28th Aug 2010, 03:16
I'm the original poster for this 03 Sentra SE-R SpecV.
I sold the car years ago due to employment issues, and I still miss it today, even though employment is much better now, and I drive a 04 350Z Touring. Before I sold it, it had just under 45k miles on it, and the only issue I had with the car was a brake master cylinder went out, but was covered by the warranty.
Since my SpecV, I owned a highly modified 91 240SX, modified 90 Civic Si hatch, 03 Impreza WRX, 07 Frontier, 01 Sentra SE (SR20DE), and now my 2004 350Z, and another Civic hatch with a SOHC vtec swap for winter, and I still miss the SpecV. It was a very comfy, yet very fun compact 4 dr sedan.
Prices on them are coming down a lot, which still makes me think of picking up another one to replace the Civic for hauling around the family, dogs, etc and the cold and snowy WI winters.
I forgot to mention that even with the shortly geared 6spd and aggressive low-end torque of the SpecV, with proper snow tires and sensible use of the throttle, the SpecV is a great handling car in the winter. Not to mention the 02-03 SpecV's didn't get the Brembo's yet, so you could fit 15" rims on them for savings on the tires in the winter months.
I've own Honda/Acura, DSM's, Subaru, Chevy/GM, Ford, and Nissan (this Z33 is my 6th, or is 7th Nissan?) And all have had their pro's and con's, but personally I as long as Nissan continues going in the right direction that goes with what I look for in a reliable, fun and good looking vehicle, then I will continue to purchase Nissans.
24th Oct 2004, 08:18
I have a 2003 Spec-v and I love my car. I haven't taken the time to add any performance parts into the mix just yet. I'm not really sure I want to do so, either. I have my doubts as to whether or not the 2.5 could actually handle anything more than the standard bolt-ons (CAI, header, etc). I have pretty well "babied" my Spec since the day I got it. I've never raced it, never "red-lined" it, and never really tried to push it to it's limits.
I was returning home from a trip across town one Sunday afternoon, and as I pulled into the parking lot at my apartments, the engine died. I tried restarting it several times, and after letting it sit for a minute or two, was finally able to get it started again. I took it for a short trip around the block and naturally, nothing happened. So I parked it and thought nothing of it. The next day, as I was driving to school, the "Check Engine" light came on and as you can probably guess,performance was drastically reduced. I called my local dealership and asked the service advisor if he could fit me in. I nursed the car back across town to the dealership close to where I live and dropped it off to be looked at. I got a call the next day from my advisor stating the they were going to replace the engine under warranty. At 24,000 miles, I wasn't complaining at all, but I certainly had my concerns about the quality of the build. Apparently what had happened was one of the bolts on the throttle body had broken off on the inside and had been sucked in through the intake into the #3 cylinder. My engine was destroyed.
It's been about 6 months and 6,000 miles since then and I haven't had any major problems with the car. I'm just very hesitant to do any real modifications seeing as how I had such major problems under normal driving conditions. Anyone have any suggestions?