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Hey guys, this is my first post

I am new on here and I do not know a single thing about s15's
all I do know is that i love the look of them and want to get one as my next car

so basically what I need is some guidance to information on the car. This is my research before buying it.

My main concerns are: buying an s15 that has been thrashed or that has problems that will cost me a fortune or buying one that works but will need x,y,z mods that will end up costing me a fortune as well

I know engine is sr20DET? but thats all I know about the engine
I see lots of reference to JDM/ADM, spec S's and R's, no idea about any of it haha
 
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Hey buddy,

Welcome to the club, always nice to meet new people.

So your looking to buy an S15? Well first off, all I can tell you is that I went about purchasing an S15 2 years ago and it was one of the best decisions ive ever made. Never looked back.

In terms of S15 models, I will do my best to explain, others may correct me.

JDM s15's are the Japanese versions of the cars, they came in 2 types. The Spec R and the Spec S.

The Spec R came with a turbo, six speed gear box and extra body bracing. Standard spec had around 200 to 250bhp

The Spec S (which i personally own) was a Non turbo naturally aspirated engine with a stronger 5 speed gear box, but no extra bracing. Standard spec had around 165bhp.

Then there's the Spec S Autech version, which is a highly modified version of the original non turbo spec S. Still a non turbo, but came with an uprated engine putting out 200bhp and all the extra bracing of the Spec R. (Good choice if you cant afford the spec R)

Now onto the ADM versions. These are basically Australian versions of the Japanese cars, but the spec S and Spec R are both turbos, minus some extras like sun roof and such on the Spec S.


Most of the versions will be as reliable as one another at stock, as long as you find one which has been well looked after and serviced every so often like you said.

I personally have never had any major issues with my JDM Spec S, apart from a slight leaky front end, whcih was due to engine seals, which have now all been replaced (quite common on S15's).

It all really depends on what you want to do with the car at the end of the day. If you want more and more power, go for a Spec R, but if your looking for a run around go for a Spec S and or autech Spec S, which you can still mod to a certain extent.

Well i hope this has helped, just make sure that when you come to purchase an S15 you check it over thoroughly for things such as rust. This shouldn't be an issue though if its imported from Japan.


Regards

Ash
 
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hey there, thanks for that, was really helpful
i did some readings and learnt a fair bit

what I am after mostly is the look of the car (i like full vertex or the full aero body kits on them). I also do like the fact that the car has power.
I wont be taking it to tracks or racing it properly or drifting,but i will give it every now and then and have a bit of fun of course :)

my biggest concerns:
- i dont want a moneypit car that will be costing me money (for either: mods or fixing problems (a serious concern because they are now 12 yrs old!!)

so because of this i figured i should be looking for a car that comes with the look that i want (colour, bodykit, etc) and has the power so i figured spec R is more my path. do youse agree?
and also i figured i would look for one that has the mods done to them so i dont have to (is this a bad move on my part? people say the mods is where the shady work n problems come from)

for mods this is the criteria I use to select cars: (please correct me if im wrong i dont know anything): front mount intercooler, turbo timer, turbo back exhaust 3", plumback BOV, coilovers, heavy duty clutch, air filter
guys let me know if i left anything out, or if any specifics matter (eg exhaust has to be high flow cat (dont even know what that is lol)) etc

to top it off how much should I be paying for all this. I want to set my bar at 15k AUD yet theyre all asking for 17.5k +

lastly, my parents have really scared me about the fact that im getting such an old car for so much money. Am i crazy? will this car just cause headaches, will this car be hard to sell after few years
 
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Take your time trying to find the right one and don't rush into buying the first one you see.

The Yen is at a very good rate at the moment so bringing one in from Japan could be a good option.

I bought mine when the Yen was on its arse. That was a bad option.
 
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Since you are in Australia a lot is different for you then the rest of us. Your laws on importing are probably a lot different then the UK boys.

JDM as mentioned above have spec S and spec R, non turbo 5speed and turbo 6speed, where as if you buy a ADM versions both the Spec S and Spec R were turbo, and im not sure on the differences probably just cosmetic some OZ person can sort that out for you.

