Skylines A Good Reliable Car?

[Public Enemy]

I ALWAYS keep at least 5k in my piggy bank

Just in case something goes wrong. Nothing worse than hearing stories of skylines off the road for months on end while the owner is saving up for a new engine.

O yeah and be prepared to be harrassed by the cops.

[rev210]

Most lines are pushing 100,000km+ so expect to have standard problems as with any old car. The main problem I've seen is coilpacks which are only about $600 to replace for some aftermarket ones

Or $10 worth of high temp silastic. Does the job too.

[NISMOGTT]

Well considering the stock GTT turbo is rated at 12.5psi MAX I'd say you either have a highflowed turbo or a non stock turbo or a BLOWN turbo and you don't even know it ;-) I'm yet to hear of anyone running more than 12psi on a stock gtt (non-hiflowed) for more than a little while without blowing it.

rated is not fact... same as rated fuel useage My bro also has a GTT doing the same thing and neither turbo is hi-flowed

[ix9]

if you buy one 'dont boost it up' cause they last longer like Jax said

i had no problems until some nub tuner boosted mine up, pretty much died in a month

That's pretty narrow minded. "Boosting" your skyline will not kill it.

Well considering the stock GTT turbo is rated at 12.5psi MAX I'd say you either have a highflowed turbo or a non stock turbo or a BLOWN turbo and you don't even know it ;-) I'm yet to hear of anyone running more than 12psi on a stock gtt (non-hiflowed) for more than a little while without blowing it.

Please do some research. Stock turbos can handle 14psi easily with the use of a FMIC. How much power-gain you get between 12.5psi and 14psi boost is somewhat the deciding factor. (Why run 14psi for 10 extra HP?)

[Ehgriez]

On the note of fuel consumption, mines a R32 GTS-4 so running the RB0det. Stock boost.

[ricsvtr]

Generally yes they are reliable....BUT some are getting a bit old now (10+ yrs) and you will encounter typical 'old car' issues. Things made of rubber such as coolant hoses and oil seals will start to fail, radiators and heater cores will start to leak, chassis will start making noises/creak.

Edited February 13, 2009 by ricsvtr

[Grace-R33]

hey i thought id add my 2 cents

ive had my skyline (33 NA) since april 07,

never had any trouble with it only thing is that i had to replace the timing belt which only ended up costing $500

and i get just under 400kms on a full tank

yay go skylines

[Sneakyazn]

might as well throw in my opinion as well, my R33 s1 is 15 years old (1994) now and havnt had any major or minor mechanical problems... however has only done 102,000k's ive had it for a year now an done a fair few drags and drifts, only a minor service's at the moment due to get a major 100,000 service so itl be in the upcoming week or so. its been mechanically sound however in saying that the only mod ive done is 3"cat back exhaust. i got it from a dealer and was tempted with a 3 year warranty so im perrty happy ^.^ but otherwise pretty much stock and from my point of view pretty reliable for a pretty old car and its in great nick, practically immac some things do go though ive experianced the actuator inside the air conditioning unit playing up, havn't bothered to fix it yet, will do soon but its no cause for concern, just annoying to hear a click click when u first start the car. im pretty heavy on the pedal i only get 400k's to a tank mind you its a rb25det. though when i do drive normally i can get anywhere from 400-500 to a tank 500k's if im driving really easy.... but thats pretty rare hahaha... i generally go on cruises least once a month and have at least a drag with someone at least every 1-2 weeks so you can get a rough idea how i drive my car i dont thrash the living bajeebus out of it though but i do put the car to good use... make it do what its made to do ^.^ a good car and can take a fair bit of punishment from my point of view then again i dont red line it, most times when its dragged rpm is at 6rpm i wont go higher, otherwise normal driving its at 2.5rpm i dont know about the other ppl here but for me my car has been great and in my opinion exceptionally reliable compared to other cars out there, especially for its year.

Edited February 13, 2009 by Sneakyazn

[rev210]

.....done a fair few drags and drifts, ...... im pretty heavy on the pedal ..... when i do drive normally i can get anywhere from 400-500 to a tank 500k's if im driving really easy.... but thats pretty rare hahaha... i generally go on cruises least once a month and have at least a drag with someone at least every 1-2 weeks so you can get a rough idea how i drive my car ...... i do put the car to good use... make it do what its made to do ^.^ , most times when its dragged rpm is at 6rpm i wont go higher

Drag racing someone every 1-2 weeks?

Unless you are doing that at Kwinanna , we really don't want to know.

[Wacky Dee]

rated is not fact... same as rated fuel useage My bro also has a GTT doing the same thing and neither turbo is hi-flowed

is it a series 2 by any chance? I think s2 r34s might have an aluminium exhaust wheel or whatever its called where as all the earlier ones are plastic which is why they can't handle more than 12 for long periods..

[Mr. Keets]

^

[rev210]

plastic exhaust wheels?

Actually they are made of balsa wood.

