Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

I’m new here and have been searching whether or not I should upgrade from my 1992 R32 GTR to an R33 GTR. I’ve been searching for information. Would appreciate everyone’s input on thoughts and links to good cars and info. Have spent endless nights the past weeks trying to watch shows, reviews, walk around and blogs. Thanks in advance 

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/478310-thinking-of-an-r33-gtr/
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Sirx5 said:

Maybe I’m bored after a few years but liking the look of the R33. Think it’s grown and moving well with times. Would it be much different?

The R33 is supposed to be more refined in a number of ways. Less front heavy, less rotational inertia, more chassis rigidity, less front lift, lower drag coefficient, etc. ATTESA is less on-off in its behavior, it starts applying more FWD earlier on to help make the car more progressive. But it's a bigger car. It's pretty long, almost exactly the same dimensions as a BMW M4, just not as wide. The R32 and R34 are more compact, but also means that the two seats in the back are vestigial.

The R33 is probably the most unstable under trailbraking from what I've heard though, especially the series 1/2 which have different ABS compared to series 3.

The engine and transmission are basically identical to the R32, nothing to write home about there. Interior is pretty similar to the R32, just slightly modified. Seats are basically identical too. Only difference is driver side airbag is standard, passenger side optional in 1995 and standard 1996-1998.

If you're after a raw experience the R32 is the most wild of the 3. If you find that you want more space and more refined tuning then R33 is a lot cheaper than the R34 while delivering most of the driving experience, if you can overlook the MFD and some aero bits.

I have both. 33 is a overall better car in every way in my opinion, but ask yourself really why you want to change. If your 1992 32 is a good example I don't think I would get rid of it just for change sake though. How good is your 32 and what's done to it ?

11 minutes ago, BK said:

I have both. 33 is a overall better car in every way in my opinion, but ask yourself really why you want to change. If your 1992 32 is a good example I don't think I would get rid of it just for change sake though. How good is your 32 and what's done to it ?

Pretty much stock I don’t want a modified car. What would be a realistic sell price for an 82,000 km 1992 with books and grade 3.5 B at auction

19 minutes ago, Sirx5 said:

Pretty much stock I don’t want a modified car. What would be a realistic sell price for an 82,000 km 1992 with books and grade 3.5 B at auction

That's a pity. I was going to say if you are bored with it fit an RB32/26 and live!

  • Like 1

If you have a solid 32. I probably wouldn't part with it (or any decent GTRs these days).

But if you must 33s are great. They're a bit more roomy, i think they look good and they're a known quantity.

I made a "what to look for" video but i ramble and awful lot in it.



Finding an unmodified car in good condition will be very difficult, a lightly modifed car in good condition wouldn't be so hard though. I'd recommend that you don't rule out basic mods to cars otherwise you won't have many to choose from.

Thanks for that info, your car looks great and I wouldn’t mind purchasing it! Send me a PM with details if you decide to sell the silver one. The 32 is an awesome car and everyone is telling me not to pry ways but I might have to dig a little further to get myself a 33. Any brokers on here or any recommendations? Might try to look at finance options if I were to keep the 32. So hard guys and taking in everything you are all saying

  • Like 1
Thanks for that info, your car looks great and I wouldn’t mind purchasing it! Send me a PM with details if you decide to sell the silver one. The 32 is an awesome car and everyone is telling me not to pry ways but I might have to dig a little further to get myself a 33. Any brokers on here or any recommendations? Might try to look at finance options if I were to keep the 32. So hard guys and taking in everything you are all saying
I will add you to my running list of potential buyers. It's not for sale, but if it ever is you'll hear from me. [emoji16]

Have you considered seeing if someone you know will toss the keys to their 33 at you? That would be a great way to know if you should do it!
There's some guy in Japan looking for a clean, mostly stock 1995 R33: 
 
Yes please I'm looking for a clean 1995 r33 in Japan! You guys and the Americans swooped them all up already. Give one back!

I guess I could just get that garage defend r33 Vspec. The faded blue plate is odd though.

But I talked to many locals here. It's hit and miss. I think the purists like the r32 but most people admit the r33 is a better car. I can't say for sure cause I've never driven either. Both look good to me in their own ways but personally I like the rawness look of the r32 but then I see all these Americans driving around in beat up r32's spray painted bbq black with purple wheels and I'm like....ok yeah I need to distance myself from that.
Just now, Hella_GTR said:

Yes please I'm looking for a clean 1995 r33 in Japan! You guys and the Americans swooped them all up already. Give one back!

I guess I could just get that garage defend r33 Vspec. The faded blue plate is odd though.

But I talked to many locals here. It's hit and miss. I think the purists like the r32 but most people admit the r33 is a better car. I can't say for sure cause I've never driven either. Both look good to me in their own ways but personally I like the rawness look of the r32 but then I see all these Americans driving around in beat up r32's spray painted bbq black with purple wheels and I'm like....ok yeah I need to distance myself from that.

R33 GTS25ts in Australia have a kind of similar reputation so...

