Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

8 weeks ago something happened that started this magical journey which would eventuate in myself owning one of these pure adrenalin machines. My so called "luxury" sedan (Audi 80) auto transmission started leaking oil right onto the exhaust. (Fellow drivers kept on thinking my car was one fire...pretty funny now that I think about it.) So I go to my beautiful girlfriend...f**k this..this time I'm gonna go get a car that I want. She quietly agreed.

The first car that came to mind was the Skyline. So I did some hunting around and found this brilliant webpage was laid it all out for it plain english. I was aware of an personal import process but had no idea how to do it, why it was better/worse etc etc. I highly recommend this website for anyone on the first steps on buying a Skyline.

Thinking of importing or buying a Japanese sports car?

After deciding that import through a broker was the shizzle (and approval from the bank) I jumped on the phone. I must have spoken to at least a dozen brokers from Cairns to Perth. I did not really feel comfortable dealing with a broker strictly over the phone so I decided to visit PowerPlay Imports at Drummoyne to see if they could recommend anyone. (At the time I thought they only sold performance parts and the occasional GTR).

From the moment I walked in I met Jo-Ann and she immediately sat me down in front her computer and showed exactly how much it would cost. End to End including the driveway price (blue slip etc etc). From there I told her my budget and the rest is bliss. I had won a car on my second auction 1 week later and right on budget.

I won the car on the 28th of August and picked it up last night and now I'm dead tired this morning coz I was driving till 1:00AM this morning (Galston Gorge at midnight is bliss)

I guess what I'm trying to say is that they guys at PowerPlay really give a shit about you and try their hardest to get you what you want. Their passion is Skylines and so that is just one of the things we have in commen.

Thanks to Tosh for all the help he's given me and not crashing my car when picking it up from the docks.

Thanks to Alistair who's a complete Skyline eccentric with the attention to detail that would rival Michelangelo.

And Special thanks to Jo-Ann. Who's genuine personality is easily seen and even contagious. Your passion for you work shows and is your greatest asset.

See you guys around.

Sam Kennedy

post-22740-1129243487.jpg

post-22740-1129243522.jpg

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/91065-big-thanks-to-powerplay-imports/
Share on other sites

Mate your most welcome. Great to see that your happy with your purchase and I actually laughed out loud when I read you went down the Galston Gorge at midninght... hahaha

Enjoy the car and don't hesitate to call us if you need anything.

Cheers,

Tosh

The powerplay guys are awesome - did you save money over buying one locally?

I think I saved a shitload doing it through import. You do have to be lucky with the car when doing it as an Import I guess but I had faith in PowerPlays keen eye and general rule of

We won't import a car for someone that we wouldn't be happy with for ourselves.

..or something like that

That policy shows me that these guys are not after making a profit but to provide the best possible service.

Ending Rant now.

Thank you Sam from all of us at Powerplay. It's very nice of you to take the time to show your appreciation.

You've put an even bigger smile on my face today.

Cheers

Jo

Jo, every dealing we have had with you guys has been a pleasure (albeit limited). Your professionalism and attitude are second to none.....well done guys!

Paul and Stacey

DiRTgarage

Tosh... did you send me some Bathurst DivX's over ICQ?? I'm pretty sure that was you :) I think i spoke to you for a second on Tuesday arvo :) Ended up at powerplay hey? nice ;)

been dealing with Jo-Ann very recently too... purchasing something on Monday. Very happy with everything too. Lucky i got a black R34 :D

Tosh... did you send me some Bathurst DivX's over ICQ?? I'm pretty sure that was you :) I think i spoke to you for a second on Tuesday arvo :D Ended up at powerplay hey? nice ;)

been dealing with Jo-Ann very recently too... purchasing something on Monday. Very happy with everything too. Lucky i got a black R34 ;)

I think I did years ago... 1990, 1991 & 1992

ahhh so your the guy buying the East Bear Front Bumper Bar.... shite.... I have to get the down and pack it :) haha

nice work mate... it's an awesome bar no fibreglass either ;)

hey man

sounds very interesting.So  you won the bid on Aug 28 and the car got to you yesterday with it complianced and registered? which state are you in?

thanks

Sydney, NSW

I also agree if a you are going to buy a skyline go to Powerplay. It will be five years in November since i bought mine from them and it Hasn't missed a beat.

