Silvia

The S13 Silvia

The S13 Silvia was introduced in May 1988, won the Car of the Year Japan award in its first year, and was built until 1993. Front-engined and rear-wheel drive, the Silvia has fixed headlights, unlike the pop-up-lamp 180SX hatchback that shares its platform. HICAS four-wheel steering was offered.

Which engine an S13 has depends on its year. Early cars have the 1.8-litre CA18: the CA18DE (135 PS) in the J's and Q's, and the CA18DET turbo (175 PS) in the K's. In January 1991 the 2.0-litre SR20DE (140 PS) and SR20DET (205 PS, with a Garrett T25G turbo) replaced them. A CA18 and an SR20 take different engine parts, so check which one a car has before ordering.

What S13 owners upgrade

S13 builds tend to start in the drivetrain. The J's had no LSD and the Q's offered one only as an option, so an LSD upgrade kit and a clutch kit sized for more power come early.

In the engine, camshafts and stroker kits go into SR20 builds, and fresh engine mounts and dampers take up the slack in a thirty-year-old engine bay. Straight pipes, dump pipes and full systems open up the exhaust, and intercooler kits and uprated radiator caps keep a boosted engine cool.

Inside, seat rails for bucket seats are a regular buy, with electronics to monitor and control the engine. Nismo, Tomei, HKS, GReddy, APEXi, Bride, ORC and OS Giken are among the makers S13 owners choose.

Genuine parts

An S13 is now well over thirty years old, and the parts that let it down are often small ones: trim clips and cable holders, the accelerator wire and throttle switch, harness protectors, seat belt buckles and tongues. Brake boosters, fuel tank brackets and air conditioning pipes come up too.

Many of these are still available as genuine Nissan OEM parts. Give the engine code with the chassis, as a CA18DET K's and an SR20DET K's differ under the bonnet.

Wheels

The S13 Silvia has four studs on a 114.3 mm PCD with M12 x 1.25 nuts, and left the factory on 14x5 +40 or 15x6 +40 wheels depending on grade. Larger sizes are listed under wheels that fit the S13.