2013 Nissan Sentra aka Sylphy

**krazeyrock** · July 13th, 2014 08:56 PM

Originally Posted by 17Sphynx17

haha! i did the very same thing. although in my case, i had a shortlist of vehicles to choose from.
compact was ford focus 1.6 at (not titanium trim), mazda 3 1.5v, toyota altis 1.6g a/t
my 2 wildcards were honda city v/vx, ford ecosport trend/titanium

on a per trim level, the sylphy offers the best value proposition (excluding driving dynamics) against its competition. only the honda city i feel matches it in the value proposition but onthe exterior, one look you know it is a subcompact undeniably.

the sylphy skews perception a little to appear like an altima hence its monicker (baby altima). i just wish they didnt have to take out the 60/40 rear split seat to connectto the trunk as i honestly believe this trunk can beat a hatch in stowage volume.

i love it so much i prefer taking it on grocery runs than the montero (as id never need the storage capacity for grocery runs)ü

if you as a prospective buyer are not sold on the sylphy in the showroom, request a test drive if its part of your shortlist down to 2 or 3 choices already.

i test drove only the mazda 3 1.5v to appease my underpowered concerns but i still went with the sylphy without test driving it. =P

Although the nissan website featured it!

It is quite misleading, they also featured the color blue sylphy there but it is not available locally. And the speakers, it would be a steal if they really put in bose speakers just like the pictures on their website.
hahaha! Just a wishful thinking! Sayang lang talaga! But still I love my sylphy!

**krazeyrock** · July 13th, 2014 09:06 PM

By the way, are there any reports or news items regarding the planned re-implementation of the no plate no travel policy on August? I hope they would not include cars since we have conduction stickers that can serve as identity of the vehicle. No offense to motorcycle enthusiast, but I think they should be strict on motorcycles, since there is no way to identify the owner of those vehicles. Thus, it is being used by criminal elements in their crimes.
I also owned a motorcycle and it is my hobby before when I was still single. One thing that I missed during the past administration is the performance of LTO that time. My motorcycle plate took only 2 months, but this is due to the delay of submission of the so called pnp clearance by the manufacturer. Once it is submitted, it only took a week. That is why when I purchased a new motorcycle way back then, I make sure that the clearance is readily available.

**17Sphynx17** · July 13th, 2014 09:11 PM

Originally Posted by krazeyrock

Although the nissan website featured it!

It is quite misleading, they also featured the color blue sylphy there but it is not available locally. And the speakers, it would be a steal if they really put in bose speakers just like the pictures on their website.
hahaha! Just a wishful thinking! Sayang lang talaga! But still I love my sylphy!

oh yeah, regarding the speakers. at the present, the stock speakers in the sylphy deliver the best sound in the cabin among all our vehicles (the others predate it though).
my dad actually commented that the sound was great. so i wonder now how much better the bose speakers would be? hehe. im no audiophile but the quality of the audio for the same mp3 files on the same usb stick was so distinct that even i noticed it as a drastic improvement already.ü

how is it going through bumps on your sylphy? for regular bumps it soaks it up well but when the bumps alternate left to right side, im not sure if the suspension has difficulty dampening it because it actually seemed to resonate with the bumps and did actually made me and my mum a bit dizzy.

second, when going thruthe shaw boulevard underpass along edsa northbound, the asphalt is just recently stripped. going thru it around 60kph, i felt the car sort of flex as if a force was being applied on rightward direction that i could physically feel it but the steeringwheel wasnt showing signs of road imperfections to turn to the right even a bit. so that was an odd experience forme. not sure but i think it is tire related because it is a harder compound for the ecopias.i only had a similar driving experience on a l300 fb,tamarax fx jeep type,and the toyota revo. the only rationale for them was the thick and harder 8ply tires withalmost sharp corner edges as the tread turns tomeet the sidewall.

thats about it.

EDIT 1: Forgot to ask as well for those who already got their units, what date was your unit completed/inspected for QC in Thailand Plant? Mine was 4th quarter of 2013. I can't recall completely but I found the stub/piece of paper when they turned it over to us. And I keep on forgetting to ask here.

EDIT 2: The Ecopias fitted to my unit were also for the 45th week of 2013 (Manufactured). So I have no worries of them lasting a good 6 years. I also did a bit of research but I could only find the tread wear rating for Ecopia EP455 which is 100,000kms of use. No idea for the EP150. I wonder how long it is rated to last. If it last me a good 60,000kms I'm already sold on the Ecopias (even if they deliver only marginal FC improvement of 3% in reality). The cost of just around 4kphp per tire is cheaper compared to buying an equivalent 3-3.5kphp tire that can only last 30000-40000kms.

