new

C

camoxodka

car half done :)
hi i am new to the car world. and i just got a nissan micra k11 1999 1.3 SR. i just want to know were should i start customising it? that would be a big help..

thanks
camo
 
camoxodka said:
okay thanks. how much would the lowering be ? because i am also a new driver aged 17. :)
Click to expand...
well it would all depend on how low you want to go. you could angle grinder the springs for free... :D
and it depends on how friendly your insurance company are...
 
Welcome!

I understand you want to start customising your car straight away but i would advise you this: First drive it for a while and get some driving experience and while doing that you will get the idea of what you would like to do with your car and what you would like your car to be. The worst thing is that you start doing things that other people tell you to do ;)

Good luck mate!
 
i will but i need to collect it tomorrow because i couldn't take it today. btw way thanks.
firstly i would like to change the oil filter and then put new oil in. it has 108,000 milage, has no radio so i was just thinking maybe anyone could advise me a cd player which is cheap but good. then i dunno were to start :laugh::laugh:
 
I think I'll just re-post my previous list of cheap and easy Micra mods, there's so much you can do to these, it's ridiculous :laugh:

New alloys - if you can't afford something in the high price range, a set of SR 4-spoke alloys are pretty decent, can pick them up off eBay for about £50 with locking wheelnuts, or about £300 to £600 if you can afford brand new with tyres.
De-badged, de-stickered, and de-bumpstripped, to get that clean look - easy to do, and doesn't cost you anything.
A cheap set of lowering springs, maybe 50/60mm lower than standard - or if you're working on a budget, just cut your standard springs.
Front splitter from your local scrapyard - VW Polo splitters are easiest to find, cost about £10, and fit pretty much straight onto the front or rear bumper.
Direct-fit backbox - something like a secondhand Sportex or Ashley backbox, about £30/£40 on eBay.
Coloured bulbs - yellow for sidelights and foglights for that Jap look, or blue headlights for the Euro look.
Lightweight windscreen wipers - about £10 to £20, easy to fit as well.
Raised bonnet - just need a handful of washers and some longer bolts.
Stubby ariel - £10 from Halfords.
Stickerbombing - FREE!

There's even more you can do to the engines, like cheap but good quality induction kits, strut braces, 1.6 injectors, iridium spark plugs, and loads more. It's just a case of what you want from your car, and most of the work can be carried out by yourself with a toolbox, jack, and axle stands (Y)
 
Depends on how much you lower it. I've got lowering springs, with 1 more coil chopped off on each corner (so it's been lowered by 90mm), and I run 15 x 8 deep dish alloys on 195/45/R15 tyres, with a bit of tyre stretch and no camber. I couldn't go for tyres with a bigger profile, but I can get wider tyres without it scrubbing too much. And if the alloys were any bigger, I'd need flared and rolled arches.

The smallest size alloys you can go for are 13" (otherwise they won't fit over the front calipers, and rears if you have them), but they can be any width as long as you don't mind getting some bolt on arches to stop them sticking out. I think most people on here tend to go for 13s, 14s, or 15s. Any bigger, and your speedo will start to be out.

With regards to tyres, you can go for pretty much any size, depending on how low you want to go, and what size your alloys are going to be. ANd the 4-spoke SR alloys are nice, they tend to come with 175/50/R15 tyres I think, I had a set on mine before I got the Calibres. That's the main reason I stuck with 15s.

Front splitters are also very easy to fit, especially the Polo ones. The bolt holes on them line up perfectly with the ones on the Micra bumpers, so pretty much no drilling is required.

It's also a case of looking at other peoples Micras, and seeing what you like and what you don't like
 
camoxodka said:
i will but i need to collect it tomorrow because i couldn't take it today. btw way thanks.
firstly i would like to change the oil filter and then put new oil in. it has 108,000 milage, has no radio so i was just thinking maybe anyone could advise me a cd player which is cheap but good. then i dunno were to start :laugh::laugh:
Click to expand...

thats what i ment , you need to have a vehicle to start changing oil in it
nearly though, gonna like seeing this!
 
