Jump to content
SAU Community

Vt Ss Ls1 - Who Has Driven One, Who Owns One?

CEF11E

By CEF11E,
in General Automotive Discussion

 Share

Recommended Posts

CEF11E Veteran

CEF11E

Posted
Posted

Hey all,

I am looking at getting a "family" car and still want some power but also want something bigger and like a lounge chair.

Who has actually driven an ls1 powered TV commodome?

I have had turbo nissans for years and currently have an RB30dET powered R32. yes i know it is not going to be any where near as fast. i expect that but juus want an honest review from a skyline driver.

no commonwhores are crap comments please.

I will only have 15k to spend and want a less than 10 year old comfortable car with power and space

Granthem Mentor

Granthem

Posted
Posted

I would save up a wee bit more and get a VX SS. I think they got a different head design and with and exhaust and extractors will still be quite speedy. Appearance wise they are also a major step up (IMO). They can be had for 15k and upwards.

Modena Grand Master

Modena

Posted
Posted
Hey all,

I am looking at getting a "family" car and still want some power but also want something bigger and like a lounge chair.

Who has actually driven an ls1 powered TV commodome?

I have had turbo nissans for years and currently have an RB30dET powered R32. yes i know it is not going to be any where near as fast. i expect that but juus want an honest review from a skyline driver.

no commonwhores are crap comments please.

I will only have 15k to spend and want a less than 10 year old comfortable car with power and space

Ive driven the VU SS ute... I think it is a VX equivalent as the VT model did not have utes.

The car feels super fast, quicker than my R33 GTST. Can be thirsty on local streets.

Many early LS1s had piston slap defect, so make sure to ceck it out prior purchase as the only way to rectify it is to rebuild the engine.

Go for VX SS, with the petrol prices I am sure you can find one for 16 K more or less.

short-shift Apprentice

short-shift

Posted
Posted

Ls1 with a good tune in it ($300-$600) will be your best bet. As for the piston slap and oil burning look it up on ls1.com.au, have yet to see one fail because of either issue. Both can be managed.

For the $$$ VX calais or statesman would be worth a look in a V6 even supercharged (V6 supercharged can have head issues if over heated)

In the V6 range you can get a good car for the $$$, but a well tuned LS1 would be more fun and as good on fuel as the V6.

Have a look on ls1.com.au for sale section, bargins can be had.

Cheers

Kerry

Yidz Experienced

Yidz

Posted
Posted

I previously owned a VX SS M6 and they are a great car. Mine had just 200kw atw but had plenty of up and go. Only reason I sold it was I wanted something different and at the time I had just taken a trainee position and couldnt afford loan + fuel etc. If you are going to buy a manual, hsv short shifter is the go too!

Mine had been rebuilt but still had a touch of piston slap. Didnt cause any problems at all though. It was just a bit of a noise but with the exhaust you could hardly hear it :D

I would recommend one to anyone. Especially how easy it is to pull some nice power out of them :)

Sold mine just over a year ago for $16500. Wasnt immaculate but I kept it in good nick..

evil_weevil Grand Master

evil_weevil

Posted
Posted

I had a VT LS1 exec 6 speed before I had my line.

I had it for 3 years.

All I had on it was a set of 17's, full exhaust, some suspension and a tune

made 213rwkw and did EC in 2.02

Not bad for a big taxi!!!

It was big, roomy and confortable.

I had a few options in it - cruise, cd, air, power windows, lsd so yeah, was pretty good, cheaper to insure than an SS also. Never had dramas with oil consumption or piston slap.

I really liked that car!

Id suggest though going for a VXii LS1 powered commodore. Slightly more refined.

Just keep looking around, you'll find a decent one around after a while! Some standard, some minor mods, some wild mods.

One thing though I cannot stress though, is make sure you have an exhaust on it as its bloody quiet when standard!!!!!! :D

I sold it for 19.5k back in 2005

NISMO Grand Master

NISMO

Posted
Posted

I had a VX SS a few years back for the exact same reasons as you've stated.

Personally i would never buy one again.

Nothing was actually wrong with the car, just not my cup of tea. I had a 78 Skyline C210 which felt better through corners than the SS did.

