StageaTypeS

Hmmm this is interesting stuff. I use Greddy Type S R33 GTR coilovers in my Stagea they fit perfectly (Other than modifying rear strut tops and changing the rate of the rear spring, fat arse wagon vs light coupe) I would have thought if there was significant difference in the rear cradle maybe I would have noticed it here???? What is the difference in the axles is it to do with length / diameter ??

I can confirm the following on a Type S Stagea. It definitely has a GTR Rear end e.g. LSD and suspension mounting (Forks) and also the same Hicas. I would be interested in finding out about the gearbox though because I always thought they had a GTR one standard. Is there any way of finding this out by looking at the gearbox?

No don't think so (My mechanic did my conversion for me as I am mechanically incapable) My car is a manual type s so has a standard handbrake not sure if this is any different to the autos. I believe the rear drums that the handbrake uses in a stagea are identical to those of a skyline hence the new disk just fits straight over the top and you bolt on the new calipers.

I have done rears, R33 Calipers and new disks. They just bolt straight on, I am pretty sure that rear brakes from R32,R33 and R34 skylines are all the same so I can't imagine there being any problems in doing this. (Pic attached although its not that great) The standard rear stagea brakes are pooh.

Yeah I would be keen for a rear strut brace, someone should organise a group buy . I think they were Greddy ones in the last Group Buy, that would go real nice in my stag I reckon.

I would also like to add the following as I have done the conversion myself. When I did the swap I noticed that the original pads were bigger than the skyline ones and I asked my mechanic what he thought about things, his view was there wasn't enough difference in the size to make any real difference and the compound of the pad and the clamping force of the caliper would have more impact on stopping. You can read that anyway you like but here is what I have found in the real world of driving. Stagea S2, r33 gtst calipers all around, EBC Redstuff pads all around, RDA slotted rotors, Standard rubber lines (Although will be upgrading to steel braided lines in the future) We have an industrial park not too far from us which I did some testing of my brakes both before and after my upgrade. On the original brakes from 100kph to stop I could only do this 3 times before getting major brake fade. After the upgrade and after maybe 2000km of casual driving I put the new setup to the test. (I didn't want to warp the discs early on hence the 2000k of driving) I did 8 stops from 100kph to standstill with a little bit of fade but nowhere near as much as I had with the standard setup. After the 6th stop the brakes were smoking quite a bit but they were still pulling up pretty good. I think that certainly with the lack of availability of parts for S2 brakes then going to the skyline setup is the best thing you can do. If and thats a big If you could get slotted rotors and good pads for the S2 then it might pull up good, but you are certainly not going to get the range of choices that you get for the skyline e.g. Rotors DBA, RDA, Project MU, Dexcel. Pads Mintex, EBC, Project MU and so on.

Get a S2 Stagea you will love it. I bought a S2 Type S (Std Manual with GTR Drivetrain) about 2 years ago and I still love it and funnily enough I was never in the market for one, I actually went to the caryard with the intention of buying a legnum they had advertised. The only Legnum / Galant that is worthwhile I think is the Super VR4 but I wouldn't exactly call it classy (Red Recaros anyone? you might as well put a sign on the back window "Here car thiefs, nice seats for you") Admittedly on first appearances Stageas are not as good looking as a legnum (imo) but they certainly grow on you. Lowering them makes them look heaps better as they have a bit of a nose up stance standard. Some big rims also make heaps of difference, I am just abut to fit a set of 19 x 9 rims to mine . Now when I see a legnum they certainly don't have the initial appeal to me I find they actually look a bit fussy and prefer the clean lines of the Stagea these days. Also I prefer the interior of the Stagea simple solid and functional. (I am not a fan of mitsubishi interiors). Also in terms of aftermarket parts there is so much choice with Stageas whether it be engine / suspension/ aero whatever. So in summary GET A STAG!!!!!!!! (I have posted some pics to help you with your decision making)

Yes R32 GTR calipers and rotors can be used, they are the same as R33 GTST. Any of the Sumitumo skyline brakes can be fitted to the stageas also the brembos.

Hey all I found these pics of an M35 on the web and had to share it, damn it looks nice. I wonder if you would ever be able to drive something like that here in OZ.

Thirded, Fujitsubo Legalis R is awesome. I ordered mine and got the local exhaust shop to fit it. They were like kids in a candy shop fitting it they were amazed at how tidy the welds were and how everything fitted up exactly. I would also recommend getting a front pipe as this really made a nice difference and made the car sound really grunty when you put your foot down. Also on another point fujitsubo legalis R exhaust are made out of medium stainless steel, others like hks are made out of mild steel. Heres a couple of pics of the exhaust.

Sounds like by what you are all saying I would be foolish not to get one. I wonder if there is any chance of another group buy for these? Does anyone know the details of the last one and who organised it?

Yeah see if the Brembos off a V35 skyline would fit, that would look awesome.