Just thought I ask what you guys have found about Ecopias if any since I don't know of any specific thread here regarding such tires. =)

**frostentangle** · July 14th, 2014 05:12 PM

Originally Posted by 17Sphynx17

Just to update everyone one my experience with the Sylphy 1.6 CVT. I still have not broken 500kms total use. hehe!

City driving exclusively within Metro manila
Ave speed throughout trip(s): 13 km/h
Fuel used: Sealoil Unleaded 91 RON
Passengers: 1-2 PAX
Trunk: No load
Computer FC Reading 8.2km/l
Actual FC (manual compute): 7.2km/l
Difference in reading: 88% accuracy
Odo reading after trip: approx 310kms

Highway driving MNL-TAGAYTAY-MNL
Average speed throughout trip: 45km/h
Fuel Used: Seaoil Xtreme 97 RON
Passengers: 4 PAX
Trunk: 15-20kgs load on the way back to MNL
Computer FC Reading: 16.2km/l
Actual FC (manual compute): 14.6km/l
Difference in reading: 90% accuracy
Odo reading after trip: approx 470kms

Still within the break in period so I am hoping FC will still continue to improve and be closer to the computer reading.

To note though, I forgot to notice it before but in the fuel cover it does state premium unleaded only. So it should be using 95 RON preferably. I did notice that when I had 4 adults with me in the car using 91RON on an upward incline, the engine had difficulty adjusting to the "load" so there was a bit of shuddering that I could feel from the transmission since it was having difficulty deciding which gear to stay in to maintain the climb.

Using 97 ron on the trip up to Tagaytay, that wasn't the case eventhough I was "feathering" the accelerator and/or maintained about 1500rpm through the trip.

At 1500rpm, average cruising speed was about 90km/hr. Overall a good trip but there were instances when there were imperfections in the asphalt that they really translated it into the cabin in a weird way. Not sure how to describe it.

Anyway for now, I wouldn't advice topping up with 91 RON for the 1.6 Sylphy especially with the CVT to avoid shuddering.

That's it for now.

Just a couple of questions. I have 1.6 M/T Sylphy.
1. I'm confused about the fuel needed for our Sylphy, true that the fuel cover states premium unleaded only. What fuels available on Philippine market are considered "premium unleaded". I'm on ODO 2000km+ already and im just topping up Shell Unleaded, because I'm afraid to use any other fuel not labeled "unleaded". Is Shell Premium also considered "premium unleaded"? Petron XCS? Petron Blaze?

2. How can you reach 90km/hr at 1500rpm? I can only reach 60km/hr at 2000rpm on 5th gear for my M/T? Is this for CVT automatic only?

Thanks!

**17Sphynx17** · July 14th, 2014 05:40 PM

Originally Posted by frostentangle

Just a couple of questions. I have 1.6 M/T Sylphy.
1. I'm confused about the fuel needed for our Sylphy, true that the fuel cover states premium unleaded only. What fuels available on Philippine market are considered "premium unleaded". I'm on ODO 2000km+ already and im just topping up Shell Unleaded, because I'm afraid to use any other fuel not labeled "unleaded". Is Shell Premium also considered "premium unleaded"? Petron XCS? Petron Blaze?

2. How can you reach 90km/hr at 1500rpm? I can only reach 60km/hr at 2000rpm on 5th gear for my M/T? Is this for CVT automatic only?

Thanks!

If you just want to use Shell, just ask about their 95 RON fuel. I think that should be VPower Nitro +, but no need for Nitro + Racing. Premium unleaded is 95 ron. And you don't need to worry about petrol not being unleaded because by law, all our petrol fuels should be unleaded.

as for the rpm and speed. I own a CVT. But the speed I am mentioning is achieved on a relatively flat road. On an upward incline, it does drop to around 60 to 70 km/hr.

You could try the higher RON fuel as you stated you are using Shell Unleaded which is only 91RON. The ECU tends to adjust for the lower octane fuel and since it is below what is recommended, you also get a hit in your engine output.

**frostentangle** · July 15th, 2014 12:31 AM

Originally Posted by 17Sphynx17

If you just want to use Shell, just ask about their 95 RON fuel. I think that should be VPower Nitro +, but no need for Nitro + Racing. Premium unleaded is 95 ron. And you don't need to worry about petrol not being unleaded because by law, all our petrol fuels should be unleaded.

as for the rpm and speed. I own a CVT. But the speed I am mentioning is achieved on a relatively flat road. On an upward incline, it does drop to around 60 to 70 km/hr.

