I've got my '07 Versa, and I have never in my life customized one of my cars...
The Versa rides very well, but start to turn a corner, and it is obvious there's no 'sport' in the suspension.
I've found myself thinking of changing the rollbar to something stiffer to help the handling. Browsing this forum has got the brain thinking, and I need some advice.1. can replacing the rollbar stiffen the cornering a bit (i'm not looking for a racecar, just a bit more entertaining handling) but not mess with the excellent road ride overall?2. Lowering! Man, some of those pics of lowered Versas look *awesome*! Can it be done without ruining the ride, and where should I browse for packages to lower? 3. Rims - Again, I think the steel wheels and hubcaps have got to go. Where's a great place to browse for good rims? should I buy online or go to a chain?4. stereo. My biggest complaint about my Versa S is that I can't plug in my ipod, and I'm thinking of doing something about it. I'd like to keep the stock head-unit if possible, and want to change stuff inside as little as possible. Anyone done this and have any recommendations and testimony on how it works?
Thanks in advance all.JP
need customizing advice
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Ever Victorious
- Posts: 4008
- Joined: Wed Aug 02, 2006 6:03 am
- Car: '08 Kia Spectra 5
'73 AMC Hornet
Re: need customizing advice (jonrpatrick)
Well, I can answer 2 and 3...
2) Depends on your definition of "ruining the ride". There are a couple different springs that feel CLOSE to stock, although ANY aftermarket lowering spring will be stiffer than stock. Eibach and Tanabe will be the two that give you the closest feel to stock. Both are available from versaspeed.com
3) Go to all the major chains' online stores (discount, big o, tire rack) and look at what's available. Ultimately "where" depends also on "what" and "how much". I found my new rims at Discount's online store, but found that they were discontinued and available at a local Discount store for a ridiculously inexpensive price. Like almost half what they originally sold for.
2) Depends on your definition of "ruining the ride". There are a couple different springs that feel CLOSE to stock, although ANY aftermarket lowering spring will be stiffer than stock. Eibach and Tanabe will be the two that give you the closest feel to stock. Both are available from versaspeed.com
3) Go to all the major chains' online stores (discount, big o, tire rack) and look at what's available. Ultimately "where" depends also on "what" and "how much". I found my new rims at Discount's online store, but found that they were discontinued and available at a local Discount store for a ridiculously inexpensive price. Like almost half what they originally sold for.
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BigMACKenzie
- Posts: 986
- Joined: Mon May 05, 2008 5:52 am
- Car: 1993 Nissan 240SX convertible
Re: need customizing advice (jonrpatrick)
Hey guy! glad to see the custom bug got you. To answer your questions to the best of my ability:
1.) Replacing the Sway bar (bar that connects to your suspension components on both sides underneath your car) with something stiffer as well as putting in a roll bar (bar that connects to the top of your struts/body in the engine bay) can reduce body roll and add some "sport" feel to your ride for fairly cheap.
2.) I would suggest looking for some lowering springs, I prefer Japanese brands but thats just my preference. You could look to tein, tanabe, or JIC and see if they make lowering springs for your car. They are relatively cheap and can be had for around 300-350 a set. This will lower your ride an inch or two but shouldn't ruin the comfort lvl you have now. The lower you go the harder it becomes to maintain stock spring feel. If you need go go more than the lvl of drop you get from springs you need to go witha full coilover setup but this can get pricey and usually starts around $1k or so for decent brands.
3.) Call me ricey but I like the Super Street rims guide that comes out once a year. They have pics from almost every major manufacturer and list availabel sizes and offsets and iifc this years came with a sweet tire guide in the back as well. You will see a lot of bippu, truck and ultralightweightkillyourwallet rims as well as what you are looking for but for the $8-9 its not that big a deal for me.
4.) I'm not a stereo or wiring guy so I'm not sure what to tell you about your jambox other than I just call the local crutchfield store and pump those guys for info when i need to know something. Stay away from the dudes at Best buy though, you can ask them but take the advice witha grain of salt unless you know the tech you are talking to personally. But you should def be able to find something that fits wihtout having to hack up and mod your console with little difficulty.
Hope this helped or at least enraged someone enough to correct me lol
1.) Replacing the Sway bar (bar that connects to your suspension components on both sides underneath your car) with something stiffer as well as putting in a roll bar (bar that connects to the top of your struts/body in the engine bay) can reduce body roll and add some "sport" feel to your ride for fairly cheap.
2.) I would suggest looking for some lowering springs, I prefer Japanese brands but thats just my preference. You could look to tein, tanabe, or JIC and see if they make lowering springs for your car. They are relatively cheap and can be had for around 300-350 a set. This will lower your ride an inch or two but shouldn't ruin the comfort lvl you have now. The lower you go the harder it becomes to maintain stock spring feel. If you need go go more than the lvl of drop you get from springs you need to go witha full coilover setup but this can get pricey and usually starts around $1k or so for decent brands.
3.) Call me ricey but I like the Super Street rims guide that comes out once a year. They have pics from almost every major manufacturer and list availabel sizes and offsets and iifc this years came with a sweet tire guide in the back as well. You will see a lot of bippu, truck and ultralightweightkillyourwallet rims as well as what you are looking for but for the $8-9 its not that big a deal for me.
4.) I'm not a stereo or wiring guy so I'm not sure what to tell you about your jambox other than I just call the local crutchfield store and pump those guys for info when i need to know something. Stay away from the dudes at Best buy though, you can ask them but take the advice witha grain of salt unless you know the tech you are talking to personally. But you should def be able to find something that fits wihtout having to hack up and mod your console with little difficulty.
Hope this helped or at least enraged someone enough to correct me lol
Re: need customizing advice (jonrpatrick)
Well I have a partial answer to #4. I've seen the ipod interface wires for sale for around $100 on the internet. I'm not sure how hard they are to install and weather or not you need the premium stereo but it's something to look into.
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xtwoonamatchx
- Posts: 503
- Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2007 10:11 am
- Car: 2007 Nissan Versa S
Re: need customizing advice (illf8ed)
you need the premium sound system for the ipod interface... i would suggest going to http://www.crutchfield.com -> "Outfit my Car"... type in the car info and it will show you everything that fits... i would try and avoid the crappy headunit brands though; i went with an Alpine headunit, and they are really worth the price... just know that if you upgrade a headunit, you will almost definately need to upgrade your speakers, because they will distort a LOT easier... again i went with infinity speakers... it all cost me about $500 but with every headunit and speakers you get wiring harnesses and such. if you get decent speakers then you shouldnt need an amp..
Alpine CDA-9886 (Headunit)Infinity Reference 6022i (Speakers)
also, shop around because crutchfield has a lot of specials, and some headunits come with a free ipod cord, i ordered around xmas and i got a free ipod cord with it, just browse and see what they have. If you need help, check out the live chat they have as well.
Alpine CDA-9886 (Headunit)Infinity Reference 6022i (Speakers)
also, shop around because crutchfield has a lot of specials, and some headunits come with a free ipod cord, i ordered around xmas and i got a free ipod cord with it, just browse and see what they have. If you need help, check out the live chat they have as well.