180sx vs 200sx (s13)

Curt

New Member
Apologies for the following newbish questions, but i had a search on the forum and came up with nout, so here we go...

Q1: What differences are there in the 180sx (this shape click) in comparison to the 200sx the same shape? Is it as simple as i suspect IE BMW style of naming, 180sx is fitted with a CA18T and the 200sx is the SR20?

Q2: I've been offered a Gen 3 RX7 TT for £2k with 67k miles on the clock, but catch is the engine requires a rebuild. How costly is a Wankel rebuild and where in the mainland would be the best bet to get it done?

Q3: When it comes to having a daily driver which doubles as a weekend slider would it be feasible to leave the car fully equipped with seats/soundproofing? or would it be a waste of time trying to chuck a heavy car around? Would more power equal out the extra weight of a stock interior?

Q4: I've also been looking at an R33GTST (rb25) but have heard people say that there not a brilliant engine for drifting and can cause more problems than there worth when trying for more power. What would be your opinion on RB25's, worth the money compaired to the likes of a SR20 or not?


Thanks in Advance :thumbs:
 
180SX is simply the Jap name, 200SX is the UK name.

Early Jap ones had CA18 then SR20
UK had CA18 all the way.
Other minor changes too, but thats the biggy.

RB25 can do 500bhp+ on stock internals well mapped with no bother. But people do seem to have reliability problems with them when drifting for whatever reason.

Id certainly rather have a S-body to drift over an R33 though, because of size/weight if nothing else, but variety of parts means an S-body is always a winner.
 
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Stav means that the UK versions were CA18 all the way. No UK RS13 came with an SR20. It's either been swapped in later or came from Japan.
 
Answer 1

JDM RS13 180sx

Very early models came with CA18DET's. They are more commonly fitted with the non-vvt Redtop engine.

UK RS13 200sx

ALL have CA18DET's unless they have had an aftermarket change. Stavros's comment "UK had SR20 all the way" is utter bull.

Answer 2

No one in the UK can build a rotary engine like the Japanese. FACT. I wouldn't take an RX-7 unless you have VERY VERY Deap pockets.

Answer 3

I run my full interior in my S13. You just get used to it.

Answer 4
Fat and heavy cars. If you are looking to learn and things I would say buy a UK S13 with a reasonable spec and practice in it.

I happen to be selling an S13 with a reasonable spec.
 
Rx7's are fantastic cars, £2k for one needing a rebuild is dear unless it got a good spec, they go for circa £1500 or less needing rebuilt.

Rebuilds can vary, prices can be as low as £500 or as much as £3000 or more!

However rebuild in the uk ............ to be honest having owned an rx7 and worked on a few too I would agree that NOWHERE in the UK can build a rotary properly, many try but failure happens soon after and thats a FACT!

I would recommend Dragon as there certainly the closest to cracking the secrets of the wankel, they have proven this with their demo car. Ross @ Dragon knows his stuff and I would go to him over anyone else.

However saying that you have just as much chance of building a good rotary doing it DIY so if you handy with the spanners it may be worth looking into.

If your not into doing your own repairs, be prepared to have a good credit limit to own an RX7.

I speak from experience so please take this advice and use it wisely!
 
However rebuild in the uk ............ to be honest having owned an rx7 and worked on a few too I would agree that NOWHERE in the UK can build a rotary properly, many try but failure happens soon after and thats a FACT!

most engines have a 24k miles or 2 year warrantee though.

Never heard much about the engine rebuilds being bad in the uk. Most engines that fail are usually because of big power or through a lack of knowledge of rotary. Also if the engine isn't fully rebuilt (ie just the rotor tips and gaskets/seals changed) its not going to last as long as a new or fully rebuilt engine.

2k for one needing a rebuild is a lot but then again it may be an awesome shell. The buyers market is good for rx7's atm. There were a few going for about 4k with fairly recent rebuilds.

Running a 7 as a daily and drifter is pretty much impossible id say.
 
Thanks for all the info folks, Certainly gave me something to think about.

This is the 7 here, not yet seen the car in real life, but from a few people i've spoke too they say its very clean and been maintained to a high standard, which is confusing when the engine has gone, something doesn't quite add up...

