Option — Shōwa Car Tuning & Buyers Guide (2000 Edition)

The biggest change was the engine. The S12’s CA18DE naturally aspirated and CA18DET turbo engines were replaced by the SR20DE and SR20DET, also offered in naturally aspirated and turbo versions. The naturally aspirated engine made about 140 horsepower, a modest increase, while the turbo gained roughly 35 horsepower to reach 205. From then on, SR-powered cars became the mainstream Silvia and 180SX tuning platforms. Exterior changes were limited to the wheels, the Silvia’s optional rear spoiler, and the 180SX front end. Optional HICAS II evolved from same-phase rear steering to Super HICAS, which briefly counter-steered as cornering began. The Silvia was said to rank among the top three cars young men wanted to drive with a woman beside them; the facelift further boosted the models’ appeal and sales. During the bubble era, stylish young people bought them, and the cars’ good underlying design later made them popular with street racers and drifters. At the first Ikaten national event in 1991, only a few Silvia and 180SX drift drivers stood out. But from around 1993, drifters began to notice the S13’s low used prices, plentiful supply, stability, and greater drift angle than rival cars. The S13 and 180SX gradually became popular drift builds. The Silvia moved to the S14, while the S13/PS13 blossomed as a drift car and versatile tuning platform. In October 1993 the Silvia underwent a full redesign as the PS13. The 180SX continued production. The 180SX’s popularity among street racers also grew, and its tuned examples became increasingly common.

The update added a driver airbag and color-matched door mirrors, but made few major changes to performance. High-power tuning was beginning to shift toward the more powerful SR20 in the S14, but many drifters disliked its larger body, so the S13 remained overwhelmingly popular. That began to change after the All-Japan Drift Championship in November 1993, when…

After that championship, more drifters moved to the S14 in search of faster drifting. Still, Yoshinori Koguchi continued drifting an RPS13, and Izumida of Hakairoku-ō kept driving a CA-powered S13; the S13 series remained competitive. Recently, tuners have also fitted S14 engines and turbos, or swapped in rotary, RB26, and 2JZ engines to gain more power…

The 180SX received another facelift in October 1996, changing its tail lamps and front bumper and making small performance updates such as ABS. It did not appear often on the racing scene, and production ended at the close of 1998 as the S15 arrived. But the S13 is not finished. Whether one prefers CA or SR engines or multi-link suspension, what captured street racers most was the rear-wheel-drive layout. While other coupes abandoned it, the S13 retained an excellent traction layout that could also drift. That made it a versatile street machine for top-speed runs, drag racing, circuits, and drifting. Even after the S14 and S15 appeared, ideas for tuning the S13 kept coming; its spirit and flowing design still shine today…