GeeDog

Thanks all - excellent info. When we find a car I'm sure there will be more questions. I'll post up when we buy something.

R33 gtr Cheap and reliable And AWD - see my previous post. Roy - good info, and pretty much what I suspected. I think an R33 GTST is the go for what we want, so we'll go hunting. So what's the cooling like on an RB25 - with a dual row alloy radiator will it handle multiple hot laps without having to keep looking at the temp gauge? If it's ok at stock power, does it become a problem at higher power levels? I would expect to put an engine cooler on, do I also need aftermarket gearbox and/or power steering coolers? Also want to confirm that my rims will fit - I have 18 x 8 ET30 with 66mm centre bore - 2003 350Z Track OEM rims - with 235/40 fronts & 245/40 rears. I'm pretty sure they will fit both the hubs / studs & in the guards. What is the stock rim size / offset for R33 GTST?

No doubt that a Clubman can be fast - I compete against an RB20DET power one at Collingrove and can't get close to his times (34's). I considered a 350Z, but too expensive up-front & too expensive to get more than about 180 RWKW - have to go super or turbo charger & that is big dollars. We know the Leggie won't compete with Evo's - hence the desire for a dedicated car - just don't want to be AWD as that's the class (here at least) where the rally guys spend huge dollars to be fast. Besides - RWD is more fun, we currently have one of each. If we went for an R32 GTT(?) - how much is involved getting decent power from the RB20DET, compared to an R33 with an RB25DET? How does it handle power upgrades? How far would you go on stock internals? I would expect the larger, more powerful from stock motor to be easier to get to 200 / 250 RWKW, but I really don't know.

Thanks guys. A couple of points: Not interested in door-to-door racing - more likely to be doing supersprints / regularity type track events and track days, along with hillclimbs. Not interested in a rotary - just not. And an MX5 doesn't turn me on either - I'd rather stick with my V35. Really don't want AWD - it puts us in the "chequebook racing" class here in several events we do. Son's Legnum is already up against some very expensive Evo's & STI's, and will never be competitive. Son won't buy an S chassis - fkin ugly says he:) Hrd - why an R32 over an R33? I was swayed more to R33 because of the extra stock power of the RB25DET. I would rather build a car up ourselves than buy a turn-key solution - we've done that at a low level with several cars over the last few years. It spreads the cost (not necessarily cheaper though) and is as much part of the experience as driving. We've already got seats & harnesses, and a spare set of Nissan 18's (350Z) rims with tyres for the first year or so. LetMeDrive - give me some info on the car - your website doesn't tell me much. I assume you are in Vic from the events you do, but not much info on the car specs nor a price?

Background: My son & I have been dabbling in entry-level motorsport for a few years, starting with a GT4 Celica and now using a V35 Skyline & TT Legnum, both of which are our daily drivers. We have done a wide variety of events, but this year have been doing hillclimb (Collingrove), OzGymkhana (Tailem bend - think Khanacross on bitumen), and an annual track day at Malalla. We want to get a bit more serious (actually we want to get faster:) and are looking at going halves in a dedicated event car. We want something that we can do a few power / handling / brake mods to now, and run like that next year. Goals for the short term are basically to be able to do low 1:20's at Malalla, and 34 / 35's at Collingrove. We also want something that is capable of decent power levels down the track - 350 - 400 RWKW, and sub 1:20 at Malalla / low 30's at Collingrove. We want a manual (obviously) RWD car with reasonable stock power (190 - 200 KW), that can be upgraded relatively easily without spending a fortune. We want it to be registerable initially, but would probably become track-only after the first year or so. We've pretty much settled on an R33 GTS25T as being about the best bang for our buck. I'm looking for input from people who own & track this and similar models. The sort of info I'm after includes: Is there a better choice, and why is it better? What mods would you do to get 200+ RWKW? What about 250 & 300 RWKW? How much (roughly) would this cost? What are the stock brakes like? What upgrade options are available? How is the cooling on an RB25DET? I'm sick of cars overheating at track days, and want something that can do 5+ hot laps without having to look at the temp guage. Will a dual-row alloy radiator keep it cool, or will be always be looking for better cooling options? How is the stock suspension? Could we get a years worth of competition by upgrading sway bars, then look at coilovers down the track? How reliable is this package - are there known issues with engine, gearbox, diff etc? What upgrades are around, and what would you recommend? We've got a pretty good handle on the cars we've owned and currently own, but don't know a lot about the R series. I'm hoping you guys can help. We're not looking to set the world on fire, but want to move up from our current setups. Hope this doesn't create too many arguments - try and keep on-topic. Cheers, Geoff

Fitted a pair of 350Z hydraulic bonnet struts. For anyone interested they were a straight bolt-on, no mods needed.

