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Steve85

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Posts posted by Steve85

  1. So some of you may know, i have an Istagram feed full of my car, my wife's car and any other meets i go to.
    I get a lot of questions via DM about cars people are looking to buy and if they are "good ones".

    With this in mind I made a video that covers what I look at to attempt to tell the condition of R33 GTRs using mine and my wife's car.

    Feel free to use it if you get the same questions:


  2. We don't really use dealers for GTRs all that much over here. There are some, but the majority of Australian used cars are sold privately by the owners. 

    Here you go: Australian GTRs for sale - cheapest to most expensive.
    https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/nissan/skyline/twin-turbo-intercooled-induction/?Sort=~Price

    The other place to look for Australian GTRs is right here!
    https://www.sau.com.au/forums/forum/56-for-sale-private-whole-cars-only/

     

    I'm sure that if you found one you were super keen on, you could plead/provide beers, for someone to check out for you. :D

    There's also a good local knowledge on PPI providers. 

  3. 1 hour ago, Kinkstaah said:

    The biggest takeaway I have found through my own ups and downs is - You don't know you're depressed. You just see the world through a lens that twists what you see, hear and feel. Even happy, stable people should talk about their mental state and get a checkup. Think of it like servicing a well running car.

    This! 100% agree with you here. It's odd though, as someone whose new to this, it seems so obvious now in retrospect that I was creating some of my own issues and yet I wasn't able to see that I was making it worse. ?‍♂️

    • Like 1
  4. 5 minutes ago, Duncan said:

    I'm not sure of the specifics of the post 95 rule, but there are plenty of aftermarket ECUs that are OBD2 compliant. So unless you are unable to change the ECU, something like a Haltech plug in will get you there about $38,000 cheaper.

    I also am not too sure on the OB2 requirements, but it sounds like an aftermarket ECU would be ideal. 
    The other thing to consider would be the purchase of your car from Aus or NZ? Outside of Japan, these are the biggest markets. 

    A car that has been in Aus is unlikely to be as corroded (not that it should be dismissed completely) and there's a lot of GTR people here (including PPI people).

    Just throwing ideas out there for you OP. :)

  5. 2 hours ago, Hella_GTR said:

    Thanks Steve.  I just emailed Iron Chef and the dealer to see if I can go check out the 3rd one.  It actually looks pretty decent and is local which is nice.  I'll check the auctions today too and see how it ends up.  I'll keep you posted.  Thanks again for the great help!

    -Evan

    You're welcome. Would love if you kept us up to date on your efforts. It's great to see the whole story of someones GTR ownership! :D

  6. 2 hours ago, MrStabby said:

    The key things are: exercise, sleep, nutrition, meditation, medication, therapy

    I absolutely would agree with this statement. Of course finding the balance of these is key.

    I really think that the hardest point (it's early though) for me was actually admitting I needed some help.

    I've been reading some of these articles on headspace. Even though they're targeted at younger people (teens etc), i'm finding them super useful. 
    https://headspace.org.au/friends-and-family/mental-health/

  7. Of the three you've sent through, i prefer the third. It has had it's steering wheel re-trimmed, and the cluster has been swapped, but otherwise, it looks quite clean. A big part of telling the condition is seeing under the car. Check the rails, the suspension components and for me the HICAS/ATTESSA system shows corrosion very clearly. If you see it under the car, you may be looking at a car from a snowing environment.  
    There are PPI specialists our there for cars in Japan. Personally i used Iron Chef to check out a few dud cars for me ?. It was worth it for me, as they stopped me buying two cars that would have been nightmares.

     

  8. 20 minutes ago, Dose Pipe Sutututu said:

    Next thing you need to do is go to Tomorrowland in Boom, Belgium. 

    I think my Tomorrowland might be a trip to the Nordschleife. (or maybe both?) We have a trip to Germany planned for this time next year, so will be looking to have significant improvements/changes by then. 

     

    17 minutes ago, Dose Pipe Sutututu said:

    Must also add, working in IT (with devs, dev ops, infra, etc.) doesn't help.

    You're absolutely spot on here. I have two jobs (that's a whole thing), one is as a support manager. Ie the go between for clients and Devs. I find devs and dev teams incredibly frustrating. There can really be an opinion that the product they create is life and anyone who says it's not perfect is the enemy. My contract for that role finishes up later this year. As much as it pays really well, i'm looking forward to ending it. 

  9. 10 hours ago, mlr said:

    Start up a fitness program.

    This is probably the only reason why i have managed to not fall into this trap a long time ago. Living inner city, I go everywhere on my bike. It really does help. Going outside, getting some sunshine and exerting energy into activities makes a huge difference to my mental state. 


