Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

Hi guys,

I'm not sure if I want to keep my R33 GTST, in the last 3 months I've put $7k into it (turbo blew) so went 6 boost, garrett 3076 gen 2 and a couple other things. I know with the skyline I am on borrowed time with the 20 year old engine, also it hasn't been dynoed yet waiting on the workshop to finish off some fab work. I like the car but it has a few rust issues, the sunroof has just started leaking and to get a replacement (nissan wont just sell seals) is $2.3k AUD, plus getting the rust fixed up in the boot etc will be another couple grand. 

My girlfriend has also been trying to convince me to buy a 370z, as they're a lot newer (one I'm looking to buy is a 2017 6spd manual). But I don't really want to sell the 33, but think it'd be cheaper to own the 370z especially since I need a more reliable daily. 

Would it make sense putting another $20k into the r33 (this is factoring in a engine rebuild that will likely be needed soon) or cutting my loses and selling it for a 370z now?

Looking at the flip side of the coin, even the gtst’s are going up in value. So you’re not going to completely loose out on what you throw at it. If you really like the car, keep it, build it exactly how you want it and enjoy it. But if you’re going to go through the process of an engine build, might be worth buying a cheap run around. I think you’ll get board of the 370, there’s something special about an RB 

If it is your only car, an unreliable shitbox Skyline is not a great choice, no matter how much you love it. It will let you down and keep letting you down and you will keep spending money on it.

It will also remain a turbocharged car, which the 370 will almost certainly never be, and therefore the 370 will never be as exciting, even if it is faster in most situations.

I personally wouldn't own a 370, or anything factory VQ powered, because there is just so much electronic bullshit going on in those cars. If something on the Skyline fails, you can just hack a workaround into it. Much harder in the VQs.

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1

Put 33 in the shed and get a 370z. You won't regret it, they are nice to daily and great to take out for a thrash while going under the radar. I did it and wish I had done it sooner. 

If want a bit more go a set of headers, Decat pipes and Uprev tune will get a good result. They are starting to get old but so much better to daily than a busted old skyline. 

370'z are going down in price, and R33's are going up.

A smart choice is an older 370z for peanuts.

A really really smart choice is an 86 with a mild boost kit.

Skylines are great IF you can HAPPILLY encounter these problems and gain enjoyment from fixing them up, making them great, and enjoying the little things like buying satisfying new lines and shit.

If this does not bring enjoyment to you, buy something you don't need to do this with. A Skyline that does not need this stuff done to it will likely run 35k++++.

I agree with all these posts don't sell the 33 you'll regret it. You've already pumped 7k into it, fix it, keep it in the garage, drive it on the weekend and know it will be good again. It will make all the difference IF you decide to sell in years to come. People laugh at me when I tell them my prediction is 40 to 50k for a GTS-T in 5+ years. If GTR prices keep zooming like they are, they WILL follow. Look at VL turbo as an example I never thought they'd go for what they are now.  The amount of cars for sale is dwindling fast and this will bring values up 100%. Just my opinion.

Edited by trel
1 hour ago, Kinkstaah said:

A really really smart choice is an 86 with a mild boost kit.

Would rather just buy a 135i in Manual and it would be more reliable than a boosted FA rod bender.

4 hours ago, Dose Pipe Sutututu said:

Would rather just buy a 135i in Manual and it would be more reliable than a boosted FA rod bender.

Mine was fine, until I crashed it that is.

Plenty of mildly boosted 86's out there without any issues.

Mine was around 205kwatw with 270nm, not to bad for a 1250kg modern car with all the mod cons IMO.

It is when people try to get too much power down low that problems arise, not only with rods, but also gearboxes (basically the same as the box in the S15).

Like anything modified really, you can only go so far pushing OEM components until the lunch themselves, and when I started modifying the Skyline it lunched everything bit by bit.

I had 10 x the issues modifying my Skyline than I ever did with the 86.

Currently I am struggling to "not" buy another 86 and boosting it, out of all my cars to date, it is still my all time favorite, yeap, even better than the old 400kw R33 boat.

 

TL;DR get the 370Z, with a full exhaust and a tune.

  • Like 1
22 hours ago, Dose Pipe Sutututu said:

Would rather just buy a 135i in Manual and it would be more reliable than a boosted FA rod bender.

I have heard so many horror stories about 135i's from people I know that I would never want one of these. Boosted FA Rod bender is the choice, but the real sleeper is a NB Turbo MX5 from the factory. 

(or buy my megane)

1 hour ago, Kinkstaah said:

I have heard so many horror stories about 135i's from people I know that I would never want one of these. Boosted FA Rod bender is the choice, but the real sleeper is a NB Turbo MX5 from the factory. 

(or buy my megane)

Have you seen the price of clean low km SE or SP NB MX5's.

Yes, now I'm looking for one in Sydney, I ain't paying $40-50k though.

The worst thing about buying a 370z is that you have to tell your parents you're gay. I'd keep the R33, install an external waste gate and do a driveway burnout to celebrate.

Edited by RedEmblem
  • Like 1
  • Haha 6
1 hour ago, mlr said:

Have you seen the price of clean low km SE or SP NB MX5's.

Yes, now I'm looking for one in Sydney, I ain't paying $40-50k though.

Maybe I should convince my girlfriend to sell hers, for the right price ?

1 hour ago, Kinkstaah said:

Maybe I should convince my girlfriend to sell hers, for the right price ?

Might be the time

And........tell me more about it, I may be interested for a sensible price.

On 9/8/2020 at 4:25 PM, mlr said:

Might be the time

And........tell me more about it, I may be interested for a sensible price.

https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/mazda/mx-5/se-badge/

They seem closer to the 15-20k mark?