I test drove a few R33 GTST' s around NSW & in the ACT and as soon as i went for a drive in the one i own now i put a deposit on it there and then and the next week i came back and picked it up. They even shared some bubbbly with me after my purchase to say congrats. Very professional.

I haven't had to change anything with the interior/exterior for almost five yrs because it was imported in immaculate condition, looked sexy and didn't need to be improved.

If i ever look for another skyline it will be through Powerplay.

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

    • The other problem was one of those "oh shit we are going to die moments". Basically the high spec Q50s have a full electric steering rack, and the povo ones had a regular hydraulic rack with an electric pump.  So couple of laps into session 5 as I came into turn 2 (big run off now, happily), the dash turned into a christmas tree and the steering became super heavy and I went well off. I assumed it was a tyre failure so limped to the pits, but everything was OK. But....the master warning light was still on so I checked the DTCs and saw – C13E6 “Heat Protection”. Yes, that bloody steering rack computer sitting where the oil cooler should be has its own sensors and error logic, and decided I was using the steering wheel too much. I really appreciated the helpful information in the manual (my bold) POSSIBLE CAUSE • Continuing the overloading steering (Sports driving in the circuit etc,) “DATA MONITOR” >> “C/M TEMPERATURE”. The rise of steering force motor internal temperature caused the protection function to operate. This is not a system malfunction. INSPECTION END So, basically the electric motor in the steering rack got to 150c, and it decided to shut down without warning for my safety. Didn't feel safe. Short term I'll see if I can duct some air to that motor (the engine bay is sealed pretty tight). Long term, depending on how often this happens, I'll look into swapping the povo spec electric/hydraulic rack in. While the rack should be fine the power supply to the pump will be a pain and might be best to deal with it when I add a PDM.
    • And finally, 2 problems I really need to sort.  Firstly as Matt said the auto trans is not happy as it gets hot - I couldn't log the temps but the gauge showed 90o. On the first day I took it out back in Feb, because the coolant was getting hot I never got to any auto trans issues; but on this day by late session 3 and then really clearly in 4 and 5 as it got hotter it just would not shift up. You can hear the issue really clearly at 12:55 and 16:20 on the vid. So the good news is, literally this week Ecutek finally released tuning for the jatco 7 speed. I'll have a chat to Racebox and see what they can do electrically to keep it cooler and to get the gears, if anything. That will likely take some R&D and can only really happen on track as it never gets even warm with road use. I've also picked up some eye wateringly expensive Redline D6 ATF to try, it had the highest viscosity I could find at 100o so we will see if that helps (just waiting for some oil pan gaskets so I can change it properly). If neither of those work I need to remove the coolant/trans interwarmer and the radiator cooler and go to an external cooler....somewhere.....(goodbye washer reservoir?), and if that fails give up on this mad idea and wait for Nissan to release the manual 400R
    • So, what else.... Power. I don't know what it is making because I haven't done a post tune dyno run yet; I will when I get a chance. It was 240rwkw dead stock. Conclusion from the day....it does not need a single kw more until I sort some other stuff. It comes on so hard that I could hear the twin N1 turbos on the R32 crying, and I just can't use what it has around a tight track with the current setup. Brakes. They are perfect. Hit them hard all day and they never felt like having an issue; you can see in the video we were making ground on much lighter cars on better tyres under brakes. They are standard (red sport) calipers, standard size discs in DBA5000 2 piece, Winmax pads and Motul RBF600 fluid, all from Matty at Racebrakes Sydney. Keeping in mind the car is more powerful than my R32 and weighs 1780, he clearly knows his shit. Suspension. This is one of the first areas I need to change. It has electronically controlled dampers from factory, but everything is just way too soft for track work even on the hardest setting (it is nice when hustling on country roads though). In particular it rolls into oversteer mid corner and pitches too much under hard braking so it becomes unstable eg in the turn 1 kink I need to brake early, turn through the kink then