Possibly get an N16 as a 1st car, thoughts?

A

ajharwood

I'm 17 now and been looking into getting a car for when i hopefully pass by test (done over 30 hours of lessons now).

I've been wanting a Japanese car over a euro since birth (japs are better built and are just better). So my question to you all is: In general, would a 2005 N16 1.5 SVE Almera be a good 1st car?
(I live in Cardiff, Wales if that helps)

Also;
1. Who makes the best lowering springs for the N16; I'd probably lower it after a year.
2. Is HEKO the only brand for wind defelctors?
3. What other mods can be done to an N16 for looks or to keep the engine happy?


Thank you all!
Apologies if this is in the wrong place.
 
Ha you'll catch some flak for saying it's a Japanese car on here from the N15 owners! It was built in conjunction with Renault, and I think shares some parts with the Megané. However, that doesn't matter, both N15 and N16s are great and reliable cars and props for you on wanting one - I tried to sell my old 1.5 N16 to a younger driver but he wanted a shitty headgasket eating Corsa instead.

They are very reliable, the only major issue is timing stretch chain, but I'm guessing all those that would suffer from that are already dead.
 
A 1.5 almera would be a ideal first car.As mentioned chains do go and cause misfiring and the gearboxes just as bad on the 1.5's so would be wise to go for a test drive when you ready listening for any unwanted noises and hard to select gears.

Giving it a full service would be the best way to improve what you got engine wise.The 1.5 engine is not really worth modding.I would do some cosmetic mods instead..
 
Thank you both for your replies! By Japanese I really meant the engine. I'm guessing gearbox issues can be solved with a gearbox oil flush?

So for the 1.5 no point in getting an intake for cleaner air or anything? Just nice wheels and touch up the paint?
 
Welcome to the club :)

1. Apex or Eibach
2. Heko or Climair (club discount available on the latter)
3. Check out the N16 Forum Resource thread. Loads of info on modifications, but not so much covering the 1.5 as it's not a very tuneable engine.
 
Hi edk!
Thanks for the tips, how much are the Climar wind deflectors for a 5 door?

Honestly I won't be looking at tuning a 1.5 however if I like how the car drives (by looking at the size of the forum they muct be good) I'll probably get a 2.2 dCi model and do something similar to your car.

Can you get swaybars and anti-roll bars for an Almera?
 
Get a Dci , the 1.5 petrol are rubbish no power very uneconomical. in a years driving you will spend the price of a dci in extra petrol over what a diesel would use.
 
Did an insurance check on a 3door black DCi (136) and came to £900 for a year, not bad when a 1.5 is £600 for a year

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DCi is a heavy old lump at the front end so be prepared for understeer!
Sports springs may help with this though as it does have a healthy amount of roll in the corners.

However, the engine is fairly pokey (and smokey!) so performance wise you will have enough to keep you entertained as a first car.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
 
autojumbled said:
DCi is a heavy old lump at the front end so be prepared for understeer!
Sports springs may help with this though as it does have a healthy amount of roll in the corners.

However, the engine is fairly pokey (and smokey!) so performance wise you will have enough to keep you entertained as a first car.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
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Honestly, I'm a teenager so it's very very likely I'll have a massive sub woofer in the boot because bass. I'm not a 'basshead' but I do like a bit of bump. I'd like to say sway bars and anti roll bars but I would think they don't exist for a car like the Almera

On most forums I'm called: AJROBIN
 
Ah, if you're planning on going aftermarket stereo to accommodate a sub then make sure you get a model without sat nav!!
The sat nav kit is all tied into the car electrics and controls for the stereo and heater etc. You can't fit an aftermarket head unit essentially.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
 
autojumbled said:
Ah, if you're planning on going aftermarket stereo to accommodate a sub then make sure you get a model without sat nav!!
The sat nav kit is all tied into the car electrics and controls for the stereo and heater etc. You can't fit an aftermarket head unit essentially.

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Dawn, really wanted SatNav... Would be a big help as I don't want to ruin my data plan with a long trip (Cardiff to York mainly, girlfriends cousins). I could simply buy a SatNav 2nd hand cheap but then that'd take up the port for a dashcam

On most forums I'm called: AJROBIN
 
That's easy. Download Google maps for offline so you don't need to use so much data when driving. I do 2000 miles a month all with Google maps turned on and never hit my 250mb limit!

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autojumbled said:
That's easy. Download Google maps for offline so you don't need to use so much data when driving. I do 2000 miles a month all with Google maps turned on and never hit my 250mb limit!

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That's a great idea! Never knew Google Maps had an offline feature! How's that done? Set a route and click download and it'll save it to your device and it can track where you are still?

On most forums I'm called: AJROBIN
 
On your phone, open maps, hit the hamburger icon (the 3 lines) and select "offline areas".
Choose a custom area and then simply drag the area you want and download.
Obviously the more map you want the more storage you use up. Saves on data though!

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
 
autojumbled said:
On your phone, open maps, hit the hamburger icon (the 3 lines) and select "offline areas".
Choose a custom area and then simply drag the area you want and download.
Obviously the more map you want the more storage you use up. Saves on data though!

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
That's so helpful! I'm just going to save all of the UK if I can haha!

On most forums I'm called: AJROBIN
 
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