MX5 motors are stout and the OEM turbo will do 190kw.
That said, there's a lot at that price point. Namely 370z or 86's.

26 minutes ago, Kinkstaah said:

https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/mazda/mx-5/se-badge/

They seem closer to the 15-20k mark?

MX5 motors are stout and the OEM turbo will do 190kw.
That said, there's a lot at that price point. Namely 370z or 86's.

https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/details/2002-mazda-mx-5-sp-nb-series-2-manual/OAG-AD-19100660/

Nice but......

I actually looked at a NB Series 2 today, pretty clean, under 100k km. It was a tad above of what I'm willing to pay at 13k though.

I offered 10k which was knocked back, I'll have another go at it in a couple of weeks if it doesn't sell, and if I haven't found something else to drop my toy budget on.

The NB SP is very different to a SE.

Buy the SE, it came from the factory, is cheaper and generally OEM is best vs what an AU tuning company did to a non turbo car in 2002. Applying mods in 2020 will give better results lol.

I say keep the 33. Been daily driving mine for 10 years now and still love it. It all comes down to personal preference though. In saying that i will be getting a cheap daily very soon to stop racking up km's on the 33. With relation to the sunroof, you can replace just the rubber seal without replacing the entire sunroof assembly. I did mine about a year ago and paid roughly $150 from nissan.

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

    • Who did you have do the installation? I actually know someone who is VERY familiar with the AVS gear. The main point of contact though would be your installer.   Where are you based in NZ?
    • Look, realistically, those are some fairly chunky connectors and wires so it is a reasonably fair bet that that loom was involved in the redirection of the fuel pump and/or ECU/ignition power for the immobiliser. It's also fair to be that the new immobiliser is essentially the same thing as the old one, and so it probably needs the same stuff done to make it do what it has to do. Given that you are talking about a car that no-one else here is familiar with (I mean your exact car) and an alarm that I've never heard of before and so probably not many others are familiar with, and that some wire monkey has been messing with it out of our sight, it seems reasonable that the wire monkey should be fixing this.
    • Wheel alignment immediately. Not "when I get around to it". And further to what Duncan said - you cannot just put camber arms on and shorten them. You will introduce bump steer far in excess of what the car had with stock arms. You need adjustable tension arms and they need to be shortened also. The simplest approach is to shorten them the same % as the stock ones. This will not be correct or optimal, but it will be better than any other guess. The correct way to set the lengths of both arms is to use a properly built/set up bump steer gauge and trial and error the adjustments until you hit the camber you need and want and have minimum bump steer in the range of motion that the wheel is expected to travel. And what Duncan said about toe is also very true. And you cannot change the camber arm without also affecting toe. So when you have adjustable arms on the back of a Skyline, the car either needs to go to a talented wheel aligner (not your local tyre shop dropout), or you need to be able to do this stuff yourself at home. Guess which approach I have taken? I have built my own gear for camber, toe and bump steer measurement and I do all this on the flattest bit of concrete I have, with some shims under the tyres on one side to level the car.
    • Thought I would get some advice from others on this situation.    Relevant info: R33 GTS25t Link G4x ECU Walbro 255LPH w/ OEM FP Relay (No relay mod) Scenario: I accidentally messed up my old AVS S5 (rev.1) at the start of the year and the cars been immobilised. Also the siren BBU has completely failed; so I decided to upgrade it.  I got a newer AVS S5 (rev.2?) installed on Friday. The guy removed the old one and its immobilisers. Tried to start it; the car cranks but doesnt start.  The new one was installed and all the alarm functions seem to be working as they should; still wouldn't start Went to bed; got up on Friday morning and decided to have a look into the no start problem. Found the car completely dead.  Charged the battery; plugged it back in and found the brake lights were stuck on.  Unplugging the brake pedal switch the lights turn off. Plug it back in and theyre stuck on again. I tested the switch (continuity test and resistance); all looks good (0-1kohm).  On talking to AVS; found its because of the rubber stopper on the brake pedal; sure enough the middle of it is missing so have ordered a new one. One of those wear items; which was confusing what was going on However when I try unplugging the STOP Light fuses (under the dash and under the hood) the brake light still stays on. Should those fuses not cut the brake light circuit?  I then checked the ECU; FP Speed Error.  Testing the pump again; I can hear the relay clicking every time I switch it to ON. I unplugged the pump and put the multimeter across the plug. No continuity; im seeing 0.6V (ECU signal?) and when it switches the relay I think its like 20mA or 200mA). Not seeing 12.4V / 7-9A. As far as I know; the Fuel Pump was wired through one of the immobiliser relays on the old alarm.  He pulled some thick gauged harness out with the old alarm wiring; which looks to me like it was to bridge connections into the immobilisers? Before it got immobilised it was running just fine.  Im at a loss to why the FP is getting no voltage; I thought maybe the FP was faulty (even though I havent even done 50km on the new pump) but no voltage at the harness plug.  Questions: Could it be he didnt reconnect the fuel pump when testing it after the old alarm removal (before installing the new alarm)?  Is this a case of bridging to the brake lights instead of the fuel pump circuit? It's a bit beyond me as I dont do a lot with electrical; so have tried my best to diagnose what I think seems to make sense.  Seeking advice if theres for sure an issue with the alarm install to get him back here; or if I do infact, need an auto electrician to diagnose it. 
    • Then, shorten them by 1cm, drop the car back down and have a visual look (or even better, use a spirit level across the wheel to see if you have less camber than before. You still want something like 1.5 for road use. Alternatively, if you have adjustable rear ride height (I assume you do if you have extreme camber wear), raise the suspension back to standard height until you can get it all aligned properly. Finally, keep in mind that wear on the inside of the tyre can be for incorrect toe, not just camber
×
×
  • Create New...