I haven't actually got a blog of my car on the MSC, so thought I'd create one from information placed on my website over the past year or so!
So.. from the beginning (all the text is lifted off my website)
Performance
Custom made 4-1 exhaust manifold
Longlife custom made 3" rear silencer
K&N element air filter
Magnecor 85mm performance HT leads
NGK spark plugs
5 Speed short ratio gearbox
Alex Motorsports adjustable strut brace
Spax 35mm lowering springs
Boge shock absorbers
Spax bump stops
Oil breather filter
K11 march break callipers
Brembo vented brake disks
Apec brake pads
Fox Evo alloys in gunmetal
Toyo proxy CF-1 tyres (185/55/14)
Internal & Body
Super sport model seats
Super sport model dashboard & plastics
Super sport model rev counter dial cluster with custom surround
Super sport model body kit
Ultra bright red dial LED's
GSX model carpet
Debadged front grill
Twin foah spoilers
Colour coded mirrors & door handles
Mountney steering wheel & boss
Removed bump strips
Primera window winders
Custom false floor
Custom speaker baffles
Audio & Electrical
Pioneer DEH-9600 head unit
Pioneer CD-RB20 IP bus
Pioneer 6 disc CD changer
Two Pioneer 17cm 55w RMS front speakers
Two Pioneer 6x9" 80W RMS rear speakers
Kenwood 1100W RMS subwoofer amp
Two Phoenix Gold 250W RMS subs
Two Alpine MRP-T130 2x90W RMS amps
Windows XP Car Puter inc DVD Writer, 80GB HDD, 512MB Ram, 7" Touch screen
Tom-tom Navigator 5 PDA
Remote central locking
Alarm & anti hijack
Immobiliser
Ring driving lamps
Clear side repeaters
Osram silverstar headlight bulbs
My Nissan Micra is a 1992, MK1 Facelift, and when purchased, had 78000 miles on the clock. It's a basic L model which apart from the sunroof, has no luxuries at all. It featured a radio with a single speaker (not even a tape player) and a single speaker in the passenger footwell. It also featured a grey interior. At the time, it had some poor paintwork and was badly touched up. The car had also been in a front end crash so had a replaced black grille. I didn't have any modifying plans for it, but I knew the stereo had to go!
Shortly after the stereo was uprated for a Pioneer head unit, Alpine amp and set of 6x9's, I decided to make a few other alterations to it's appearance. I'd seen a few other cars over on the Micra Sports Club, and decided to tart it up a little. Body parts for the Micra are fairly hard to come across, so fitted a set of side skirts from a Sunny Zx. I also purchased a cheap set of Nissan 100 14" alloys to replace the standard 13" steelies. I also replaced the black grille for a standard red one.
I was never fully satisfied with the appearance of these skirts, and was fortunate enough one day to stumble across parts from the top spec model 'Super S', and obtained the Super S side skirts, arches, bumpers, sport seats, dials, carpet & interior plastics. I also managed to get a pair of top and bottom rear Foah spoilers from a private seller. The bodykit & spoilers were fitted & the bump strips removed, before it all went off for re-spraying.
The next thing to change was the uprating of the suspension & brakes. I was fortunate enough the car was already fitted with Boge shocks, so purchased some Spax -35mm lowering springs, and imported a strut brace from Japan. They certainly improved the handling & appearance of the car! I made things even stiffer by fitting Spax bump stops to the rear suspension. The brakes were brand new Brembo disks for a Nissan March K11 (Japanese Micra), with Apec pads. The callipers also came from a Nissan March. They're slightly larger than the standard calliper, and allows for discs such as these to be fitted. They also have a bigger piston.
The tyres were still a bit poor, especially in the wet, and under steered quite alot. I managed to get myself a set of second hand Fox Evo alloys, fitted with Toyo Proxies CF-1 tyres (185/55/14). This fixed the remaining handling problems and solved my understeer issue.
A couple of minor modifications came next, with the addition of a third LED brake light, fitted to the inside roof of the car. I also fitted & wired up the rev counter dials from the Super S, and fitted bright red LED's behind them instead of the standard green bulbs.
