Greetings everybody, just discovered this forum and thought I'd say hey. I'm an S12 nut, and a founding member and moderator atClub S12.My car is a 1988 200SX SE V6, one of roughly ten thousand 87-88 USDM S12's that the good folks at Nissan decided to shoehorn a VG30E into.Mods:2.5" Flowmaster cat-back exhaustAPC Cone filterStanza dual electric engine fansshortened shifter, Ichibahn knob and boot (interior theme is orange highlights on black)Uniden CB and RD
More pics and specs on my webpage.Updated engine bay and interior pics coming soon! I've done some cleanup with the fan wiring and installed a relay in the manual fan control circuit. Inside, I hope to be soon painting some dash pieces metallic orange when the weather warms up. There is also a new illuminated orange dash switch for the manual fan control circuit. I'm hoping to get a new camera for Christmas so many of the current pics on the site may be replaced early in 2004.
New member, S12 fanatic
Yeah there's only so much you can do with a SOHC N/A. But seeing that the engine is bigger than the car was designed for, you won't hear me complaining. The 2.5" exhaust brought quite a bit of life out of the VG30. So did ditching the airbox. Possible future engine mods are a KA24 throttle body, and Z31 MAF and ECU, all are popular mods for them, or as popular as a mod can be for an uncommon car. But I don't want to open the intake too much more. I really like the low-end torque, and I'm not willing to sacrifice that grunt to gain more on the high end. The fan replacement has really worked out well, they cool much better than the old belt fan and freed up a lot of room in the cramped engine bay. All told it cost me less than $70. Cutting the shifter was a good mod too, I only took out about an inch and a half but what a difference it made on the stupidly-long S12 shifter. Now I can actually change CD's in 1st, 3rd, and 5th.
p.s. "Newbie" or "Noob" is bad enough, but "Driving Mom's Car?"...that's just harsh.
p.s. "Newbie" or "Noob" is bad enough, but "Driving Mom's Car?"...that's just harsh.
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Nebraska240sx
- Posts: 641
- Joined: Fri Nov 15, 2002 8:14 pm
VG30DET? u'd have serious issues getting that motor in that car. Like he said, the plain jane VG30E barely fits and a VG30ET is real difficult to shoehorn in. I broke the oil pan on my 'ol 200 driving a bit too fast over a dirt road that apparently had some **** on it. Oh well. They're cheap too - like $600 on average i'd guess. You could prolly make the ultimate sleeper outta one. No one even notices them.
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Question/Idea-You have a VG in there already.I know there is someone else that came here before with a VG33 in their S12.The new Supercharged Frontiers/Xterras come with a VG33ER.Seeing as it's still SOHC, would you have better luck fitting that in your car? I just think that would be insane....throw some forged pistons, a slightly more aggressive cam and change the boost pulley....you'd absolutely destroy people.
That's been discussed on Club S12, but nobody has really gone forward with the swap because the stock VG33ER only makes like 215 hp. That's a lot of work and money for only a gain of less than 50 hp over a stock VG30E. I would consider it if and when my VG30E gives out, though. Other guys are experimenting with add-on centrifugal superchargers, but I don't think anyone's completed one yet.There are so many fewer S12's around than S13's, and so few of them are owned by enthusiasts, many are just people's beaters, that performance modification developments are slow in coming.
Also, the CA18ET was actually available in the S12 in 84, 85, and 86 in the US, and all the way though 88 in Canada, where they didn't get the V6 in 87-88 as the US did.
Nismodave, an '82 200SX is an S110. The S11 was a rotary-powered version that never made it out of Japan. And I miss mine, too. My first car was an '82 hatchback. Z22E engine.
And I totally disagree about the CA20E. Sure it's no powerhouse but for what it is it's a fine motor. Economical, lasts forever, and it feels quite torquey in an S12. And yes it is an 8-plug motor just like the Z20E and Z22E in the 80-83 200SX. The CA20E was the base-model engine for the S12 200SX throughout it's run, 84-88. I've driven an 84 200SX with a CA20E and it pulled very strong right from idle, I was impressed. (Incidentally, the 1984 CA20E cars are the only S12's built without IRS and 4-wheel disc brakes.) The engine is pretty light and CA20E S12's are overall quite light, handle awesome and can still lay a stripe down the pavement, even an automatic, but a 5-speed is much more appropriate. They're also quite easy to work on, parts are relatively plentiful due to the CA20E being used in the Stanza also. At least two members of Club S12 have successfully turbo'd their CA20E's with good results, and I know of at least one who has combined parts from CA20E's and CA18ET's and created a CA19ET. The highest-mileage car on Club S12 is a CA20E-powered car with approx. 485,000 miles on the original motor, no rebuild. I would hardly call it "the worst motor ever".
Also, the CA18ET was actually available in the S12 in 84, 85, and 86 in the US, and all the way though 88 in Canada, where they didn't get the V6 in 87-88 as the US did.
Nismodave, an '82 200SX is an S110. The S11 was a rotary-powered version that never made it out of Japan. And I miss mine, too. My first car was an '82 hatchback. Z22E engine.
And I totally disagree about the CA20E. Sure it's no powerhouse but for what it is it's a fine motor. Economical, lasts forever, and it feels quite torquey in an S12. And yes it is an 8-plug motor just like the Z20E and Z22E in the 80-83 200SX. The CA20E was the base-model engine for the S12 200SX throughout it's run, 84-88. I've driven an 84 200SX with a CA20E and it pulled very strong right from idle, I was impressed. (Incidentally, the 1984 CA20E cars are the only S12's built without IRS and 4-wheel disc brakes.) The engine is pretty light and CA20E S12's are overall quite light, handle awesome and can still lay a stripe down the pavement, even an automatic, but a 5-speed is much more appropriate. They're also quite easy to work on, parts are relatively plentiful due to the CA20E being used in the Stanza also. At least two members of Club S12 have successfully turbo'd their CA20E's with good results, and I know of at least one who has combined parts from CA20E's and CA18ET's and created a CA19ET. The highest-mileage car on Club S12 is a CA20E-powered car with approx. 485,000 miles on the original motor, no rebuild. I would hardly call it "the worst motor ever".
They definitely handle awesome, but as for economy - i always got aweful gas mileage in that car, and correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the VG30E models get much better gas mileage than the CA20E? The eight spark plugs thing always got me mad when I had to do a tuneup - you have to pay twice as much for spark plugs and after like 2000rpm (I forgot what RPM it is, actually), 4 of those plugs quit doing anything. The CA does feel kinda torquey off the line, but after that it's over. Perhaps "worst ever" was a bit harsh, but it was definitely one of the worst motors I've ever had. Oh well, could have been worse - my friend has a '88 NX w/ a G16i or whatever it's called - that motor may be more worth of the "worst ever" title.
There's a guy who hangs out on the Z31 IRC network named Blino w/ a bad a$$ S12 - I believe it's an all motor VG33 w/ a lot of nitrous.
There's a guy who hangs out on the Z31 IRC network named Blino w/ a bad a$$ S12 - I believe it's an all motor VG33 w/ a lot of nitrous.