Boxcar vs. Jellybean - Nissan Sentra SE-R

Approaching Magic Mountain, it takes just a quick jab of the brakes as the speedo touches 100 to make the front end bite. The line over Magic Mountain is dictated by the crest of the hill that unweights the tires just before the apex. To keep from sliding wide into the well-worn dirt, you have to start wide, turn in late and square off the corner a bit, doing most of the turning before the crest of the hill. The best line comes from hitting the curb at the apex and bouncing the inside tires clean off the ground, using the grip of the outside tires and the crest of the hill to keep the inside wheels in the air as they sail over dirt and weeds. Do it right and you can drive the inside tires all the way to the apex curb and never let the outside tires touch dirt. This straightens the exit enough that you can be on the gas almost from turn-in, maximizing speed down the next straight and, more importantly, making you feel like a hero.

Trying to scrub 50mph at the end of the short straight is terrifying. Sadly, the brakes we just installed aren't working as hoped. Initial bite is great, but the harder you push, the more things get numb and spongey. There's a moment of terror, as you wonder if the car will actually slow down, then surprise rotation as you realize the rear brakes have been locked for the last 100 feet and you're turning your new R-compounds square. Blame the pads for this one. We tried running our favorite Ferodo DS2500s, but they were worn into the shape of our curvy old rotors, and didn't bite properly on the nice, new, flat rotors. That forced a night-before switch to the dodgy Hawk HPS pads that came with the Wilwood calipers. These simply don't generate enough friction at high temperatures, forcing you to stand on the brake pedal, thereby flexing the calipers and making it feel all squishy (see Project SE-R Sentra, p96).

The real bummer is that this makes it hard to judge corner entry speed, screwing up the line through the long, decreasing-radius sweeper and up through the esses to the fastest point on the track. Not that it matters. Just before the start-finish line, that soul-stirring wail goes all blatty as the 2.0-liter four becomes a 1.5-liter three-banger. What a pathetic way to end the Project SE-R dynasty.

As the car settles in to its lumpy idle, I open the hood, hoping to find at least a big hole I can brag about. Instead there's a perfectly rhythmic ticking noise and a blue spark shooting from the distributor to the number three plug wire that's dangling over the transmission.

Plugging the wire back into the distributor, there's no more pinging and plenty more wailing. This car will run forever. Or at least four more laps. Then the temperature gauge starts heading for the red again.

Next up is the S-Tune, which immediately proves lawyers can't build driver's cars. The screaming yellow jellybean laps the track like a rental car. It's all understeer and rev limiter. I don't want to talk about it.

One lap in the R-Tune car and I'm worried. The cammed QR25 plays its cold-air intake like a trumpet, bellowing a deep, foghorn wail that makes it sound every bit the big thumper it is. Acceleration is strong, immediate, and everywhere, interrupted far too often by a too-low rev limiter. It's the handling that really concerns me. The R-Tune feels surprisingly neutral and tossable. The steering is slowish, but it actually communicates. And the factory Brembos have a rock-hard feel that's easy to modulate. I can take Magic Mountain with the same off-road attack as the B13, but braking and judging entry speed into the sweeper is far easier. Other than a recalcitrant shifter and the aforementioned rev limiter, this car flows better than the others.

Our GPS lap timer won't stick to the windshield, so we have to belt the display into the passenger's seat. That means lapping with no feedback, not knowing which car is fastest until the data is downloaded. Rolling into the pits, I'm convinced I just kicked my own ass, turning in a faster set of laps with the R-Tune than I did with my own car. I mope around in the pits for five minutes before Jay Chen pulls his head out of his computer and declares Project SE-R the winner-by half a second.

So there it is, Project B13 SE-R out-laps Nissan's own Project B15 SE-R by a hair. A hair that's thanks in large part to our R-compound Nittos versus their G-Force KD street tires. An R-Tune owner wouldn't exactly go home crying after this defeat, though, especially when, a week later, we realize the high-temperature flogging has popped the B13's 15-year old head gasket. The R-Tune car went home happy, healthy, and without square tires

In defence of the old boxcar, an R-Tune Spec V will set you back serious cash for the mods (if you can still buy them), on top of $17 large for a nearly-new car. The better-looking B13 can be had for... well, who knows? Go check eBay and find out. This project is over, it's time to clear the garage for something new.

Project B13 Sentra SE-R
Engine
Engine Code: SR20DE
Type: 1998cc, in-line four, aluminum block and head
Internal Modifications: Jim Wolf Technology C2 cams, valve springs, and titanium retainers
External Modifications: Ghettofabbed junkpile intake, Hot Shot header, 2.5-in. exhaust with Magnaflow mufflers and high-flow cat,Unorthodox underdrive pulley
Engine Management Modifications: JWT-programmed ECU

Drivetrain
Layout: Transverse front engine, front-wheel drive
Drivetrain Modifications: Centerforce clutch

Suspension
Front: Progress coilovers with 300 lb/in springs, Ground Control top-mount camber plates, Progress adjustable anti-roll bar, custom made triangulated strut tower brace, Progress lower control arm brace
Rear: Progress coilovers with 200 lb/in springs, Progress adjustable anti-roll bar, sheet steel rear pass-through brace

Brakes
Front: Fastbrakes kit with fixed four-piston Wilwood calipers and 11-in. VW Corrado rotors, braided steel brake lines
Rear: Re-drilled 2002 Nissan Sentra rotors with 1995 Nissan Maxima calipers
Master Cylinder: 0.94-in. B15 Sentra master cylinder

External
Wheels: 15x7 (+35mm offset) Motegi Trak Lite
Tires: 205/50R15 Nitto NT-01
Body: Nissan Sunny front and rear bumpers, Nissan Tsuru headlights, Nissan Sunny grille
Interior: R32 Skyline steering wheel