Track Day Car--32 Or 33 Gtst

[ozcam83]

Any opinions on which would make a better car for the odd track day? 32's seem cheaper for parts etc., but has anyone found they break alot simply due to age etc? If anyone's got some experience with track days on either model I'd be keen to hear. Like the idea of a 32, but the other option I'm looking at is a S2 R33.

[Angus Smart]

i'd go a 32, as you said cheeper to mod, cheeper to buy, lighter and has it rawness.

the 33 on the other hand has the 2.5....

[Minko]

i would go a 32 with a rb25

[BHDave]

i would go a 32 with a rb25

I did

R32 and get as much weight out of it as you can. It is lighter to begin with than the 33, it is cheaper to buy, it has better diff ratios, it stops better.

It's older so will need some attention in the suspension department, namely ball joints, tie rods and ends, subframe bushes and castor rods. But as far as breakages due to age, i have had no major issues. In 4 years of owning mine i've had a leaky water pump, an alternator die, an ignitor lose a channel and a couple of speedo cables die. The engine did get a bit tired as it approached the 200k mark so i put the 25 in.

If you buy one with a healthy engine, box and diff it will be fine.

Or an s13.

[N1GTR]

R32

Take out everything thats not vital to make it turn stop or accelerate

Lose the rb20, get a 25 (or even 26) head, RB30 bottom end (stock)

Turbo of choice

Get some 2nd hand coilovers, replace all the bushings

Bolt all that together

Cheap fun

Then only replace/upgrade things as they break if you're on a budget

[t01-100]

R32 = cheap performance.

There upto 10 do the rounds in the tassie state series... i had one for a year and it was the cheapest competition car I've ever run!

[Roy]

I think if you dont care about the styling...then you have to take the R33. They are not really that much heavier, especially when you factor in they have bigger brakes and better gearbox.

And the idea of putting an Rb26/30 etc into a car where you are using 2nd hand coilovers??????????? Thats going backwards, you are better off ensuring the suspension is 100% and yopu have some good tyres on board before considering chasing more power.

So, either the 32 or 33 will do the job, the 33 will probably be stiffer to boot

[blk180]

I like the R33 for the better motor and gearbox. They are around the same price as R32s too.

[battery]

i would look for a car that has had heaps of $$$ spent on it already, be it a r32, r33 or even s13

[nice 28]

If you are going to remove all the extra weight i'd go a r33.

Not too sure on exact specs but r33 has better brakes, better engine, better gearbox etc.

I'm sure once you strip out all the extra weight it's not going to be too much heavier than the r32 (don't quote me on this though).

If you plan on modding it etc. i'd go for r32 with rb25, but the r33 would be less stuffing around (engine swaps etc.)

R32's look better though..

[R31Nismoid]

Been a few good threads lately on this

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/t186121.html

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/t159091.html

[evil_weevil]

Im "slowly" building my 33 up to be more of a track/fun car rather than a streeter.

although, if I had my choice and time again, I think I'd do BHDave's way. 32 with the 25 in it.

But I just love my 33 and I wont be getting rid of it for a long time!

My power level is just about complete (only 220rwkw but for me at the track, thats plenty) and suspension is almost done (just need a better diff) and now Im going to strip it so we'll see how all that turns out

slighty off topic - I spoke to Bond roll bars?

they said just under 1k fitted for the rear - 4 point cage with the middle harness bar. that seems pretty reasonable yes? I think its CAMS approved also?

[JDSracing]

Bang for buck I think the 33 will be a better option for you, because as mentioned it already has the rb25, bigger brakes and better gearbox etc.

Think about having a look at a 95 model R33, it has the same engine as the series 2, but I'm sure I've read somewhere that the series 1 is 20 kilos lighter than the series 2 to begin with. (Not sure where though, I think it was a random specs page) - if anyone knows this is wrong for sure feel free to correct me.