  • 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

    • So, I started this repair and got as far as "fixing" the holes with some fibreglass. God all those years working on boats came back quickly. I decided I'd reach out to some rust guys just to see what they would say about it. I came across a guy about 40 mins away and went to see him. He said the windscreen needs to come out, that there might be some more bits around the windscreen and he'd quote them at the time. But his quote was $300 to remove and replace windscreen and $3k for the damage he can see. He said he could respray the roof for $1200 and the bonnet for another $800 (somebody has previously rattle canned it, its horrendous). This is $5300 + any small additional bits. It's a lot, I get that and the name of one of my fave youtube channels 'Not Economically Viable' comes to mind.  I'm not being financially rational, but I've taken him up on the quote. He's opening a new shop in November with more room, so we're waiting for that. I'll leave the currently missing headliner out until then. I'm looking forward to it being fixed and having the paint looking nice again (lots of clear coat issues on the roof too). / flame suit on.
    • Oh and some up-and-comings; New rear drivers wheel bearing. I'll do that this weekend while the diff is out. The car is already up and the d/c axles and missing exhaust will help with space. This is the last bearing for me to do and I've been dragging my feet on it. I also have some new EBC blue stuff pads for the car and some new brake fluid. I haven't ever flushed the fluid in this car and looking forward to it. I have 600 degree fluid to put in. Not exactly "race fluid" but better than the typical stuff I have been using.
    • A proper clutch/plate type mechanical diff with quite a lot of pre-load and high locking % is better for drifting. Much more consistent in its behaviour. A helical can be annoyingly vague and inconsistent in how it responds under the sorts of abuse found in drifting.
    • Some updates here. I pulled the entire interior out, minus some trim to respray the seats with Colourlock dye. It turned out really nice though I accidentally let the dog in the car after and she scratched up the front seat.  This is what it looked like before, the colour was just washing out everywhere but thankfully the leather was in good nic. Then after the respray   And after the bloody dog jumped in The headliner is out waiting to be retrimmed, but it will stay out now until Nov - see why below. I replaced the stereo/headunit with a period-styled Android headunit. I have no after pics, but I'll get some. This is because of the missing pixels. I tried to fix this twice with replacement ribbon cables but couldn't. Also the bluetooth interface I'd bought for this was crap. Then there's the rusty roof. Pics and info in this other thread. I have decided to get this repaired professionally, but I'll update that thread. This is why the headliner will stay out for now. I'll be getting the roof and bonnet resprayed at the same time the rust is fixed. I also had an interesting issue with my drivers door lock.  For a small period I was having issues getting any 12v power to the car - I mean *any*. It would have no dash lights, nothing. It happened while I was at the shops and I couldn't get in the car. So, we had 2 problems. The most pressing here is that I was locked out. I have only a single physical key hole on the car, the drivers door and no amount of turning would unlock the car. Surely it doesn't need power for this? The second issue is why am I losing all power periodically, The battery isn't dead, its almost like the battery isn't even there. Two issues that were surprisingly easy to fix. You fellow BMW over-engineering lovers will appreciate this. The lock in the door has 5 states; mechanical lock, electric lock, neutral, electric unlock, mechanical unlock achieved at -90 degrees, -45 degrees, 0 degrees, 45 degrees and 90 degrees. Although, the unlock is towards the front of the car, so opposite for LHD countries. Sticking the key in and turning 45 left or right is what is used 99% of the time. It activates the central locking etc. 90 degrees is for dead battery access and, obvs, only un/locks the one door. But because the mechanical lock is never used and is 27 years old, it seizes up. I was totally unable to turn the key far enough to get to the mechanical unlock (At the time of locking myself out, I didn't even know this was a thing). I eventually did it with some vicegrips and teflon spray.  I made a quick vid for other E39 peeps.   The battery issue is totally new to me also - It wasn't making sufficient contact between the post and the terminal. The terminal was bolted on tight, but the car wouldn't have power. After checking the battery with my multimeter I accidentally contacted the terminal and the battery post and the car got power. The battery was only a few years old and in good condition. I cleaned the post and the terminal with a wire brush, bolted it back on tight and never had the issue again. I'm still surprised that despite having solid contact it didn't work. Also, the car was getting Warragamba sized pools of water in the back when it rained. My initial concern was another rust problem. But when I went out on Weds while it was raining and while I had no headliner in I could see a steady stream of water coming through the roof mounted aerial. As this aerial is for the (now removed) car phone I pulled it out and whacked a blanking grommet in the hole. It seems fine now. I'm thinking I might get the hole permanently filled when the rust is fixed. Moving forward and things in progress; The tailgate needs some attention. I have taken all the trim off to clean it all and address some small rust spots. I have partially done all of this but I'll finish it up hopefully this weekend. As all the trim are now entirely devoid of trim clips I have bought a heap of strong velcro and I'm hoping it does a good enough job as any of this trim in good condition is super expensive and usually in Europe as we dont have many of the wagons here. Suspension and brakes!!! This is exciting. In the front; New control arms New sway bar links New lower Eibach springs (the only modification I'm planning on this car) M Sport shocks (these came with the car and will replace the longer shocks in the car) New top mounts Used 540i calipers (stock brakes suck!) New 540i disks and pads (22x296 mm for 528 and 30x334 mm for 540i) New front wheel bearings (thank all that is holy for bolt on bearings!) Annnnd in the back; New control arms New sway bar links Adjustable air suspension arms (fool the car into what the current height is so the self levelling suspension can match the new front ride height) New ball joints I'll also be doing a brake fluid flush while I'm in there. I'm planning on switching the car over to the 16's that came with it so I can clean up and respray the M Sport 17's. They've lost a lot of colour over the years and have some gutter rash. None of this will start until the E90 is back.
    • You mean you will regret it for drifting duties? I don't quite follow.
×
×
  • Create New...