Mazda RX7 FD Type R Import For Sale on RMS

At a short glance it still seems that the best option would be a RS13 of some description with a few mods to get me going, and the option of a rotary FC seems to be out the window too, pockets are big enough but don't want to fork out alot of unessecery money when a ca/sr could cost less and do the same!

Thanks again for all the info folks much appricated, i'm sure i'll have some more questions for you all soon :thumbs:

:dw:
 
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u.k have never made a s13 with a sr20 in their whole nissan selling lives they all came with ca18det all the way, s13 only came with the straight cam non vvt sr20s redtop/blacktop from japan, the only diff between a 180sx and 200sx is the engine and import name printed on the rear quater glass :)
 
Why is there so much shite spoken about 180 vs 200 SXs? :smash:

If you're comparing early CA18DET JDM 180SX against all UK CA18DET 200SX (both pre and post facelift models), there are different tweaks but the main three differences are:

1) some JDM cars had early HiCas (4 Wheel Steering)
2) all CA JDM cars had an 8-port cylinder head. UK cars have 4-port
3) diff/final drive ratio is different - JDM cars do 130mph on the dot (well, mine does measure using timing equipment and showing just over the 150mph max reading on the clock) EDIT - they should all be R200 diffs, and there may be a UK equivalent to the JDM shorter geared diff but every UK S13 I've driven has longer gearing than mine but doesn't zip through the gears in the same way??

RS13 (pop-up headlights model)
PS13 (Silvia fixed headlights model)

All UK RS13s (always called S13 200SX in the UK), had 4-port CA18DET engines. SR20 was only available in later JDM 180SX (often called 'Kouki', basically meaning the late model)

Over here SR20DET was only available in the S14 and S14a 200SX models.


ps - out of all your options I'd avoid the RX7 unless you've got loads of cash. The S13 is a good budget choice. But if you can afford it I'd probably go for the Skyline to be honest. There are more bits than ever before available and the extra torque will make drifting "easier" to begin with, despite the extra weight. It really is personal choice though, you can't really go wrong.
 
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u.k have never made a s13 with a sr20 in their whole nissan selling lives they all came with ca18det all the way, s13 only came with the straight cam non vvt sr20s redtop/blacktop from japan, the only diff between a 180sx and 200sx is the engine and import name printed on the rear quater glass :)
There are a few more differences (HICAS, interior trim, climate control etc) but basically as above.

Personally I'd buy either a 91on 180SX or a UK 200SX thats had an SR swap or a properly built CA.
 
as far as the decisions between getting a uk ca18 200sx or a JDM SR20 180sx, if you got the money SR20 all the way, much more torque and generaly considered more reliable.

However, financialy youll probably find a uk 200sx with an SR20 conversion to be a bit cheaper to get hold of, as JDM cars are generaly sell for more (partly due to them usually being in better condition, partly due to people bumming anything that comes from japan)

having driven all of them, i personaly would (and have) got a PS13 with an SR20, shit loads more torque than a CA and a much better chassis than a RS13. and they make babies cry.
 
Seems i hit a nerve with some folks :D

Explanition with images would help my understanding if someone would be kind enough to sort it out :wave:
 
SR Seems to be the way forward by the sound of things.

A mate of mine had a S14a 200sx with a SR20 black top and spent a clean fortune on parts. Started with an exhaust which somehow damaged the turbo, turbo then lead to a FMIC then a walbro pump which then killed another turbo.

This a common list of problems/occuraces when one thing is upgraded without the others. AKA should mods be done in groups rather than bit by bit?
 
1. Air filter, full exhaust.
2. Intercooler, sensible boost, fuel pump, colder spark plugs.
3. Chip/ECU/remap, more boost.
4. Bigger turbo, manifold, injectors, AFM, remap. That could see you in the high 300s.

Remember to add in suspension and brake upgrades along the way.
 
Evening Gents! I know this is an old thread but I am stuck and have a question I'm hoping you can help with!

Just got a Nistune ca18det ECU for my car and it turns out the ECU is actually a 36xxx Ecu which makes it 180sx JDM Ecu and not a 200sx one.

Does anybody know if the ECU pinout is the same as the 200xs ?

Thanks :)
 
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