Got a New (Used) Car...But...

[alimoalem]

well i'm asking cause i don't want to bring unnecessary risk of damage to the rims (too low = more stress on rims, right?). if i need to put higher than standard, i'd like to know

 

[Raduque]

Originally posted by: NutBucket

Originally posted by: herm0016
the rear end gears are probably not tall enough ( high enough ratio) to work well with the manual. put stock tires and wheels back on it, it will ride better and will not wear out the suspension as fast.

Except that this is a FWD car so the when the trans was swapped so was the final drive The numbers you're quoting sound about right for a small 4 banger.

Nissan 200SX's are rear wheel drive. As an SE-R, it also has a 3l V6

But, by all means, don't let the facts stop you.

 

[LS21]

Originally posted by: Raduque


Nissan 200SX's are rear wheel drive. As an SE-R, it also has a 3l V6

But, by all means, don't let the facts stop you.

OP is in America. You're in America. In America, the Nissan 200SX is the successor to the front-wheel drive Sentra coupe. They come in flavors of 1.6L and 2.0L i4 engines.

Elsewhere in the world, the 200SX carries the "Silvia" moniker, and is (roughly) equivalent to the American 240SX. However, none of the above cars uses the 3.0L V6 (reserved for Maximas, 300ZXs, etc)... World 200SX share basic 2.0L block with American 200SX, and American 240SX uses 2.4L "truck" engines

by all means

 

[natto fire]

Welcome to the world of short-geared transmissions. It should be noted that the engine for an automatic will be the same as the manual one, except for the possibility of some emissions equipment. This is of course assuming that the transmission swap was done correctly and they replaced the auto ECU with a manual one. If you think that cruising speed is bad, my friend's '92 Integra GS-R would cruise 80 at about 4300 RPMs, and top speed was around 145 with the 9000RPM redline. With nearly 350 WHP on tap, it could get to that quite fast.

I wouldn't worry too much about the wheels because, as others have said, those are not a ridiculously low profile series tire, and the wheels should be fine if you keep the tires properly inflated.

Just to echo some of the corrections in this thread, final drive/differential gears are located in the transmission of 99% of FWD cars.

Originally posted by: Raduque
Nissan 200SX's are rear wheel drive. As an SE-R, it also has a 3l V6

But, by all means, don't let the facts stop you.

The S chassis 200sx(Silvia) was never called the 200sx in North American markets. The 200sx here was on the B chassis, as noted by LS21 as being a Sentra chassis and being a FWD layout. But, by all means, fail to look into details.

 

[alimoalem]

raduque, i don't think u read ur own link...

captain howdy, thanks for the integra example

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: Kremerica
Also, on the tires, I wouldn't even worry about it. The comments above apply to all tires, if you hit a pothole hard with any tire if COULD pop. Today the low pro tires are just as rugged as the full size sidewall tires.

That's simply not true. There's nothing magical about low profiles that allows them to defeat physics. Maybe if you're comparing modern tires to 1920's tires, sure, but a modern low-profile will not be able to take as much abuse as a modern full-sidewall. Especially if it's on weak aluminum rims. That doesn't mean that the tires are going to burst every time you hit a piece of gravel, but the full-size WILL be more rugged.

Originally posted by: LS21

Originally posted by: alimoalem
just ONE last thing...i was going to call nissan but they're closed today . do i have to inflate the tires to a different pressure? for the stock tires they were supposed to be either 33 or 30psi in the front and 30 or 33 psi in the back (forgot which needed more pressure). should i do the same?

unless youre racing, a few psi here or there wont make much of a difference. if i remember right, the recommended pressures (per door jamb) is 29 front 32 rear for the 1994 sentra se-r

(by all means the same car as 1996 200sx se-r)

the only thing to remember is that these are COLD measurements. just keep them at around ~30 and youre okay

Tire pressure recommendations do change when you change rim sizes. Not by a huge amount, but they certainly change. Since he's going up two sizes, I'd find out for sure what the new PSI should be. There are usually loading charts issued by the tire manufacturers. You have to adjust the PSI on the new size to match the loading of the old size. I'm guessing he'll want to go a few PSI up on these tires.

 

[alimoalem]

thanks for the two points jagec. i forgot to call nissan again...hopefully i'll find out sometime this week

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: Black88GTA

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Sounds like the car has been lowered and/or suspension changed to firmer if you're bouncing around that much. A stock 200SX shouldn't ride that rough. You might want to invest in some better shocks and investigate whether the springs might have been cut (the cheap and unsafe way to lower a car).

I don't think that's necessarily true...it's all a matter of perception. If OP is coming out of, say, a Camry, then the 200SX will feel very rough by comparison on stock suspension, especially with low profile tires on it.

Although, OP says the car was converted to a 5-speed and the rims were upgraded by the previous owner - so it is very likely that he modded other things as well, including the suspension. A firmer set of aftermarket springs / shocks will decrease body roll in corners, improving the car's handling at the expense of having a firmer / bumpier ride.

If, however, you determine that the springs have been cut - replace those as soon as you can. As JulesMaximus said, this is unsafe, and, it can lead to excessive tire wear, alignment, and handling problems due to the wheel camber being way off as a result of the shorter springs.

