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hey all im about to buy my r33 just looking over a few and doing some test drives to find the best cared for one.

im from vic and on my green P's will get my full licence in about 11 months, legally here P platers cant drive turbo vehicles but since im getting my full licence soon I see no point in buying a n/a car plus after talking to a few people on here found out there will be legal complications to doing a engine conversion from rb25de and rb25det along with needing to cange a few other things such as brakes ect.

now my question is if I buy a r33 gtst woud it be possible to swap the engine out for rb25de for the period im on my P's and then put the original rb25det back in when im off my P's?

there are a few reasons for this idea

1)being the fact I can get a reco'ed rb25de from a n/a r33 auto for $3000

2) it is cheaper to buy a r33 gtst then a r33gts also the turbo is a lot more common so plenty more available

3) im fully licenced in less than 12 months so I see no point buying the n/a car also don't wanna drive turbo on P's and risk loosing my licence.

4) it would be a lot cheaper and less muck around/work to do it this way rather than buying a n/a and converting it when fully licenced.

I came to this conclusion when I realized that if I buy a n/a then convert it to a turbo motor I will have to change brakes, ecu, in some cases suspention ect ect whereas if I buy the gtst all I really need to do is change engine and ecu and loom correct me if im wrong.

because it will be fine running turbo brakes on a n/a but cant run n/a brakes on a turbo theres just not enough stop there.

thanks to everyone for your replies in advance I look forward to reading your opinions on this matter

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but you can change that with vicroads when you change the engine over it just needs to be check by a engineer to make sure it was done properly and meets vicroads standards. ive researched this and spoken to vicroads and emailed with Victorian police so I know it can be done, also I know someone who done it with a 180sx and have heard of people doing it with wrx's and vl turbo.

but what im mainly wondering is if the engine, loom and ecu are the only things id need to change over or is there other things if so what?

besides no matter what owning a tuner especially a skyline means constant harassment from the police weather you do the right or wrong thing and atleast they would go easier on someone driving a gtst converted to gts wereas they wouldn't be lenient at all if I just buy the gtst and drive it that way. also I drove my r31 rb30de+t on my red P's and never got pulled up or harassed not saying it wouldn't happen but touch wood.

Ive owned a r33, r34 and a evo, ive never got pulled over by a cop. If the car is flagged, thats another story. I reckon its gonna cost you more money than its worth, no point. Just wait a few months and get a turbo car closer to the end of your Ps, then let your rents drive that while you drive their car, so when the time comes, at 12:00am you can go crazyyyyy with your new turbocharged car :P

Its what i did when i went from R33 to evo. Sold my r33 earlier than expected, so bought the evo earlier than planned(due to dad persisting i buy one), let him drive it till i was off my Ps :) Took the risk here and there....got caught LOL.

Edited by Deza3000

What If you just pulled the turbo off and ran a N/A Manifold??

Inform Vicroads, bolt back on after you get your fulls?

I drove my 33 around on my P's for 3 years and never was inspected.

IMO comes down to how you drive regarding cop attention.

  • 3 weeks later...

get a r33 turbo itl take ya 12 months to sort all the mods ect and pay for them and in the mean time hit up cars under 1500 on facebook buy some pile of puss that will cost you nothing and just look forward to smoking ya mates who are stupid enough to do what you are thinking about in your opening post

  • 3 weeks later...

Hahaha, i just did a rb25det > rb25de and got a engineered certificate contacted vic roads and not a problem with the police :)
Whats the point of paying for a thrashed 33 non turbo for $9k when you could pay $7k get a turbo and have a stronger gear box, 5 stud, bigger brakes, ect
Now i have a engine to do up until i get off my p's!
It may sound dumb but its worth it if you have the right tools
Only cost me about 1.5k but no gear box.

Common sense would say - Whatever you're driving now, keep it for 11 months. Save more money, buy an R33 with 250-300rwkw that's completely finished, they come on the market very often and usually for very reasonable prices. Or a nice stock R34 (exhaust and filter, fmic etc).

In all seriousness, you'll be bored with the standard turbo power pretty quick and want to mod it. 150rwkw is slow as hell. You'll get to 200kw, get bored. Have to replace turbo, fuel system, ecu, clutch etc which will easily double or triple what you spent to get to 200kw.

But you're probably young and need (want) to have it now lol. If I didn't have the patience to wait, I would buy an N/A r33 and sell it when the time comes, then get a build R33, waaaaaay less mucking around.

RB25de long motors are about $600, just get the compression checked. $3000 is wow, almost robbery. That's $500-$1000 more than an rb26.

This is advice from someone building a car from stock to 300kw.

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