[Wacky Dee]

Actually you are retard and shouldn't be replying if you have nothing useful to add Read post #20

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/in...t&p=1527454

Edited February 15, 2009 by Delta Force

[NISMOGTT]

is it a series 2 by any chance? I think s2 r34s might have an aluminium exhaust wheel or whatever its called where as all the earlier ones are plastic which is why they can't handle more than 12 for long periods..

I will have to check on the series(it is a 99 so i figure series 1 off a guess)... But from experience it is not so much the boost that will kill a turbo as it will only get so much(the limit) it is more heat that has an issue, things like oil temp, coolant temp and exhaust temp etc...(mine spits flames it gets that hot sometimes )... i have it set to 14psi for everyday using a SBC-id so no spikes and when on a cruise i only bump it back to 13.5 psi unless my oil starts to get above 110 celcius then i will bump it back further, but i have only ever once got it that hot on a hot day with 4500Km oil. your more then welcome to check it out on the next cruise if you like

[rev210]

I will have to check on the series(it is a 99 so i figure series 1 off a guess)... But from experience it is not so much the boost that will kill a turbo as it will only get so much(the limit) it is more heat that has an issue, things like oil temp, coolant temp and exhaust temp etc...(mine spits flames it gets that hot sometimes )... i have it set to 14psi for everyday using a SBC-id so no spikes and when on a cruise i only bump it back to 13.5 psi unless my oil starts to get above 110 celcius then i will bump it back further, but i have only ever once got it that hot on a hot day with 4500Km oil. your more then welcome to check it out on the next cruise if you like

If your turbo is set to 14psi with 'no spikes' you will eventually destroy it. The ceramic exhaust wheel will be destroyed.

This is a fact so well proven in the experience of these forums that you have only a matter of time before you post a thread about what turbo you should buy next. The boost 'will' kill this turbo and if you are unlucky the ceramic particles may also hurt the motor by getting back through the exhaust manifold into it.

The heat (due to being outside the compressors efficiency) and shaft speed required to produce the 14psi or so of the Turbo are the biggest factors in killing them.

[ix9]

Here's an interesting fuel consumption tidbit;

I was super impressed with long-haul trips in the skyline - got it down to 8.7L/100km

[bubba]

is it a series 2 by any chance? I think s2 r34s might have an aluminium exhaust wheel or whatever its called where as all the earlier ones are plastic which is why they can't handle more than 12 for long periods..

The plastic referred to is on the compressor wheel, not the exhaust. AFAIK pretty much all of the factory skyline turbos have ceramic exhaust wheels (except N1's?), it is these that don't like excessive heat and can fall apart. I have also heard several stories of the nylon compressor wheel delaminating.

[NISMOGTT]

If your turbo is set to 14psi with 'no spikes' you will eventually destroy it. The ceramic exhaust wheel will be destroyed.

This is a fact so well proven in the experience of these forums that you have only a matter of time before you post a thread about what turbo you should buy next. The boost 'will' kill this turbo and if you are unlucky the ceramic particles may also hurt the motor by getting back through the exhaust manifold into it.

The heat (due to being outside the compressors efficiency) and shaft speed required to produce the 14psi or so of the Turbo are the biggest factors in killing them.

Heat is in many aspects you have coolant lines to help keep the turbo cool and like i said i have seen and own one and have never seen one break-up how you speak, but we all maintain our cars perfectly not using $10 selastic to fix coolant pipes as you suggested above... i tend to find the people that blow theirs is either poor maintanence and bad driving or track use with excesive heat for long periods of time. One of the best ways to move heat from the turbo is a nice open dump pipe as the 4" i have to get it down to the exhaust...

As everyone has said a poorly looked after car will fall apart a immaculate one will always last longer... Plus the tuning shop i went/go to has no problem doing this as it was their advise who tunned my apexi after i took the IMPUL ecu out which was also running 14psi.

[rev210]

Heat is in many aspects you have coolant lines to help keep the turbo cool and like i said i have seen and own one and have never seen one break-up how you speak, but we all maintain our cars perfectly not using $10 selastic to fix coolant pipes as you suggested above... i tend to find the people that blow theirs is either poor maintanence and bad driving or track use with excesive heat for long periods of time. One of the best ways to move heat from the turbo is a nice open dump pipe as the 4" i have to get it down to the exhaust...

As everyone has said a poorly looked after car will fall apart a immaculate one will always last longer... Plus the tuning shop i went/go to has no problem doing this as it was their advise who tunned my apexi after i took the IMPUL ecu out which was also running 14psi.

You didn't read well in this case.

Reffering to $10 silastic for 'coil packs', not coolant hose.

You have seen and owned a turbo running at 14psi that didn't break? Well I have known a good 30+ or more that have (been on this forum since 2002 and before then on SDU). The worst part is it is coupled with blokes like yourself who have gotten bad advice on what is a reliable level on these turbos.

Take your tuning shop advice as gospel if you like. It's your turbo but, I would like to help you out if I can by pointing out the utter shite info you have been given and hopefully help save you from some pain.

[Kaido_RR]

very simple

if the owner has looked after the car there is no reason why it cant be reliable.

its that simple.