July, 2023

Juan Sosa // 24 // Houston, TX // @iamsosasi

Before I bought the Si, I had a base model 2015 Nissan Altima. I wanted to buy something reliable, fun, and with a manual transmission. My main motivation and love for cars started with The Fast and the Furious movies (1 & 2) and from my uncle, who was passionate about cars and worked on them himself. A few things that I love about this car would have to be the reliability, gas mileage, stick shift, and how easy these cars are to work on.

 The night I test-drove and bought this car was the first time I ever drove a car with a manual transmission. This was my favorite memory with the car by far. I only stalled once while driving it back to my house and stalled twice trying to get up my steep driveway. I remember going to bed that night and couldn’t sleep as I thought it was a mistake buying a manual car without knowing how to drive it first. As time went by, all the nervousness went away and now I enjoy every single ride!

Modifications

PRL High Volume Intake
PRL High Volume Downpipe (discontinued)
PRL Front Mount Intercooler
Remark Sports Touring Catback Exhaust
Acuity Shifter Cable Bushings
Acuity ESCO-T6 Shift Knob
SiriMoto Short Throw Shifter
D2 Racing Coilovers
Enkei T6R Gunmetal 18x8.5+38
Vercelli Strada II Performance 225/40/R18
YHY Tail Lights
KTuner V2
TSP Stage 1 Tune

I have a couple more modifications that I’m planning to do next, like a new clutch. The downside about this 1.5T would be its weak clutch; it can’t hold that much power stock. The PRL Charge Pipe Upgrade and PRL High Volume Intercooler Outlet are on the list. I think after that I would consider a PRL Flex Fuel Kit and a Custom e-Tune from TSP. I’m enjoying the process and memories being made while building my Si. I am fortunate to have not had any major setbacks, and I am looking forward to what the future holds with this car.