Silvia Club of NSW

Well I'm about to be off to the 'States for 6 mths, & while there I'm hoping to tap into the huge aftermarket for the 240sx (s13) to get some goodies for my '89 CA 180sx..
The parts I'm lookin into buying are (and questions with) are:

Cat back exhaust: their 240sx is n/a , so theres obvious differences in headers vs. front/dump pipes, but what from the cat back?(i.e. if the position of the cat-converter is the same, then buying a cat-back will fit?)

Struts - (replacement for my 15 yr items ), will 240sx spring/shocks fit? (i did a search and got a generic ans that it does, but to make sure...)

brake rotors: is 240sx rotors SR or CA spec? On ebay their slotted rotors say a universal fit for 89-95 240sx's, but for our turbo equivalent s13s, we have a difference in brakes btwn the 89-91CA and 91+ SR models... and is there rotor differences for ABS models?

SAFC's should be universal?

cat back off n/a cars are useless on a turbo car, i dont recall seeing many 3" n/a exhausts, which is really what you want on a turbo car..
but im sure they have a good range of products specifically for sr20det and ca18det engines, as alot of ppl do the conversion, specially the sr over there

im assuming the yr model of the 240sx would correspond to whether its sr or ca spec, like 89 would be ca and a 92 240sx would be sr... but im not sure

yes safc is universal

but say i did find a 3inch 240sx catback, like this one
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... 2468180910

would it fit?

the 240SXs in the US came in an S13 and S14 chassis. all parts are interchangeable. ie suspension, exhausts etc.

but as already pointed out, anything under 3" for an exhaust is not going to help that much on a turbo car. all that said, there is a huge market in the US for SR20DET conversions. hence why the SS Autochrome manifold is manufactured there. the cars are essentially the same, besides a few things like LHD and some parts are on the opposite side of the car, brake cylinder assembly; steering etc im sure you know what i mean

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M35 Stagea.info @ http://www.m35stagea.info/

cant see ebay link right now cuz im at work, but gee thats interesting 3" catbacks for n/a's ! because n/a's have headers i would *imagine* the turbo and n/a exhausts are different in shape, in terms of bends and where things meet, but hey i could be wrong...
there are sr20det catback exhausts on ebay as well from the states and they have pics of the whole exhaust, have a look at them and compare with the n/a ones i guess, that should give an indication
worse comes to worse u can always ask them there !

All the stuff you've listed can be had fairly cheaply over here, plus you know it's specifically designed for your car.

The exhaust has been talked about previously here but have you considered the weight difference and weight distriution issues that the KA engined 240sx has and you are thinking buying springs/shocks from it for your car? Think front struts with spring rates/valving to suit the boat anchor of an engine and possibly softer rears due to the weight distribution.

And for brakes, don't mess around and get yourself some local s14/15/Z32/R32 four pots. They can be had for less than 500 bucks (alot less if you are prepared to look hard enough). Then you just redrill the disk to suit 4 stud and shorten the banjo bolt to fit them.

Plus by the time you ship the stuff back over here and pay duty and freight it'll cost you more than the purchase price by far.

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meh

thanks for the inputs guys, looks like i will have to be careful before handing over my money : )

BHDAve: Regards to the costs, my plan was to carry the stuff back over myself, (in pieces) because I will have trips 'back home' as work breaks. At the present exchg rate, a new SAFC costing 300US = 400aus, so I assumed its cheaper than 6-700 for a new one here..
But thanks for reminding me about the suspension. Forgot their KA is heavier : )

Any other parts worthwhile getting? Maybe generic stuff like boost controllers thats made locally there?

mokompri: I think the reason for the 3" catback for their n/a is because of their thinking that 'bigger is better'? (its an ebay item afterall). But it just so happens by coincidnece that for turbo equivalents 3in is perfect....

car audio from the states is good if your looking down that direction... cant think of much else - just other electronic stuff
buy a heap, bring it back and sell it to us for cheap

Electronics and stuff would be a good thing as they are not car specific and small enough to fit in your luggage, plus as you've mentioned there is a significant reduced cost for some items.

Plus due to the large american market you may be lucky enough to pick up english manuals for stuff we wouldn't normally get english manuals for.

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meh

What part of the states are you going to? I wish I could take a trip over to Australia. Maybe to get some 180 parts . Anyways, just a tip, but if you want quality, stay away from the Ebay manufacturers. I've always seen fitment problems, bad welds, etc. If you're coming over here for some true aftermarket, invest a tad more and get some quality stuff. You won't regret it in the long run.

Sorry to threadjack, but how easy is it to pick up a 180sx in decent shape? What are the going rates (in $ aus).

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quickshift: I'm heading over to Indianapolis...not the most exciting of places : ) hopefully there'll be tuner shops for me to do a bit of shopping..

i think a decent shape SR 180sx would go for around 15k aus.. ? I have a shabby 89 model which i got for about 7k

Hey anyone been to the states on qantas? I read on their site that u can bring 2 pieces of luggage with 32kg's *each*..if thats teh case, its HEAPS! rest of the world luggage is like 20kgs in total?

Yes, but dude, remember it's what's inside that counts - If you say you only have personal effects (ie: nothing you've paid money for whether it's new or second hand doesn't matter either) then they open your bags, you could be in deep shit for tax evasion / tax fraud.
The question would come up that if it's only personal effects, how come you take your exhaust / electronics / whatever on holidays with you, and why didn't you declare it when you entered the US...

It is easy enough to do, heaps of people get away with it - but heaps of people don't as well

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Roads are suggestions, Marge. Just like pants.
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