S15

Nissan Silvia, S15

SR20DET, 2.0 turbo, rear-wheel drive

The last Silvia, and the one Americans have waited longest for. Production ran January 1999 to August 2002, so the run is clearing the 25-year rule month by month right now.

That makes the build month on the sheet the first thing to read. The difference between a car you can ship this month and one you must store in Japan for a year is a single line of Japanese.

01What to read first on a S15 sheet

Spec R against Spec S

Spec R is the turbo car with the six-speed. Spec S is naturally aspirated. The sheet says which, and the price difference is large enough that mistakes happen deliberately.

Accident history on a drift car

An R or RA grade on an S15 is normal rather than disqualifying, but read the diagram for where the repair was. Front is usually honest. Rear quarter is worth photographs.

Aftermarket everything

Coilovers, arms, a different turbo and a cut rear valance are all common. The sheet notes the visible ones, and the ones it does not note are why you ask for undercarriage photographs.

Every mark named above is defined in the codes library, with what it costs to put right at US rates.

02Also worth reading

Night Line

Be told when a S15 matters

We write when the S15 clears another month of the 25-year rule, when the yen moves more than 3% your way, and once when the free Decode opens. Nothing else.

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