Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

I've always had a fascination with the Nissan Stagea, it's quite an odd car that many people either don't know about, or completely under-estimate.

Until recent times, I never actually had a good long look/drive of them. My first drive of a Stagea was a few weeks ago, and from that point on I knew it would be my next car.

I was never happy with the Kouki (Series 2) front end, and I was torn on whether to put up with it, or to buy an S1 and convert it to manual (the Zenki/S1 models never came in manual). I was leaning towards the S2 for a while, until I found something that caught my eye.

It was a Zenki DAYZ edition, with twin sunroofs and all the factory extras, it also had extremely low km's. Problem was, that that it was in Camperdown, which is over 2 hours west of Melbourne.

With a bit of planning, Jo (J_HUI), Yuan (RR-04-RR), Julie (MY-514) and myself were on our way to Victoria.

5501819213_982333a7d5_b.jpg

5am Saturday March 5th was go time!, Yuan and Jo made it to our house and we caught a shuttle to the airport.

After arriving and checking, we had time left to spare. So we grabbed some breakfast ... my foot long was awesome!

5501819577_b938cc71a1_b.jpg

Here's Julie holding the tickets for our flight, Julie had never been on a plane before, so I was a little worried if she'd chuck a Marge Simpson and freak! ... thankfully, she enjoyed every bit of it.

5501819801_a3ef01742d_b.jpg

We landed in Melbourne at 8:20am, first thing we noticed when we walked outside were the yellow taxi's!, I don't think we saw a white one during our stay, wierd.

5502412102_4344f7effe_b.jpg

Anyway, we headed to Budget to get our car hire sorted. We were orignally booked for a Hyundai Getz, but we recieved a free upgrade to a Toyota Corolla, as no Getz' were avaliable.

5501820423_ce65fe1259_b.jpg

After that was all sorted, we were off to Camperdown to check out this Stagea we traveled 1000km's for. All I had running in my head at the time is "God I hope this is the one".

5502412634_71f801ab00_b.jpg

To be continued.

The drive to Camperdown was lonley, we'd be lucky to see a car every 10 minutes. On the way we saw some beautiful things though, like massive fields of sunflowers ... it was like they didn't end!

5502413002_d7de4858a5_b.jpg

The further we went on, the shittier the roads got ... we were really heading into whoop whoop now.

5501821211_78cdd4c699_b.jpg

On our way, we went past a few lakes. It's pretty cool how you can see the deep spots in the middle.

5501821569_db234319b3_b.jpg

Ok ok, that's enough scenic touring for now.

Fast foward an hour or so and there it is, the Nissan Stagea we travelled all this way for. It looked awesome just sitting there, so clean! much better then the photos posted on carsales.

5502413928_a041e6a89d_b.jpg

We spent a good amount of time checking everything, and found a few minor problems (as expected). I told myself as long as everything is in decent condition, and there is no rust in the chassis I'd take it. Anyway, after we scoped the car out, Yuan, Jo, Julie and I had some lunch and discussed about the Stagea.

5501822175_e2d0bb907f_b.jpg

After we ate, we went back to the Stagea. I was hoping that I could haggle the price down a little, but the owner was playing hardball. I guess he knew he had the upper hand considering the effort we've made to see this car. So about 20 minutes of negotiations later, the car was mine!

So we were on our way! but before heading back to Melbourne, we had plans to go to Geelong.

5501825873_6a8de7a3f0_b.jpg

We travelled via the Princess highway, and after doing some stupid things this happened.

5502414268_efb9078496_b.jpg

Long story short, I've lost my rights to drive in Victoria for 6 months and was fined. I'm very lucky in a way that's for sure!

Ok, so why were we heading to Geelong? to pick these beasts up of course!

5501823241_a0d9ce07c8_b.jpg

Now it was time to head back to Melbourne, they were some nice twisty roads along the way.

5501822561_78560ce1cf_b.jpg

Here we are on the outskirts of the city. This is where things started to get conjested and crowded. I also had a problem arise with my newly aquired Stagea too.

5501822803_7680a80cac_b.jpg

After driving around in this confusing place for a while we managed to find our hotel for the night. I think we checked in at about 6pm!

5501822975_4c30773567_b.jpg

We were all pretty knackered and chilled out for a bit before deciding what to do next. Yuan was keen on getting take out and bringing it back to the hotel, but Julie and I wanted to check out Ligon street. Apparently a lot of the restruants are very competitive and offer freebies if you eat there.

5501823479_f785203190_b.jpg

We all started walking down to Ligon street and was stopped in our tracks as the restruant owner started haggling with us ... it was true!

