Best Handling Nissan And Why Out Of R32,33,34, S13,14,15

[Rolls]

So the question is, what is the best handling nissan out of the above and why? Note I am talking about the RWD GT-T versions of the skyline.

At a complete guess I would have thought the S15 would have been the best due to being the newest and lighter than the R34 but I have nothing to back this up with apart from weight, what do you guys think? If you can back it up with some reasoning that would be tops. I'm ignoring power as a metric as they can all be easily modded to 500hp if needed.

[PM-R33]

I have driven them all other than the S14.

Assuming we are talking about handling on a basic street setup not a full blown track car.

From them I think the best overall handling from a street perspective is the S15 aswell. While possibly the S13 might actually handle better on a track from being a bit lighter, I find that the S15 feels more solid/less clunky/smoother and gives a better overall feal which is important on a stret driven car. The steering also seems to feel a bit quicker than in the Skylines (not sure, might not be but feels like it).

However the best handling overall Nissan I have driven is a 370Z. Now just gotta get some one to give me the keys to a R35

EDIT: Also since it is kind of part of the family and should be mentioned. The 300ZX was the worst handling Nissan import I have driven. The steering is horrible in it and requires huge amounts of lock to turn.

[kawasakirider]

I'm keen to see everyone's opinion on the 34 gt-t's handling

[mad082]

the S series cars should be the better handling cars due to them being the more sports car oriented range. the skylines are basically a sporty family car. i owned a 180sx and a r33 and i'd have to say that the s13 had a sharper feel to it. the r33 had a better ride thanks to plusher suspension. for an everyday comparison though, there isn't too much between them, and if built into a track car i think there would be even less.

[stig mick]

Ive only driven an R32 R33 S13 and S14

The R33 was the worst out of them

And I think the S14 is the best the S15 should be pretty much the same maybe a little better as they are very similar chassis

[PM-R33]

The R33/R34 has to much weight upfront which is what really lets it down handling wise.

[kawasakirider]

Everything I've been told is that the skyline can carve the twisties, albeit not as well as some, but definitely capably.

I drive a stock standard AU falcon (read; cumbersome boat), and my next car will be a lowered 34, how much better can I expect the handling to be?

[Rolls]

If you had stock suspension in the AU it will be amazing difference.

If both were set up with appropriate aussie road springs (4-5kg max), sway bars, appropriate shocks then the R34 will be better, but not amazingly so.

[kawasakirider]

You're kidding me? A set of whitelines and some springs can have an AU handle ALMOST as well as a 34 set up for the street?

[mad082]

the difference will be noticable...... whether it is in a good or bad way will depend on what suspension it has been lowered with. it will handle better in most cases, but if you put in too stiff suspension then the first time you try to corner hard on a rough rough then you will find that you end up bouncing onto the wrong side of the road. i had this happen in my 180sx when i got new front suspension put in, and i was driving normally. that suspension only stayed in there for 2 days.

[mad082]

You're kidding me? A set of whitelines and some springs can have an AU handle ALMOST as well as a 34 set up for the street?

he is right. the stock suspension is designed for the generally shit aussie roads, so they are pretty soft. make a few changes and it will be a drastically different beast. there will still be a bit of a difference in feel through the steering wheel though because of the different steering wheel size as well as different steering ratio.

[Nee-san]

Excessive lowering will be detrimental to the handling of your 34 as they are double wishbone.

S series chassis are McPherson strut and I would not call them good handling cars by any stretch of the imagination.

[Rolls]

You're kidding me? A set of whitelines and some springs can have an AU handle ALMOST as well as a 34 set up for the street?

Why not? They both are double wishbone front and fully independent rear ends and weigh similar amounts (1400 vs 1437kg). If you are setting the springs, shocks, sway bars, caster etc all up correctly, they would have the capability to be very fast on the track (provided they have the power).

What else does the R34 have that magically makes it a better platform?

Edited June 12, 2011 by Rolls

[BoyWhoCriedWolf]

Id be heading for the s15. The newer package overall will make a better base for your needs.

[kawasakirider]

the difference will be noticable...... whether it is in a good or bad way will depend on what suspension it has been lowered with. it will handle better in most cases, but if you put in too stiff suspension then the first time you try to corner hard on a rough rough then you will find that you end up bouncing onto the wrong side of the road. i had this happen in my 180sx when i got new front suspension put in, and i was driving normally. that suspension only stayed in there for 2 days.

Yeah I'm thinking of just king springs in the line, as long as the shocks are in good condition. I don't want something too stiff (I want it to be my daily and have the falcon for emergencies).

Are there plenty of swaybar options out there for 34's?

[kawasakirider]

Why not? They both are double wishbone front and fully independent rear ends and weigh similar amounts (1400 vs 1437kg). If you are setting the springs, shocks, sway bars, caster etc all up correctly, they would have the capability to be very fast on the track (provided they have the power).

What else does the R34 have that magically makes it a better platform?

Nothing really, I was labouring under the illusion the skyline was just "better".

[Rolls]

Dont go kingsprings, get whiteline and bilstein shocks or something else decent like that. Or tein super streets are about the only coilovers that have reasonable spring rates for our roads.

Yeah it is funny how people just assume because it is a skyline it will be better, and say because it is a commodore or falcon it is a boat, there isn't that much difference once you start modding things.

Edited June 12, 2011 by Rolls

[kawasakirider]

Dont go kingsprings, get whiteline and bilstein shocks or something else decent like that. Or tein super streets are about the only coilovers that have reasonable spring rates for our roads.

Yeah it is funny how people just assume because it is a skyline it will be better, and say because it is a commodore or falcon it is a boat, there isn't that much difference once you start modding things.

Thanks for the info mate, I'll definitely look into coil overs. I always wanted to, but was told that they'd probably be too stiff for regular street driving. I wasn't aware there was a coil over that was designed for the road.

[Rolls]

Most of the time they are too stiff, tein super street are around 4kg from memory, not stupid 8kg fronts like half the jap stuff has, end up making the wheels skip and handle worse than stock.

[kawasakirider]

Is there a thread on here explaining spring rates, and how to apply the knowledge to different driving conditions?