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Ok guys

heres the low down.

Im new to the Nissan group. previous cars have been a mini, and a suzuki GTi powered mini.

Im got my eye on a series 1 Stagea. Going through the processes now to make it mine.

Its black, stock, with a body kit and 18's chromies.

Saw it for first time on sat and now im hooked. I was wondering what people recommend, (when working to a budget), as the first round of mods, and what I should be looking at for prices???

Any help would be much appreciated.

Cheers

Heath

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black is not a standard colour for a series one it will definately have been resprayed from another colour. make sure you check the car for any accident damage and to make sure there is no rust and to ensure that they paint finish is good quality

also what state are you in?

does the car have any mods at all like exhaust or suspension?

you mentioned a budget how much are you looking to spend?

that really determines what mods are best. also determining whether you are just looking at power or if you want to improve the handling of the car.

let us know what you want to do and I am sure we can provide a few suggestions

cheers

Glenn

Umm if your jumping up from a mini, take some time to get used to the car first. You wont have a drama with speed, im sure youll handle that, but stageas are not the greatest at slowing down... or cornering at high speeds... so drive it for a bit and see where you think it needs improvemnt first, may be a good idea.

A good value for money mod may be a reverse camera or sensors... cos its gonna be somethin else, hey. and black paint shows up every little knock... haha

Welcome to the crue though, mate. There are plenty of posts about $/kW mods around here if you bust out a quick search.

there is a lot of good information on here about suspension and braking sydneykid one of the members is a guru and he has put together some great packages and there is a suspension group buy. I think sydneykid was also testing some new discs and pads for the stagea.

being a heavy car braking is certainly an area for improvement even with stock power levels.

as has been mentioned air intake and exhaust are also basic improvements you can make

there are lots of good threads on all of these topics just search for what you are interested in and you will more than likely find lots of information.

at the top of the page are a number of threads full of links on most topics about the stagea and if you cant find anything just ask.

cheers

Umm if your jumping up from a mini.....stageas are not the greatest at slowing down.

Qiky - have you owned a mini before? Mini's invented the term 'not great at slowing down'. :D

A mini's only saving grace was that it didnt need brakes - all you do is turn harder into the corner.

Heath - like me you'll never go back. And I have owned 7 of them. Mini's are a ball of fun, they shouldnt be taken seriously as a car and should be thrashed around like the go karts they are :(

Actually after owning the Stagea for a while I think the second saving grace of the mini is that they are 'cheap' to thrash around. It is good to see you did the only sensible thing that the mini was always missing - added a turbo - oh, I am assuming the GTI was a turbo.

Edited by 3intheBack

Ok guys yeah probly should have listed a few things

back_edited.jpg

ok thats the car. its from a dealer here in WA. its done 74000kms. 1996 model (not that i would need to tell you guys).

everything is standard except, bodykit, the rims and head unit.

you mentioned black was not a standard colour??? ive been through the car top to bottom, no dents, pings, or signs of an accident.

umm you can see in the picture just near the RS Four Badge, there used to be another badge saying "DAYZ".

I have a few mates around in car businesses, so first thing done will likely be suspension, lower it a couple of inches. then likely induction and exhaust. although sounds like brakes should be first lol. budget im hoping to have around 500 to 1000 bucks a month depending on bills.

saving grace of the mini is that they are 'cheap' to thrash around

he he I wish mate. lol. could have almost bought a Autech 260RS for the money I have spent on my two minis. lol. the GTi mini especially. I know the handling will be a difficult change to get used to. 90 degree corners at 60/70km + is good fun. brakes on the mini are updated to, can get the rear wheels off the ground when braking hard.

cheers guys

now comes time to search and find lol.

thanks for the replys

Heath

Nice Kit!

I have that car's sister, someone in Japan is sticking that kit on, panting them black and adding a set of 18's to help sell them and get a better price I would guess... Black is not the original colour for an S1, check the spare wheel well, that won't be painted.

gallery_8679_1105_56589.jpg

gallery_8679_1105_46574.jpg

I don't have the wing though...

Cheers

Luke

Edited by munchdesign

wow that is really similar. ill have to have a look in the spare wheel well and see.

my front kit lights are a little different.

Front.jpg

yeah I like the black look. really suits them well. I want to get some bigger rims though lol.

Edited by SLO-N-STEDY

clear indicators. check. (**gets pen to start writing shopping list**)

can corner that fast in the wagon??? :( could be exciting. lol. i do stay in my lane though lol. do stageas get alot of body roll at standard height?? I couldnt really hammer any corners when going for the test drive lol.