    I have made some serious changes (not just taking medication and hoping). This list of changes is going to make everyone roll their eyes, but I couldn't see it before, i didn't know why I was struggling. I am changing:

    • My diet, it's not that my diet is bad in terms of the actual food I eat, but the frequency and regularity. I never have had the underlying "requirement" to eat. I just don't get hungry often and would rather spend time doing other things than eating. I have started to eat 3 square meals a day. Real meals at regular times, regardless of my feeling of hunger. Previously, I would often skip meals or move meal time around during the day.
    • Cutting down on screen time after hours. I am trying to put my phone down and leave it down after 5pm. I try to spend as much time as I can hanging out with my children, they are a great distraction and require your full attention for playing. 
    • And most importantly I feel, is sleep time. I previously would have real trouble going to sleep and would often mess around on my phone until 3 or 4am then rise at 8am (yep, i see now why that might be difficult). I am now going to bed before 10pm every single night and have a book by my bed (it's about GTRs) I read up to 40 minutes, then lights off close my eyes try not to get up or turn on the lights again. I'm now getting at least 7 or 8 hours a night and getting up in the morning isn't a physical and mental challenge. 

    I know that these point make me look like a lunatic. I know that you are probably all (me included) thinking: "well no doi, you were having trouble". The thing is, i didn't see it then, I didn't quite understand that all these factors were adding up and causing me problems. I have made some pretty serious errors above, but i am trying super hard to fix them. I was concentrating so hard on other factors (career, family etc) that I couldn't tell that my own shortcuts were one of my biggest problems. I really thought that i was just going through a rough patch and somehow, possibly magically everything would come good without me having to change anything. It was a real case of me being negative, then making negative choices then feeling bad and being negative again. It just goes round and round.

    What I am hoping is that i can start to repair my mindset (a more positive inner monologue), stay on the low level anti-depression drugs for the minimum time required and continue to build a better routine. I'm jumping into this with both feet, I feel if you're going to ask for help, you need to be willing to make change. That's what i'm trying to do, and laying it all out here, helps me by getting it out of my head, but also I would like to think that maybe if someone reads this they might be able to spot the signs of their own down bringing before it causes them much harm. 

  10. Meh, not uncommon.

    Buying a GTR was a major mistake and has put me in somewhat of a downward spiral, although i f**king love the car and its epic, but that doesnt really help a dire financial situation

    but there is light at the end of the tunnel

    i think the smarter you are the more prone you are to such things.

    we become more cognizant of things & life itself as we grow older and it can become overwhelming

    I agree it is common. What isn't quite as common is people (particularly men) discussing it, sharing their experiences. Helping each other through it.

     

    Sorry to hear your gtr is ruining your finances and isn't helping your situation. Downward spirals are no fun. If you need help reach out. You can alway hit me up. We can share GTR stories!!! [emoji16]

     

    • Like 1
  11. Based on the following images i would be getting this car checked by an independant specialist.

    I believe (but could be mistaken), that the following image shows new parts in the engine or painted parts. That's not always a bad thing. (Painted intake, probably reconditioned coil valley cover, new rad cap etc etc). I believe Garage Defend often, if not always improve cars for sale to a certain level of quality that suits their business.


    The other image i have shows some light corrosion in some pretty normal spots. It's this image that suggests you should have it checked. It might be exactly as it appears, nothing serious or may have some potential to show a car that has been cleaned and prepped ready to go on sale. You just need to be sure there's not any serious rusting/corrosion happening elsewhere.

    Also shameless inclusion of my video i made a few weeks ago. Addresses your concern exactly;



    I will say that garage defend are a very well known and i gather well trusted gtr/car garage. I don't believe they are in the habit of selling mis-leading/poor condition cars.
    I'm sure others could chime in with their opinions. Probably best to google their reviews.

    Hope I've been helpful. Good luck! [emoji16]

    20190805_211838.jpg20190805_212040.jpg
  12. 7 minutes ago, LWO said:

    (trolls and vindictive people etc)

    I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought of this, but I deemed it too important to not say anything. My online persona is what it is, I can always start again online with new email and logins. I really want to see these types of things discussed out in the open. And as someone who has actual experience in this, it seemed like I should create this post to show that it isn't wrong to discuss things like this, it isn't wrong to say "i'm not always ok". 

    I just hope that someone looks at me, and says "that guy has a good job, good family, awesome cars, but he also had depression, maybe it's not a big deal if I do too." I just want to make sure people know it's not uncommon and it's not something they should hide all the time. You're allowed to say, i've not been happy lately in life, I could use someone to talk to. 

  13. 4 minutes ago, GTSBoy said:

    the struggling through knee deep water feeling can be there anyway

    100% we all struggle at some point. I'm just hoping to raise a little awareness that it can and does happen. The change in my thinking and my energy levels over the last one month (that's how long I've been on medication) has been incredible. 


    I'm just hoping to give a platform to conversations about this topic. I know if I had done more reading, or had known the symptoms better, I might not have resisted seeking help so long. I was actually pretty afraid to actually tell my GP I thought i had depression, my thinking was "if I don't say it, it's not there". Obviously this is not helpful thinking and is in fact not my experience now having actually gone and got some assistance. 

  14. I suffer from depression. I am pretty apprehensive just putting it out there. But it feels like it's important for me to talk about this issue. To see that other people may be going through or have experienced the same thing, and mostly just to get this out of my head out into the open. 