Mine was a Black 6Sp, and yes plenty of grunt and a nice sounding engine, however the interior left a lot to be desired in terms of build quality.

At the time I was tossing up between the SS and an R34 sedan. I went the SS to get away from imports from a while and because I always wanted an 8, but regretted the decision within a few months. In the end I had the car for a little over a year before I sold it.

Personally I would go for a nice 6 as theses would feel just as quick in general driving given how heavy the SS's are.

CEF11E Veteran

CEF11E

Posted
  • Author
Posted

guys, i really appreciate the input.

it looks like i am going to stick with imports.

stagea, legnum both wagons, 4wd, 2.5 litre turbo 1998 models had for the money.

aristo, cima, chaser, all older 1996 odd. bit more unique. aristo 2jz is an advantage but the car is really getting a bit old.

Yidz Experienced

Yidz

Posted
Posted (edited)
I had a VX SS a few years back for the exact same reasons as you've stated.

Personally i would never buy one again.

Nothing was actually wrong with the car, just not my cup of tea. I had a 78 Skyline C210 which felt better through corners than the SS did.

Mine was a Black 6Sp, and yes plenty of grunt and a nice sounding engine, however the interior left a lot to be desired in terms of build quality.

At the time I was tossing up between the SS and an R34 sedan. I went the SS to get away from imports from a while and because I always wanted an 8, but regretted the decision within a few months. In the end I had the car for a little over a year before I sold it.

Personally I would go for a nice 6 as theses would feel just as quick in general driving given how heavy the SS's are.

Interesting perspective. Did you have any suspension mods done to your SS? Only because mine was lowered and had aftermarket springs & shocks and it felt fantastic around corners. It suprised a lot of people. Never drove one with standard suspension though so I can't really comment.

I know I'll get mauled on here but I don't understand how people like the look of Stagea's? I think they look ugly as...

Always had a soft spot for Aristos though :(

Edited by Yidz
NISMO Grand Master

NISMO

Posted
Posted
Interesting perspective. Did you have any suspension mods done to your SS? Only because mine was lowered and had aftermarket springs & shocks and it felt fantastic around corners. It suprised a lot of people. Never drove one with standard suspension though so I can't really comment.

I know I'll get mauled on here but I don't understand how people like the look of Stagea's? I think they look ugly as...

Always had a soft spot for Aristos though :(

Nah it was bone stock. I'm the opposite. I have never driven one with suspension mods so can't comment on that.

Going from an R33 I just didn't like the way they turned at all.

Like I said there was nothing "wrong" with the car, they're not a bad car at all, but for a family car with a bit of power I would definitely go a different route if I was to do it again.

evil_weevil Grand Master

evil_weevil

Posted
Posted

suspension,

Yidz, I feel the same - my VT actually went ok around EC!!!

suspension mods were minor...

although my 33 would eat it round a track x 11ty - for a family car with grunt, it went well and could hold its own!

and yep, I agree, stagea's are ugly :thumbsup::P

hehehehe

Yidz Experienced

Yidz

Posted
Posted
Nah it was bone stock. I'm the opposite. I have never driven one with suspension mods so can't comment on that.

Going from an R33 I just didn't like the way they turned at all.

Like I said there was nothing "wrong" with the car, they're not a bad car at all, but for a family car with a bit of power I would definitely go a different route if I was to do it again.

Yeah I can imagine going from the 33 would of been a world of difference.

To be honest I cant wait to get back into a Gen III. Keen on a VT GTS 300 or a VT Clubsport... Love the HSV styling. Big cam, blower etc :D Makes me wonder why im wasting my time on my thing now! :D

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
 Share
Go to topic listing


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • thomasLait
      New Stegea Owner

