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armada350gt Rookie

armada350gt

Posted
Posted

Hi all,

After months of weighing up needs vs. wants, and narrowing my very broad tastes down to to one vehicle in particular, I've decided to go with the v35.

There are a few in VIC that I've been having a look at, and I have come to the conclusion that I want to purchase one that is as close to stock as possible (premium kit is a must though).

My reasoning behind this decision is that I want this car to be a reflection of my personal tastes and no unnecessary modifications to already be present.

Which bring me to my main question; are there any highly recommended tuning shops in and around Melbourne that are very professional and have experience with the VQ35??

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated,

Ryan.

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armada350gt Rookie

armada350gt

Posted
  • Author
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I'm based in the north east, round Doncaster way. Travel isn't an issue either, I'm willing to go wherever I'm gonna get the best work done. I've got about $8k to play around with and starting from scratch, so I'm open to suggestions.

Dreadnought Enthusiast

Dreadnought

Posted
Posted

Hi Ryan,

I'm doing the same thing, started with a stock premium pack V (70th anniversary ed) in May and have done suspension, intake, exhaust and wheels so far. Here's my (limited) experience, for what its worth...

Hawthorn Tyrepower has the best selection of rims IMO, and are the only Aussie distributor for ADV.1. Being at the end of the supply chain means they cant influence delivery times as much as they'd like to, so be prepared to wait for shipping, but they are friendly and knowledgeable as hell. They have a couple of R35 GTR's as their promo vehicles with nice exhausts/tunes from Revzone (below).

Centreline Suspension in Thomastown is amazingly good, from what I gather Chris works on V8 supercars and the shop is littered with his track cars, but he is just as happy slamming some Bilstein coil-overs into a V. He knows his stuff, that's for sure. Cant say enough about Centreline and the guys, pity its such a hike for me. They did a top quality job of installing coilovers, lipping the guards and cambering in the rears.

Revzone in Ringwood have just fitted a full custom stainless Magnaflow system with 370 Hi-flow cats, a Skunk2 plenum spacer and boxed up the Nismo intake perfectly . George really knows his VQ35's, having done just about everything you can to them in V35sand 350's.

Both Centreline and Revzone do everything except body work, so I'm still looking for someone good for lips and spoilers etc.

I'm actually just down the road from you, near Boxhill, so let me know if you need any further advice or if you want to have a look :)

armada350gt Rookie

armada350gt

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Hi Ryan,

I'm doing the same thing, started with a stock premium pack V (70th anniversary ed) in May and have done suspension, intake, exhaust and wheels so far. Here's my (limited) experience, for what its worth...

Hawthorn Tyrepower has the best selection of rims IMO, and are the only Aussie distributor for ADV.1. Being at the end of the supply chain means they cant influence delivery times as much as they'd like to, so be prepared to wait for shipping, but they are friendly and knowledgeable as hell. They have a couple of R35 GTR's as their promo vehicles with nice exhausts/tunes from Revzone (below).

Centreline Suspension in Thomastown is amazingly good, from what I gather Chris works on V8 supercars and the shop is littered with his track cars, but he is just as happy slamming some Bilstein coil-overs into a V. He knows his stuff, that's for sure. Cant say enough about Centreline and the guys, pity its such a hike for me. They did a top quality job of installing coilovers, lipping the guards and cambering in the rears.

Revzone in Ringwood have just fitted a full custom stainless Magnaflow system with 370 Hi-flow cats, a Skunk2 plenum spacer and boxed up the Nismo intake perfectly . George really knows his VQ35's, having done just about everything you can to them in V35sand 350's.

Both Centreline and Revzone do everything except body work, so I'm still looking for someone good for lips and spoilers etc.

I'm actually just down the road from you, near Boxhill, so let me know if you need any further advice or if you want to have a look :)

Thanks for the info!

I'm in country NSW at the moment, but will be back in VIC as of the 8th of December, and hoping to actually have the vehicle within 2-3 weeks. During that time I'll drop by Revzone & Centreline and see what they're like.

