My N16 Sport Plus

lrt84

lrt84

N16 2001 Almera 1.8 Sport+ 5 Door Hatchback. Purchased September 2008 with 78,000 on the clock, 2 previous owners and full service history.

The car is in good condition with the exception of the odd scratch and ding but in fairness its nearly 9 years old. So far I've needed to replace the battery, N/S front spring and the rear brakes, which isn't bad really.

Modifications

Powerflow Stainless Steel Exhaust System
Jetex High Flow Panel Filter

Future Plans

Eiback Pro-kit Springs
KYB Excel-G Shock Absorbers
PH2 Rear Wiper
MS Design Grill

The car still looks standard at the moment but I took a couple of pictures anyway (Excuse the photo quality). Let me know what you think.

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Welcome to the club mate.

IMHO Silver Phase 1 Sport+ is the best looking N16 Almera, prefer 3-door slightly more than 5-door but wouldn't kick the 5-door out the garage for backfiring either and yours looks to be in great nick. If I ever get another N16 that is what I'd go for.
 
Cheers for the comments lads and I wish it was a 3 door model too Wraith but it still looks good. The camera I'm using is only 3 megapixel so photos aren't brilliant but the car looks better than it really is :D.

I've ordered a set of Eibach springs which cost £173 and I should get them by next weekend. I'm still deciding whether to buy uprated shocks or stick with standard items, it will be either KYB or Koni's if I do. I want to debadge the rear too because Wraith's car looked much better for it IMO, not quite sure how to do it though, any ideas?
 
You could use a heat gun, or even a hairdryer, just to heat the badges and soften the adhesive, and then I just used piece of plastic covered wire, and slipped i behind the badges, and sort of 'sawed'through the adhesive. Be aware though, that I think you may end up with a gap in the clear laquer stuff where the badge used to be, so if you're a perfectionist when it comes to body work, you may want to sort that out. You can only see it at a certain angle, but you may want to cover it.
 
lrt84 said:
I've ordered a set of Eibach springs which cost £173 and I should get them by next weekend. I'm still deciding whether to buy uprated shocks or stick with standard items, it will be either KYB or Koni's if I do. I want to debadge the rear too because Wraith's car looked much better for it IMO, not quite sure how to do it though, any ideas?
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The Eibach Pro kit is great with standard shocks don't know if the improvement with uprated ones would be worth the outlay really. Could spend that on a strut brace or decent head unit or something instead :)

Debadging the rear is easy, hairdryer to heat it up then dental floss or fishing line to slide behind the adhesive foam and slide/wiggle/saw through it.
I always end up with a fair bit of foam still stuck on which I get rid of with adhesive remover and kitchen roll (which is rough enough to roll off bits of foam but not enough to scratch) or fingertips (depending how nasty the adhesive remover is). Adhesive remover for cars is less likely to damage paintwork, Autoglym bug and tar remover should work as well if you happen to have some already.
Done a couple now and never noticed an issue with the laquer but likely nothing a bit of T-Cut and polish won't solve.
 
I'm going to take your advice Wraith and keep the shock absorbers standard for now. I will post some more photos once I've debadged the rear and fitted the springs.
 
I fitted my eibach springs last weekend, well the front ones anyway. I'm hoping to fit the rears this weekend but I'm not sure where to place my axel stands, my manual says the use the sills but my stands will mash those, any ideas?
 
Ed, i was trying to think of a way to describe that bit, but i couldnt :lol: so just went with my second option!
 
I was going to fit my rear springs today but I had to go out. I can already feel the difference with just the front springs though, much better in the bends but I was surprised to find the road noise has increased. I have also been told I will need to get the wheel alignment checked, is this correct?
 
Yes, that's right. When you drop the car anything more than about an inch, it changes the suspension geometry - with effects on handling, ride comfort and tyre wear. Better to have the car aligned and your tracking done too. The difference can be very surprising !
 
I finally fitted the Eibach rear springs the other week and replaced the shocks at the same time with genuine items. The car handles much better now, bodyroll has been reduced significantly. I also debadged the rear and fitted a phase 2 rear wiper arm.

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The car is over 9 years old now and still looks pretty good.

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