It’s rear wheel drive, it’s Japanese, it developed just over 200hp from its little 4 banger. You know exactly what 90s car I’m talking about!
Or not… I’ve just described almost every JDM car from the 90s that there is.
Fair point. It’s the Nissan Silvia S14 K’s ‘Kouki’, but more specifically Kurn’s S14. This particular S14 is no stranger to Kurn or the car scene of our island as it has switched hands almost as much as the illegal substance that its colour would remind you of. But through out the years it’s remained pretty much the same, with the main differences being a few wheel changes and a wing that likes to play hide and seek ever so often.
In its current form it fits right in with what an S14 is these days. It’s (mostly) moved past the time attack and drift missile phase, and has entered a much cleaner, street friendly phase. With its clean white paint job, lack of aftermarket aero and captivating green wheels, Kurn’s S14 manages to be understated yet eye catching at the same time. Now of course this being a daily driven road car, it has defects, like any real-world car will. But rather than taint the vehicle it adds to its character. This is what an S14 actually looks like when driven daily on a normal man’s budget, not some show car that gets buffed everytime someone stares at it too long. “You’ve got the light photons from your eyes all over my paint job… now I’ve got to redo it! AGAIN!”
But enough about the looks, right? It’s an S14 Silvia. You wanna know about the LS swap under the hood! No LS? Oh okay… well the 2J- huh? No swap at all? This is strange…
So its got an SR20DET in it still. That’s nothing new since most Silvias locally still do carry their SR engines. In fact, this particular S14 has one from an S13 which means it throws the VCT system out the door and it gets a red valve cover, and everyone knows red is the fastest colour. What’s strange is why is it idling so smoothly? Why’s the turbo so small? Where are the shiny manifolds? Is this SR20… stock?
Yup that’s right folks. Aside from a front mounted intercooler and an aftermarket exhaust system, you’re looking at what is basically a bone stock SR20DET in an S14 Silvia, in 2018. Hell just froze over. This is how you daily drive an old sports car, by leaving the running gear alone. With the swing of a key the engine comes to life with no drama, greeting you with a smooth and low idle that you’re only aware of due to the free exhaust flow. The power may not be impressive but the power band is broad, with the turbo coming on song nice and low in the RPMs, making it ideal for the usual lower speeds you can achieve out on the public roads. The maximum being the speed limit, of course…
But fear not, even though this car more than likely makes just shy of 200hp that doesn’t mean this isn’t a car that can plaster a smile on your face. Power has never been the goal of the S chassis cars, so even when stock they keep a driver well entertained. With it’s nimble chassis, tight steering and excellent engine response the S14 makes for a hoot to drive through twisty roads. This experience is enhanced in this example via a set of coilovers and a 2 way differential, which both come together to make it a very edgy experience. Fun when you know what you’re doing, scary when you don’t.
Kurn’s S14 does exactly what it was meant to do, be a fun daily driver to a man who can’t fathom driving anything normal. While the coilovers and differential may be a bit of a deal breaker to some, given the harsh ride and probability of rotation, to the owner of this car those are just two things that he accepts as perfectly fine on a day to day basis.
For anyone who wondered what the K means in the car’s official name, re-read the article’s title.
Q&A
So obvious question first of all. Another Nissan?
Yes, another Nissan.
So is it a case of that just happened to be another car you liked, or did you actually go looking for another Nissan?
Well I always said if I had the opportunity to buy more sports cars, they would continue to be Nissans. So when the opportunity came to buy another one it was just a coincidence that this was up for sale and so I bought it.
So you weren’t looking for an S14 or any other car?
Yeah I was literally not looking to buy another car, I was literally about to undertake some stuff on the Skyline and the next thing you know; “Hey Kurn I think I might be selling the car you know.” “Really? How much?” And then next thing you know I have another car.
So, what are your plans considering this car? I mean obviously we know most people turn them into Drift Missiles. So what are your intentions?
The thing with that is I bought it because I figured I can’t buy a normal car to drive everyday so I bought it to have a fast daily driver. But the itch always comes to modify it because it’s that easy to modify and you get tired of speed. So by the time I drive it, and I figure it’s slow and I’ll want to upgrade it. But I’m tryin to resist modifying this one as well.
Why is it that you think you can’t have a normal daily driver?