I am not quite sure what you mean here KiwiRS4T? Stageas come standard with Coilovers e.g. a Spring or Coil over a shock absorber. The only difference between your standard springs and shock absorbers and a set of aftermarket matched shocks and springs is often these come with adjustable settings e.g. spring seat height and damping. Here is a link to all the information you could ever want regarding suspension http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/coilovers/Part_1/

What sort of rear strut brace do you have? I have noticed some Greddy ones come up on here a couple of times. I think Cusco also do them. Does it have much of an impact on your boot space? Also how does it make the car handling feel better? (Give me a really good answer please so I can justify it to the missus)

I struggled to find coilovers for my stag (Type S same suspension setup as RS260) so i fitted a set of R33 GTR Greddy Type S Coilovers. The only required modification was to the rear strut tops as in the Stagea they are oval instead of round. This is because they have tried to keep them from intruding into the boot being a wagon so they made the strut top mounts smaller. Its a minor job for any good suspension shop to machine these down. The ride was OK but it was a little soft in the back for my liking as the rear coils were progressive so I swapped the back coils out for a set of linear off the shelf Eibach items. 6.8kg from memory. Handles great now, everything is fully adjustable too which I like e.g. Spring seats, bottom mounts, damping and so on. From everything I have read on here I think the SK Bilstein kits are Standard R32 GTR front shocks and Standard R33 GTST rear shocks (Although I may be wrong) with 2 choices of spring e.g. Whiteline or Eibach. If you have an RS260 and want coilovers I would suggest any R33 GTR coilover would fit with a slight modification to the rear strut top. Also some companies offer a choice of coils so I would suggest getting linear rate springs front and rear and either match the rates or keep them reasonably similar front to rear. My rates are quite high but i like my car firm 8kg front and 6.8 kg rears. I think the springs in the Group buy are around half that rate e.g. 4kg front and 3.2 rear. It also depends on where you live and the state of your roads, I am in melbourne and spend the majority of my time driving on city roads which although not perfect aren't too bad. I could imagine if you live in a rural area with really bumpy roads you may like to try a more compliant setup with softer springs and dampers.

I have had a hunt and I managed to find the box I had for the rear springs. The number on the sticker is 1000.250.0450 which translates as Free Length 1000, Inside Diameter 250.00, Rate 450 lbs/inch. The fronts are different but I am not sure what they are exactly. In terms of lowering I am not sure how they would go being fitted to a set of standard shocks. I have coilovers with adjustable spring seats and lower mounts, this way i can retain as much traval as I like and also have the car lowered to a reasonable height without it bottoming out. I dealt with Trutrack suspension in Melbourne they are really good to deal with they stock Bilstein and Eibach stuff and can easily recommend something.

You can go to any good suspension shop and order springs to your desired height / diameter / weight. I researched my spring choice carefully for my car before buying a set of Eibach off the shelf springs as the ones in the SK kit sounded a bit soft for my liking 4kg from memory. FYI the spring rates for the C34 Nismo kit from memory are 6.9kg front and 6.9kg rear. I got a set of Eibachs of the same weight they were around $280 a pair so for around $600 you could get a front and rear set. Also don't buy tein unless you are forking out heaps of dough on the top shelf stuff I have only ever heard bad thing about them. If you are considering a set of coilovers then look at the Greddy coilovers I reckon they are just about the best you can get for the money, they ride really nice and are what I have fitted.

Yeah I'd be keen to meet some other Stag addicts, count me in

Do the brake swap it takes so much hassle out of having to replace brake parts. R33 GTST Calipers all around and rotors, from what I here there is bugger all difference in going to Brembos in terms of braking performance as they are still only 4 pot and 2 pot and the piston sizes are almost equivalent to the sumitumo calipers. The major difference with Brembos is you can fit a larger disk on the fronts but if this is really an issue for you then Unique Auto Sports offer a large front disk conversioon kit for R33 GTST calipers which allows you to run a 350mm disk which is bigger than GTR brembos can run anyways. I think you can get this kit for around $700 which includes caliper brackets and new DBA rotors plus the price of calipers maybe a couple of hundred bucks from a wrecker. Anyways on a final note I have a full set of S2 Stagea Disks / calipers and pads sitting in my garage from my conversion they are still almost mint so if anyones interested then pm me.

Mate, here are some comments below, hope its useful. I have done the brake swap to R33GTST calipers and disks all around.

Are these parts still for sale?

Do the Viva, I like the look of those kits (Masa) I am planning on getting one for my s2 stag. Plus there looks to be quite a bit of meat on the bottom part of the front bumper so i imagine it would hold up reasonably well. Looking at your nismo front bumper it doesn't look like it would take much to damage that.

hmmmm, I have a s2 Dayz front bar If I can find a kit to replace mine I might then see about getting a few copies of it made whilst it is off the car. It has had the middle section chopped out for the intercooler, but I reckon it looks way better like this. I imagaine it would be pretty easy to fix and if you were taking moulds off the bumper you would never know. Would anyone be interested in some Dayz bumpers if I got some made? Also anyone know a good fibreglass workshop in Melbourne who may be interested in doing this work.

RS4STAGMAN, fair enough everyone is entitled to their view point. Personally I am very happy I have done the conversion and no mroe brake worries for me when it comes to replacing disks / calipers. Also FYI I got my calipers rebuilt at Racebrakes here in Melbourne and the chap there commented that the standard Stagea brakes were inadequate for the size and performance of the vehicle. He thought I was doing the right thing by upgrading the brakes and he didn't think there would be any issues with doing the swap. Regarding insurance have you ever made an insurance claim? I know I have made a few in my time and the reality is if they wanted to ping you for something it is more than likely not going to be in the braking department. Probably for something like bald tyres or an engine modification e.g. Boost Controller or lowered suspension or something like that. If I had my insurance refused for replacing my braking system with a superior system offered by the same manufacturer which had been fitted professionally with all brand new parts e.g. Pads / Disks I would be taking the insurance company to court.