't have to sell it after a short while, and a few events.
just keep upgrading it when you can afford it.

>
> Mark B.
>
>

---

John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

As one can see there are a few different schools of thought. Do they lead to having fun? Different strokes for different folks. People who get to rally are incredibly lucky. That's something that's good to keep in mind.

ok ideally i would like to only buy one car then upgrade as needed but i am under the impression that being a beginner i have to start in a none turbo 2wd

if i was only going to buy one car then it would have to be the WRX STI or the EVO

but these care are awd turbo so if there is a car out there that will let me be a beginner then i can upgrade with the 20,000 dallar parts as i go then some one please make as many suggestions as possible as far as i understand it im going to have to have 2 cars one to start in and one to move up to once i get some experience because of the rules if im wrong please tell me

thx for all of your re:posts much appriciated

mavrick211 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ok ideally i would like to only buy one car then
> upgrade as needed but i am under the impression
> that being a beginner i have to start in a none
> turbo 2wd
>
> if i was only going to buy one car then it would
> have to be the WRX STI or the EVO

Just change cars if the one you have doesn't work for you. BTW, starting in an awd turbo car will be fun but you will be way behind the curve in learning to drive. You gotta start in something normal and drive the piss out of it if you want to get fast.

>
> but these care are awd turbo so if there is a car
> out there that will let me be a beginner then i
> can upgrade with the 20,000 dallar parts as i go
> then some one please make as many suggestions as
> possible as far as i understand it im going to
> have to have 2 cars one to start in and one to
> move up to once i get some experience because of
> the rules if im wrong please tell me
>
> thx for all of your re:posts much appriciated

It's a right of passage to start with a car and outgrow it. Anything less would be wrong. Just do it.