test drive: 2004 sentra se-r spec v
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test drive: 2004 sentra se-r spec v
holy crap, that was a fun car. lots of power. the tires spin too easy though, i had to feather the clutch. might need some new rubber. i'm seriously thinking about buying this car. it's a used black 2004 sentra se-r spec v. 175 hp, 180 tq. the problem is the negative equity that i still have from my mustang when i destroyed the engine. it will put my payments around $350 a month! thats a lot of dough, but after driving this thing, it almost seems worth it. fun machine!
what are your thoughts and opinions?
what are your thoughts and opinions?
A lotta ppl are gonna kill me for saying this but have you considered the new corolla xrs? The Corolla excels to 60 in 7 secs. Sentra Spec V does it in 7.9 which is wayyy slower. So if you were in your Sentra and went up against an XRs, you'd lose by almost 5 car lengths!!! (every .2 secs = a car lenght). Plus its got other options like traction control on/off for wet surfices, comes with strut tower bar and lower tie bar. I know its not the prettiest but its the fastest in its class. Trust me, once you test drive that, 
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Originally Posted by kasimmmmm
A lotta ppl are gonna kill me for saying this but have you considered the new corolla xrs? The Corolla excels to 60 in 7 secs. Sentra Spec V does it in 7.9 which is wayyy slower. So if you were in your Sentra and went up against an XRs, you'd lose by almost 5 car lengths!!! (every .2 secs = a car lenght). Plus its got other options like traction control on/off for wet surfices, comes with strut tower bar and lower tie bar. I know its not the prettiest but its the fastest in its class. Trust me, once you test drive that,
i agree, the corolla xrs is a decent car. but heres why i prefer the sentra to the corolla;
corolla xrs:
1.8 liters
170 hp @ 7600 rpm
127 ft-lbs. @ 4400 rpm
sentra se-r spec v:
2.5 lieters
175 hp @ 6000 rpm
180 ft-lbs. @ 4000 rpm
17" rims
4-wheel disc brakes
limited slip differential
the sentra has a lot more displacement thus 53 ft/lbs of torque more. also pumping 170 hp out of a 1.8 is kinda pushing it hard, where a 2.5 can easily pump out more power (the nismo CAI adds "8.7 HP and 10.4 lb-ft peak torque increase at the front wheels" and the nismo header with catalytic converter adds "12.2 HP and 11.6 lb-ft peak increase at front wheels". the engine has a ton of potential [these are nismo r-tune parts]).
plus this particular se-r i'm looking at comes with the $1000 brake upgrade package (4 piston brembo calipers and 12" rotor).
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Originally Posted by TemjinX2
just wait a yr and get a 06 civic si. You get 200hp, NO k20 swap, k20 already in it. i'm goin to guess its goin to be similarly priced to the sec V.
Last edited by BlackFire; Oct 30, 2004 at 02:42 AM.
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Rep Power: 0 More displacement equals to more power potential.
KASIMMMMM: I don't know where you get info from, but that's not quite right. Numbers are numbers and not always means anyghint but in this case, 180 vs 127 of torque?... is impossible that the corolla get to 60 before the se-r SpecV. Perhaps the SE-R (AUTOMATIC), wich is slower than our civics on the street, but not the SE-R SpecV(6spd Manual!!). Been on the track, watched a lot of BONE STOCK XRs and stock SE-R SpecV. Avg 1/4 mile times for the Corolla XRS are: 16.1 - 16.5 @ 86-88MPH, while avg times for BONE STOCK SE-R SpecV are 15.6 - 15.8 @ +-92MPH. Drag Racing is raced with Torque and NOT HORSEPOWER!! and trust me, the difference in torque is really big.
Corolla XRS is a great car and looks better than the SpecV... but it's not as fast as the SpecV.
KASIMMMMM: I don't know where you get info from, but that's not quite right. Numbers are numbers and not always means anyghint but in this case, 180 vs 127 of torque?... is impossible that the corolla get to 60 before the se-r SpecV. Perhaps the SE-R (AUTOMATIC), wich is slower than our civics on the street, but not the SE-R SpecV(6spd Manual!!). Been on the track, watched a lot of BONE STOCK XRs and stock SE-R SpecV. Avg 1/4 mile times for the Corolla XRS are: 16.1 - 16.5 @ 86-88MPH, while avg times for BONE STOCK SE-R SpecV are 15.6 - 15.8 @ +-92MPH. Drag Racing is raced with Torque and NOT HORSEPOWER!! and trust me, the difference in torque is really big.
Corolla XRS is a great car and looks better than the SpecV... but it's not as fast as the SpecV.