The next big change for the car was to uprate the stereo again. My Pioneer head unit I upgraded at the beginning, was having a few problems. I decided to buy a brand new Pioneer Deh-9600, along with a Kenwood Amp, two Phoenix Gold subs, a pair of Pioneer 17cm speakers for the front and another Alpine Amp to power them. I also purchased a fused distribution block, a shared earth block and a few high power wiring kits to connect it all up! A false floor was created in the boot for the subs & Kenwood amp to sit on. The subs were put into a custom made box, which is millimetre perfect for the boot. Custom baffles were created in the front, so the 17cm speakers could be mounted on the doors. The Alpine amps were moved behind the rear door cards.
The result was quite a powerful system with excellent sound, rewarded with trophies for best ICE at JAE 2006 and 2007! (Micra Sports Club / voted for by members). The car also received a 'Show & Shine' award back at JAE 2005.
Also for JAE 2007, I created a Carputer entertainment & sat nav system. The computer was custom made onto the passenger side foot well shelf. It runs off 12V system and boots up when the ignition is switched on, and operated off a wireless keyboard with integrated mouse, or a 8" touch screen mounted to the dash board. The system has a GPS unit for Sat Nav using Microsoft Autoroute, and a DVD player. The audio from the computer / DVD's is connected to the car stereo, using a pioneer IP Bus.
The final changes were related to the engine & exhaust system. I purchased a set of custom made Magnecor KVM 85mm HT leads, to improve reliability. The standard Halfords leads are not very reliable, especially in damp conditions. A K&N element air filter was also purchased, which sits inside the standard air pan. The gains are slightly better than the bolt on filter also available. The exhaust manifold, a very restrictive part, was replaced for a custom made 4-1 manifold, and the rear silencer was replaced for a custom made stainless steel system by Longlife. The engine changes gave an increase in BHP of about 21%.
A couple of final modifications were carried out before the 2.0 project work began. Gatwick Autoshades in Horsham did an excellent job tinting the windows all round, which definitely improved the cars appearance. I also acquired some split sidelights/indicators from a Datsun Micra, which were fitted to the front bumper.
The only major down point since owning the car from new, was a situation in April 2006, when a drunk driver drove into the side of my car on the south downs. The damage involved a smashed mirror, and damage along the side of the car, rear arch and alloy. The insurance company wrote it off, but gave the car back, so had the alloy reconditioned and the bodywork repaired. The drunk driver received a 2 year ban.
So.. from the beginning (all the text is lifted off my website)
Performance
Custom made 4-1 exhaust manifold
Longlife custom made 3" rear silencer
K&N element air filter
Magnecor 85mm performance HT leads
NGK spark plugs
5 Speed short ratio gearbox
Alex Motorsports adjustable strut brace
Spax 35mm lowering springs
Boge shock absorbers
Spax bump stops
Oil breather filter
K11 march break callipers
Brembo vented brake disks
Apec brake pads
Fox Evo alloys in gunmetal
Toyo proxy CF-1 tyres (185/55/14)
Internal & Body
Super sport model seats
Super sport model dashboard & plastics
Super sport model rev counter dial cluster with custom surround
Super sport model body kit
Ultra bright red dial LED's
GSX model carpet
Debadged front grill
Twin foah spoilers
Colour coded mirrors & door handles
Mountney steering wheel & boss
Removed bump strips
Primera window winders
Custom false floor
Custom speaker baffles
Audio & Electrical
Pioneer DEH-9600 head unit
Pioneer CD-RB20 IP bus
Pioneer 6 disc CD changer
Two Pioneer 17cm 55w RMS front speakers
Two Pioneer 6x9" 80W RMS rear speakers
Kenwood 1100W RMS subwoofer amp
Two Phoenix Gold 250W RMS subs
Two Alpine MRP-T130 2x90W RMS amps
Windows XP Car Puter inc DVD Writer, 80GB HDD, 512MB Ram, 7" Touch screen
Tom-tom Navigator 5 PDA
Remote central locking
Alarm & anti hijack
Immobiliser
Ring driving lamps
Clear side repeaters
Osram silverstar headlight bulbs
My Nissan Micra is a 1992, MK1 Facelift, and when purchased, had 78000 miles on the clock. It's a basic L model which apart from the sunroof, has no luxuries at all. It featured a radio with a single speaker (not even a tape player) and a single speaker in the passenger footwell. It also featured a grey interior. At the time, it had some poor paintwork and was badly touched up. The car had also been in a front end crash so had a replaced black grille. I didn't have any modifying plans for it, but I knew the stereo had to go!