    From what I can tell, I've gone downhill mentally for the last 5 years and have  previously managed to get myself out of dark places, until very recently, when several factors combined to really stop me in my tracks. 

    I should point out that I have never wanted to harm myself or to kill myself, not once did these seem like viable options for me. Rather, i suffered from lethargy and apathy. I really, really struggled to get out of bed, to engage with my children properly (I always looked after their well being, every single shred of my motivation was used to further my career and to try to keep going. Having depression doesn't mean you always try to throw yourself off a bridge every chance or jump in front of traffic. It has other forms of depleting you and making life feel like one big chore. 

    I have felt for a very long time that life was just one very hard slog, almost like moving through knee deep water. It just seemed too hard to be possible to be happy. I really struggled to motivate myself to do anything on the weekends and always took shortcuts where I shouldn't have (dumping kids in front of TV for example). For me I felt frustrated and angry and just annoyed generally with the state of my immediate world and that of the world in a broad context. I found myself getting angry at things I can't control and annoyed that no one else cared for it either.

    I am currently on a very low level dose of anti-depressant and am engaging a physiologist for assistance. These have teamed to help me to understand that the way I think and the severity of my own personal monologue (or voice in my head) is not normal and is rather destructive. While i try very hard to nurture and to assist other people who are learning or need assistance, I would be ruthless on my own efforts at life and where i would tell a colleague or child to keep trying and watch their progress as they improve, if I made the same errors I would be brutal in my own mind, telling myself I was not worth the time and bother that I was putting into the activity. 

    I guess I wanted to put this out there, to let other people know that even though everything looks perfect in my life on paper, sometimes it isn't that easy. If anyone else suffers through these types of things, please feel free to comment here, tell us your story and try to help change attitudes that depression is somehow your failing and you are at fault. Sometimes things just happen and we don't deal with them in the best of ways. 


    Of course, if you prefer, you can DM me here (i'm not a counselor or anything, I work in IT, but I can listen and don't judge) sometimes people just need a friendly ear.

     

    • Like 7
  15. Greetings all,
    Been reading on here a lot and finally got around to joining. Well to be honest, I was finding all my answers here but have a problem I can’t figure out. So thought I would officially join, be a part of the community and hopefully pick some brains. In the meantime my ride is:
    1993 R33 GTST with:
    GTR body kit - installed previously 
    3” exhaust - installed previously 
    Coil overs - installed
    Upgraded brakes - installed
    Upgraded clutch - installed previously
    R32 ECU with Nistune - in process of installing 
    Walbro 255 fuel pump - installed
    550cc Injectors - to be installed 
    HX35 turbo - to be installed
    FMIC - in process of installing
    HID headlights - installed previously
    etc.
     
     
    Welcome, sounds like a sweet car. Pictures would be cool... (if you have some) [emoji16]
  16. 28 minutes ago, TukeH said:

    Thank but little to long distance to come test drive.

    I live in Finland ?

    Ah. Sorry about that. I didn't look at your location... just assumed you must be local to me for some reason. Still... if you're ever in Melbourne come find me! :D

    • Thanks 1
  17. 8 hours ago, TukeH said:

    I have been thinking to sell my stagea and want to buy e61 530i  white msport.

     

    Just make sure you get one with a decent service history... My silver one did not have a good life. Has just done a bottom end at 160k km. 
    Our white M Sport one though. Still going strong at 170k kms. It's had a few elcetrical/electronic issues thanks to the drains on the sunroof being blocked.

    @TukeH You're welcome to come over and try out the white one. (I just dropped a tree on it :( ).  PM me if you want to arrange to see it/drive it. I'm in the inner north. :)

    IMG_5187.JPG

  18. 2 hours ago, ActionDan said:

    Do they not make these new?

    Never even occurred to me. ? 

    But I would suspect they probably do now that you've pointed out the flaw in my otherwise brilliant purchase. (In my defense, it popped up in my advertising, I got excited, I bought it). 

  19. I'm trying to install a new head unit into my 92 GTST, I got the until in but I'm not getting anything from the speakers, I'm pretty sure I have it hooked up right but I read somewhere that the amp in the boot wont operate with a new head unit. I'm trying to avoid rewiring all of the speakers but I'm pretty new to the audio world and any help would be much appreciated. 
    Sorry to hear you're having troubles.

    We're probably going to need more to go on than what you have here. A couple of pics and a hand drwwn diagram would be awesome and also the make and model of your amp and head unit.

    Are you getting power to both the amp and head unit right now? And if so what voltages do you see?
  20. 16 minutes ago, Dewayne2121 said:

    It’s an unopened 26. The next option was to pull the head off and look further into the issue. 

     

    I'm no mechanic (IT Support guy), but my impression of engines was that while 150psi is ok if all cylinders perform to this level, but a 20psi difference across the cylinders wasn't great. 
    I believe that you wanted as close a possible compression on each cylinder. Our silver GTR produced 175 across all six cylinders (stock with 10k kms). The variance between cylinders was less than 1psi across all 6.

    If this were me, i'd be looking to pull the engine down and do rings minimum. (who am I kidding, i'd pay someone).

    • Like 2
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