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Just wanted to give a quick intro, as I recently bought a '92 SE-R for my daily driver. I bought it locally from the SE-R.net classifieds, so some people may have seen the car (and the ad):
Motor is stock but has Motivational Engineering coilovers on Koni struts, Stillen SSK, NX2000 front brake upgrade, and a few other small things. Unfortunately, it also has the typical peeling clearcoat and needs some minor body work. I bought it to be my daily driver, as I'm coming over from the BMW side of things, and I'm very happy with my purchase.
There's lots of good info here, as I've been digging through for several days now. Glad to see that it's more mature than most car forums out there as well
woah just read the story about the SJPD on your webpage. That majorly sucked ass.
Anyway welcome to the forum! Nice to see another Bay Area guy.
So how does the se-r compare to your bimmer? My friend (who has an e36 m3) just bought an '87 e30 325i and thinks he can lay the smackdown on my 92 se-r.
woah just read the story about the SJPD on your webpage. That majorly sucked ass.
Anyway welcome to the forum! Nice to see another Bay Area guy.
So how does the se-r compare to your bimmer? My friend (who has an e36 m3) just bought an '87 e30 325i and thinks he can lay the smackdown on my 92 se-r.
-kelvin
Thanks guys! Kelvin, I used to think the E30 was engineered and manufactured by God himself, as many BMW owners believe, but after awhile I became somewhat disenchanted with it. It definitely handled much better than most cars I've driven, but the more I drove it the more I grew to dislike the incredibly slow and heavy steering and poor turn-in response; even with my car's suspension setup (Racing Dynamics springs and swaybars, Bilstein shocks, M3 front struts and control arms). It understeers initially and sometimes takes a lot throttle and steering corrections to get it pointed the right way. You get used to it over time. The SE-R, in contrast, is point and shoot. Turn the wheel and the car goes where it's aimed. It handles like it's on rails and seems to understeer a hell of a lot less than my RWD Bimmer. Go figure.
In general, BMW guys think anything from Japan is rice. The smart ones respect cars like the SE-R, ITR, IS300, etc but many times they naively think that they can outrun and outhandle anything else on the road. But I honestly feel that the SE-R can hang with any E30 any day of the week, especially if you're the better driver and his car is closer to stock. Those things don't handle very well from the factory.
Quote:
Originally Posted by liupj
Welcome to the yay area. I mean Bay area.
We have a few geekouts at Larry (Low612)'s place randomly every few weeks or so. He's in Antioch. Not too far, and he has a nice beastly car :p
You fit Nx2k brakes under the stock wheels? Did the previous owner shave them?
Congrats on a nice purchase!
You know, the clearance between the caliper and the wheel is razor thin. The PO suggested that I run a 5mm spacer to be on the safe side, but so far it seems okay. I was going to run B14 SE-R wheels anyway. If you like, I can take some pictures of it once there's more light out.
I'd definitely like to check out what other people have done to these cars. Next time you guys are over there I may swing by .
Last edited by empower99 : 11-04-2004 at 07:41 AM.
Nice buy, looks like the suspension work is top-notch! Welcome!
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My real name is Kyle
2002 Maxima SE (6MT) -Drop-in K&N and a brand new longblock VQ35
1994 G20 - SR20VE, JWT pop, SSAC 2.5", 2.5" VRS catback
Sweet ride. I fixed the peeling paint and clearcoat on my hood with flat black paint...ghetto fabulous.
Nothing I like better that chasing and passing BMW's. Gotta admit I like the cars, just most (most) of their drivers need a reality check.
Welcome to the forum, and I'm with you on the maturity level. For the most part this forum is nowhere near as juvenile as some online. Being an old fart (can I possibly be 40?!?) it is very appreciated.
Yeah it's weird, there's nothing aftermarket in the engine bay except for a K&N drop-in filter. That may change soon . I saw some B14 wheels and tires locally for $300 on Craigslist a few weeks back, but that was before I had the Sentra so I didn't buy it. Doh! I'll keep looking, though I probably won't get em until the new year because of other things that come first.
Thanks, the suspension is awesome. It's stiff, tight, and very confidence-inspiring. Can't ask for much more, though I eventually want stickier rubber (it has Potenza RE950s now, which aren't bad by any means).