You could try the higher RON fuel as you stated you are using Shell Unleaded which is only 91RON. The ECU tends to adjust for the lower octane fuel and since it is below what is recommended, you also get a hit in your engine output.

Great info about all petrol being unleaded as per our law here. Thanks!

I will just empty out the remaining 91 RON on my tank and would start using 95 RON.

Another thing though, do you hear a thunk sound when turning on the AC?

**dr. d** · July 15th, 2014 12:36 AM

Originally Posted by frostentangle

.

Another thing though, do you hear a thunk sound when turning on the AC?

that's the sound of the compressor clutch engaging...
... had it in my '97 sentra..
i'm wondering why until now, nissan still hasn't done anything about it..
but to be fair to them, it didn't hurt my old car none.. 14 years..

**Horsepower** · July 15th, 2014 11:19 AM

It was so hot last Sunday, no? Noontime outside ambient temp is 40C but inside, we're freezing already at just 23C with no.4 on the fan.

Anyway, had my 1K PMS at Shaw. I was freakin disappointed with the galore of hairline scratches I've noticed when they took out my car. They took it back and all they did was wipe it with some oily cloth (to hide the scratches). Service advisor said that those people doing the service are just "subcons" or a third party contractor. The clowns are telling me the car is dusty when it got in (I washed it that morning with Mothers car shampoo). I personally do the cleaning of the car so I'll know if there's a scratch there before. They even asked if I park my car on the road, I said I have 2 garages and I'm not one of those morons who buy a car and hassle neighbors by blocking the street.

They tried to appease me by saying those are just topcoat scratches and will easily buff off except that their buffing machine is in the other talyer and I will have to come back. I only went there to have the flickering of my rearcam video feed (whenever hazard is on) checked (which was fixed). All in all, I probably will not have my car serviced there anymore. I find the North Edsa workers to be far more relaxed and proper (I went there several times for some adjustments like my xenon cutoff level).

After your 1K, did u find any change in engine power? improvement? They used "Z-charged Full Synth Elf" at 600 each.

I find is strange that I will have to come back for 5K and they will top up 1L of oil instead of changing all of it. Where would the 1L now go?

In general, Shaw Center is fine. People are ok but their workshop is shitty like it's not properly utilized and supervised. Floor is all oily that I had to wipe oil off my sneakers to make sure I don't slide or worse, slide off the pedals. I get it that they hired third party contractors to save money and shield themselves from liability (which is not possible) but I hope they consider others who are more adept at their job.

I requested that I be shown how to clean the cabin air filter but I was not shown how. My kids are 4 and 1 so I want, whenever I can, that they are exposed only to clean air. We ply QC and Manila everyday so I know how dusty that air filter must already be.

There's also a TSB for Nissan Sylphy (march 2014). Apparently to improve fuel consumption. There's a software update but the guys at Shaw have no idea about the TSB. Is there a way we can check the software version of the car without needing the reader?

Has any of you availed of Bigbert's Optiguard? I plan to have mine serviced at Araneta. Thoughts? Suggestions?

**frostentangle** · July 15th, 2014 01:45 PM

Originally Posted by dr. d

that's the sound of the compressor clutch engaging...
... had it in my '97 sentra..
i'm wondering why until now, nissan still hasn't done anything about it..
but to be fair to them, it didn't hurt my old car none.. 14 years..

Masakit sa dibdib yung tunog parang may papalya or something. Anyway many can attest how good the ACs of Nissan is so I have confidence.

Originally Posted by Horsepower

After your 1K, did u find any change in engine power? improvement? They used "Z-charged Full Synth Elf" at 600 each.

I find is strange that I will have to come back for 5K and they will top up 1L of oil instead of changing all of it. Where would the 1L now go?

Has any of you availed of Bigbert's Optiguard? I plan to have mine serviced at Araneta. Thoughts? Suggestions?

After my 1k, I drove for about a few hundred meters I felt there was some improvement on the power of the vehicle. I felt it had more grunt than before.

They also told me that on 5k they will just top up 1L and the technician mentioned the oil will then last up to 10k.

After I went to a carwash shop, I also found some hairline scratches on my Sylphy. Something from a dirty cloth I think, because the scratch was circular and it's all over my vehicle. I'm trying to get some reputable paint protection shop here in Davao but I can't find one yet.