Hey i was wondering if you guys think putting a silvia front end conversion on a flip up light hatchback 240sx i personally like it on the hatch but was wondering if it would be a good idea on a hatch or do you people think it looks retarded. I would really like you comments. I know someone who is doing a s13 convo on a couple and do u think it looks better on a coupe or a hatch

Like the pic in this forum this is a hatch
And i was hoping that you can tell me if this car is a hatch or a coupe i think it a hatch sorry for the stupid questions but new to this

thanks

 

Hatch or coupe

 

its a hatch, but why did you post the same pic twice??

 

yeah, clearly a hatch. I like that conversion.

 

I think it looks better on a coupe...but it doesn't look so bad on the HB either.

 

I prefer the pop-up headlights by far. Looks more natural on a fastback, more sporty. But don't get me wrong, I dont hate on Silvias and Sileighties.

Quite honestly in my opinion, if the S13 Silvia wasnt JDM, but USDM rather, people would think it is as plain jane as an Nissan Sentra or Plymouth Colt (see below). The Silvia front just supports "the grass is greener on the other side" hypothesis.

 

i beg to differ. as a personal preference, i like the fixed lights better (regardless of what vehicle it came on). while i feel they look somewhat natural on the fastback, i think they look down right outta place on the coupe. i dunno, i just have a "fixation" for fixed headlights. i prefer the fixed lights on camaros over the popups on the firebird (practically the same car). or the fixed lights on the later generation preludes versus the previous versions' popups. also, i prefer the Z32's fixed lights over the popups of the Z31. that's not to say that i hate popup lights altogether. just that, regardless of JdM mAdNeSs, i prefer the look of fixed lights.

 

WingsNThangs makes an interesting point that you don't hear very much, if at all. I think I tend to agree with him on this one. I don't that the Silvia front end looks bad or plane on a 240, however. I just happen to prefer the original.

Best wishes,
Matt

 

WingsNThings does have a valid point. Whenever I hear someone talking JDM this or JDM that as if it were the best thing in the world, I always remnid them that JDM parts are "stock - just in a different place than here"... then they get all mad because they spent $30294820984 on their Type-R shift **** LOL

But I think the basic idea of customizing our cars to look different from what any plaine Joe Shmoe can get in this country is part of the JDM appeal. What's rediculous is when people actually spend more $$ buying a JDM part (which again is basically "stock") than if they were to buy an upgraded aftermarket part for less $$. But hey everyone has their own trip.

I personally like the Sileighty look... just as long as the rest of the hatch isn't stock (meaning it would look better lowered, with wheels)

 

JDM flavor is just that. People want to JDMize their car, go ahead. I personally am looking at getting a silvia front for my 240 here in the near future. Why? not because "it belongs there", but because i want to. I'll say all day long i'm doing it tomake my car what it should be. It's a 240SX. says so on the VIN plate. 240's came with pop up lights, but i think that the fixed lights look better. just my .02

 

You could argue "it looks natural to me" but of course you may or may not be submerged in the import tuner world. But skipping all the personal preference ish, in the Silvia's defense I'll post objective reasons:

1. Fixed projectors are more practical in the aspect that a headlight motor is not needed, therefore fewer potential mechanical/electrical problems.

2. In areas of colder climates, fixed headlights are more practical because pop-up headlights sometimes get frozen down.

3. In the event of a front end collision, it is probably more economical to replace the 240SX's busted front with a S13 Silvia front end as there are fewer mechanical parts (refer to #1). I know someone who opted for the S13 Silvia front end on his coupe because of this.


Arguments for pop up headlights:
1. It's stock and theyre already professionally installed on your car at no further cost to you. If it aint broke, don't fix it.

2. Front bumper is already DOT approved, and the 240SX already got pretty good crash test ratings (NHTSA). I'm not sure how the S13 Silvia front end works for crash tests and government regulations because by changing the front end, you change results, regardless of how trivial they may be.

3. Stock pop-up headlights are made of glass, which is much higher quality compared to the stock S13 Silvia plastic headlights. The glass ones will not "yellow" either.

4. Although you may not notice it, the pop-up lights front end theoretically provides for a bigger viewable area, as the hood slopes down more. And theoretically, the pop-up headlights are higher off the ground than fixed lights (because they pop up to a considerable height), providing better lighting. But then again, the lighting pattern for stock 240SX's is pretty ****ty.

Just tossing up potential objective perspectives. Correct me if I'm wrong, guys.....

 

Just wanna add my $0.02 to Wings' post:

Projectors

1. Good point - I find it kind of amusing when you drive around and see a car with the pirate one-eyed Jack look. Simple = good.

2. True - I had an uncle who lived in Colorado and he hated when his Probe headlights wouldn't pop-up after a winter storm.

3. That same reason is why the "Sileighty" came about... the drifters would crash, and it was way cheaper in Japan to get the fixed-headlight front end. Nissan saw this and that's why the had a limited run of "genuine factory" Sileighty's... specifically for the Drift crowd. Wish they'd do that here.

Popups

1. Stock is always good, but then again everyone looks like your car and your car looks like everyone elses.

2. Never considered the crash testing part until you brought it up. Good point there.

3. God how us S14 Zenki guys know about the dreaded "yellow lense" effect.

4. I was about to mention aerodynamics, since when the pop-up lights are down it gives the car a smoother and "wind friendly" front end... but I think it's common knowledge that the Silvia S13 front is flat as a brick anyways

 

I love both! I have seen some really nice sileightys in my day but also the natural 180sx pop-up lights look, beautiful especially in "lazy eye" mode. I think the fixed headlight conversion is rather cheap at 700 for all needed parts. So all in all both cars look sweet eaither way. If i had a s13 fastback and a s13 coupe, i would convert the coupe to the fixed headlights and keep the fastback with pop-ups. Just my opinion, please dont hate me

 

my opinion would be the silvia fornt end but thats my opinion i think it looks good on both the coupe and hatch.

 

In other words, for this point, it comes down to how much of an attention ***** you want to be. S13 Silvia front end for those who want the oohs and aahs in the parking lot, custom HIN-worthy front ends for the more dedicated.

I doubt the drag coefficient in each front end plays a significant role, considering how fast most 240SXes are.