5501823737_d1ba35a8e1_b.jpg

As usual Yuan ended up finishing his food first, and Jo almost finished all of his!

Ok, so we then took the hire car back to the airport and went out to Crown casino to try our luck. Yuan ended up coming out ontop whereas the rest of us didn't.

Anyway, after a long ass day we headed back to Quest hotel and got ourselves some shut eye for another big day just around the corner.

5501824025_3d467bbe23_b.jpg

at 10am we were out the door and ready to head back to Sydney. Yuan and I decided that we'll split the driving up every 2 hours. Yuan was the first driver out of Melbourne, I'm glad I wasn't driving ... it's confusing as hell! in some spots you have to share the road with these damn things.

5501824299_24b86fac4d_b.jpg

half an hour later, and we were just getting out of the CBD ... We all had a long day ahead of us.

5502416542_9c2ab9a4c3_b.jpg

So it was time for a fuel stop and some breakfast. Yuan was still keen to drive some more, so off we went.

5502416704_6000825833_b.jpg

This picture was taken at about 4pm and 400km's from home. The Stagea turned into a insect destroyer!

5502416960_dc5a4b3f6d_b.jpg

Here's some windmills I snapped, on the outskirts of Yass, they were so peacefull to watch.

5501825173_934a3eef10_b.jpg

It was time for dinner and our final stop before we were back in Sydney, and I noticed the turnoff to see the Big Merino ... I haven't seen it in it's new location before, and Julie has never seen it.

5502417440_e907364f57_b.jpg

Here I am with the Stagea at Cabramatta Hungry Jacks cleaning off all shit off the 900km drive. The Stagea ran flawlessly, and with four people, a set of wheels/tyres, one suitcase and three bags everyone was very comfortable.

It was an eventful weekend, we travelled over 2000km's and probably had upto ten hours sleep during the whole of it (Joe only had six). Actually come to think of it Julie and Yuan had like a million naps! haha.

So there you have it, our epic journey to pick up, my perfect Stagea.

5502417664_ed32b9b0f3_b.jpg

Since ownership, I've done a major service replacing all belts and fluids, and bought a shitload of parts locally and ex-Japan. I also took it skidding last week ... and I will be going again this week!

img3075-1024x683.jpg

Edited by RoadsterGarage

Ok, so last sunday the gang and I were out in the Campbelltown area shopping and shit. I wanted to swing by Autobarn to check out the GT-R replica seats they stock ... I said to myself that if they were under $500 for the pair that I'd buy some ... we ended up walking out with 6 seats! (well, four really but ordered another two in). They just happened to be on sale for $199 each seat, and the end of that sale was today, rad! We also met Kyle off the forums, good meeting you dude :D

5521894027_4b7c86545a_b.jpg

I'm also organising a shitload of parts to come over from Japan ... some of the things include Kouki tail lights, HyperRev books, tie rods/ends etc.

I ordered some clear front indicators on monday, and they arrived on Wensday, so I put them in as soon as I got a chance.

It seems that unless you want to pay $300ish for a set of "Dolphin" indicators you'll need to buy a set of Altima/Bluebird indicators and modify them slightly.

I also did a major service yesterday, changed everything with high quality parts and the Stag runs quite a bit smoother now. Next up, rego, seat install and coilovers!

5534014659_0c98781261_b.jpg

Here's a pic Joe took today, that RX-8 in the background is mums, and it's for sale!

img3709copy.jpg

Oh, and I ordered coilovers yesterday too, BC Racing BR series with 10/8 spring rates.

Ok, I think I'm up to speed now :)

So, why a Stagea for a drift hack?

I like to be different, and I don't want to be picked up by the po-po everytime I drive it ... like my last car, a Mazda MX-5. I owned this beast for 6 years, at the begining of it all, it was very uncommon to see these things aggressively modified (low offset, wide wheels, low to the ground etc).

Anyway, I set it up for drift, and it was quite a good drift car, but a back condition has led me to part it out, and I'm thinking for the future a little here too. The MX-5 would become a burden when it was time to have a family, and I was looking at another 10-15k for some more power out of it (which was the point i was getting to). So I decided enough was enough and went for the complete opposite of what the MX-5 was.

5507890705_eac519f192_o.jpg

img1846e.jpg

So there you have it! :D

Edited by RoadsterGarage

Welcome to the stagea community :-)

Looks like were going to have another very helpful contributing member around the place ;)

Haha, thanks dude!

I'll try my best, I plan on keeping my Stagea for a long time! :D

Cool thread. LOL @ the "stupid" thing which got you in trouble with the cops...