Just go for a cheap set of lowering springs. I think most people tend to go for about 40mm, and you can pick a set up off eBay for about £100. They are fairly easy to cut though
 
I used bolts on mine, just for that extra security. And when I lowered mine even more, I installed 2 really strong axle straps, so my springs aren't going anywhere. I've welded the front ones into the struts so they don't move around, think I might weld the back ones into the cups at some point as well
 
There's a few knocking around on eBay, but they seem to be very hard to come by. Most of them just look like Halfords off-the-shelf cheap stuff. Some clear rear lights turn up from time to time, but I find it looks best when you remove the 3rd brake light above the parcel shelf, tint the rear lights and side repeaters, and spray the inside outline of the headlights black, then fit either yellow or blue bulbs (Y)
 
I have these at the moment.

3486974592_297b7d71c2.jpg


You would need an extra fog and reverse light but i would be willing to sell depending on £
 
okay that great about the lights i might just go for the black tint look :) which is always good for a black car, but i can't find any splitter on ebay so i will have to go around some scrapyard and have a look. also i am buying a sony cd player for a person for £25 :)
what else would i need because i am short on money i only have 80 quid, so that would be 55 quid left when buying the cd player :)
 
camoxodka said:
okay that great about the lights i might just go for the black tint look :) which is always good for a black car, but i can't find any splitter on ebay so i will have to go around some scrapyard and have a look. also i am buying a sony cd player for a person for £25 :)
what else would i need because i am short on money i only have 80 quid, so that would be 55 quid left when buying the cd player :)
Click to expand...

Personally, I'd try pick up a Polo splitter at your local scrappie (they're very hard to find on eBay, but a lot of scrappies seem to have Polos in all the time. I got mine from my local scrappie for £5, normally they're no more than £10).
If your tailgate handle is the facelift one with the bubble in the middle and the Nissan logo, try get a pre-facelift one (pre-1997), which is simply a straight piece of black plastic with no badge - looks a lot cleaner, and again it should only set you back £5, same as mine was. Check it out on some of the builds on the forum (you can have a look at the latest photos in my Albums, as I have a pre-facelift tailgate handle).
Maybe buy a bottle of white spirit from Halfords or something, and take off all the badges, logos, stickers, and bumpstrips. Looks much cleaner, and is a pretty simple job.
Then concentrate on little things - washers and longer bolts to raise your bonnet, maybe invest in a stubby ariel, some caliper paint, new gear knob, and a few other little bits. If you keep an eye out at the scrappies for some of your parts, you won't have to spend so much money - and you can certainly do a lot worse than rescuing parts from cars bound for the crusher (Y)
 
If I was you I woudnt do anything to the car yet, wait until you've got at least 1yrs NCD then start playing with your car, otherwise you can watch your premium sky rocket
 
would my insurance go up if i got a pair of lower spring.
also i might save up in the summer because i have a job in the summer and will get a pair of decent alloy wheels because i have the standard alloys on atm :) and i will do little bits and pieces to it, like gear knobs, cd player, maybe speakers if the standards are not good. btw are the normal speakers what you get with the car any good ? also then sub and amp, alloys maybe steering wheel, maybe paint the dash black :). and i will have a look at the scrappy :) thanks dan :)
 
Doing small stuff like that shouldn't be too bad though. It's when you start doing engine mods and fitting stuff like alloys, performace exhausts, and induction kits that really make your premiums increase. And yes, lowering springs would potentially make your insurance go up, depending on the insurer, as would alloys and various engine mods. However, if you were to get a snap-off steering wheel, it would actually make your insurance go down, as it is seen as a safety feature. All the little cosmetic things shouldn't make a difference though, as you aren't making your car more powerful or changing the way the car handles.

