Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

Hi all,

I currently own a new Alfa Romeo 147. It's a nice car. it's got a Selespeed gear box. A true clutchless manual (unlike an auto box). And I love the thing, especially downshifts as it blips the throttle and damn the engine is revvy and sounds great but it's only got 110kw. It loves corners but just needs more power (The GTA version is 250hp V6 but $70k!!!).

I have always loved Skylines and decided to test drive an r34 tiptronic yesterday. I got it sideways by accident. Freaked me out a little. Obviously not used to rear wheel drive and so much power. I was quick to crrect it though! LOL! The car didn't feel so fast and this is probably because shifting from 1st into 2nd with the tiptronic gearshifter was soooo slow (the Alfa shifts faster the higher the revs). Downshifting was OK but nowhere bear as fun as the Alfa (the blipping throttle sounds so good on the Alfa).

Overall I still walked away loving the Skyline. I want a clutchless. Shame the R34 isn't a true sequential. But it was still fast. Does anyone here at all have 0-100km/hr times for the R34 GT-T tiptronic. I have searched everywhere for this information and couldn't find a thing. I am scared of buying a 2nd hand car. Especially a turbo and a skyline at that. Surely the previous owner had absolutely fanged the damn thing to death like I surely will? Do these cars hold up well? I mean, are they tough?! I expect them to be tough.

Any advice, thoughts would be appreciated peeps. I am THIS close to putting the money down.

PS Toby19. I've read a few of your posts with interest and would like to talk to you about your car before I run out and buy mine. It would really help me out. If you could email me at: [email protected] that would be great. I can then reply with a few questions I have.

PPS: My current ride pics if you're interested:

DSCN5899.jpg

DSCN5895.jpg

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/26204-about-to-buy-an-r34-tiptronic/
Share on other sites

hey justin, your Alpha is a nice ride!

The Skyline you're buying i'm assuming has less than 40,000km's on it being a '99 model.

Take my advice and test drive a few other R34 Tiptronics before you make your decision, that way you will know if this one has been flogged or not (I'd say chances are it hasnt as its practically a new car).

The Skylines are descendants of racing cars, so their internal mechanics like the drivetrain, gearbox etc is all VERY VERY tough and can take a beating from a lot more power than what the GTT's put out in stock form.. so don't worry about that. :P

Before the dealer calls you up and pressures you to buy it, go and test drive a few more R34's (Trust me, these things don't sell that quickly, you have at least a week before worrying about it being sold).. plus try asking the guy if he can hold it for you for a week while you "Get finances together" with a REFUNDABLE deposit subject to a second test drive and you need an 'i can change my mind clause'. (double check the paper work!) .. import dealers are unfortunately usually a lot more dodgy than standard car dealers in my experience.

If he's a semi-legitimate car dealer he should have no problem doing that.

My other recommendation is if you're going to be spending 35-45k on an R34 GTT and you're after a sports car you might want to check out the R33 GTR's in that price bracket. take one for a test drive and do yourself a HUGE favour by comparing the two cars. the GTR is older but probably one of the most exhilerating steers you'll ever have in your life. :)

Happy car hunting.

Thanks for the advice guys. Looks like I will have to test another one asap, whilst the memory is still fresh. I wonder if a dealer would let me somehow dyno test the car before purchase? That would surely be a good way to see whether the car is screwed or not? I am still pretty scared of buying a lemon!

I will call Powerplay imports and suss that one out.

Yeah the tiptronic is pretty good, I'd never own a full auto....I don't like the car deciding which gear I should be in!

I agree with the others, take a few for a drive to gauge if you can live with it....I still think it was the best move I ever made.

Also spend that $100 to get it checked, you can never be to careful with buying a used car and for $100 you can't go wrong.

justin: as RedLine said, take the car to a mechanic who SPECIALISES in imports. I'm not sure who does in Sydney but i'm sure some guys on here can point you in the right direction.

Tell the workshop you intend on buying one of these cars, and if they could inspect the one you intend on buying for stuff like accident history and so forth. Tell them when you buy the car you intend on taking it to these guys for services and performance upgrades, and they'll give you a good price.

