200SX suspension??

[Pierscoe1]

HI all..

well thanks to good old MrTaxMan, my bonus, and therefore car choices, have been restricted..

current options are:

1) Keep the '5 -- (and possibly force-feed it).. least hassle, and it's been a great car
2) 200SX (S14a) -- slightly worried about the luxo-barge type suspension as standard..
3) MR2 Turbo -- not sure it's a better proposition than a charged '5, and would have to go through the hassle of selling/finding/buying, when I have a car now, and could just bolt on a charger.

so on to the point... those that have had/driven S14a's, are they really squishy/floaty/soft, and if so, does a set of dampers/springs and whiteline ARB's for instance, fix this, and make it a nice responsve car??

Obviously I'm not expecting it to drive like the '5, but I couldn't put up with a floaty blamonge-suspended jelly of a car..

hopefully going to have a look at a standard one before I go back to work, to get a ballpark idea of what they're like to drive...

all opinions/suggestions welcome..

thanks

oh, and hope everybody had a good christmas!!

>> Edited by Pierscoe1 on Thursday 29th December 19:50

[irf]

sorry, dont know what your "5" is but guessing mx5? as standard yes they are pretty floaty but nothing a set of shocks wont sort. i dont think it can ever be as agile as an mx5 though. get on to www.sxoc.com for the owners club, see if there's any meets locally to you and then maybe blag a ride to see how it is standard and how it is when modified.
in a straight line it doesn't take much money to get to 260-290 odd bhp as at standard they can feel quite flat. thats more to do with the smooth power delivery than actually being slow though.
yes i do own one

[tuttle]

Depends if you want a bigger car (& assoc running costs)too or really just a change. If you're happy with your MX5,I'd stick with it, personally I love 'em, if it were my money- I guess its going to cost <>£3k-ish to force feed it properly. So you could get a MR2 (poss n/a) or easily a 200sx for that money. Then a set of coilovers (Teins seem to suit well) for the SX will set you back < of £700.00.

[Pierscoe1]

tuttle said:

Depends if you want a bigger car or really just a change

yeah.. that's just it really. Part of me just wants a change (never had a car for more than 2 years before), and the added space/comfort would be useful for long journeys and carrying more than one passenger occasionally, but I'm not sure I want those things at the cost of (potentially) the 'fun-to-drive' character of the '5...

as said, I'm going to go have a look at a standard 200SX and see what I think from there.. I'm thinking it might be difficult to get a go in an 'almost-standard-but-with-uprated-suspension' car, so just wanted to gauge opinion on how the car was/wasn't transformed with such a setup..

[dj_mdma]

the standard suspension of the S14a SX was complementary to the car...i.e a motorway milage coupe type thing (lol)

its quite soft, and does wallow a bit, but i suppose most standard cars do...however the S13 really was a boat on the roads.

Some uprated stiffer uprated springs will make a little bit of a difference. Anti roll bars make a hugeeeee difference in the handling and will inspire more confidence in you. Coilovers and ARB's are just godlike...my S14a has Tein Flex coilovers, front and rear cusco strut braces and ARB's as well.