Red S15 Spec R Build


jjenningsjj

jjenningsjj

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Dec 31, 2009
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So after many years of Japanese car ownership I’ve finally saved up enough for an S15!

After many months searching I finally found one I really liked with a massive spec list! After viewing the car a deal was made and a couple weeks later I collected the car with my friend Jamie.



IMG_0252 by Josh Jennings, on Flickr



I was extremely happy with it however after driving it home something didn’t feel quite right with the suspension and it needed to be raised as the roads on the Isle of Wight are shocking. During adjusting the suspension all the pre loads on each corner were different and the camber adjustment on the front left was completely loose and the right side wasn’t done up that tight either! With the suspension sorted it was now looking like this!



IMG_0265 by Josh Jennings, on Flickr



I’m not a fan of stretched tyres so while the suspension was being adjusted my friend and I worked out the tyre size and spacing that would allow them to fit correctly. I noticed the rear wheel studs had been cut in order to fit 20mm spacers so I decided to order ARP extended wheel studs to allow correct fitment of the wheels.



IMG_0327 by Josh Jennings, on Flickr



The 235 front tyres and 255 rear tyres were ordered as well.



IMG_0398 by Josh Jennings, on Flickr



So what turned from wet sanding the headlights turned into this… haha! All the headlight wiring was shortened and re-routed.



IMG_0604 by Josh Jennings, on Flickr



The intercooler piping was removed and checked over and given a quick polish. Also worked out what silicone hoses were needed, I’m not a fan of the red ones and some were pretty bodged together so a whole set of black samco ones have been ordered. When putting it back together I made sure to tighten the hose clamps down properly as they certainly weren’t done up much when I was pulling it apart!



IMG_0847 by Josh Jennings, on Flickr



The wet sanded headlights look a lot better!



As sad as it sounds I had collected a few stickers to put on so they were put on… haha!



IMG_0673 by Josh Jennings, on Flickr



I then set about fitting the extended studs on all 4 corners. When fitting these I also got the Hardrace rear camber and toe arms fitted.



IMG_0859 by Josh Jennings, on Flickr



IMG_0860 by Josh Jennings, on Flickr



The tyres were then put onto the wheels. Safe to say I’m a lot happier with the spacing and look of the wheels now!



IMG_0865 by Josh Jennings, on Flickr



I then took the 15 to the Goodwood Super Car Breakfast meet. Found Seen Through Glass’s car so thought it would be rude not to get a photo together with it haha!



IMG_0897 by Josh Jennings, on Flickr



When I was driving back to the Isle from the meet I noticed a slight exhaust leak. After driving for a couple of more short journeys to see the misses it soon turned into a major exhaust leak from the mani to the turbo!



I set about stripping it down. When undoing the bolts to the mani etc. I found that all of them weren’t done up nearly tight enough! My friend came round to help me pull the mani and turbo out while I was undoing the final bolts underneath, he pulled the mani expecting the turbo to come with it… just the manifold came away! The nuts had worked themselves loose and weren’t even present anymore!



With it all out I was left with this!



IMG_0980 by Josh Jennings, on Flickr



I decided to give the turbo a good looking over and clean up while it was off, would be rude not to haha!



IMG_1012 by Josh Jennings, on Flickr



The previous owner had included a tubular manifold that had cracked. I went round to my good friend Joes and he welded up making sure to beef all the welds up significantly. We also added some bracing from each flange to try and help prevent cracking again. Hopefully this will sort the problem, if not I will just go back to the standard mani. I gave it a quick clean up, not perfect but so much better than it was!



IMG_1029 by Josh Jennings, on Flickr



I’ve got a stainless turbo elbow on order and the downpipe has been taken off the car ready for a clean-up and heat wrapping.



Today my Splitfire coil packs have turned up so they’ll be fitted this eve!



IMG_1044 by Josh Jennings, on Flickr



I’ve got all my servicing fluids on the way as well as booking it in for a 4 wheel alignment in a couple of weeks. Hoping by the time all this is done it should feel like a different car!



Still plenty more work to do, but who likes spare time anyway!
 
Ah you're Jamie's mate! Watched a fair few of his videos now. Lol including the one of your old ek9. Man that thing was gorgeous! :drool: Did you swap it with the guy who sold you the S15?

Silvia is looking sick on those wheels! My mate has a black S15 Spec R and I definitely would have one as my next car if I could afford it & the insurance, love them! Basic bolt on mods & a map and it's making 315hp and about the same amount of torque. :cool:

You got many plans for this? Is it already mapped etc?
 
This is awesome man, love S15's! Love the kit and the red colour. What front bumper is that?

Still got the 9?
 
Thanks for the comments

It's mapped, next year I'm getting a top mount mani and Garrett GTX so will be remapped then though haha!

It's a Friends Racing kit, quite a rare kit by all accounts!

I wanted to keep the 9, and even tried justifying it haha! Had to sell it in the end though, went to a guy on the Isle of Wight in the end!
 
