For a bloke who has only recently got himself into the modified car scene, Mike sure has done - and learned - a lot. His series 1 Nissan N15 Pulsar SSS, although mild-looking, is testament to that.
Mike contacted AutoSpeed the week after our "Fast Asleep" article a while back. "I've got something like that," Mike told us. "Well, it's not quite a knock-your-socks-off sleeper like a V8 Volvo, but I think you'll appreciate it..." Attached were a couple of images of Mike's plain-jane Pulsar.
Right down to the wheels, this thing looks almost like any other Pulsar you'd see parked in a K-Mart car park on any weekday. With stock silver paint and devoid of nearly any hints as to the character hiding underneath - if you're keen, you'll notice the suspension is a little low and there's a Koni Improved badge on the rear - there's nothing outwardly obvious that this 1995 Pulsar is anything but stock.
So, what makes this almost boring-looking Pulsar SSS hatch worthy of our attention? A lot of little things, really. In total contrast to many 'modified' car owners out there, Mike's put a lot of effort into the engine and chassis of his car, and has proven the worth of his modifications by regularly running the car in super sprints and lap dashes. This ain't no big-tach, big-zorst, big-ego small car. It's far better than that!
Mike's owned his Pulsar since it was delivered to him brand new in 1996. And, as he admits, he really only became interested in fast cars and performance driving when he bought the Pulsar. Could that be something to do with the fact his previous cars have included an automatic Ford Meteor (an Australian-assembled badge-engineered Mazda 323 sedan) and an early-70s Datsun 120Y (Uuuurgghh!)? Possibly...
The Pulsar remained standard for two years until Mike's brother coaxed him into modifying the suspension with a set of two-inch lowered springs and a set of Koni adjustable dampers. The addiction began... Soon, the car was sporting a freer-flowing exhaust to let the Pulsar's SR20DE 2-litre four breathe a little easier for Mike's excursions onto the track. Yes, Mike was yet another young victim... he, too, had allowed himself to become addicted to speed...
And then, disaster struck. The oil pressure light came on one day. Full sump, properly serviced - inexplicable. And the car's warranty had expired only weeks before.. Rick Shaw rectified the fault (found to be a loose oil pickup) but as Mike says, the damage was done. Six months later, the oil-pump failed.
Mike had a choice. Have the original engine rebuilt at a cost of possibly $5000, or install a second-hand Japanese import engine for around half that figure. Mike did what most of us would do - he went for a second-hand unit. "I actually considered putting in an SR20 turbo," says Mike of his engine choice. "But a front-drive turbo? That would have been fun for about five minutes. My other car is a Bluebird SSS AWD turbo and you need traction. And insurance would have been a hassle."
An advantage of the Japanese-market Primera P13 engine Mike chose was more static compression thanks to flat-top pistons, rather than dished units fitted to cars sold in Australia. The engine was partially disassembled before it was installed, and while the head was off it was given a quick clean up. The original clutch was found to show evidence of wear/burn marks thanks to Mike's spirited driving, so it was replaced with a Daiken Extreme after the flywheel lost a bit of weight. The gearbox remains the standard five-speed unit. Tassel Automotives in the Sydney suburb of Castle Hill was commissioned to inspect and plug in the new engine.
These days, the engine also carries a pair of Japanese Tomei Powered cams. Without being too radical, these cams - designed specifically for the Japanese-spec 10:1 engine that Mike has - accounted for a grin-inducing 20kW at the tyres. Although the car ran adequately with the standard management system, a reprogram of the Nissan's brains by ChipTorque/Silverwater Automotive Services in Sydney resulted in what Mike describes as "unbelievable" throttle response and a far nicer idle. "It was surprising, actually," says Mike of the chip rewrite. "It's tuned for Optimax (a 98-octane fuel marketed by Shell in Australia) and the only minor problem is it sometimes stalls when the aircon is on. It's quite sensitive to fuel but these run a knock sensor."
On the intake side, Mike has simply "ripped all the crap off! I originally had the filter mounted behind the passenger side fog-light, but it got filthy very quickly. It's back up inside the engine bay now. But I'd like to shield it from the engine bay with some alloy sheet." The filter is a K&N. The only other mechanical change to the engine itself is a set of colder spark plugs.
The exhaust commences with a set of off-the-shelf Hurricane headers (4-2-1) followed by a specially-built (by Liverpool Exhausts) 50mm system with the standard catalytic converter. The flex pipe is shielded with a solid guard; thanks to the car's modified suspension it is somewhat lower to the bitumen. The single muffler is a Magnaflow - the biggest that will fit under the rear of the car. "It's a straight-through design that delivers the most power. It's also the most quiet one that I've had on the car," says Mike. "We also found the system was very sensitive to the shape and length of the tip for sound." So, that's why there's no chromed 4-inch dump pipe...
The result? Mike's car delivers a stout 98kW (131hp) at the tyres on the Silverwater Automotive Services chassis dyno. For a naturally aspirated 2-litre daily driver, that's impressive. Although Mike hasn't recently run his car on a 'proper' drag strip - he far prefers the challenges of round-and-round - testing with a G-Tech performance meter indicates 0-400m in 15.2 seconds and 0-100km/h in 6.8 seconds.
Suspension now consists of adjustable Konis - specially re-valved at the front, off-the-shelf replacement at the rear - and plenty of Whiteline product. The springs are 'extra low' and there's an adjustable bar under the rear, too. The front strut brace is the standard Nissan item. A Whiteline caster kit helps steering feel and tyre bite during cornering and eliminates the need for a super-stiff front sway bar. All suspension and steering bushes have been replaced with polyurethane to banish the squish associated with standard rubber items. That helps with steering feel and handling precision, too. Road wheels and tyres are stockies for the road, and a set of cheapie aftermarket units with sticky Dunlops for the track.
The front brakes have been upgraded with DBA slotted rotors and EBC Greenstuff pads. Mike regards the combination as excellent, even when punishing them during his regular track attacks. Inside, there's a Sparco Supersport seat and Sabelt removable four-point harness (the clips are hidden under the flip-up rear seat) and a dark window tint adding a harder edge to the comfort of a factory sunroof and aftermarket cruise control. Mike's car also has a passenger airbag. Something you can't see is the expanding foam filling the sills. "It's a trick used by luxury carmakers," explains Mike. "It makes the car stiffer and it also keeps the noise down." Open the hatch and you'll find the lightweight Odyssey gel-cell battery that Mike removed from the engine bay.
Mike's very happy with his Pulsar SSS. As well as being his daily driver for the past 6 years, it's been a reliable and fun track car and green-light street warrior. There's plenty of larger, gruntier car owners - even some Subaru turbo drivers! - around Mike's northern Sydney home that have had the smile wiped off their faces when lining up next to this lazy-grey Pulsar. And that has lead to Mike's next intended modification. After plenty of consideration and discussion, Mike has decided that the next step in his car's development is to remove the 'Koni Improved' badge from the rear.
He reckons it makes it too obvious...
|