180 tune-up report

Twelve months after I bought it, my ‘mint’ 180 still hadn’t managed to light my fire. Oh, it had been reliable and comfortable, taking me around the country and over the Channel with the relaxing demeanour of the pocket Grand Tourer it is. However the steering, even with steel column bush, had never inspired confidence, never given me the feel of the car moving as one with the driver in the way my old Silvia used to. Mazda talk about ‘jinba ittai’, or ‘horse and rider as one’ in their advertising, which I think is a great thing for any drivers’ car to aim for.

As originally delievered, my 180 felt rather more akin to elephant ‘riding’, where the elephant goes for a walk around the forest as it pleases, and tolerates you sitting on top of it. Surely something could be done about this…

On top of the poor steering response, the engine had developed a huge flat-spot just around where it came on boost, which is of course just where you want consistent response; a suspected boost leak. As my Silvia had been fine in basically standard trim, I hadn’t expected to feel the need to modify the 180; but that’s probably just the luck of the draw when buying used cars without the chance to test drive them. Rather than trying to patch up the existing stock WMIC, I thought I might as well get a front-mount; while the exhaust was off for undersealing, it may as well be replaced with a less restrictive one; and as this would edge the boost up, I might as well play safe and do the job properly, by getting a Horsham stage 1 chip, hopefully assuring an optimal air/fuel ratio. In for a penny, in for a thousand pounds, doesn’t the saying go ? I decided I’d rather spend the money and know the car was at it’s best, rather than pinch pennies and be unable to enjoy something I’d already invested a lot into.

Applying the same principle to the chassis, I ordered uprated steering rack bushes and tension rods to locate the front wheels precisely, and poly locking collars for the rear subframe. My biggest uncertainty was what to do about springs and dampers; the stock system is rather soft, and the arch gaps ridiculous; I’m sure Nissan’s designers never intended to specify six inches of air above the front tyres, but were forced to raise the suspension at the last minute for some tediously practical reason or other. My biggest concern was to have good quality dampers that were well matched to springs; I ended up going for Driftworks CS1 coilovers, with the ’soft’ spring option of 6 and 4 kg/mm rates front and rear.

So, with the parts all fitted and suspension laser-aligned by Wheels in Motion, how’s the car? Well, it’s definitely different, and better overall, although some mods were more successful than others. The Apexi intake is rather loud on acceleration, with a very noticeable ‘pidgeon’ chatter on lift-off. The exhaust, a combination of Apex front pipe and Mongoose backbox joined together with some bits of old Skyline pipe in between, is really good; a subtle burble around town, quiet at a cruise, with a nice voice when really hauling. I had originally considered the Apex three-inch straight through, but just looking at it made my ears bleed.

Unfortunately I couldn’t stretch to a new clutch, so have had to keep the boost close to standard, but the engine still pulls really well, with consistent torquey midrange and a good linear zip all the way round to the redline. Actually it’s more like good linear zip until I see the speed I’m doing and bottle out, so far ! I’m not used to seeing 120mph+ on brief straights, and the (standard, for now) brakes are less than fulsome in their reassurance.

The steering is definitely much better now, with good load-weighting after the alignment. However, the ride quality is a real issue; you feel every little imperfection in the road surface. Even ignoring comfort, nearly all the best roads in this country begin with the letter B, but many of them aren’t as smooth as one might hope. I want to be able to ‘carve’ a consistent line through a bend, but I’m finding it hard when being bounced around all the while.

So, have I come to love my 180 ? Well, I’m definitely warming to it. I’ve started making dawn excersions on Sunday mornings just to get out of Croydon and out onto some country roads, which is a good sign. I think I still need more wheel time before I decide if I can cope with the coilovers, though.

Current spec is:

Engine:

• Apexi intake
• Driftworks FMIC
• Apex downpipe, R33 midsection & Mongoose backbox
• Horsham Developments Stage 1a map
• HKS turbo actuator
• Colder spark plugs
• Walbro fuel pump

Chassis:

• Driftworks CS1 coilovers with ’soft’ 6/4 springs
• Driftworks four-arm kit
• Nismo steering rack mounts
• Steel steering column bush
• Whiteline ‘pineapple’ polyurethane rear subframe locking collars

Future plans are in two parts. First, finish the mechanical side off with a new clutch allowing me to run up to 17psi peak on the T25G, and some form of uprated brakes to keep it in check. Then the ‘dress-up’; wide wheels in 16″ or 17″, different tail light treatment, and a nice steering wheel like my old Silvia had.