awhiteone

Hi all, Can someone tell me if this looks like stock suspension setup on my R33 GTS-t? They look to be adjustable items and I can't quite find a brand name on them one of the stickers has "project" but I can't qiute see the rest of it. Do they come with adjustable as stock? It handles really well, which I'm happy with it's just a little soft and tends to bounce a bit too much after bumps, like the damper rate is too soft. I was wondering if I can adjust this by changing the spring position? From the looks of it, the springs are setup so that the ride height is at maximum. Any idea what I would need to adjust this? I"m guessing some kind of special tool, which I'm hoping will be easier to identify if I can work out which brand they are (if it's not stock.) Would dropping the springs down the strut tower change the spring rate at all? Or would I need to look into the dampers, I can't see anywhere to adjust dampers (like nothing at the top of the strut tower under the bonnet, so I'm guessing it's not adjustable.) Appreciate any help and suggestions!

Throttle body cleaner is good and it shouldn't stuff the O2 sensors. Some people also use propane if you have a propane torch lying around, this should increase the idle speed if you reckon reducing the idle will be difficult to spot. Just be bloody careful where you're spraying it around!

Thanks mate. It has dual airbags which I understood to be an option too. I thought the fogs might be blanks and it was a transplanted front bar (but then I found the switch and they work ). It looks like the s2 centre console - from what I can tell the s1 and s2 have slightly different shapes - could be wrong there though. Also has factory sunroof but I understand this is also an option on s1 and s2. I'm guessing the build date should put it into the s2 lineup but I have heard about these s1/s2 hybrids. Anyway thanks for looking, I was just more curious really. Everything seems to work though, so all good.

Hi all, I'm trying to determine if mine is a series 2 or has had bits bolted on. (can't get fog lamps to go on plus a couple of other things). 04/1996 R33 GTS-t. Wondering if the FAST will show for sure. Chassis # ECR33-107207 Model # GGKBRTFR33VDAEALAC Cheers!

This has gone through my mind but I'm also thinking if they've had this good a look at the motor then I'll probably have the best history of the car I could hope for and I get something with a rebuilt engine that will last me a good while.

Thanks. I'm still puzzled as to how the dude managed to do it if it's not obviously crap getting into the cyinders. Been discussing with someone else and the possibility of it being overboosted at some point is also a consideration.

So it's cylinders 1 and 5 that have damaged rings and pistons. Mechanic reckons it's just been overheated at some point. Would the cylinder numbers indicate a particular problem? Getting the head checked and fixed next. What can I do to prevent similar in future... I'm obviously going to take better care than the last guy but given that I live in sunny central Queensland should I be looking at anything to improve the cooling system? Would it be related to the fact that there could be something wrong with the engine coolling? Could running an FMIC or R34 GTT SMIC help precent this in future if say I wanted to drive it in a spirited manner occasionally? :-)

I would really hope not... I'll ask about that too. Is this obvious/ visible without taking the turbo off completely?

It's a yard but they have their own workshop and have been up front about everything so far, they could have just given it to me as is and told me that's how they run etc. Maybe they will just do that so I guess it depends on what caused that in the first place eh? I'll be asking about the cause too, at this stage i'm more concerned about what else might be stuffed on there. Been trying to read about why they might fail eh, bad oil/ wrong oil/ not enough oil/ overheating/ dirt in the chamber etc. If it's just one cylinder and they hone it and replace piston/ rings, is that alright? I think i'll ask for the readings for all 6 cyls and see if they are just gonna do 1 or however many or them all so it's even. Bollocks, now i'm worried it's been abused a lot and it might be one thing after another...

Ok, so i'm not going to be racing the car for the forseeable. It's got to be a reliable daily driver firstly, and up to 250rwkw would be more than adequate for my needs for a long time, I'll maybe have $2-3k extra to spend a year on it so I'm not chasing massive power. So it does seem i'm best saving my money for now and just getting the car back in a running start first eh. Looking at the brakes will be one of the first things I do though since they don't pull it up quite as well as I thought they should, then start having a good look at anything else that's not been kept on top of maintenance wise. I'm learning more about all the other mods I can do and mostly bolt on, so I'll start making a plan for those things after it's reliable first.

Thanks, that seems good advice. Not looking to whack a bigger turbo on it for a while, happy with reliability first and it seems there's a few other things that would benefit more first and be a little cheaper. I'm not gonna be racing this or chasing huge power but anything that's going to make it more responsive under non-track conditions would be good. :-) As far as I'm aware, it's the stock turbo on there which was rebuilt 12m ago probs cos of the unburnt oil coming out of the duff cylinder. So it seems the previous guy didn't look into the cause or didn't wanna spend the money. I'll know more Monday when they start on it properly but at least I know a few questions to ask now. I know that they will fix it properly but given it's at their cost they're not gonna do more than they have to so I at least want to be able to ask the right questions and understand the problem too. So when they come to me with discussions about what to replace and what to re-use I can have a proper think about it and decide what I want to pay for.