Also, ASK the dealer to show you the cars Auction papers from Japan and what Auction grade the car received (should be a 3.5 or a 4) .. that will also tell you if the car has had any accident history or any other things that the dealer wants to hide. If he can't provide you with the import papers thats very suspect. :(

Hey thanks again guys. I am surprised there's not THAT much content online about these cars. I have been searching for info all day. I would have just gotten the NRMA to check the car but if anyone knows of a mechanic that would check it in Sydney please let me know.

The R34 at Japlink was the one I had tested. It had clocked up over 70,000km's. The only strange thing with it was that when I turned the car off and took the keys out the engine was still ON!!! Strange?! Perhaps something to do with the way they jump started the car?

Does anyone here have any info on whether or not Japlink are good guys? They're pretty close to me and seem to have a pretty good workshop there.

I am booked in to test drive the tiptronic at Power Play next week. It's black, which is more me. But it's a lot more at $38k. Too much really but it's only done 40something k's and I'm sure I can bargain them down some.

justin, on turbo cars its optional to install a turbo timer which shuts down the car automatically after a few minutes. This is done so the turbo has time to slow down before the engine shuts off.

Turbo's spool up to around 130,000 rpm.. so if you drive hard then turn the car off straight away the remaining air coming out of the turbo's can damage the engine.

  • 3 months later...

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


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • Initially I thought having a pair of Recaro seats would be a big bonus, it turns out these do get a little uncomfortable on long journeys (my fault, not the seat). I had a look through the GSM Performance website at reclining seats and booked an appointment to visit their show room. I got the Recaro Sportster CS for the R34 from here, was very happy with the service received so of course a re-visit was in order. Unfortunately the two Corbeau seats I had chosen aren't on display but they had 4 other options available. Two seats dug into my back, one dug into my legs and the other was perfect. I also found out that Recaro seats use a larger bolt pattern so some adaption was required. Luckily GSM offer some universal adaptors that should solve this problem. I searched the interwebs for price comparisons and Corbeau themselves were the cheapest at £300 cheaper (for the pair). I asked GSM if they could price match, unfortunately they couldn't. I later received an email saying Corbeau would honour them the same discount, but the purchase was already made. I did however order the brackets from GSM, both arrived on the same day. I started with the passenger side seat, knowing this was going to be a little trial and error. There are 3 mounting holes at the front and 2 at the rear on these JURAN Racing seat rails.  With the adaptor brackets mounted, the allen cap bolts started to push into the seat, NOT GOOD!  The rear mounting holes lined up but there were issues at the front. The holes were 1/2 hole out, so the brackets got a tickle with the drill to modify the holes. The supplied bolts weren't going to be long enough and a spacer was needed to stop the adaptor bars from bending. A local fasteners company supplied be with some nylon spacers and longer bolts (M8x30, although these will be replaced with 35mm long shortly) A before and after I pre-drilled the front bracket before making a start on the driver's seat to save some time. And in no time at all that was in the car too. The all black seats have transformed the interior and these are MUCH more comfortable. The only downside with the new Corbeau seats is I sit a little higher, but I'll happily accept that over discomfort. The Youtube video can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPyttKPktXA
    • All 3 I guess. The car came with the JASI Aero 4 door Type R Full Kit unpainted so this was one thing at the top of my list to complete then I noticed there were body panels parts for this kit so i picked them up along with some black mesh to fill in the front bumper and front side air vents. car is at a paint and body shop atm completing this work. Next I will be addressing the internal bells and whistles, great summer project I can do with the kids.  full interior removal - ,boys car sound deadening - pads and spray ,boys stereo, sound, lighting - Big 3, GTT or bigger alternator ,kids head lining - dye black add star lighting mod ,daughter. That's it for the next 5-6 months. I have some motor maintenance  work i have to plan out. oil filter relocation, gaskets, mounts. beyond that, mind is starting to turn over if i can use a DET intake plenum, block off turbo ports & pipe in a air intake.      
    • roller coaster of a ride. Alarm system was removed & main harness was repaired where possible. still no fix just random successful starts. moved on to the replacing the ignition switch and relay. well all this troubleshooting & repair has been going on, the car is at a paint and body shop being pushed around. Ive been going down there on odd days after work to get it sorted.     
    • 5th November if you want to come out for a spin wakfield
    • PROBLEM WAS BROKEN COOLANT SENSOR!!! Replaced with a new one and its running mint.
×
×
  • Create New...