Yeah took me a while to get used to the 4wd, first "spirited" corner I took, I was expecting the back to step out, like the mildly modded r33 I went from, instead I nearly ran up the gutter :P

But now that I am used to it, the 4wd system really comes into it's own when you take sharp corners relatively quickly, mine seems to just go round them like it is on rails, quick pop down to 2nd, accellerate through the corner and straight into 3rd :P And if it ever feels like it is about to step out, it just doesnt quiet get to that point and straightens up ;)

But mine is fairly low, I have ~25mm ground clearance at the lowest point :( thanks to a set of adjustable gabwagon coil-overs, and they are set to 3 for ride, (1 being the hardest 8 being the softest) But I still onyl have the stock sway barks and dont have much body roll at all.

And $1000 a MONTH JUST FOR MODS!?!?!?!?! Why didnt you buy a 260RS?!!?!?

Welcome to your new AdDiCtIoN!

Basic first mods are intake and exhaust, then it all depends on what power you are going for with your budjet.

Black is definatly a bloody nice look on a Stagea!

^^^^What he said.

Yeah took me a while to get used to the 4wd, first "spirited" corner I took, I was expecting the back to step out, like the mildly modded r33 I went from, instead I nearly ran up the gutter :P

But now that I am used to it, the 4wd system really comes into it's own when you take sharp corners relatively quickly, mine seems to just go round them like it is on rails, quick pop down to 2nd, accellerate through the corner and straight into 3rd :P And if it ever feels like it is about to step out, it just doesnt quiet get to that point and straightens up ;)

But mine is fairly low, I have ~25mm ground clearance at the lowest point :( thanks to a set of adjustable gabwagon coil-overs, and they are set to 3 for ride, (1 being the hardest 8 being the softest) But I still onyl have the stock sway barks and dont have much body roll at all.

And $1000 a MONTH JUST FOR MODS!?!?!?!?! Why didnt you buy a 260RS?!!?!?

bet that would have been exciting lol.

are you in a manual or auto??? ive only been in a couple of AWD cars. one was the stagea lol. and the other was a friends rex. its rather stupid though cause his car if you hammer it through corners just four wheel drifts. spins the tyres through first and second gear. lol.

umm 25mm off the deck. that ahhh rather low. we gotta have minimum 10cm of clearance to any point.

yeah thats a maximum amount, most months ill get bills and other bits and pieces in, but if everything goes well, and I dont drink to much on weekends i can put away almost $1k a month. well a 260RS from what I have seen average about $40k+ and I dont want to be in that much debt, as I'm hoping to buy some property soon.

wow that is really similar. ill have to have a look in the spare wheel well and see.

my front kit lights are a little different.

Front.jpg

yeah I like the black look. really suits them well. I want to get some bigger rims though lol.

Haha yep, I have the exact driving lights in there now. Major point with that Stagea, it has no front facing indicators! That is why mine had the standard blinkers jammed in the front at compliance. Test them on that, not roadworthy at all without them...

Tip, my factory foglights now flash as indicators now, had too make up custom 20W halogen globes though as 5W side repeaters are way too dull and flashing 55W of foglight was a little too much to ask of the system...

Cheers

Luke

Haha yep, I have the exact driving lights in there now. Major point with that Stagea, it has no front facing indicators! That is why mine had the standard blinkers jammed in the front at compliance. Test them on that, not roadworthy at all without them...

Tip, my factory foglights now flash as indicators now, had too make up custom 20W halogen globes though as 5W side repeaters are way too dull and flashing 55W of foglight was a little too much to ask of the system...

Cheers

Luke

i didnt check the front indicators. i just figured the lights on the side of the head lights were the indicators lol. the car is already licenced so no trouble there.

Fair enough on buying a property and not wanting debt.

And 4wd spinn through corners, hmmmmm I dont have that much power!

And here in qld it is 100mm min clearance so if the police do pull me over I am so screwed, but funnily enough I have only been pulled over once, the officer asked me what make and model it was and sent me on my way! Even had my "WAKE THE FREAKIN DEAD BOV" vent right beside a policeman and all he did was look over and smile and continued on his merry way.

I guess also police attitudes could be different out here in the sticks, rather than in the city, but still, there have been multiple times where I could have been hassled by them but never have been. I mean the car is so low that you can tell it is illegal, just be looking at it, but still, I guess I have been lucky :(

Haha at one stage I was seriously looking at that yellow one... I went back and went over it a few times but just coulnd not justify the price for it... ended up just importing my own... but granted they have some nice cars in the yard... just make sure if you do buy it you get it at a reasonable price :(

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