S14a questions

[kyleyo]

Hi I'm looking to get an S14a and before I start I have had a quick search on the forum and looked at the buying guide but still have a couple of questions that I'm hoping someone is nice enough to answer for me

What are they like to use day to day? Are they reliable if well maintained and not heavily modified?

Are there any places that they like to rust and should be checked other than the arches and sills?

I would also appreciate and other tips or information that anyone thinks would be useful to me.

Thank you.

[Quail]

Generally, if you look after them well, they're no less reliable than any other 15-20 year old car, especially when unmodified. I used mine daily for a couple of years until it became impracticable due to modifications.

I'm not best placed to comment on rust but I'm sure someone will chime in.

Other general tips; if it's your first RWD, learn the limits of the car gradually. They can be a bit iffy in the wet, so don't scrimp on good tyres and alignment.

[snops]

These are the key rust prone areas on an s14 and s14a chassis.

A: Front chassis legs - especially under the rad.
B: The main sections the front subframe mounts to.
C: Top of the strut
D: Sill under the plastic. Bad area of rust.
E: Hollow sections where the rear subframe mounts and the support bracket (boomerang shape). This is the worst area of rust on a UK car and if it hasnt been maintained will break through with a screw driver prod.
F: Inner rear wing panel at the rear.
G: Rear panel. Light rust.
H: Floor to sill area.

[snops]

Mine has done 165000 miles (125000 at stage 3) without missing a beat, all the electrics still work. The only thing not working is the ac.
They just need TLC to keep them going.

[kyleyo]

Thanks for the replies, that diagram is very helpful snops.

Quail, yes it will be my first time owning a RWD car but not my first time driving one, would you say S14's are a bit unpredictable or just that I shouldn't push myself or the car until I know the boundaries sort of thing?

Thank you again.

[Quail]

Would you say S14's are a bit unpredictable or just that I shouldn't push myself or the car until I know the boundaries sort of thing?

Not unpredictable if everything is as working as it should be and you have decent rubber, but it will want to oversteer if you goad it. It's a very communicative car, so it should let you know what it's up to and when, but people are sometimes caught out when the turbo kicks in.

A lot of "I've stacked it" posts used to crop up on the SXOC as the season moved in to winter, due to the deteriorating roads, so just be super-aware of road conditions during the shittier months.

[kyleyo]

Ah okay that's good to hear, I'll make sure to always have good tyres then and not prepare myself for the shit months,

Thank you for your help.

[ryry92]

Cannot stress how careful you need to be when driving in the wet... I have had my s14a for a year and a half and I've recently become more confident in controlling the semi-slides in the wet. Or at least I thought... Going round a 45 degree angle bend about 6 weeks ago and as I feathered the throttle the back end completely snapped on me and ****ed right off in an erratic 360 lol.

Honestly - Take your time with getting to know the cars limits.

Apart from that; Service it regularly, put good fuel in it, don't rag it everywhere you go and look after / check all the bushes (and what the guys above have mentioned also)

Ry

[Markus74]

Daily driver for 7 years. Hopeless in the snow, tad scary in the rain, wonderful in the dry. Certainly been the most reliable car I've ever had despite usual mild mods

[kyleyo]

Hmm you're making me a bit nervous to drive one in shit weather but I guess all I can do is take it steady.

[Chriscooke]

Don't drive it like a fwd and you'll be fine. I can't drive for toffee and I manage just fine

[leno]

Honestly mate dont worry about everyone's comments. They're not death traps in the wet, ive been driving my fairly standard bar stage one and coilovers s14a for around 3/4 months now and so far its safer/more predictable than my mx5 with half the power and no turbo

[beefy]

Owned mine for a year and a half (back when I was 19 and had nothing to lose)

I wouldn't advise getting one with a welded diff as a daily, had it for 6 months and was just annoying as hell.

Look for the rust in the usual places and for crash damage, to be honest, I'd rather have an actual forum member do the servicing as well, as the vast majority of guys in here do a better job than Nissan tech's...

Apart from that, they don't have any major problems that can't be fixed easily.

[piman2k]

They'll only punish you in the wet if you try to be a dori hero or a drift pre-madonna. Unmodified, heck even up to Stage 3 modified, they can be perfectly reliable. It's where you draw the line at comfort when your chassis spec matches your engine.

[kyleyo]

Thank you for all of your help, I really appreciate it.

Leno, the only RWD car I have driven happens to be an mx5 although that was on track so hopefully I'll be fine.

Beefy, believe me I'm staying away from a welded diff, it just won't be practical. As for the servicing I'll most likely do that myself.

[Gerry]

They'll only punish you in the wet if you try to be a dori hero or a drift pre-madonna. Unmodified, heck even up to Stage 3 modified, they can be perfectly reliable. It's where you draw the line at comfort when your chassis spec matches your engine.

As said above if your heavy on the foot in the wet in the wrong place she'll bite you in the ...e, reliabity had mine nearly 15ys only thing that had to replace
was one calliper.

[Slamz]

I've always found mine very predictable in the wet or dry, and even if they start to slide they're very easy to control and get back in line, unless you're a moron and gun the throttle/panic and jump on the brakes. As everyone's said take it very easy until you've learn what the car drives like and how it reacts to throttle and steering inputs, as it's totally different to driving a fwd car! I went from a Fiesta Zetec S to a stage 1a s14a with a welder and have managed not to end up in someone's front room, so they're not that bad haha. Although people saying they're scary in the wet is confusing, I've never been scared in the wet in mine, even when giving it some.

Mine's been very reliable too, was a bit rusty when I bought it but it was cheap so expected!

[kyleyo]

Thanks for that slamz, I currently drive a fiesta zetec s so will be in the same boat as you.

[auz200sx]

fun reliable car. easy to work on and as close to my beloved Skyline i could get. long story in storage past four years awaiting import

[mcleansc]

If you're going for one buy from the upper end of the market. I bought from the lower end and it was off the road for 4 months and £1200 worth of repairs, £800 of that was rust on the chassis. Mechanically though it has never let me down in 2 and a half years. Any problems have been created by me modding it stupidly but it still starts everytime and all electrics work. Driving in the wet I'd look out for, just due to inexperience, not the car. don't go on full boost in 2nd or when it comes in you'll break traction, mines done it in 3rd the other month and I absolutely caked it.. That was me driving like a total and utter idiot though, not the car. Driving it normally is fine. You just need to be more aware of the road conditions. Roundabouts with oil can cause a scary moment (not good on first dates nearly spinning your car lol) but apart from that you'll get a feel for it, and when the back end does get loose you like an absolute boss and pull all da bitchez.