Brazen

Hi mate - no question go the Stagea! Check my gallery (or my avatar) for some pics of mine... but yeah go for a 1998 onwards Series 2 (in my opinion) with the Neo6 (factory 205 kW) and tiptronic auto. Picked mine up for around $28,000 with 45,000km and service history. These 1998+ series 2 also come in a manual option too! But finding one may take a few months and cost about $5000 more (low $30g). I've got kids, and first thing I did was throw in the Alpine DVD / roofmount screen / IR headphone set Works a treat! Then came the HKS cat back, panel filter and boost + .... so nice to drive More mods to come of course - and maybe a kit to get it looking like this... And go the 4WD not the RWD (that brisbane street machines have). How tall are you? I am 6'5", and therefore need the seat all the way back - which leaves about 5" clearance which is OK for skinney legs in the back - but if you are around 6' or under then heaps of room in rear. Anyway - just do it - come join the growing Stagea clut lol! Check out the Stagea forum on this site for more info Good luck with your shopping!

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MORE PARTS and SERIES 1 & 2 DISTINCTION ON NENGUN SOON!! Had the following couple of emails back from Alan at Nengun... And then today: So yeah - keep an eye out on changes to the Stagea parts list on Nengun in coming weeks :wassup:

Same problem first week for me - first thing I did was get them changed and gapped (but to 0.9mm)... and the weird thing was - they pulled out a really shocking discouloured set of NGK iridiums! So just had some normal NGKs put in.

??? Nah that pic is what i WANT mine to look like... but from that pic - the eyelids are DOLPHIN, as is the grill. http://www.freeway-dolphin.co.jp/index.htm Once I decide what I want, I can get my kit easy enough - my mechanic goes to Japan every so often on buying trips for parts etc... so he said hed be able to pick up kit bits for me when Im ready. So yeah - for aeroparts shops that dont ship international - Id suggest getting chummy with a tuner or caryard that goes to Japan to fill containers every so often and asking them to go in and get what u want off the shelf in Japan.

LOL dammit i told them i wanted a black series 2 and they didnt tell ME about that one dammit!! Oh well - I like my banana now more than black anyways ... I think... hangon - so did u get the black sereis 2 in the end? ... could be potential for a swap!

Just lookin for a bit more info on these and found out these ARC panels are TITANIUM - not aluminium... here a link to a site selling them for $255!! (WRX version). Thats $105 of retail and still in the bag... http://www.belperformance.com.au/prod-cooling-02.php

bahaha - made me laugh out loud at work SK... lol spose it is a bit of an attention grabbing colour! I think I'll definitely give up on any sleeper ambitions Now I am aiming for something like this...

Nah Tigerloo it doesnt change on you in that way - its more like when you are just about at a full stop at the lights and you realise you left the tiptronic in 4th and the engines about to cut out at 1 rpm - just about then it downshifts you to first And Gary - have you already ordered that from MV?? I was looking at it last week - so I might use you as the test dummy and wait for your write up on how the tiptronic and auto feels with the new valve body! Make sure you let me know!!

lol - thanks Gary... i think :Paranoid: I was going to keep it very sleeper looking - but the wheels blew that plan... even several weeks ago i played around with the dumb idea of getting personal plates "SLZZPER" (until I realised doing that would in itself negate it being a sleeper!!). But yeah - I just found those 18" rims with tyres last week rummaging through a second hand rim dealer's back of shop stock - and SWAPPED them for my stockies and tyres plus one other set of old 17" rims without tyres! But about your query - got the car from MJR Motorsport in QLD - talk to Steve (or Murray) - great bloke to deal with. I put my name on it about 2 1/2 months ago, but just got my hands on it 3 weeks back They are a RAW for stags so import, comply and sell themselves - so less middle men to pay at our end. Mine only has 45,000kms with service history and there is seriously not a single hairline scratch or mark on the entire body - so I was pretty stoked and got a great deal as well (PM me for full deal details if you want). Pretty sure they will happily try and locate specific car requests on their buying trips if they can... not like a broker though probably - they'll still prob not reveal auction price and negotiate on market value terms id imagine - was thinking about doing this at one stage coz i originally really wanted dual sunroof - but the deal on this one was just too good to pass up

Hmmm - maybe this guy was having me on - but he seemed pretty sure - like hed had the query before - talked alot about how 'doing it yourself' you may compromise the shock by grooving too deep etc. He said there were only a few critical insurance voiders in motion crashes - including non-legal tyre wear etc - and also shock absorbers - one of those things in your insurance 'full' contract - all that fine print you sign off on where it says stuff like "I declare that the vehicle has roadworthy tyres and dadada and understand that not having roadworthy tyres or parts used other than as the manufacturer intended dadada will void any associated claim for ...." Of course he said if you rear end someone and have $2000 of front bumper work no assessor is going to check your shocks and ask about your circlip grooves! lol BUT he said if you happened to wipe out another car and a family then they'll be going over the wreck with a fine-tooth comb to find blame... so yeah when they find modified shock absorbers that is against the conditions of insurance (that bloody fine print long 20 page booklet) and your signed declaration was misleading therefore voiding your policy. However if you can prove they were manufacturer intended modifications (ie they did it and you can prove it eg receipt) to the shocks then you are ok. Anyway - could all be some guys version of having fun at work and making life hard for me - but i WILL dig out the insurance terms and conditions booklet and go over the fine print... not that itll matter now that Bilstein machine the circlip grooves themselves. Eitehr way - id love to prove the guy wrong - but to save any doubts it great to know Bilstein do it anyways.

