Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

Hi,

Im looking at getting a daily driver, with the option to turn it into a track-car later on (2years+)

I am looking at getting a Dr30 or AE86 (jdm not aus spec).

Basicly im looking at the cost to run both cars and how hard it is to find parts for them? I know with the 86 you can go to your toyota dealer and get parts from them and find parts here very easy but im not sure about the dr30.

any input would be nice

ohh what what type of fuel would i need to run in the fj20? bp98?

thanks michael :)

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/111290-dr30-or-ae86/
Share on other sites

heaps of parts for either, just depends on if you want a bigger car or smaller car. DR30 would be the faster car for track work. IMO if you really want a sweet track car(grip race) get a old scool Rotor RX3, RX2 RX7 even! With the right setup they go hard, just look at the field in Improved Production! But definatly the DR as a street car!

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/111290-dr30-or-ae86/#findComment-2052116
Share on other sites

Parts for a DR30 aren't very expensive (except oil pumps) and my DR30 was far nicer than friends AE86's. Definitely go the DR30, indestructible engine as long as you keep the sump off the oil pickup, tough rear end and it doesnt have a trailer axle in the back

hey adam, where do you get most of your parts from? do you have to soruce them from japan or can u get them from nissan? (im not general parts which wear over time)

and thankyou everyone else for the reply :happy:

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/111290-dr30-or-ae86/#findComment-2052356
Share on other sites

ae86's are rust heaps, i own one (oz spec upgraded to japanese rear and silvia front). I also work for an importer and only 1 out of 10 ae86's we inspect that are cheap have acceptable amounts of rust. Usually their owned by budding amatures with small budgets in japan, so maintenance is not a priority. The ones that are well looked after and clean are owned by proper enthusiasts and a good clean runner will cost you at least 12k to anywhere up to 23k for fully restored ones. For that sorta money you can easily land an R33 GTSt that's 10 years newer.

In comparison most DR30's we look at have easy lives and aren't as neglected.

Purely from a value for money perspective, I'd say go with the DR30... you just don't get as good a car if you bought an AE86 for the same amount.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/111290-dr30-or-ae86/#findComment-2052516
Share on other sites

ae86's are rust heaps, i own one (oz spec upgraded to japanese rear and silvia front). I also work for an importer and only 1 out of 10 ae86's we inspect that are cheap have acceptable amounts of rust. Usually their owned by budding amatures with small budgets in japan, so maintenance is not a priority. The ones that are well looked after and clean are owned by proper enthusiasts and a good clean runner will cost you at least 12k to anywhere up to 23k for fully restored ones. For that sorta money you can easily land an R33 GTSt that's 10 years newer.

In comparison most DR30's we look at have easy lives and aren't as neglected.

Purely from a value for money perspective, I'd say go with the DR30... you just don't get as good a car if you bought an AE86 for the same amount.

thanks for that funky :D

i've been checking out some of the auction in the area which the person i am importing through uses, and their are alot of ae86 but as you said the auction sheet always mention rust...

only problem i have seen is that there arnt many dr30 for sale

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/111290-dr30-or-ae86/#findComment-2052547
Share on other sites

Go the older model DR30 sedan.. As far as I'm aware body panels should be interchangable with Aus spec MR30's.. FJ and GZE are both awesome engines... Steering feel will be slightly better in the 86 due to R30's running steering box. Then there's the DR's indipendant rear wich seems to work well even though its a trailing arm set up. My mate uses premium with no hassels

DR30 as a daily for the win.... nothing like the oldschool grunt of the FJ when you knock it back a gear :D Bang for buck u cant loose

What sort of figures are you looking at for a clean DR30 landed if you don't mind me asking?

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/111290-dr30-or-ae86/#findComment-2052601
Share on other sites

Engine parts are easy through Stewart Wilkins in Sydney

Other various bits I've gotten through Jaustech for DR30 specific items, and general Nissan wreckers for common R30 parts

And I had most work done by my Triumph mechanics, so they can't be too hard to work on, they'd never seen one before

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/111290-dr30-or-ae86/#findComment-2055818
Share on other sites

Mikey, I've seen DR30's with immaculate paint (still stock colour) for around 5k. Sure, it could have a few problems but if the original paint is that good, it goes to show the quality of a car.