      By thomasLait · Posted

      Hey everyone, I recently bought myself a 2001 Nissan Stegea M35, and I've had a few issues that I had to fix, my car would start intermittently and I had a bad rocker cover leak, after a couple days of looking I finally found a part number that interchanges with the OEM starter as the OEM starters at $1300 and I can't afford that, this starter was only $270 and I replaced the start and still had the same issues, I posted a video asking for help online and it went very well, some guy said it was probably a bad ignition switch so I took my dash apart and turns out my ignition switch was half screwed in and was loose, once it was tightened it fired right up, I found a local place called "Boost factory" and they sold me a part of OEM Nissan rocker covers, they were $600 which was a shocker but I couldn't find them anywhere else, so I installed them and fixed my oil leak as the old rocker cover was cracked and warped, I now need to replace my boost air inlet hoses as they have some cracks.
    • drifter17a
      R34 gtt rb25det neo timing belt kit

      By drifter17a · Posted

      I am being real ocd and do not want to make amy mistakes so appreciate all help provided. I am overly cautious so asking for opinion even if i know the answer   few questions,   1.re tensioner, should spring be greased lightly?    2.tensioner has two washers , one pressure washer and other has recessed/ seat. I am going to put the recessed one facing tensioner where edges are cut out and pressure washer on top   3. my car has custom triger kit sold few years ago by guy who initially built the engine. I moved the crank gear and it moved in and out easy, only way to remove belt is to slide the crankshaft gear forward which I did. I have seen these being very tough to move , anything to do with my woodruff key?   it has a crank sensor shown in purple which I assume reads from the 12 teeth position mounted to the crankcase gear   4. timing belt doesn’t have arrow stating front or back just a arrow which I think is direction of rotation . Do you agree?   5.i figured out why my crankcase cover was worn as there was no washer installed over the crankcase cover before the harmonic balancer was put in place. It is missing, anyone knows the part number? It looks like this https://justjap.com/products/genuine-nissan-crankshaft-timing-gear-rear-plate-washer-nissan-s13-ca18-a31-r32-rb20-r33-r34-c33-c34-c35-rb25?currency=USD   https://tinypic.host/image/IMG-4535.382Zy2 https://tinypic.host/image/IMG-4537.382dSz https://tinypic.host/image/IMG-4534.382q4U  
    • TurboTapin
      New fix for low tyre pressure from bmw

      By TurboTapin · Posted

      CTIS (Central Tire Inflation System) has existed since the 80's. I'm looking into buying a Hummer H1 and they generally included it. 
    • Kinkstaah
      Mistakes were made, my R34 Story

      By Kinkstaah · Posted

      My idle is set at 950rpm though - Moving the timing around 20 degrees is not really what I'd call a calm idle. That said... neither is chop, by definition. The LS ECU likes to adjust timing to hold idle as opposed to air. It'd work, but generally speaking there'd be a discrepancy in the base idle and the IACV would want to move the timing around anyway to maintain said idle. I think I'm just going to keep the timing steady anyway. Preserve my engine mounts.  My aircon is now officially regassed. As the guy was reversing I noticed my reverse lights do not operate, along with my reverse cam. This is a bit distressing, because 100% of guides talk about which wire to connect to backup cams as "the goes with the [other color] wire". Often when doing conversions. Unfortunately the R34 colour wires aren't documented Unfortunately I had a T56 Magnum gearbox with it's reverse switch, which also isn't documented. Unfortunately there's definitely not documentation for people with both of these in the one car. Unfortunately I forgot. After many hours of this, I have a reverse cam and reverse lights again. The wire going through the trans tunnel to the reverse switch had broken. Upon inspection, it looks like this one wire had about 7 spade terminals and extensions in it.. for reasons I cannot possibly comprehend. I also spent the 750 hours required to clean up the wiring behind my head unit which now looks like this: This is a monumental improvement relative to what used to be there WRT triple gauges, head unit, traction control, wideband controller, and whatever the f**k OEM stuff still exists there in various states of connectivity/needed. Next step is to check in at the Exhaust shop to see/confirm how much clearance I have, to decide what mid mufflers or 'resonators' (which are just straight through, narrower mufflers) I can add and hopefully cut out a lot of exhaust leaks, pinhole, v-band or otherwise. But first step will be to 'take a look' before the next step.
    • Dose Pipe Sutututu
      Another little story of weird shit happening

      By Dose Pipe Sutututu · Posted

      Fark the AFM card and Nistune, Haltech Nexus S3, DBW, cruise control, flex fuel, dis dat.  
×
×
  • Create New...