Last edited by BlackFire; Oct 30, 2004 at 02:44 AM.
nissan...blah.....you're thinking of the power, i hang with my friends spec v now, and when my k20 goes in i should see him in my rearview...i will say this for them...the interior is nice!... 
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Originally Posted by Civic_Racer9
ummm yea interesting.....spec V is a pretty light weight car too 2600lbs i think
Now, is not only the engine, the whole car perfoms great, the stock suspension system is stiff and eventho its rear is not independent suspension, it feels great cornering (17" rims helps a lot there), and the 4 wheel disk braking system works great too. Sound system sounds really nice too.
ahh... get the SpecV!! besides the minor inconvenients of having a MAF Sensor.... you will love the car!!!!
Originally Posted by BlackFire
More displacement equals to more power potential.
KASIMMMMM: I don't know where you get info from, but that's not quite right. Numbers are numbers and not always means anyghint but in this case, 180 vs 127 of torque?... is impossible that the corolla get to 60 before the se-r SpecV. Perhaps the SE-R (AUTOMATIC), wich is slower than our civics on the street, but not the SE-R SpecV(6spd Manual!!).....Corolla XRS is a great car and looks better than the SpecV... but it's not as fast as the SpecV.
KASIMMMMM: I don't know where you get info from, but that's not quite right. Numbers are numbers and not always means anyghint but in this case, 180 vs 127 of torque?... is impossible that the corolla get to 60 before the se-r SpecV. Perhaps the SE-R (AUTOMATIC), wich is slower than our civics on the street, but not the SE-R SpecV(6spd Manual!!).....Corolla XRS is a great car and looks better than the SpecV... but it's not as fast as the SpecV.
Road test by Car and Driver. but it also depends on how the manufacturer tunes the engine. If the engine is Turboed (like the Audi 1.8T) or supercharged (like my car) from the factory. I see what you're saying... and yes, no source is reliable because people are always overstating/understating 0-60 times. So the specV mite be quicker. But then again, its a Nissan. If you're looking for pure speed, they're a lot of fast cars out there but not reliable. In my opinion, the cars gotta be fast AND reliable... and Toyota=reliability. If all you want is speed and don't care much about quality and reliability, mite as well go buy a Mazda 3 which is a half FORD!!!
SpecV Review
Xrs
By the way... lets take an accord (240hp) vs camry (225hp). Even though the camry has 15 less hp, it can still tie an accord. Why? Because its supercharged. Basically the engine type matters a lot.
Originally Posted by TemjinX2
just wait a yr and get a 06 civic si. You get 200hp, NO k20 swap, k20 already in it. i'm goin to guess its goin to be similarly priced to the sec V.
Originally Posted by Skunk2ner
im just putting into consideration the potential the engine has. 2.5 has a lot more potential than 1.8
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Originally Posted by kasimmmmm
I agree... thats very true. A catback,CAI or even a turbo would be wayyyyy more effective on a bigger engine.
Nothing works better than a Chris except a Honda.
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A small car with a mid-sized engine, can't go wrong with that! Plus its not a Corolla, which I personally think is styled weirdly. Too bubbly in my opinion. I also like some of the colors on the SE-R.
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Rep Power: 0 kasimmmmm, the Mazda 3 is not half Ford. Do a search on various threads, I'm sure theres more than a few people around here who are sick and tired of explaining this to people.
As for 0-60 times, launching the SpecV can be a little hard, the torque tends to give a good bit of wheel spin, also the 6spd transmission would require a good bit of shifting, not to mention some people don't like it all that much because the shifts tend to be a bit clunky and if I'm not mistaken the tranny itself was borrowed from the Maxima?
The VQ engine in the car does have a lot of potential, the stock header is really constrcitive and you can gain a quite a bit of power just by swapping it out, same w. CAI. A lot of people though are still pursists and lament the demise of the old SR20 (N/A of course..) that you used to find in the old Sentra SE-R.
As for 0-60 times, launching the SpecV can be a little hard, the torque tends to give a good bit of wheel spin, also the 6spd transmission would require a good bit of shifting, not to mention some people don't like it all that much because the shifts tend to be a bit clunky and if I'm not mistaken the tranny itself was borrowed from the Maxima?
The VQ engine in the car does have a lot of potential, the stock header is really constrcitive and you can gain a quite a bit of power just by swapping it out, same w. CAI. A lot of people though are still pursists and lament the demise of the old SR20 (N/A of course..) that you used to find in the old Sentra SE-R.
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Originally Posted by white2K2EX
Good car on paper, but they're just too damn ugly for me to consider one.
well i can't see the outside when i'd be driving! you'll be the one lookin' at the 'ugly' thing as it pulls away from you
jk jk. it does lack style i agree. but i'm willing to sacrifice style for function.
