As affordable and tuneable rear-drivers go, it’s pretty hard to beat the Nissan 200SX. But that’s not to say it can’t be improved, how? Well check our Nissan S14 200SX tuning guide.
1. ENGINE TUNING
The 2.0ltr SR20DET turbo is a great engine and ripe for tuning. An induction kit, turbo-back exhaust, uprated fuel pump, boost controller, front-mount intercooler, and the appropriate remap will give you up to 290bhp and 300 lb/ft at 17psi boost. Add a larger turbo, injectors, and airflow meter, and you can get around 350bhp and 360 lb/ft with an appropriate remap; seriously quick in a 1200kg RWD coupe. Over 400bhp has been achieved on standard engine internals in the past, and 600bhp and beyond is capable on a fully built engine, so the world is your oyster.
2. SUSPENSION
Due to its huge popularity as a drift car, uprated adjustable suspension components are more common for the S14 200SX than almost any other car in existence. A set of decent coilovers is a wise first move, and from there a full range of adjustable suspension arms are available to get the front and rear geometry perfect for what you use the car for, not to mention the usual uprated anti-roll bars and steering modifications.
3. WHEELS AND TYRES
The standard wheels and tyres on the 200SX are pretty poor, but thankfully the range of aftermarket wheels you can fit is huge, maybe more than any other car. With a 5×114.3 PCD, the most common size people fit are 8.5x18in front and 9.5x18in rear wheels running 225/40×18 and 255/35×18 tyres respectively, but depending on how happy you are to modify the arches and suspension geometry, you can fit some quite huge widths and offsets, with some in the UK running 10x18in front and 12x18in rear wheels with arches only mildly wider than standard.
4. TRANSMISSION
The transmission is pretty strong on the 200SX and aside from the expected uprated clutch, the standard gearbox and diff usually copes fine up to 400bhp and more, depending on how hard you use the car. Uprated LSDs are common and recommended for people who use their cars on the track, especially drifting, and uprated gear kits and even upgrades to stronger Skyline and 300ZX ‘boxes are available if you have the cash.
5. STYLING
In later S14a form especially, the 200SX is a great looking car that often needs just minor touches such as clear indicators to transform its looks. If you want to go further there are a wide range of Japanese body kits available, from subtle additions, to lairy wide arch monsters. Wider arches, or ‘over fenders’ as they are more commonly known, are common additions to most bodykits. These usually keep the standard lines of the car but are flared out enough to add more aggression and allow the fitment much wider wheels than standard.