Well, the 200SX is a drifter's/ricer's favorite and it is increasingly difficult to find an unmolested one these days, especially in California. The fact that someone has gone out of their way to swap out the automatic for a 5spd alone leads me to believe that this car may have been heavily modded at one point. Changing an auto to a manual is no small feat.

The OP's description of the harsh ride just confirms my suspicion. Those cars weren't that rough new...not by a long shot.

If it were me I'd go through that car with a fine tooth comb starting with the suspension, steering, and brakes since those are the things your life depends on most.

 

[alimoalem]

JulesMaximus, my uncle has an auto shop and he's having one of his guys check the car out so hopefully the guy'll find anything if anything's wrong with it.

for upgrades done to the car, all i know is the following:

* auto to manual conversion
* front and rear stabilizer bars
* air intake
* exhaust system
* rims

steering i know for a fact will be checked by the mechanic and brakes have been checked. i can have my uncle check the suspension when i get the car back if his mechanic didn't.

btw, i know i said the ride is rough but it isn't the roughest i've experienced. i test drove a 2007 mazda miata club spec a month ago and that was rough. the 200sx is rough compared to a mazda protege or toyota sienna (the two other cars i drive). does is still sound like suspension has been modified?

i'll find out by the end of the week so i'll update u guys with that.

 

[Throckmorton]

Your RPM numbers are the same as the 240sx I used to have, and that was a 20% bigger engine.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: Eli
So was his math regarding tire diameter correct? That is all that matters, but I thought 17s would throw his speedometer off quite a bit.

So the 17" rims + low profile tires are actually the same diameter as 15" rims with regular tires? Interesting.

It looked right to me, but I didn't run the numbers a second time.

As long as the overall diameter is the same, or close to the same (within a couple %), he's fine.

ZV

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: alimoalem
JulesMaximus, my uncle has an auto shop and he's having one of his guys check the car out so hopefully the guy'll find anything if anything's wrong with it.

for upgrades done to the car, all i know is the following:

* auto to manual conversion
* front and rear stabilizer bars
* air intake
* exhaust system
* rims

steering i know for a fact will be checked by the mechanic and brakes have been checked. i can have my uncle check the suspension when i get the car back if his mechanic didn't.

btw, i know i said the ride is rough but it isn't the roughest i've experienced. i test drove a 2007 mazda miata club spec a month ago and that was rough. the 200sx is rough compared to a mazda protege or toyota sienna (the two other cars i drive). does is still sound like suspension has been modified?

i'll find out by the end of the week so i'll update u guys with that.

Well, larger sway bars will make the ride worse and affect the handling and they are a part of the suspension. Be careful with that car in the wet, sometimes adding a larger rear sway bar will stiffen up the rear so much that it may have a tendency to oversteer. This is not a characteristic that a relative n00b to driving wants in a car.

 

[natto fire]

Originally posted by: alimoalem
raduque, i don't think u read ur own link...

captain howdy, thanks for the integra example

No problem. It is important to keep in mind that while RPMs will slightly increase engine wear, it is mostly engine load that decides that. At higher RPMs, you do have higher frictional losses, while those are pretty small, especially on a 4 cylinder motor. All 4 of the Hondas I have owned have been geared really short and they have not had any problems even on my long freeway drives. Because you are barely pushing the pedal and therefore still running the engine at vacuum to maintain those speeds you are not running at high loads and not making lots of power. When my friends and I got into modifying cars, we had an old wise uncle (we all called him uncle even though he was my friend's uncle) who told us "why do you want to make your cars have more power, horsepower brakes shit".

So, enjoy your short-geared manual, and be happy you aren't stuck with the anemic slushbox. Like I said, the engines were probably identical from the factory, no matter which tranny they slapped on it, and were designed to run at those engine speeds continuously. Also be happy you have a timing chain, because after changing 6 timing belts on various Hondas, I am wondering why everyone does not use a chain.

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
Well, larger sway bars will make the ride worse and affect the handling and they are a part of the suspension. Be careful with that car in the wet, sometimes adding a larger rear sway bar will stiffen up the rear so much that it may have a tendency to oversteer. This is not a characteristic that a relative n00b to driving wants in a car.

Good point. To draw another Integra example, many people put the larger ITR rear sway bars on their regular Integras (which do not have the worked over chassis to handle it) and get mad when their car oversteers. Oversteer in a FWD car is very scary, because you have little to no throttle control of the oversteer event. As Jules mentioned, it is especially hard to control oversteer if you do not have experience with it. Your wider tires will help a bit, but once their friction is lost and you start getting body yaw, you are pretty much screwed unless you are a skilled driver, especially with a FWD layout with about 60/40 weight distribution and the lack of throttle control.

I am not trying to assume what your driving skills are alimoalem, but just giving fair warning.

 

[alimoalem]

thanks for the posts guys...u've pretty much wrapped up the the thread. those last tips i'll keep in mind. captain howdy, i'd like to think i'm a fairly proficient driver, but i've only driven for 4 years and do in fact have no experience with oversteer and the same pretty much goes for understeer. i'll do my best to keep the safety tips u've all suggested in mind and i guess finding a place to practice wouldn't be a bad idea, just in case something happens. any ideas where to start?