I’ve tried. I like power on demand, when I want it and when I need it. Verses having to wait for the opportune time and build momentum. With this I don’t have that problem.
Your most recent cars have all been Nissans. Do you see yourself breaking that trend?
More of the same. Because I look at it as, Nissan has had so many sports cars to offer and at this rate personally I would still like to own a 300ZX just to say I had one, I still want a 4 door R32 and I also want a Pulsar GTi-R so I’m going to stick to Nissan for a while. Unless something tragic happens and I have an epiphany and suddenly say JZ is the way and buy a Supra, which will not happen.
What is it that brought about your passion to these cars?
Well the R32 GTR was always my dream car, so that would always be the catalyst to me going down that route. It just so happens that when I sold my Pulsar, the S13 was up for sale and I jumped on that opportunity where I got addicted to that RWD thing and realised I could not go back to a FWD car again. So looking at local offerings, it’s fortunate that I like Nissans because they were in a price range I could reach.
What’s your experience owning this car so far? Using it in the real world.
To be honest because I’m used to this type of car, certain things don’t bother me. But realistically the car is loud and it’s stiff, but apart from that it drives smoothly. We have to remember it’s an old vehicle so it has wear and tear, some rattles on the inside and so on. It has all the creature comforts, AC, stereo and so for me it’s comfortable enough to daily drive. Clutch is easy, shift and steering are fine. For a late 90s Japanese sports car, I can’t complain.
How would you compare this to your Skyline?
For me it depends on what I like. This car is lighter than the Skyline, so by the time you steer one way it whips back easily, the back is a lot lighter so it’s more loose. So to be honest the Silvia is more fun to drive, and I’d even say more scary to drive because of that fact and the 2-Way Diff, whereas the Skyline is more predictable.
So as it stands, Silvia is daily driver, Skyline is race car?
Still no, Skyline will not be race car. Because my thinking is it’s my dream car, so I don’t want to shelve it. Not because it’s my dream car means I want to just part it and watch it all day. I want to experience my dream car as much as possible. So the idea of gutting it out and dedicating it to track where we might not even have that many events… I would still like to drive it when I feel like driving it. Everything works, I can go out with it, do everything I want, just that it’s faster than the Silvia.
So you’re a car guy, obviously. Why?
Gran Turismo, it started there. I wasn’t even into cars while playing Gran Turismo, but one day while coming home from school Shaft’s RX7 passed me and I was like, oh cool these cars are real. So then I started paying attention to cars that were in the game, which were also in Saint Lucia. Before you knew it when the “Caca Beff” was as we knew it, with the building in the middle, I used to go down every chance we got to watch racing and from there on I was hooked.
I have to ask. What’s with you and the wheels?
My way of thinking, even though I have two now, is you like to see different styles. So I might for instance like to see TE37s on an R32; great! But I may also like to see Advans on it, or Work Emotions. Now I can’t buy multiple of the same car just to say I like to see that, so instead I could just buy the rim, put it on, I like the look, and when I feel the need for a new look, change the wheels. I know what I like to see, so you find I go through sets and pairs of rims. I probably have a lot in my possession. And to be honest I’m still not done yet, I still have 2 pairs and a full set to order, for now.
Being a daily driver will the S14 see track duty?
Yes, I am bored of drag racing. I don’t see myself going to events with the Silvia to take part in drags. Primarily being because previously the car had a boost controller, ran 14.6, but it no longer has the boost controller so obviously it’s slower. I do not need to time it to know how slow it is. So the Silvia will see autocross duty. The car is very nimble, so I believe I’ll take part in more autocross with it than the Skyline actually.
So when the Skyline comes out – the faster car – you’re not going to bench this from track duty?
No, when both are up I’ll even be more confident to track both of them harder so in the event that one breaks I can jump into the other. I want double duties from both cars, just in different disciplines. So whereas the Skyline will be predominantly for drags, I’ll still use it for autocross and drive it on a daily. This will likely see autocross, it won’t see a drag strip unless somebody has something really similar to it and we’re both just trying to benchmark to see which one is faster at that time.
What about drift events?
Well with that, Mr. Maxwell and I are friends and we have a little clique thing going on and he is pushing us to learn to properly drift so that when these events come around we can dominate and overall have fun with the cars. So as it stands I will not competitively take part with it, I’d like to do some more stuff on it for efficiency but apart from that it’s almost ready to go for a full on drift session.