Well I got home from work and noticed that the 15 had been attacked by a load of bird crap haha!



Untitled by Josh Jennings, on Flickr



After I cleaned all that off I did a couple more jobs, the Splitfire coil packs were fitted along with new NGK spark plugs. Then I heat wrapped the downpipe.



Untitled by Josh Jennings, on Flickr



I may have also done a buy last night… haha! I wasn’t a big fan of the Japspeed Shotgun exhaust on there currently. Had a look on eBay and there was this lovely Kakimoto Regu 06&R Cat Back, should be a bit quieter and look a lot better imo as well!



Untitled by Josh Jennings, on Flickr



My new stainless turbo elbow has arrived today, this will be heat wrapped when more arrives through the post!



Untitled by Josh Jennings, on Flickr



Slowly coming together!
 
Really really nice s15 dude, love what your doing with it too. I think shotguns are overdone at this stage and you can't beat a proper looking exhaust like that one you got.
 
Thanks :nice:

Can't wait to get it all back together now! So annoying waiting for bits to turn up, knew I should have bodged it instead ahaha!
 
Another great car! Has the back end stepped out on you yet?
 
So last week I had a week off work and may have got a bit carried away with doing some jobs on the S15 haha!



Untitled by Josh Jennings, on Flickr



Untitled by Josh Jennings, on Flickr



Untitled by Josh Jennings, on Flickr



So with the coilovers off, body kit off and exhaust off the chassis was then prepared for protection. All the arches were wire brushed back to bare metal, any rust treated, zinc primer applied and then a nice thick layer of stone chip applied. I then got a bit more carried away and decided to do a wire tuck on the passenger side for now. I will do one on the other side but I want to drive it again soon haha!



Untitled by Josh Jennings, on Flickr



Untitled by Josh Jennings, on Flickr



This was the dirt that came out the bottom of the front fenders, it had just been sitting there! It won’t ever be like that again haha!



Untitled by Josh Jennings, on Flickr



The same was carried out behind the rear bumper.



Untitled by Josh Jennings, on Flickr



I then painted the brakes black, I hate red calipers with a passion! I will sand the Nissan back to bare metal once the paint has hardened enough. You can also see the coilover covers I fitted to keep them in mint condition.



Untitled by Josh Jennings, on Flickr



I then fitted my exhaust to keep moral up haha! Much happier with this, still yet to find out how it will sound! It needs modifying to sit further out once the bumper and rear lip is on, this will happen in time.



Untitled by Josh Jennings, on Flickr



While the front suspension was off I noticed that the outer tie rods looked a bit worse for wear along with the bump steer tie rods. So another package from Hardrace was delivered haha!



Untitled by Josh Jennings, on Flickr



I got sent a picture of my replacement cam cover after being sprayed the other day. So pleased with this compared to the horrible one that’s on there. Think it will transform the engine bay.



Untitled by Josh Jennings, on Flickr



I also re-assembled the turbo setup, I might have over engineered a few bits, but I don’t want the gasket leaking again haha!



Untitled by Josh Jennings, on Flickr



Untitled by Josh Jennings, on Flickr



So now I am just waiting on my black Samco hoses (should be here this week) and it will all be put back together then off for a 4 wheel alignment!
 
Ugh this thing is gorgeous! :drool: Not a fan of the grille-less front bumper but each to there own! Great colour too, different and not as common! That japspeed exhaust looked very Bosozoku lol the Kakimoto looks a lot better, really raw looking! Great S-Chassis though.
 
Thanks :))

The kit really does it for me, not a fan off the Aero Kit on most of them myself!

Can't wait to update again in a couple of weeks with it all done!
 
S15s look great in red! Was always torn between these and the S13

Really like the front bumper too, would look great with a splitter. I've heard the six speed boxes can be a bit of an Achilles heel, although I think most sr20 boxes can be a little on the weaker side. Just something to think about when upping the power.

Great car though, look forward to updates!
 
I still love S13s, would still like to own one!

I've got a splitter planned, but I need to get it back in one piece first haha!

I've got a long uprated Nismo Cross Mission so luckily it should hold extra power... I hope ahaha
 
It’s all back together now, I couldn’t wait for these blaady black silicone hoses any longer so the red ones went back on for now! The engine feels so much stronger now, don’t know if it’s the manifold, the Splitfire coil packs, or just the fact it’s all tight now ahaha! But it feels smoother, pulls better and there is definitely more power up top now!



Still need to get the alignment done but it’s all booked in for next Friday.



Got the cam cover fitted last night, looks so much better, can’t wait to sack these red hoses off!



Untitled by Josh Jennings, on Flickr



The manifold is going nice colours now as well haha!



Untitled by Josh Jennings, on Flickr
 
Not much has happened recently! Still waiting for the hoses to come and a few other bits! After weeks of waiting I’m finally booked in for a wheel alignment!



I tweaked the ride height the other, got it sitting better I think and gave it a good clean to get the grubby finger prints off it haha!



Untitled by Josh Jennings, on Flickr
 
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