ADM was rather restricted down to like 140kw at the fly so poo power at the wheels where as the JDM was 180kw at the fly and 140kw at the wheels, however once you free up the intake, intercooler, exhaust with a JDM version you just to 180RWkw, so there is alot on potential to unlock early on in the process, once you go down the track im doing if you so choose too, Stock engine, 550cc injectors, stock T28, exhaust, FMIC, intake, after market ECU, 98oct, 1.2boosts, you can reach 220rwkw, and for a 1250kg car with a 49/51 weight distribution thats good balanced power for a road car.

But you have to accept that if you buy one of these cars they at some stage it has been thrashed, even still they are rather good at taking a thrashing and liking it too. Dont go looking for perfection as its 2013 and these cars are over 10years old now, but there is a hell of alot of aftermarket support for replacing worn out things and upgrading things (RHDjapan, FRSport, Driftworks just to name a few), pretty much every S13, S14, S15 will at some stage in its life have either a engine, gearbox or diff swap, or rebuilt and there are so many people that want and love them they are now starting to move into the category as does almost every other jap made sports car where finding one in ORIGINAL condition is about 1 in a 1000, but as will every car thats is sort after you have to expect that. ks on the clock start becoming less important as these cars get alot of love and rebuilds.

Just be prepared that when you buy a car like these you have to expect things to go wrong as everyone modifys and drives them hard from time to time, so you cant expect long life from them with little maintenance. Since buying mine on top of the purchase price i have spent well over 15k and am going to spend more...
 
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Its funny that your parents have scared you about the age of the car, as that's exactly what my parents tried to pull on me when I was wanting to go and view my S15, which at the time was up for sale at a dealership called SVA imports UK.

If it wasn't for my persistence and actually visiting the garage to talk about the car, I would have ended up with a boring Ford Fiesta ST lol.

But yeah, I agree with spoonman, your not gonna find a brand spanking new one of these cars on the market, as they have been around for over 12 years now.

All I can recommend is to purchase a well maintained S15 preferably from a well know dealership, at least that way your covered with parts warranty and they fix anything that needs doing before handing the car over to you.

Thats how I did it and I was covered for parts and labour for a year with SVA imports. Also before getting the car they completely upgraded my adjustable coilovers to HKS ones as the originals were no good ;)

Otherwise you may be risking it a bit by buying off a private seller, unless you know about them or the car prior to purchase.

So far my S15 has been a real pleasure to drive. Ive only really spent money on upgrades like bodykit and alloys and now a new tomei ti exhaust system.

Bought the car for £7000 and now total its probably at £10000 with mods.

Just my two cents anyway. Hope this helps.
 
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Don't know what aus is like but S15's in the UK hold their price really well .

Just buy one! You'll love it!!
 
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how can I make sure i dont buy a lemon.
and i know most cars are moneypits but im asking if this one will be more so given its age, thrashing it cops etc

do any of you aussies know if there are any services like when you import a car from jap, where you get an agent who knows s15's so that i can just put my trust in them finding me a good car

i really dont trust myself, i want to inspect a car tomorrow and dont even know what to look for haha
 
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for a 12 year old car they really dont look there age.i literally couldnt think of another car to replace my 15.love it for too much to part with it.and ino id regret it.
 
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I got the same thing from my parents; they couldn't understand why I wanted to spend that much money on a car from 1999 when I could go buy a brand new one on finance. My response to this was 'well, Nissan don't make Silvias now so that'd be difficult'. The fact is that there are very few new cars that would even interest me. GT86 maybe but at £25k I can't justify it.

I started looking for my S15 in January and it's arrived at port in the UK this week (should be picking it up about June 1st!) but having spoken with the importers and most importantly owners clubs (both this one and SXOC) it reassured me that reliability shouldn't be an issue and if it does turn out to be one I can usually get support from somewhere. It also helps that the S15 shares a lot of parts with the S14 so the parts bucket you can pick from is a bit bigger.
 
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