Motor Magazine
by "Motor"
Australia's most highly respected motoring magazine
Number two is that
the standard gearing from the manual six-speeder could do with some adjustment,
given the extensive alterations to both power and torque. Put it this
way: if second gear could be stretched to hit 100 km/h without a shift
to third, and the 400 metre line could be crossed without popping it into
fourth, you could imagine shaving, say, half a sec off each increment.It’s all science, however, because the way the UR2 reacts to the throttle doesn’t really need back-up from a Correvit. It is perhaps not as tractable from down low as the standard 200 SX, because it can be caught off-boost at low revs in a higher gear. Get past that point, however, and it is real shove-in-the-back material, zapping its way to the 7000 rpm rev limiter very rapidly. 
The whole job has been done with remarkably little added hardware, but plenty
of research has gone into what’s there. The basics are the addition
of a Unichip programmable engine control and boost-mapping unit and a high-flow
intake duct and air cleaner. On top of that, there’s a new three-inch
exhaust system, a high-flow front-mounted intercooler, and a water spray
for heavy applications that is linked to the Unichip system.Hardware is one thing, software is another. According to APS top banana Peter Luxon, the whole kit has been engineered to produce emission levels well within those specified by Australian Design Rule 37/01, and he has the paperwork from – would you believe – Ford Australia’s emissions lab to prove emissions of hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides are at legal levels and the exhaust noise is also within the regulatory dB limits. So if your modified-looking 200SX gets pinged by the cops, APS has all the forms filed with the EPA to show it’s all legal without having the mods removed. Bliss. That’s going to provide peace of mind to anyone who likes the idea of a 13-second car that costs $4,950 ($5,775 fitted and dynoed) over and above the price of a stock 200SX, but doesn’t want to spend months off the road with nothing more than a canary sticker for their troubles. Who knows, it might also be the best-value package for the world’s fastest tree-hugger. APS were also playing with the suspension, trying mainly to dial out some of the rear axle movement in the standard car that can give an almost floaty oversteer moment. The extra stiffness is more uncompromising than the sweet ride Nissan has provided, and you don’t want to know about unleashing all that horsepower through a bumpy second-gear corner on the stiffer settings, but there was work yet to be done. 
Put it this
way: 100 kW for five grand is a big, bad bargain, especially when it
comes with a guarantee of street legal emissions so you know your mum won’t
be bailed up by the police on the way to the milk bar. No doubt she’d
be able to wipe the smiles off some boys in their HSV’s along the way. |
Fast Figures
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