As for mods i'm looking at doing (and my knowledge of mods is very very limited), I'd probably start off with intake & exhaust and then move onto the handling side of things. Is this a smart path to take? Am I skipping anything important that should be done first?

gkzlah Collaborator

gkzlah

Posted
Posted

Thanks for the info!

I'm in country NSW at the moment, but will be back in VIC as of the 8th of December, and hoping to actually have the vehicle within 2-3 weeks. During that time I'll drop by Revzone & Centreline and see what they're like.

As for mods i'm looking at doing (and my knowledge of mods is very very limited), I'd probably start off with intake & exhaust and then move onto the handling side of things. Is this a smart path to take? Am I skipping anything important that should be done first?

IBest way to think about it IMO is to think about what you want from your car.

considering your budget, i think you have a fair bit of leeway as to where you want to go

You could just buy Cobeys turbo kit :nyaanyaa:

armada350gt Rookie

armada350gt

Posted
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Posted

IBest way to think about it IMO is to think about what you want from your car.

considering your budget, i think you have a fair bit of leeway as to where you want to go

You could just buy Cobeys turbo kit :nyaanyaa:

The idea that I have in my head is a car that I can drive during the week (very limited use, maybe 100km's max), but then be able to take out on the weekend for some spirited driving.

I saw Cobey's kit, but I honestly don't know enough about FI so I'd probably just be wasting his time & my money.

The other thing I should probably mention is that the particular car I'm looking at is the 2003 350gt but it's got the 5speed AT :/

Dreadnought Enthusiast

Dreadnought

Posted
Posted

- Ryan, Thats a good approach, although I've taken the reverse and sorted the handling, then looked at power gains. I recommend either sway bars or adjustable suspension on the handling and in terms of performance, the best value so far is probably the plenum spacer, which I suppose is considered part of the intake. Cheap and noticeable improvements, even before a tune. It also claims to increase fuel efficiency but I'm sure I unbalance that with my driving.

- Sheldon, yeah love the 70th's. Have you got the numbered sill plates, and are they Skyline or Inifiti?

armada350gt Rookie

armada350gt

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I've been doing quite a bit of research over the past week and have come to the conclusion that I'm gonna throw in a Transgo Shift Kit and probably get a full ECU.

Looking at getting a set of Lexani LX-15s from the states and Pirelli Pzero Nero's too. :rofl2:

MAybe sway bars can come after that?

Alphamox Enthusiast

Alphamox

Posted
Posted

Hello Armada,

I'm just reading through these forums and came across this thread. I know the feeling of finding a reputable v35 specialist around Vicdstoria so I want to recommend the workshop I goto called IREV IMPORTS in Bayswater. The owner is Nuwan and he has dealt with everything with the V35 and has heaps of spare parts available for our cars as he imports whole V35's, V35 half cuts, V35 wrecks etc. The difference with Nuwan and other workshops out there is that he really looks after you with pricing and he is very understanding to regular people like ourselves, who are not loaded with cash and spend all our money on cars. I find that most workshops charge premium price because of our cars being a grey import and claim that they have heaps of experience, which isn't fair. Just as a true pure example, my engine is going to be rebuilt starting tomorrow and the price - 5500 dollars including new gaskets, pistons, rings, valve heads..everything and all the parts are directly from Nissan Japan.

So far, I have had new sound system put in, fixed the creaking compression rods, fixed the creaky rear drive shafts and had my general servicing. His service including oil and filter is 100 bucks!!!.

As a true testiment to his work, he is currently working on european exotics for compliance, converting x2 mustangs for Australian roads (one of them being a TIM ALLEN special and the other a bright orange Saleen Mustang) and a lot of the aussie ford boys are even going to him.

Give Nuwan a shot, his number is 0422 807 393

Dreadnought Enthusiast

Dreadnought

Posted
Posted

Unsure about numbered, but they're Skyline. Whats the numbered?

My sill plates are skyline too, although the car was entirely badged Inifinit (including the steering wheel). They also have stamped individual number on them (00006 in my case) , I'm just wondering what that indicates.

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