FJ20 is the founder of nissan 2ltr turbos really.. And it's a bulletproof beast to boot.

DR30 FTW!

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/111290-dr30-or-ae86/#findComment-2062226
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Latest Posts

    • OK, next the shroud needs to come off and there are a couple of tricks. Firstly, there is a loom from near the passenger side headlight to the fans, coolant temp sensor etc and there is no plug to undo.  In my case I was OK to leave the shroud on top of the engine so I just undid the passenger side fan plug and about 10 of the clips which gave enough free wire to put it aside. The fan plugs were super tight, the trick I used was a small falt screwdriver to push down on the release tab, then a larger flat screwdriver to lever the plug out of the fan unit....be careful with how much force you apply! If you need to remove the shroud altogether for some reason you will have to deal with all the plugs (tight) and clips (brittle)....good luck. I removed all of the clips and replaced them with cable ties that I will just cut next time. Also, in the Red Sport / 400R at least, the intake heat exchanger reservoir hose is bolted to the shroud in 2 places with 10mm headed bolts; so remove them (the hose stays in the car; no need to undo it at the t fittings down at the radiator lower mount. Once you've dealt with the HX hose and the wiring loom, there are 3x 10mm headed self tappers holding the top of the shroud to the radiator; remove those.   The shroud then lifts out of the bottom mounts where it sits on the radiator, up and onto the engine out of the way. Simples
    • Ok, disregard my “rate them” comment, sorry for my unrealistic input
    • OK, now we are ready to get started. You need to remove the air boxes on each side for clearance. The cover is straightforward, undo the clips on the top and lift the front cover out of the rest of the housing. If it is tight you can remove the air filters first. The rear section of the airbox is trickier. On each side you need to remove the Air flow meter wiring which is held to the airbox with a clip; you need to get behind the clip on 2 sides if you want to remove it without breaking it - unclip the harder side and pull on the clip with medium force, then unclip the easier side and it should pop out The airbox is held onto the intake hose with a spring clamp; you need to get a flat bladed screwdriver behind the spring on both sides and pop them outwards. When you have got them in the right unclipped place they will stay there and the airbox slips out pretty freely. Put a rag in the intake to prevent anything getting dropped in there, and also to prevent you seeing that the turbo seal is leaking oil (as they do). Then. The top of the radiator is held by a steel plate, it is secured by 2x10mm and 2x12mm headed bolts . Remove them and remove the plate Also grab the bushings that hold the radiator to the plate on each side so they are not lost!
    • Next, remove the upper and lower radiator hoses, both are held with a spring clamp. While you are under there, tackle the Auto Trans cooler lines.  Again both are held on with spring clamps, and as mentioned above you should cap them on the radiator side with an 8mm cap, and on the car side loop them with a length of 8mm pipe - this will stop you losing a dangerous amount of AT fluid during the rest of the job If you've been meaning to add a sender for AT trans temp, this is a great time to do it; put a sender fitting into the passenger side line as that is the inlet to the cooler/radiator.
    • Next you need to remove the intake duct (as with pretty much every job on these cars), it is a series of clips you gently remove with a flat bladed screwdriver. They do get brittle with time and can break, and I have not found a decent quality aftermarket one that fits (they are all too soft or flimsy and don't last either) but the nissan ones are a couple of bucks each (ouch).  Once the clips are off (either 8 or 10, I didn't check) you lift the intake duct out and will see the reservoirs Undo the line into the radiator side cap (some bent needle nosed piers are awesome for spring clamps) and then remove the 4x 10m nuts that hold both in place.  I didn't get these pics, but remove the line under the radiator reservoir (spring clamp again) then remove that reservoir. Then you can get at the intake reservoir, same thing, spring clamp underneath then remove it. BTW This is a great time to put in a larger (+70%) combined reservoir that AMS makes..... https://www.amsperformance.com/product/q50-q60-red-alpha-coolant-expansion-tank/ They also make an Infiniti branded and part# version if that is your thing
×
×
  • Create New...