I guess it doesn't affect your NSW license right?

reminds me of my trip when I picked up my M35 from Sydney. Was fun...

Yeah, I was seeing how fast the big boat could go, I must say this car suprises me regually somehow.

Nah I asked the copper if it affected my NSW licience, his exact words were "No it won't so if your driving back to Sydney, then shit you don't need to worry". lol.

Funny how you can't find the Stagea you want in the same state as you live huh?

I wanted a dayz edition, I like the kit that it comes with ... this one also has 65,000km whereas all the others I was looking at had double that, and were asking for more.

So I'm getting sick of listening to the same CD over and over ... the Stag still has the factory headunit, meaning the radio frequency stops earlier then all the Australian frequencies.

After having a look on ryda.com.au, I bought myself a JVC KD-R416 head unit for $150 shipped. I had a JVC in the MX-5 and it was good to me, so I figured I'd go for another.

If your looking for cheap audio gear, be sure to check out www.ryda.com.au

KD-R411.jpg

Edited by RoadsterGarage
  • Like 1

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

    • Even more fun, leave all the ADAS stuff plugged in, but in different locations, hopefully avoid any codes!   And honestly, all these new cars with their weird electronics. Pull all the electronics out Duncan, and just shove an aftermarket ECU and if needed a trans controller in, along with a PDM. Make it run basic but race car styled!
    • To follow up a question from earlier too since I had the front bar off again (fking!) This is what is between the bumper and the drivers side wheel And this is the navigator side, only one thing but its a biggy! So basically....no putting coolers in the wheel arches without a lot of moving other stuff. Assuming I move to properly race prepping this car I'll take that job on and see how the computers respond to removing a whole bunch of ADAS modules
    • So I prepped the car for another track day on Wednesday (will be interesting to see coolant temps post flushing out and the larger reservoir, with a forecast of 3-14 being 20o cooler than last time I took it out). Couple of things to mention; since I am just driving the car and not taking a support vehicle, I took the rear seats out and just loaded the back up Team Trackday style. Look at all that space! To cover off removing the rear seat....it is weird (note the hybrid is probably different because it wouldn't have folding rear seats) Basically, you remove the lower seat base, very similar to a r series but it is a clip that pulls forward to release the base rather than it being bolted down. Easy Then, you need to remove the side section of the rear seat on each side. There is a 14mm head nut at the bottom of the side piece, the it slides upwards off a hook at the top to release; you also need to unhook the seatbelt from the loop at the top. Then the centre piece is weird. You need to release/fold the seats forward with the tab in the boot on each side From there, there are 2,x12mm headed bolts holding the rear of each seat to the folding bracket, under the trim between the rear seat and the boot (4x christmas tree clips there, they suck). The seat is out but you can see where the bolts attach to the bracket
    • As discussed in the previous post, the bushes in the 110 needed replacing. I took this opportunity to replace the castor bushes, the front lower control arm, lower the car and get the alignment dialled in with new tyres. I took it down to Alignment Motorsports on the GC to get this work done and also get more out of the Shockworks as I felt like I wasn't getting the full use out of them.  To cut a very long story short, it ended up being the case the passenger side castor arm wouldn't accept the brand new bush as the sleeve had worn badly enough to the point you could push the new bush in by hand and completely through. Trying a pair of TRD bushes didn't fix the issue either (I had originally gone with Hardrace bushes). We needed to urgently source another castor arm, and thankfully this was sourced and the guys at the shop worked on my car until 7pm on a Saturday to get everything done. The car rides a lot nicer now with the suspension dialled in properly. Lowered the car a little as well to suit the lower profile front tyres, and just bring the car down generally. Eternally thankful for the guys down at the shop to get the car sorted, we both pulled big favours from our contacts to get it done on the Saturday.  Also plugged in the new Stedi foglights into the S15, and even from a quick test in the garage I'm keen to see how they look out on the road. I had some concerns about the length of the LED body and whether it'd fit in the foglight housing but it's fine.  I've got a small window coming up next month where I'll likely get a little paint work done on the 110 to remove the rear wing, add a boot wing and roof wing, get the side skirt fixed up and colour match the little panel on the tail lights so that I can install some badges that I've kept in storage. I'm also tempted to put in a new pair of headlights on the 110.  Until then, here's some more pictures from Easter this year. 
    • I would put a fuel pressure gauge between the filter and the fuel rail, see if it's maintaining good fuel pressure at idle going up to the point when it stalls. Do you see any strange behavior in commanded fuel leading up to the point when it stalls? You might have to start going through the service manual and doing a long list of sensor tests if it's not the fuel system for whatever reason.
×
×
  • Create New...