The standard speakers are pretty good, don't really crackle or distort very much, but I changed mine anyway. And if you're after a sub and amp, I've got a very good setup for sale for not very much money ;)
 
Honestly yes your insurance would go up, by how much no idea everyone is different

I was lucky my insurance didn't go up by much maybe and extra £100 but that has alot to do with my age and my ncd

Your best bet would be to ring your insurer and ask them
 
camoxodka said:
i will but i need to collect it tomorrow because i cou,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, :laugh::laugh:
Click to expand...

get the car first then plan the plans as, every advice here has been for nothing otherwise
pics up mate:grinning::grinning:
 
SeeI didn't even think about modding my K11 until I'd had it for well over a year. Then it only took me 4 months to get it from being completely standard to where it is now. I really did catch the Micra bug (not a bad thing at all :laugh:) (Y)
 
btw i already got car.
i noticed it has a bet of rust here and their. the engine is in perfect conidition the only things defo need changing is the oil and oil filter and air filter :). also i didnt think that alloys would make your insurance increase. because it does not give you more performance increase. does it ?

another thing is that i am going to be only small adjustments.

btw what do you mean snap-off steering wheel dan. because i dont really understand that bit :) btw dan how much and what is the set up ?
 
camoxodka said:
btw i already got car.
i noticed it has a bet of rust here and their. the engine is in perfect conidition the only things defo need changing is the oil and oil filter and air filter :). also i didnt think that alloys would make your insurance increase. because it does not give you more performance increase. does it ?

another thing is that i am going to be only small adjustments.

btw what do you mean snap-off steering wheel dan. because i dont really understand that bit :) btw dan how much and what is the set up ?
Click to expand...

Well, alloys are generally quite expensive, so you have to tell insurers you have them (if they weren't standard) so they're covered by insurance. Plus if you end up with wider tyres, they do make the car handle better. And small adjustments are much better to start off with, considering this is your first car and you're only 17.

A snap-off steering wheel is essentially the same sort of steering wheel set up you get on F1 cars, touring cars, rally caars, etc. It basically allows you to unclip the steering wheel from the steering column itself, allowing easier access in and out of the car (especially if you have a roll cage and/or bucket seats). I'm not quite sure how much a setup like this would be (I've only got a regular Momo steering wheel), but I imagine it would be quite expensive. Worth it for the looks and money savings though (Y)
 
micra_dan said:
Well, alloys are generally quite expensive, so you have to tell insurers you have them (if they weren't standard) so they're covered by insurance. Plus if you end up with wider tyres, they do make the car handle better. And small adjustments are much better to start off with, considering this is your first car and you're only 17.

A snap-off steering wheel is essentially the same sort of steering wheel set up you get on F1 cars, touring cars, rally caars, etc. It basically allows you to unclip the steering wheel from the steering column itself, allowing easier access in and out of the car (especially if you have a roll cage and/or bucket seats). I'm not quite sure how much a setup like this would be (I've only got a regular Momo steering wheel), but I imagine it would be quite expensive. Worth it for the looks and money savings though (Y)
Click to expand...


okay so have you got a snap-off steering wheel set up? also i dont get how this will lower you insurance. is it becasue their is more safety on the car. becasue if people break into the car they will not be able to drive away or even not bother trying :laugh::laugh:
 
camoxodka said:
okay so have you got a snap-off steering wheel set up? also i dont get how this will lower you insurance. is it becasue their is more safety on the car. becasue if people break into the car they will not be able to drive away or even not bother trying :laugh::laugh:
Click to expand...

No, I just have an aftermarket steering wheel that doesn't come off (couldn't afford the snap-off setup). It lowers insurance because if you have an accident and need to get out of the car, you can take the steering wheel off, making it easier to get out of the car. And, as you say, you can just take your steering wheel with you whenever you park up, so no one would be able to steel your car :grinning:
 
Definitely :laugh:. I saw you were considering getting a sub and amp in a previous post, you interested in buying my setup for cheap?
 
camoxodka said:
how much for the sub and amp dan?
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£40, comes will all the wires and fuses necessary for fitting (apart from an RCA cable, but comes with RCA splitters), and all wires are the perfect length for a K11, as is the board of wood it's screwed to - fits into the boot perfectly. Will have to be collected though, as it will be very expensive to post
 
okay would you keep it until summer because then when i get the car insured and then i would be able to come and collect it :) because i will just have to find some time because i am going in for my test in about 5 weeks.
 
camoxodka said:
okay would you keep it until summer because then when i get the car insured and then i would be able to come and collect it :) because i will just have to find some time because i am going in for my test in about 5 weeks.
Click to expand...

I'll try keep it, but I'm desperate to get rid of it, so if it goes, it goes. Haven't had much interest in it though, so you should be lucky (Y)
 

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