Thread: Questions about the B16?

Alright so I have a few questions about the 07+ Sentra SER Spec V, to be precise.

So my friend is a mechanic, and he told me that the car that he's seen the most is the Sentra SER, Spec V or not.

He said that they have(had) a lot of problems, engine wise.
That they would always come in with blown engines

So I want to know if this is true or not?

What are the up's and down's of the SER Spec V??

He also told me that the price value for those cars suck, is this true?
He said his wife owned one for 2 years, and when trading it in, they only offered her 3k. She also bought the car new, so it was still fairly new.
Is this also true??

He also stated that they don't respond well to mods? ECU won't allow it.

....

What I ask of you guys is to give me your honest opinion and input on all this.

I know you are all members on this forum because you own one or are just fans of the car, but I would like honest unbiased opinions.


Thanks for your input.

Originally Posted by GT-S

Alright so I have a few questions about the 07+ Sentra SER Spec V, to be precise.

So my friend is a mechanic, and he told me that the car that he's seen the most is the Sentra SER, Spec V or not.

He said that they have(had) a lot of problems, engine wise.
That they would always come in with blown engines

So I want to know if this is true or not?

What are the up's and down's of the SER Spec V??

He also told me that the price value for those cars suck, is this true?
He said his wife owned one for 2 years, and when trading it in, they only offered her 3k. She also bought the car new, so it was still fairly new.
Is this also true??

He also stated that they don't respond well to mods? ECU won't allow it.

....

What I ask of you guys is to give me your honest opinion and input on all this.

I know you are all members on this forum because you own one or are just fans of the car, but I would like honest unbiased opinions.


Thanks for your input.

This guy sounds more hack than mechanic. lol. I wouldn't trust his word at all.

I owned an 07 (a red one, hence the name). Although I know of one or two cars that may have gone down over the last few years that the b16 has been around, I can assure you that is not the majority of cars. In fact, it's nowhere close.

The engine is the best part about the b16 as it's an improved QR25 over the b15 model. It puts out more power and revs a little bit higher. Consequently, it can take a bit more abuse.

I was the first (at least known) to spray nitrous at the car. It *only* had a few hundred pounds of nitrous thrown at it. Ask your mechanic buddy about that one and how mine managed to not blow? There are also a few turbocharged ones running around. How are those still going if it has such a bad motor?

As for the ECU, it's far more forgiving than the b15. The b16 does not suffer from tune drift. I used an safc2 on mine and it worked great. UpRev is now also offered for it.

I would also ask him his sources on the matter. I'd be glad to debate with him on it. lol. Lots of "mechanics" have this holier-than-thou complex going on regarding cars. I wouldn't trust his opinion whatsoever.

Originally Posted by GT-S

He also told me that the price value for those cars suck, is this true?
He said his wife owned one for 2 years, and when trading it in, they only offered her 3k. She also bought the car new, so it was still fairly new.
Is this also true??

you will never get a fair value on a car at trade in so thats a very unfair biased

I wonder if they only offered 3k on it because Mr. "Mechanic" Man "worked" on it.

lol maybe but dealer dont use kbb on trade in at all if they let that car get traded in for 3k there fucking retarded no offence but thats just silly

my 02 spec values at 3k "good" condition with 140k on the clock ROFL

I like your funny comments

Let's put aside him being a mechanic, and the trade value and start talking about the rest of my questions here.

Anyways, it seems like "Littleredmachine" is the only one giving me valuable input here.

I'm doing research as we speak, and i'm actually uncovering a few forums talking about the Sentra, and how the Header is a POS, and the "bolts" in the motor come loose over time.

Is this true?

I'm not trying to get on anyones bad side here, all I want is info and precautions.

Littlered, you are saying that the B16 is more "forgiving" than the B15 when it comes to mods. Sorry I have no knowledge over the B15 or B16, so I wouldn't know how well the B15 responds to mode in the first place.

Also I've been reading that the suspension as well as the brakes have a few issues??

the search button is your best friend the qr25 motor has undergone some major changes in the b16 they claimed to have fixed the butterfly screws well id still loctite them just for peice of mind and as well as header, your going to be moding the far right? normally people start with basic bolt-ons header intake exhaust.... also suspension, its a solid rear beam yes it sucks so does any car with a solid rear beam

Originally Posted by GT-S

I like your funny comments

Let's put aside him being a mechanic, and the trade value and start talking about the rest of my questions here.

Anyways, it seems like "Littleredmachine" is the only one giving me valuable input here.

I'm doing research as we speak, and i'm actually uncovering a few forums talking about the Sentra, and how the Header is a POS, and the "bolts" in the motor come loose over time.

Is this true?

I'm not trying to get on anyones bad side here, all I want is info and precautions.

Littlered, you are saying that the B16 is more "forgiving" than the B15 when it comes to mods. Sorry I have no knowledge over the B15 or B16, so I wouldn't know how well the B15 responds to mode in the first place.

Also I've been reading that the suspension as well as the brakes have a few issues??