Shawn, I noticed that about Bimmer drivers whenever I'm driving something other than my 325. They tailgate, cut you off, don't signal, are generally rude and seem to drive beyond their capabilities. This is usually the case with newer BMW cars (E46, E39, Z4, etc) as opposed to the older ones, but it's very annoying nonetheless. As far as the paint goes, I may just have the tops (roof/trunk/hood) resprayed, but since the rainy season is here, there's no need to look good, LOL.
Liupj, I don't think you're hi-jacking the thread. I'm with you on the order of upgrades to a car: 1) suspension, 2) brakes, 3) engine, and 4) cosmetics. Just my opinion.
And, empower99, good to hear you noticed the same thing about BMW pilots!
Also, go for the B-14 wheels. I personally think they look smokin' on a B-13, shoulda been there from the beginning! Plus, they seem to have more choices for sticky rubber, the manufacturers just don't make a lot of high performance stuff for stock B-13 14" wheels. And, since the B-14's are just an OEM wheel, chances of them getting swiped are pretty damn low. Important in my neighborHOOD.
Seems like your suspension and brakes are VERY nicely upgraded already!
And, I'm already on a close lookout for a set of B-14 wheels in the classifieds here on the forum, so you'll have to beat me to them.
Welcome to the bay area, nice B13 find, and the suspension you have on that little beast is top notch, hence the reason why it feels like "point and shoot"
Being a former E30 BMW owner myself, I can say I like my SE-R a lot more, although mine is tuned differently (power mods first... jsut starting to get into suspension). So to me the biggest difference is power. I can hang with a lightly modded E30 M3 on the stright, but in the bends it'll loose me. I hope AGX/GenII will fix this.
BTW, E30 M3 is still the best looking car in the world for me
Liupj, I don't think you're hi-jacking the thread. I'm with you on the order of upgrades to a car: 1) suspension, 2) brakes, 3) engine, and 4) cosmetics. Just my opinion.
Can someone make a hymn of this?
Power without Control = Accidents, Totaled cars & terrible things like that.
Agreed, I upgraded my brakes promptly after my mild engine mods. The stock SE-R brakes are not up to the job at all, even with my mild modifications.
The stock SE-R suspension, while feeling vague and very soft, is actually very predictiable at the limit and therefore are not all that hard to control. Stock LSD saved my ass a few times in the rain.
Mine look exactly the same, without tinted windows though. I hate that clear coat peel. That sh*t makes me sick to my stomach. Can't wait for the fresh paint though
Yeah, I think I got a pretty good deal, especially considering the upgrades the previous owner made and his religious maintenance schedule. I pulled the plugs out today to take a look and was surprised to find Denso Iridiums in there. (Needless to say, I put them back in!) Since I read most of the suspension threads on this forum several weeks ago, when I saw this one I was sold after a quick test drive. I feel pretty lucky to have found it, especially one so close to my house.
atomicbomberman, I agree, the E30 M3's lines will always look good. I always see some beautiful examples of them at Bimmerfest in Santa Barbara every year, and I'll definitely be down there in '05.
My next upgrades will probably be wheels/tires with the cosmetics last. I'm undecided with what to do with the engine, as this is my daily driver car so there's no SR20DETT in the works, hehe. But the car also came with Stillen headers and downpipe, so I may at least get the bread-and-butter intake and ECU upgrade to match one day.
Thanks to everyone for making me feel at home already . I'm glad I found this place.
Hey hey, those Bimmers are bad ass. E30 felt very tired, but heavy as hell. I have owned quite a few of these cars in the past and currently. The Sentra is a lighter more economy version, but lighter really help. The suspension, sh*ts, no where nissan comes to being close. Yes, it was made by God! My wife 325 S3 is like on rail. My M3 is both a family hauler and still kick ass against some of the potent Maxima or the G35.
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91 red NX 2000
93 white SE-R
91 white SE-R "Sunny", JDM
96 BMW S3 AC Schnitzer-Euro
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And, since the B-14's are just an OEM wheel, chances of them getting swiped are pretty damn low. 