brake again so I don't pirouette like an AE86. I need to get some decent shocks with matched springs and sway bars ASAP, even if it is just a v1 setup until I work out a proper race/rally setup later. Tyres. I am running Yoko A052 in 235/45/18 all round, because that was what I could get in approximately the right height on wheels I had in the shed (Rays/Nismo 18x8 off the old Leaf actually!). As track tyres they are pretty poor; I note GTSBoy recently posted a porker comparo video including them where they were about the same as AD09.....that is nothing like a top line track tyre. I'll start getting that sorted but realistically I should get proper sized wheels first (likely 9.5 +38 front and 11 +55 at the rear, so a custom order, and I can't rotate them like the R32), then work out what the best tyre option is. BTW on that, Targa Tas had gone to road tyres instead of semi slicks now so that is a whole other world of choices to sort. Diff. This is the other thing that urgently needs to be addressed. It left massive 1s out of the fish hook all day, even when I was trying not too (you can also hear it reving on the video, and see the RPM rising too fast compared to speed in the data). It has an open diff that Infiniti optimistically called a B-LSD for "Brake Limited Slip Diff". It does good straight line standing start 11s but it is woeful on the track. Nismo seem to make a 2 way for it.
    • Also, I logged some data from the ECU for each session (mostly oil pressures and various temps, but also speed, revs etc, can't believe I forgot accelerator position). The Ecutek data loads nicely to datazap, I got good data from sessions 2, 3 and 4: https://datazap.me/u/duncanhandleyhgeconsultingcomau/250813-wakefield-session-2?log=0&data=7 https://datazap.me/u/duncanhandleyhgeconsultingcomau/250813-wakefield-session-3?log=0&data=6 https://datazap.me/u/duncanhandleyhgeconsultingcomau/250813-wakefield-session-4?log=0&data=6 Each session is cut into 3 files but loaded together, you can change between them in the top left. As the test sessions are mostly about the car, not me, I basically start by checking the oil pressure (good, or at least consistent all day). These have an electrically controlled oil pump which targets 25psi(!) at low load and 50 at high. I'm running a much thicker oil than recommended by nissan (they said 0w20, I'm running 10w40) so its a little higher. The main thing is that it doesn't drop too far, eg in the long left hand fish hook, or under brakes so I know I'm not getting oil surge. Good start. Then Oil and Coolant temp, plus intercooler and intake temps, like this: Keeping in mind ambient was about 5o at session 2, I'd say the oil temp is good. The coolant temp as OK but a big worry for hot days (it was getting to 110 back in Feb when it was 35o) so I need to keep addressing that. The water to air intercooler is working totally backwards where we get 5o air in the intake, squish/warm it in the turbos (unknown temp) then run it through the intercoolers which are say 65o max in this case, then the result is 20o air into the engine......the day was too atypical to draw a conclusion on that I think, in the united states of freedom they do a lot of upsizing the intercooler and heat exchanger cores to get those temps down but they were OK this time. The other interesting (but not concerning) part for me was the turbo speed vs boost graph: I circled an example from the main straight. With the tune boost peaks at around 18psi but it deliberately drops to about 14psi at redline because the turbos are tiny - they choke at high revs and just create more heat than power if you run them hard all the way. But you can also see the turbo speed at the same time; it raises from about 180,000rpm to 210,000rpm which the boost falls....imagine the turbine speed if they held 18psi to redline. The wastegates are electrically controlled so there is a heap of logic about boost target, actual boost, delta etc etc but it all seems to work well
    • hahah when youtube subscribers are faster than my updates here. Yes some vid from the day is up, here:  Note that as with all track day videos it is boring watching after the bloopers at the start.  The off was a genuine surprise to me, I've literally done a thousand laps around the place and I've never had instability there; basically it rolled into oversteer, slipped, gripped and spat me out. On the way off I mowed down one of the instructor's cones and it sat there all day looking at me with accusing cone eyes as I drove past. 1:13:20 was my fastest lap, and it was in the second session, 3rd lap.  It (or me!) got slower throughout the day as it got hotter.      
×
×
  • Create New...