Look, all I'm trying to do is work out if there is anything else that is really worth doing while having a rebuild done. If there was something that say wasn't designed properly or is likely to fail etc. and people would like to fix this but not rebuild the engine just to do so, then I would consider that. Something like forged pistons/ rods etc. after having researched the parts is out of my budget just now, If it was the next thing people do after sorting out the exhaust, intake, ecu and a bigger turbo - then maybe I would do it now while I have the chance but it doesn't seem worth it to me right now. Justjap seems to have a kit for about $350 which includes belt, water pump, idler bearing/ pulley etc. so rather than do that again in 6 months i'll probs just get that done now. I might just end up doing is getting all the parts that you do at a 100k service since it's 10k off that and ask him to fit them at the same time. Is it worth looking at N1 water and oil pumps? Are the standard units worth upgrading for a fairly stock engine that will run in the QLD heat? Seem to be bout $400 each. So this kind of thing is within budget and to me, would make sense to do now rather than pull it apart in 6 months again just to do so. I'd love to be able to say here's $5,000 do all you can with that but given I've spent most of my budget on a new car I don't have that lying around. Otherwise I would have looked for a GTR in the first place. :-)

So forged pistons, rods, bearings, bolts and head bolts would be about $2500 it seems. I'll have to think very, very carefully about spending that. What kind of gains could I expect to get from that alone? assuming it gets tuned etc. when built. Would anything else need done along with that to take advantage or will it just work better and be able to handle more power down the line? I'm still keen to know what would cause the rings to fail on an 85k motor, just 1 cylinder, and what else I should look at. I'll ask them to check the head and the valve guides etc. while they are pulling it apart.

So rods, bearings and bolts seem the consensus eh? I'd be keen for something that gives more torque across the midrange rather than peak power. Seems to me that's what lighter/ stronger rods would bring. So this wouldn't require more fuel, right? Just makes the engine more efficient, right? Whereas bigger turbo etc is simplymore fuel for more power eh? So what would a set of rods bolts and bearings run at? Gtr or neo ones? Where would you get these from, Nissan? I can only seem to find other brands on a few searches. At this stage I was hoping to not spend anything but it's an opportunity, so maybe I could find $1000. The car is pretty untouched probably too untouched, as for good then maybe not so good as it appeared but hoping to remedy this now. What could cause rings to fail? Too much abuse? Not changing oil? Dirty fuel?

Yeah piston rods and a light port might be an idea... reading a bit more it doesn't seem like people do much to the block until way down the line. I'll just be really happy that it's gonna be as new and (I would hope) more reliable for a while. Bloody lucky he's an honest dealer and good bloke. Keen to let him do a few enhancements for cash since he's paying for it eh.

So my new R33 GTS-t is going in to have the rings replace and pistons, rebore done, if neccessary. (Compression problem). What would you do at the same time while this is done? Does the stock head need any work? It's still running stock turbo (rebuilt 12m ago) but has a cat-back stainless exhaust (or maybe turbo back, still tbc). No other mods at this stage - manged to find a good, untouched one. Does the RB25 head need ported or polished? Anything else that's worth doing to the block for future bolt-ons? Obv it will need run in after it's been done, so I wont be slapping a bigger turbo etc. on there right away but maybe a few months down the line. Just wanted to think about the chance of related work. :-)

Just confirmed - they know it's an import, all mods covered as long as they are within rego compliance. I'd say it's a v different story with more highly modded vehicles but for mine (as it is now) it's cheaper and does the job. I've been with them before and they paid out when my car got keyed years ago no probs, choice of repairer... unless QLD version is run totally differently then it should be right. I'll still review other insurers in a few months as things change and it might get cheaper, or if I get more questionable mods then yeah.

My excess was only $400 with justcar $600 with NRMA, would still prefer the difference in my pocket if I don't claim. I listed the mods it has (exhaust, rims) and it got added into the agreed value - same as justcar. I'll call and dbl check everything tomorrow now though. I've been with them for various cars but all non-imported/ std cars, are they really that much of a shocker to deal with that nobody on here insures with them?

Yeah, good point. I'll check the docs, they have a 21 day cool off anyway eh. Seems a good deal tho but then again if it seems to good...

Yeah, good point. I'll check the docs, they have a 21 day cool off anyway eh. Seems a good deal tho but then again if it seems to good...

Haha - none. I just thought it was a good deal really seems to be not many that will cover/ cover for a reasonable amount.

Gday, Just bought my first Skyline - R33 GTSt. Been getting insurance and NRMA QLD have a campaign where they beat ANY other quote by 10%. Just saved myself 10% off the cheapest I could find - Just Car. Excess is a little higher but they did agreed value and matched up all else, bargain. Just though i'd share.