Price wise a decent R32 or R33 GTST seem to cost you about the same these days, and I don't think an R32 would be significantly cheaper to mod, in fact it would probably end up being more expensive to get it to the same level if you start tossing up things like rb25 transplants..

If you strip all the unnecessary stuff out of the R33 you can still get it quite light and very balanced. There is a thread here on lightening R33s! The principle is easy enough though, pull everything out that isn't needed to run the car!

Slightly off topic again, Evil, I was under the impression that you could get a 6 point from them for less than a $1000, not sure if it's CAMs legal though. A mate of mine and Adam's just got a 6 point put in his S14, I think it was through them, I will ask and get back to you - Adam would probably know off the top of his head though.

[Roy]

The R33 is no doubt got more key ingredients in it then an R32 GTSt. I woudl say the weight of an R32 GTSt with RB25 engine and gearbox woudl be near on identical...but then with less nice to haves in the susp geometry.

I am waiting to see some of hte Vic R32s running RB25 hit the track to see if the RB20 is a major handicap. They say a picture speaks volumes..well i like how these three pics reveal how the RB20 can punch well above its weight when you maintain the gearing that Nissan gave them.

Here is an R34 GTT on the same dyno, same tuner with Poncams and GCG high Flow, and then a very similar car out of NSW (though it had different tuner and dyno)

And again my std RB20 with a turbo and ECU upgrade

Compared to a std turbo RB26 with Poncams, and same dyno and same tuner

So dont not run an R32 with RB20 because you perceive the RB20 to be the weak link in the package.

But, given the stiffer chassis, better gearbox, bigger engine with more compression, slightly bigger brakes...the R33 is better on paper....but in real life each car is modded so differently and driven by different people...then you are actually better to buy on a car by car basis rather then a specific model.

[evil_weevil]

Matt,

cheers for the link - re: weight saving!

Troy - good comparison and write up!

true - it always comes down to driver preference and ability! so take both 32 and 33 for a test drive!

[battery]

interesting topic.

i guess the other factor is parts, i mean an rb25 is a fair bit more expensive than the 20 same goes for the gearbox.

[Ten Four]

Think about having a look at a 95 model R33, it has the same engine as the series 2, but I'm sure I've read somewhere that the series 1 is 20 kilos lighter than the series 2 to begin with. (Not sure where though, I think it was a random specs page) - if anyone knows this is wrong for sure feel free to correct me.

Are you sure it was the car?

[Marco-R34GTT]

R32 then whack at NEO RB25DET in it!!

[funkymonkey]

at the end of the day the rational choice is an R33 GTSt for a track car. Don't get me wrong, I loathe the styling of an R33 compared to an R32... but we're talking GTSt's here. R32 GTR's are a different matter, but GTSt's are poo.

You can't seriously be thinking "lets put an RB25DET in it... lets put bigger brakes in it... lets set up the suspension better in it" etc when its already been done from factory in an R33 GTSt. The golden rule of building race cars is to let someone else do the hard yards for you and then buy it off them at half the cost. Would you seriously waste time on a $6K to 8K R32 GTSt and spend about $5K on labour bringing it up to spec with an R33 GTSt rather than just goin out and buying an R33 GTSt for $9000 and be done with it?

[Frink]

i track my r33 on a fairly regular basis. i agree with what has already been said about both cars. the r33 with the better 'box and motor is a good advantage, however the r33's do have a fairly poor diff (in my opinion) as opposed to the r32's which have an LSD from the factory?? please correct me if im wrong . i believe that even for a car which is only tracked 2-3 times a year, its a very good idea to have a healthy diff if you wish to get the full enjoyment of a trackday experience. spinning one wheel out of a corner when your trying set a good time is very frustrating....

also, the r33's have a longer wheel base, which can be an advantage on a circuit as it gives you a little more cornering stabilitly in certain kinds of corners (but this is a more technical area which most people wont even think about...).

whatever you do, just make it as light as you can. as has been said, weight is just evil...