The aftermarket header that is available for the b16 is a pos. lol. I won't deny that one at all. It's sold as a Megan racing part and as M2 Performance. It's a cheap header. Mine cracked after a while. However, this still beats having the stock exhaust manifold on the car as the pre-cats can break apart.

As for the bolts coming loose - what bolts? If you're referencing the screws for the butterfly valves in the intake manifold, those are not present on the b16.

In terms of "forgiving", I believe the b16 responds better to modification.

I don't believe I've ever heard a suspension issue with the b16 at all.

As for the brakes, the rotors are prone to warping. Mine were pretty bad before I turned mine in.They warped once at 12k and they were replaced. By 50k, they were definitely trash again (and had been for a while. I wasn't going to do anything about it if the car was going away). Aftermarket rotors are now available for the car.

Originally Posted by m5503799

lol maybe but dealer dont use kbb on trade in at all if they let that car get traded in for 3k there fucking retarded no offence but thats just silly

my 02 spec values at 3k "good" condition with 140k on the clock ROFL

3K? On KBB? .....

m5503799, so they do have issues with the suspension??
How often would it need changing??

And can you explain to me the whole issue with the header and the butterfly screws for me please?
I would love for someone to clarify this for me.

Originally Posted by littleredmachine

The aftermarket header that is available for the b16 is a pos. lol. I won't deny that one at all. It's sold as a Megan racing part and as M2 Performance. It's a cheap header. Mine cracked after a while. However, this still beats having the stock exhaust manifold on the car as the pre-cats can break apart.

As for the bolts coming loose - what bolts? If you're referencing the screws for the butterfly valves in the intake manifold, those are not present on the b16.

In terms of "forgiving", I believe the b16 responds better to modification.

I don't believe I've ever heard a suspension issue with the b16 at all.

As for the brakes, the rotors are prone to warping. Mine were pretty bad before I turned mine in.They warped once at 12k and they were replaced. By 50k, they were definitely trash again (and had been for a while. I wasn't going to do anything about it if the car was going away). Aftermarket rotors are now available for the car.

Oh man, so it seems that the rotors go bad huh??

So the B15 was the one with the header and the butterfly screw problem? Not the B16?? Hopefully they did fix that issue.

Keep it coming!

ALSO!!!

How is the Aftermarket for the B16? Is there a lot of support??

Originally Posted by GT-S

And can you explain to me the whole issue with the header and the butterfly screws for me please?
I would love for someone to clarify this for me.

The QR25DE has had a pre-catalytic converter installed on the stock header since 2002. From 02-06, a one piece converter was used. For the sake of being brief, this was prone to failure and could damage a motor by the material being sucked back in.

In 2007, they changed the design of the stock manifold and used two smaller pre-cats. Although this does not have the failure rate of the old design, I still wouldn't trust it.

As for the butterfly screws, the 02-06 se-r / spec v has butterfly valves in the intake manifold that open up at a certain rpm. The screws in these valves would come loose over time and get sucked into the motor. The 07+ se-r / spec v do NOT have butterfly valves. Therefore, there is no butterfly screw issue with the b16.

Originally Posted by GT-S

ALSO!!!

How is the Aftermarket for the B16? Is there a lot of support??

It's slowly growing. I remember in 07 before there was an intake available. lol. I sound like an old man.

There are a decent amount of parts available for the car (intakes, headers, exhaust, suspension, turbo kit, tuning devices, etc).

Originally Posted by littleredmachine

The QR25DE has had a pre-catalytic converter installed on the stock header since 2002. From 02-06, a one piece converter was used. For the sake of being brief, this was prone to failure and could damage a motor by the material being sucked back in.

In 2007, they changed the design of the stock manifold and used two smaller pre-cats. Although this does not have the failure rate of the old design, I still wouldn't trust it.

As for the butterfly screws, the 02-06 se-r / spec v has butterfly valves in the intake manifold that open up at a certain rpm. The screws in these valves would come loose over time and get sucked into the motor. The 07+ se-r / spec v do NOT have butterfly valves. Therefore, there is no butterfly screw issue with the b16.

Ok so I can scratch the whole butterfly screws as an issue off the list.

As for the header, that's still a bit scary to have on the back of your head, have there been many reports(that you know of) of it happening in the 07+ models?

Originally Posted by littleredmachine

It's slowly growing. I remember in 07 before there was an intake available. lol. I sound like an old man.

There are a decent amount of parts available for the car (intakes, headers, exhaust, suspension, turbo kit, tuning devices, etc).

Well, it's good that it's growing. I never really see any B16s moded, it's pretty rare. Actually now that I think about it, I don't think i've ever seen a moded one

Back from the MSV days, there were a few threads that popped up saying they were having oil consumption issues and other symptoms of pre-cat failure. However, that was back in 08 or so. I haven't heard of one since. To be fair, though, not every owner is on a forum. There could be instances where it is still happening and we don't know about it.

I would imagine if a car is having a problem, an owner would hop online and search around for answers these days. This would mean the community would hear about it. Hell, what do I know? lol

As littleredmachine has said, the B16 QR is solid. I wouldn't hesitate to get one.