PM sent

Wow Michael - I reckon that info is the best Stagea info on the forums yet! SK let us in on grooving the bilsteins to lower ride height using stock springs - but when i checked with my insurance company they said self-machined grooves would void any claim where the car was in motion as suspension is considered a critical component and any non-manufactured shock absorber changes would void a claim instantly (like bald tyres). BUT if they are done by Bilstein themselves then this would get around that problem! THANKS

Yeah has a safety mechanism built in - changes down and up if you **** up... down im not sure at what revs but it does it, and up when you're too far into the redline! :wassup:

Yep - as my post said - series 2 has a manual option, but not series 1... if dollars is a factor - then the cheapest way into a manual stag is definitely a series 1 with a manual conversion - coz you not only save the $3000 premium over the tiptronics that appears on manual series 2's, but about $5-$7000 on the difference between a series 1 and a 98 series 2 auto... The real price difference is, for instance (car yard prices): Series 2 RS Four S (manual) = $32,000 (or thereabouts) Series 1 ($20,000) + conversion = $23,000 So yeah - even cheaper if you import yourself - saw on geoff risbeys emails this week a Sereis 1 Stag for $16,000 landed and complied! But if no ultra-strict budget - then find a sereis 2 manual and go for it! I actually want tiptronic so was no drama for me - and if you've got moderate $ then i cant recommend the Neo6 series 2 enough - love mine!!

Re-bump lol - only takes 12 hours to get knocked half way down to page three these days! Offers?

I looked at R34s a bit before going with my Neo6 Stagea... and I found a few GTTs at Causeway (Cannington) Auto Wholesale (its been said a million times but dont confuse them with Cannington Autohouse). Dont know if Causeway is who you tried, but talk to Albert and bargain hard coz I reckon their stickered prices are a tad ambitious... I remember him saying he 'might' get down to around $29 thou on a 4-door, and low $30s on a GTT coupe - but it all depends on year, kms and specs- dont expect to pay only $30,000 for a year 2000, 40,000km spotless manual GTT!! But 30g will get you a 1998, higher kms tiptronic if you shop hard enough. And yeah you will always save heaps importing yourself - its up to the individual - I preferred paying a few grand extra to have my car right now without all the importing to-do-list and long wait... but if you're the patient type or on a budget then importing can pay off - geoff risbey is one good option to check out, my mate imported his GTR through him ... www.prestigemotorsport.com.au And also dont forget the QLD yards... bigger choice (and competition) so often can save more over the WA yards than it costs to truck it over... I found all the southern states yards to charge a high premium over QLD... but you could get lucky looking at sydney, Melb, adelaide too. But yeah - my Series 2 Stagea from qld was $3000 cheaper than one in WA, and had half the kms (with logbooks) and not much more than a grand to transport it over here. Bought my Stagea from MJR Motorsport (Steve) - great to deal with (but dont do R34s) http://www.mjrmotorsport.com/

97 Stageas (series 1) didnt come with the option of a manual transmission - straight auto only - so conversion is your only go there - check the manual conversion stickied thread for info on that. However for a Series 2 (10/98 onwards) tiptronic Stagea your looking at mid 20 thou to 30 thou depending on years and kms and condition. A manual series 2 seems from auction prices to have about a $3-4000 premium on tiptronics - if you can find one that is.

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Alrighty Ill take first option... call me 0417 097 178 to work it out, or PM me your contact number and Ill call you. Cheers Adam

Got the tiptronic Series 2 and it is fast and smooth... and Tigerloo - u can still keep 2 hands on the wheel coz the gear-shift controls are mounted there Ive driven tiptronics many times in FTOs and Magnas and BA falcons - and there is just no comparison to the Nissan - awesome tiptronic box :wassup: In second and third at full acceleration the full gear change happens within about 500 revs max (ie press the upshift about 500rpm before you want the actual shift), but with first to second change and full acceleration I upshift about 1000 revs before i need the change coz its climbing so fast. But yeah - slick and fast - and I might even go the valve body upgrade to get em even sharper Its so nice being in control of the auto change - especially the kick downs happen so much better in my opinion over a straight auto too - you can drop your foot and spool up the boost just before dropping it into second and it really surges nicely.

Yeah - good thing i dont smoke Although you could always just use the rear-seat centre console ash-tray to butt out the ciggies - its actually less of a reach than the dash anyways! And yeah - seeings my clock doesnt work and theres one on the stereo anyways - racking my brain about what to slip in there... an EBC would fit nicely too... hmmm