I take pride living in California. We’re spoiled with good weather and a really strong car scene. Exhausts can’t go beyond a certain decibel level, don’t even think about putting tint on your windows and good luck trying to drive a sweet imported JDM car. Just a week before our big Japan trip earlier this year, I was sent to Miami for the Toyo Calendar launch and couldn’t help but gravitate towards Alex Bauza’s 2002 Nissan S15 Silvia.
Like many of us Alex’s passion for cars started at an early age collecting model cars and building plastic models. His first real car was a Mazda RX-7 that was unfortunately stolen. This actually motivated him more and within a year and a half, he got a 2nd gen Mitsubishi Eclipse. His car was featured in Turbo magazine in 2001. Alex would go on to own other cars, such as an IS300, 350Z, and IS250. Although, once his IS250 lease was over, he decided to lay off the car scene for a while. Only a year had passed until he gave in to build another car. After much searching he purchased one of his favorite cars of all time, the Nissan Silvia S15.
“I knew that I wanted to build it with as much detail as possible and keep mods understated, but noticeable to those who know,” Alex mentioned. When Vertex debuted its wide-body Edge kit, Alex quickly fell in love and contacted them to be one of the first owners of the body kit. Albeit, it actually took five months till he got his hand on the kit, and another seven months spent at the body shop. One thing you don’t ever see are the RE-Amemiya fender mirrors put on a Silvia. But while he was waiting for paint and body to finish, he was also collecting parts for the engine. He hasn’t put his car through a dyno session yet, but Alex suspects to be in the 300hp ballpark. He has plans of doing a GReddy top mount 20G turbo kit, a new paintjob, and air suspension this year. “I think that S15s are mainly seen as drift cars or track cars, which is one of the reasons I wanted to stay away from that look. Not that I see anything wrong with it, but in order to be different, I chose to keep it more like a Porsche. You see it, notice it, but it’s not in your face. If you get what I mean,” he concluded.
It’s good to see the car scene in Miami staying strong. We’re hoping to see more solid builds like Alex’s S15 in the sunshine state. It gives us an excuse to fly over to get some sun, rage into the night, and pass out on the beach somewhere.
Engine SR20DET, GReddy intercooler, blow-off valve, oil filter relocation, oil cooler, ISR Performance intake manifold, turbine outlet, downpipe and twin-exit exhaust
Drivetrain Spec Stage 3 clutch
Footwork & Chassis Function and Form Type 2 coilovers, ISR Performance rear upper control arms, rear toe control rods, rear traction rods, front tension control rods
Brakes D2 Racing 8-Pot big brake kit front, stock brakes with Hawk pads rear
Wheels & Tires ISS Forged GT-7 18x9.5 -18 front 18x10.5 -20 rear
Exterior Vertex Edge wide body, Edge hood, under canards, Origin lab trunk spoiler, RE-Amemiya fender mirrors, Porsche GT3-RS grey paint
Interior Takata Race LE seats, Takata drift III belts, Nardi deep corn suede steering wheel,custom harness bar, carbon fiber center console, Zoom Engineering CF oval rear view mirror,HKS boost gauge, GReddy boost controller, turbo timer
Original published at "superstreetonline" website.