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I am a member there. My friends have Specs and Se-Rs. Good cars, but they do have their problems. Read up on them. Lots of torque, kinda shitty at the high end. Turn well, but I think the new ones are fugly. I have done some work on them, and they can be a pain. Parts aren't cheap either...more expensive and harder to come by than for the civic.
I am a member there. My friends have Specs and Se-Rs. Good cars, but they do have their problems. Read up on them. Lots of torque, kinda shitty at the high end. Turn well, but I think the new ones are fugly. I have done some work on them, and they can be a pain. Parts aren't cheap either...more expensive and harder to come by than for the civic.
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Originally Posted by lkm
its got torque, what more could u need to do burn outs to impress the chicks.
Last edited by Skunk2ner; Oct 30, 2004 at 08:58 PM.
Originally Posted by IronFist
Wait, the Camry is supercharged?
BEFORE "-":
the letters indicate the engine family, for example in 18R-G
the engine family is R, in 2JZ-GTE the family is JZ.
The number(s) at the beginning is the number of the are for a certain
bottom end version (block, bore, stroke). The larger the number,
the newer the bottom end version. It may seem like the larger the
number, the larger the displacement but this is not always true.
AFTER "-":
G = twin cam (wide angle, 45 degrees or more between the intake and exhaust valves)
F = "economical" twin cam (narrow angle, around 22 degrees)
T = turbocharged
Z = supercharged
E = fuel injection
i = single point fuel injection
L = transverse mounted engine (seems to be an obsolete code)
B = twin carbs (only used on non-twin cam engines, obsolete code)
R = air injection
S = swirl intake ports (only a few made in mid '80s)
S = direct injection & swirl pot pistons (starting from '97/98)
U = emission package (Japan)
C = emission package (California)
LPG = LPG fuel
Originally Posted by dre2600
kasimmmmm, the Mazda 3 is not half Ford. Do a search on various threads, I'm sure theres more than a few people around here who are sick and tired of explaining this to people.
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Originally Posted by BlackFire
Those specs are not for sure yet alright? so don't give wrong info.
No the specs are not set in stone, but more then likely the 200hp will occur. The article found in motor trend magazine hinted at it and it would be too difficult for Honda to do. Unless the 200hp for the civic si is denied or confirmed by Honda, it isn't incorrect information.
http://www.7thgencivic.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=180910
I'm just sayin if the person that's goin to buy the listed cars, if they can wait another yr. i say he should just wait till the 06's come out with redesign and better engine, just so he can have more options.
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Originally Posted by kasimmmmm
Yup... thats the reason why it matches accords 0-60 with 15 less HP and beats it in quartermile. The new camry's are equiped with 3MZ-FE (this is an engine code). Every car has one explaining the specifics of the engine. Here are Toyota's engine codes...
BEFORE "-":
the letters indicate the engine family, for example in 18R-G
the engine family is R, in 2JZ-GTE the family is JZ.
The number(s) at the beginning is the number of the are for a certain
bottom end version (block, bore, stroke). The larger the number,
the newer the bottom end version. It may seem like the larger the
number, the larger the displacement but this is not always true.
AFTER "-":
G = twin cam (wide angle, 45 degrees or more between the intake and exhaust valves)
F = "economical" twin cam (narrow angle, around 22 degrees)
T = turbocharged
Z = supercharged
E = fuel injection
i = single point fuel injection
L = transverse mounted engine (seems to be an obsolete code)
B = twin carbs (only used on non-twin cam engines, obsolete code)
R = air injection
S = swirl intake ports (only a few made in mid '80s)
S = direct injection & swirl pot pistons (starting from '97/98)
U = emission package (Japan)
C = emission package (California)
LPG = LPG fuel
BEFORE "-":
the letters indicate the engine family, for example in 18R-G
the engine family is R, in 2JZ-GTE the family is JZ.
The number(s) at the beginning is the number of the are for a certain
bottom end version (block, bore, stroke). The larger the number,
the newer the bottom end version. It may seem like the larger the
number, the larger the displacement but this is not always true.
AFTER "-":
G = twin cam (wide angle, 45 degrees or more between the intake and exhaust valves)
F = "economical" twin cam (narrow angle, around 22 degrees)
T = turbocharged
Z = supercharged
E = fuel injection
i = single point fuel injection
L = transverse mounted engine (seems to be an obsolete code)
B = twin carbs (only used on non-twin cam engines, obsolete code)
R = air injection
S = swirl intake ports (only a few made in mid '80s)
S = direct injection & swirl pot pistons (starting from '97/98)
U = emission package (Japan)
C = emission package (California)
LPG = LPG fuel
Good info, but shouldn't the Z for supercharged come after the "-"?
