sy300

I go to the Nissan Dealership (not the dealer I bought the Stagea from) to get the Stagea serviced because I have a mechanical warranty which requires me to get the Stagea serviced/repaired at a licenced service centre. The closest one is the Nissan Dealership, which also gives me a good discount because I'm in the armed forces. Once the warranty finishes, I will service/repair the Stagea myself. The warranty has already saved me over NZ$2500 when I burnt some valves due to the turbo overboosting (wastegate stuck).

I looked around and at different wagons when I bought the Stagea. I talked to a number of guys I know who own Subarus. They all have the same problems - diffs, big ends, oil leaks and turbos. The Legnum looks good, has good power, but the gear box (tiptronic) is shit! I know a number of mechanics who have worked on them and they all say that the Legnum/Galant gearbox just randomly stuffs out no matter how you service it, and then costs you an arm and a leg to repair/replace. I decided on the Stagea because of known reliability, good build quality, size, price and the fact that every wagon here in NZ is a friggin' Subaru or Legnum (think for yourself, be an individual, people!) The Evo wagon is nice, fairly pricey though, and hard to find. Other wagons I looked at were Mitsubishi Libero (GSR wagon), Nissan Cefiro (front drive) and Nissan Primera. I guess we are lucky here in NZ with the range of imports we can just walk into the car yard and buy, no waiting for the boat to come in. On another note relating to reliability, the Nissan CVT gear box in late model Primeras and Maximas is pretty good. But if it does stuff out, it's NZ$13,000 to replace! I was told that by a Nissan mechanic when we were talking about it while I was waiting for my Stagea to be serviced at the dealership. I couldn't believe it, NZ$13,000 is more than some of the cars it's fitted to are worth!

Koya Rush (Shadow Chrome) 18x8 Standard Offset (can't remember number) 235/40 tyres. Car still standard height, standard brakes. No clearance issues at all.

I have just changed the rear struts, it took longer to jack the car and remove the wheels than it did to replace the struts. I did have to use a hammer on the spanner to crack the lower bolts. All up it took about 1/2 - 3/4 of an hour to replace them. R33 rear struts do not fit on the Stagea. The top mounts and springs are a bigger diameter than the Stagea. After much searching, I ended up getting some 2nd hand after market Stagea rear struts, which seem to be an improvment over the originals.

Can't do any mods. It'll void the mechanical warranty. It has to be factory standard equipment. I shouldn't even do it myself, but they'll never know.

I hate: - Goddamn auto - The brakes. Who's bright idea was it to stick a set of Sylvia brakes on a 1600+kg wagon!? - Goddamn auto - The seats. No lumbar or side support. - Goddamn auto. - Constant 'What is it?' from idiot boy 'racers' in 'drift spec' Skylines or Sylvias after I jump them at the lights. - Goddamn auto. - Being unable to do mods due to mechanical warranty (1 year left). On the whole, I can live with the things on the list. I still think the Stagea is one of the best value wagons around.

I love: - The room - 4WD - Not everyone has one (although the other day there was mine and 3 others parked at work! All RS4's!) - Build quality - The look, with a nice kit and wheels. - Price. They are fairly cheap in NZ compared to other wagons. They aren't 'cool' like Subarus or Legnums so are about 3 grand cheaper. I think it is just a good all round wagon and the +'s outweigh the -'s overall.

Has anyone here changed the suspension bushes on their Stagea? It look like my lower rear shock absorber bushes (LH and RH) are flogged and was wondering if anyone has changed them. I thought while I'm at it I might do the whole lot, if one lot of bushes have gone, the rest are probably close. I assume it would be R33 GTR stuff for the front, and R33 GTS-t for the rear, just like the suspension? Are they tough to remove? Can they be removed? Can you buy a whole bush set? Or do you have to buy each bush? If so what are the part numbers (set and/or each)? Any help would be great.

Just scored a set of height adjustable rear struts for, wait for it, NZ$10.00! Got them off Trademe.co.nz. They are used, and they guy reckons they are a bit spongey, so I'll see if I can get them checked out buy a suspension place. They can't be much worse than my tired old factory struts It looks like they can drop the height a fair way (about 2"). I also think that you have to get adjustable struts certified here in NZ. Worse case scenario, the struts are stuffed, and I've got a pair of rear springs for 10 bucks!

Sweet as. Must have been confused with sunroofs. Stupid brain!

I'm of the opinion that it is not good for the clutch pack to drive around on the road with 'S' selected. The Stagea does not have a centre diff. When you go around a corner the front and rear wheels travel different distances and without a centre diff, this puts a lot of strain on the drivetrain. When the wagon is on a slippery surface with 'S' selected, the strain is relieved by the outer wheel momentarily losing traction on the surface. Basically, I would not recommend driving on the road with 'S' selected.

Just a quick question regarding this: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/C...on-88565305.htm I though genuine RS260's didn't have roof rails. Is this true, or am I mistaken?

I have 18X8 and 235/40's fitted. My speedo reads pretty much spot on (+/- 2km/h). I also am not a fan of the stretched look with tyres. I like it when the edge of the rim and tyre are even. The stretched look just makes it look like you are too cheap to buy a set of proper width tyres (IMHO). I would have liked 245's, but I heard that they don't fit very well on the front.

Maybe it was some special edition by a tuning place. Like the Dayz Stagea. It looked like a factory job.

I wil have to disagree. I have seen 2 manual turbos for sale here in NZ. I had the choice of one instead of the Stagea. The Stagea was bigger and cheaper, so went with it.