Stats at a glance:

Status: Inactive/scrapped
Cause: Rear ended in January 2009 (Crash Gallery)

Vehicle: 1989 Nissan Sentra DLX
Chassis: GB12 4 Door
Engine: GA16i - 1.6L Inline 4 SOHC 12 Valve Throttle Body Injected Gasoline Motor
Transmission: RL3F01A - 3 Speed Automatic (I know, I know...)
Colour: Light Gold Metallic
Mileage: 197,887 KM

Mods:
Chasis:
*KYB AGX Adjustable Gas Shocks (B13 model)
*Suspension Techniques Lowering Springs (1.6")
*KVR Performance cross drilled brake rotors
*Metal Masters semi-metallic brake pads

Engine:
*Custom K&N intake setup
*NGK Low Impedance Plugs and Wires
*Custom engine breathing setup

Cosmetic
*Blue Interior illumination
*Sport Coupe Cluster Swap w/ Tach
*Intense "Chrome" wheel covers

Mods(previous):
*15X7 5 Spoke Alloy Wheels
*Kuhmo Ecstca Supra 712 Tires
*Warm Air Intake

This page is dedicated to my 1989 Nissan Sentra. It was my daily driver and served me well for many years. The car was heavily damaged after being rear ended by a SUV in January 2010.  Repairs were attempted however the crash damaged the unibody and pinched many wires around the chassis.  Ultimately the problems could not be corrected and the vehicle was donated to the Retire Your Ride program in the summer of 2009.  It has likely since been recycled.  This is the final update to this page, which will continue to exist as a resource to the dwindling owner base of these vehicles.

Most of the modications to this car were entirely custom. Initially I was focusing more on the fun aspects (interior lights, sound system, etc) as opposed to the drivetrain and suspension modifications. However, as parts wore out and failed, I have been replacing them with performance parts.

Modifications and pictures:

Interior lights was the first project in the summer of 2005 and it turned out pretty well. The lighting is supplied by LED lamps that were custom wired and installed into the vehicle. The result is a clean blue glow at night.  This is easily replicatable, see the link at the bottom of the page for more information. 

The next project was a dash cluster swap. The stock cluster lacked a tachometer and wasnt very exciting. A cluster from the 1989 Sentra Sport Coupe mades for a perfect replacement:

The tach in Action:

For anyone considering this, it ended up being a somewhat difficult and frustrating swap.  Ultimately the tachometer ended up being extremely finicky and working only some of the time. 

Previously the car had 15X7 rims with nice wide sticky tires. Unfortunately the wheels had clearance issues, and were causing bearing sepearation so I sold them off. The car ended its life riding on BF Goodrich 175/70R13 tires.

In this short the clearance issues are apparent. Look at the position of the back fender relative to the the tire. Large bumps would case rubbing and on the passenger side damage to the tire. Before you sign my guestbook telling me how to size rims, keep in mind that I got them second hand of off a friend for virtually nothing. I didnt mind that the offset was a little off and that they were about 0.5" too wide.

The wheels totally changed the handling of the car, and significantly reduced the intense understeer I had previously encountered:

The suspension replacement was the biggest and most expensive modification to date. I wanted to avoid the body roll, and sloppy driving feel of the worn stock suspension and replace it with something more sporty. After a nightmare tracking down parts, the solution became apparent. I finally purchased a set of KYB AGX struts for a B13 (1991-1994) Sentra. These fit the B12 relatively well with few modifications. However, anyone doing the swap MUST deal with the brake line brackets on these struts. I wrote an article on doing the suspension swap, check the link at the bottom of the page.

The also purchased a set of Suspension Techniques Sport lowering springs. They drop the car 1.6" at all corners and feature a progressive spring design to maintain civility on the street. I am extremely pleased with the setup.

In the spring of 2007 I was going to complete the suspension setup with a pair of KN13SE sway bars that are were sitting in my basement. I also plan to purchase a set of rims to complement the setup. For now they are most likely going to be 13" American Racing Estrella's, however in the future I would like to purchase a set of 15" Motegi MR7's.

Closing notes:
If you want to put a B13 suspension on your B12, read my article which explains how to do it properly:
Suspension Article

If you liked the LED interior lights, I posted the complete write up online, check it out here:
My Website

For more pictures of the car, and also some of my random photography go here:
My Webshots Site