In SA (and I think other states are similar) the law says: "The speed rating of the tyres fitted to a passenger vehicle must be at least 180 km/h ('S') when the tyre placard requires a higher speed rating than 'S', for all other vehicles a speed rating of at least 120 km/h applies ('L')." So putting S rated tyres on any car won't void the insurance, nor is it illegal. In my opinion, if a tyre is rated to 180 kph (and you can bet there is a decent safety margin - the tyre won't explode at 181 kph), and I'm not using it on a track, I believe that the tyre construction & torque handling characteristics will be more than sufficient for our nanny-state speed limits.

Thanks for the input. I'va also got a Kluger with drive-by-wire and it doesn't have the same issue, so it isn't all DBW's. I'll look into the throttle controllers.

Hi all I don't do many highway miles in my 350GT, but have done a few trips in the last few weeks. I find it very hard to maintain a constant speed - much harder than any car I've ever driven before. The slightest change in accelerator pedal pressure changes the speed by 10 - 20 kph up or down, and I find myself concentrating on the speedo rather than the road. Does anyone else have this, and is there an easy fix? Obviously cruise control would work, but price seems to be very high. Can the TPS be re-mapped? Is there something wrong with my car?

Hey Mailplus - hope your delivery time is faster than your forum response time - 8 1/2 years WTF.....

There is at least 1 spot you might scrape - after turn 1 where there is a dip. Take it easy on the first run and see how it goes - you'll get faster each run. Timing doesn't start till you cut the sensor, not when the light goes green. You'll have 10 seconds after green light to go.

When you hold it for 10 seconds - is there any indication that it's different from just turning it off? Can you actually feel the car behaving differently? Reason I ask is I've tried both at hillclimbs & gymkhanas, and I can't feel anything different. I'm not convinced that there is a difference. I can tell you that Collingrove with VDC on is not much fun - first sign of slip & it basically cut power. Was the first run on a cold wet morning & thought I'd play safe - duh.

Might want to clarify what you mean by "it cranks but doesn't turn over" - cranking generally means that the starter is turning the engine - ie turning over. Do you mean "cranks but won't start"?

Nah, my eyes are screwed, just have a good optometrist.

Going on what looks like the top of a steering wheel through the LHS window, I'd suggest it's not in Australia.

^^ E-go - we sent a Mitsi V6 to Brisbane a few months ago. Got a wooden pallet, used some thin steel bar and bits of 4x2 wood to bolt the motor to the pallet, then wrapped it in plastic (black wrapping plastic - bit like glad-wrap but thicker) & dropped it at the E-Go depot. Price was very reasonable, and it arrived with no problems. Paid a bit extra for insurance.

Michael-32 said rears - 18x9J +40 with 225/40 achilles pretty much brand new Are they Achilles ATR Sport, or something else?

So when you filled it up after 300km, how many litres did it take? What sort of driving are you doing? I get anywhere from 8 l/100 km (flat freeway at 100 Kph) to 15 l/100 km (in heavy city traffic with a/c on full in summer), and expect to see around 12 - 14 l/100 km in normal city driving. If I was driving for economy (and I don't) I'd hope to see this go down by 1 - 2 l/100 km. How does that compare to yours?

Bump - $120 posted

My experience is pretty similar to sonicii's - my economy isn't as good but that's because Townsville is more of a country town than Adelaide:) - generally around 13 - 15 l/100k around the city depending on traffic & my foot, and less than 10 on the highway. I use mine as both a daily driver & for some low-end motorsport stuff, and am very happy with it. I've had one door solenoid fail, no issue with window motors yet. Parts are easy to get - most mechanical bits are the same as 350Z, and you can get anything you want from the US. I do my own servicing & cost is quite low, even using Mobil 1 oil. Insurance for me is ok but I'm older than sonicii, (without a clean record though).

Bump - great pads

I've got a 20MHz one - I find it easier for my old brain to add 20 to the displayed frequency, rather than 18. I don't miss any stations that I actually want to listen to, so I'm happy all around.

No - the display will be off by the expander's shift value - ie I have a 20MHz expander, display shows 82.3 but receives station broadcasting on 102.3.

Car Torque Products at Kent Town sells Redline stuff - not sure how much stock they have though

So the front tyres are a larger diameter than the rears - 682mm front vs 677mm rear?