Shortly after the stereo was uprated for a Pioneer head unit, Alpine amp and set of 6x9's, I decided to make a few other alterations to it's appearance. I'd seen a few other cars over on the Micra Sports Club, and decided to tart it up a little. Body parts for the Micra are fairly hard to come across, so fitted a set of side skirts from a Sunny Zx. I also purchased a cheap set of Nissan 100 14" alloys to replace the standard 13" steelies. I also replaced the black grille for a standard red one.
I was never fully satisfied with the appearance of these skirts, and was fortunate enough one day to stumble across parts from the top spec model 'Super S', and obtained the Super S side skirts, arches, bumpers, sport seats, dials, carpet & interior plastics. I also managed to get a pair of top and bottom rear Foah spoilers from a private seller. The bodykit & spoilers were fitted & the bump strips removed, before it all went off for re-spraying.
The next thing to change was the uprating of the suspension & brakes. I was fortunate enough the car was already fitted with Boge shocks, so purchased some Spax -35mm lowering springs, and imported a strut brace from Japan. They certainly improved the handling & appearance of the car! I made things even stiffer by fitting Spax bump stops to the rear suspension. The brakes were brand new Brembo disks for a Nissan March K11 (Japanese Micra), with Apec pads. The callipers also came from a Nissan March. They're slightly larger than the standard calliper, and allows for discs such as these to be fitted. They also have a bigger piston.
The tyres were still a bit poor, especially in the wet, and under steered quite alot. I managed to get myself a set of second hand Fox Evo alloys, fitted with Toyo Proxies CF-1 tyres (185/55/14). This fixed the remaining handling problems and solved my understeer issue.
A couple of minor modifications came next, with the addition of a third LED brake light, fitted to the inside roof of the car. I also fitted & wired up the rev counter dials from the Super S, and fitted bright red LED's behind them instead of the standard green bulbs.
The next big change for the car was to uprate the stereo again. My Pioneer head unit I upgraded at the beginning, was having a few problems. I decided to buy a brand new Pioneer Deh-9600, along with a Kenwood Amp, two Phoenix Gold subs, a pair of Pioneer 17cm speakers for the front and another Alpine Amp to power them. I also purchased a fused distribution block, a shared earth block and a few high power wiring kits to connect it all up! A false floor was created in the boot for the subs & Kenwood amp to sit on. The subs were put into a custom made box, which is millimetre perfect for the boot. Custom baffles were created in the front, so the 17cm speakers could be mounted on the doors. The Alpine amps were moved behind the rear door cards.
The result was quite a powerful system with excellent sound, rewarded with trophies for best ICE at JAE 2006 and 2007! (Micra Sports Club / voted for by members). The car also received a 'Show & Shine' award back at JAE 2005.
Also for JAE 2007, I created a Carputer entertainment & sat nav system. The computer was custom made onto the passenger side foot well shelf. It runs off 12V system and boots up when the ignition is switched on, and operated off a wireless keyboard with integrated mouse, or a 8" touch screen mounted to the dash board. The system has a GPS unit for Sat Nav using Microsoft Autoroute, and a DVD player. The audio from the computer / DVD's is connected to the car stereo, using a pioneer IP Bus.
The final changes were related to the engine & exhaust system. I purchased a set of custom made Magnecor KVM 85mm HT leads, to improve reliability. The standard Halfords leads are not very reliable, especially in damp conditions. A K&N element air filter was also purchased, which sits inside the standard air pan. The gains are slightly better than the bolt on filter also available. The exhaust manifold, a very restrictive part, was replaced for a custom made 4-1 manifold, and the rear silencer was replaced for a custom made stainless steel system by Longlife. The engine changes gave an increase in BHP of about 21%.
A couple of final modifications were carried out before the 2.0 project work began. Gatwick Autoshades in Horsham did an excellent job tinting the windows all round, which definitely improved the cars appearance. I also acquired some split sidelights/indicators from a Datsun Micra, which were fitted to the front bumper.
The only major down point since owning the car from new, was a situation in April 2006, when a drunk driver drove into the side of my car on the south downs. The damage involved a smashed mirror, and damage along the side of the car, rear arch and alloy. The insurance company wrote it off, but gave the car back, so had the alloy reconditioned and the bodywork repaired. The drunk driver received a 2 year ban.
