SR20 is out, QR25 is in. (long)

[Wes Thompson]

The subject says it all.  I put almost 100 thousand miles on my beloved red 98
SE-R.  It was the best damn car that I have ever owned.  100K of driving across
the mean streets of Dallas, going on the track for the Y2K convention, hitting
the red line every day, and never even so much as a check engine light.  The
clutch chattered since 21k and had been glazed to the point of slipping 3 times
but has always come back.  It went to the shop once for the AC recall and
that's it.  I had to fix the intermittent horn TSB, and a few little cosmetic
things but other than that it just needed maintenance.  Some problems had come
up recently that needed to be addressed and I am not really in a good position
for many reasons to deal with them right now so I had to take the easy way out
and trade her in.  Being a 98 and supposedly the slowest and heaviest SE-R in
the bunch many have said that this car is not worth of the SE-R badge.  I never
noticed it.  I cannot count how many times the power and handling of this car
saved my ass.  I loved it when someone rode in it for the first time and I
looked over and see the look of total surprise when I ran up through the gears.
 Then they got out and got a better look and asked me "what is this again?".
Priceless.  I will truely miss this car.

Sitting in my driveway now is a new silver 2002 Spec V.  Since I don't make
enough money to afford the new Z, this was my only logical choice to replace my
trusty 98.  It is a very different car, but at least it has the familiarity of
being a Nissan.  The controls are mostly in the same places.  The guages are in
the same places.  It has that intoxicating new car smell.  The seats may not be
the color that everyone would like, but they are very comfortable, supportive,
and much better than the 98.  Also, the new dash and console give you more room
especially for your legs so the comfort is much better.  I could never get a
comfortable ideal driving position in my 98.  Not so for the 02.  It is layed
out much better for me and it has a very comfortable driving position.  It is
also much harder to drive.  I have only had it for a couple of days so it will
take some getting used to.  The steering is extremely tight almost to the point
of making the car twitchy.  And you had better hang on to the wheel with a good
grip when you hit the gas, because it will pull you around with the torqe steer
and the LSD.  The shifter, one of the biggest points on contention for most, is
also hard to get used to.  I am finding if you use a very gentle hand it works
very well, but it does have a bit of a rubbery feel to it and it is hard to
find the gear you want sometimes.  Once I have more time with it I am sure it
will be fine.  I love the selection of gears it has.  One thing I would like to
add right now is because of the gears this is not the greatest quarter mile
car.  It does ok, but as you can see in the ETs in the mags and such it doesn't
really shine in the quarter.  This is more the overall package and is a
marvelous touring car.  The selection of gears adds to this when you are on the
freeway which is where I spend most of my time.  Just like my 98, I only go up
to 4th gear in town.  On the highway you can use 4th, 5th, or 6th depending on
what you are wanting to do.  The power on tap is decent if you are in 6th and
you want to increase speed.  If you need to get up there quicker, 5th is a good
"power" gear and you will get to whatever speed you need quickly.  If you are
merging, going for a hole shot, trying to pass, then 4th gear will get you
there with max power.  If you aren't careful, you will be right on someone's
ass in short order using the power in this gear.  This brings me to the engine.
 The increase in torque is very evident.  Any time you nail the go pedal there
is this big "rush" of torque and the engine pulls very quickly to the red line.
 The power is smooth and strong.  First gear is too short and takes no time to
go through.  You can start out in second and still have pretty good take-off.
But, since you can't hit 60 in second, or go over 80 in third, I can see why
the numbers in the mags are not so good.  But, with the fat band of power and
bike-like selection of gears this is a phenomonal road car. The handling is
excellent.  It is very well balanced and has much less understeer than the 98.
The ride is fairly smooth but is does feel the bumps quite a bit.  The back of
the car is a little jumpy at times because it is so much stiffer.  You can take
corners as hard as your nerves will let you and I am sure that would even
improve with better tires.  Once again Nissan has a winner in the "bang for the
buck" category with this SE-R. It is much different from the SE-R of old, but
it is still very worthy of the name.

Of course, I will continue to be a member of this list.  I have read almost
every single email since the day I bought my 98 back in October of 98.  Before
this list I didn't even change my own oil.  Thanks to the help from everyone
here, I have been able to tackle the few issues I have had with total
confidence.  It sure helps when you know that there are so many good people out
there willing to help you get through any problem.  Thank you all so much for
making the last 4 years of SE-R ownership so great, and I am looking forward to
being around for the next 100 thousand smiles.

Wes Thompson
02 Spec V