shyr33

When I was looking at replacing my setup with shocks/springs, I enquired at a few places. The Bilsteins were about $1200 I think from somewhere in NSW. Koni's were about $1400. But you can get some cheaper Coilovers for about that price. If your not in a hurry look around for people selling their old parts. I ended up buying some APEXI shocks from a guy on here and TEIN springs which were $300. The TEIN springs lowered it about 20ish mm. Would of liked it about 30mm (thats what their quoted as) but still there is only a small gap between tyre and guard now. The shocks and springs seem to match quite well as the ride is very good and the handling is fantastic. You don't always need to spend big money on quality parts, if your not in a hurry then just wait and search around. You might get lucky like I did, one mans trash is another mans treasure

I know the TEIN springs i bought are about 4/4. They are good for me, slightly stiffer than standard but still very driveable. I would think the coilover springs would be slightly stiffer.......

Ye mine is a series 1 (94) and it doesn't have ABS. Your probably right TALBO, most likely for the ABS.

I bought some aftermarket APEXI shocks from a user on here and he had a Series 2 R33 and I have a Series 1 and they fit no problems. However they did have this bracket thing coming of them which I thought might be used to hold the brake line or something like that on a Series 2 but didn't need to use that on my car. Maybe the standard ones had a slightly different damping rate or something like that, but the mounts and that are the same

I think the aussies ones were around 8/6 but I would imagine they might be a little more than that?

Hrmm ye I did register my interest and they emailed me asking for the deposit but I never went ahead with it. But it looks like you got quite a bit so this has increased my interest again haha. Peter, how many papers roughly did you get...like is it a proper workshop manual you can buy for holdens etc covering suspension, brakes etc etc Thanks mate

My friend had a R34 GTR and the standard handling was unbelievable (well comparing to my R33 lol). As mentioned I think the TEIN's would of been more than ok, but I have heard the HKS suspension can be quite stiff so maybe that is what you are after. The swaybars, strut braces etc should be fine, so if you do want to do track work maybe adjustable castor rods, adjustable control arms etc are a good idea. But if I had a R34 GTR I would give it a good test drive and then decide if you want more or not.

I get a noise like the first one you described in second gear when I am at lower revs but I think its because I have a heavy duty clutch and it needs more revs to get going. But thats at like 1200-1500rpm. Is the noise like when you put the car in a higher gear e.g. 4th and your at low speeds/revs and try to accelerate or.....? You havent had the clutch changed or anything lately have you?

In the end 'Schnorky' there is always going to be a debate on this issue as different people like/try different things. I think it will just come down to you making a choice and seeing how it goes with the type of driving you do, the condition of the roads around you etc. If you buy coilovers and they are to stiff for your set-up then you can always sell them and try something different (normal shocks and good springs for instance). Good luck and let us know what you buy and how it goes. Because I debated for a long time whether to get coilovers or a new shock/spring upgrade. I went with the latter.

I just fitted some APEXI adjustable damper shocks (bought of this forum) with TEIN S tech springs and couldnt be happier. Mind you I was going from standard shocks which were so badly stuffed I think I just had springs for suspension lol. But seriously the Tein springs lowered it nicely, are slightly stiffer(although not as much as quoted but I don't think they ever do) and mixed with a good shock gives a good combo for me. I think the TEIN coilovers would be very good if you could get spring rates of 6/4 or something like that.

I just replaced my shocks and springs and I bought the dust covers from Pedders. I think they were for their 4WD shocks or something but they were a pretty good fit. Long enough to go from the bump stop to over the shock near where the springs sit. It was kind of hard to get them over the shock but some vaseline did the job. I cable tied them as well and so far they have not moved and they had some play in it. Something to think about....

Peter, I was thinking of getting that from JPNZ aswell, how much did all that cost. There was a price for something around 110 dollars or something like that but I don't think that covered all of what you got?

Um I think I got the second one (normal heavy duty). In the description it kind of hints that the button clutch is more targetted to slight drift, drag etc. So I think it might be a less streetable. The button just refers to the bits of clutch material sticking up on the ends of the each plate (I think). Some people warn that for street driving a button clutch is to hard or releases too early when you raise you foot only marginally but others say that its bullshit and its very streetable. So I guess it depends what you prefer and wait until someone else raises there opinion. Either way I know my clutch (normal heavy duty) is still going strong and it did make the pedal stiffer and release slightly earlier but its definately very streetable.

I know what you mean sometimes the jobs you plan for the car just seem to expand in price. However as you said if your planning to keep the car I would buy the Nissan one as it 'should' last you another 100,000 + kms without hassles (barring any other unforeseen incidents)

Yep I had a leak out the back of the block and it was the rocker covers, maybe just have a closer look unless you were already planning to do the head work.

I have been warned about buying some of the 'aftermarket' waterpumps by a few mechanics who have seem them leak etc, With those sorts of items I just like getting genuine Nissan ones (even though you do pay more for it). I'm not saying there all bad, most of them probably do fine. But if your's is working fine then I would probably just leave it.

Ye my mate downloaded one of the internet and I thought well I'll go looking to see if there is one out there to buy. Saw the one of ebay (wasnt expensive mind you), stating it has everything in it blah blah (I knew it wouldn't) and bought it. Suprise suprise it was the same one just on a CD lol.

Well I guess it depends what your plans for the car are and where you do most of your driving, e.g. traffic, highways, track car etc. I replaced my standard clutch with a single plate heavy duty item from EXEDY. Clutch has been in now for like 2-3 years and hasnt slipped once even through some punishment. The pedal feel is slightly harder without being un-driveable in traffic. Plus is wasnt to expensive (cant remember how much, got it trade price though). I got a mechanic to do it (because my mate was working for them at the time, think he did it) but he reckons it wasnt to bad (cost was about $300 with machining the flywheel, new fluid). I wouldn't even try it without a hoist, but I have heard of people doing it in their garages. I think if you had all the tools (long extensions are a must) and someone who knows what there doing then its a good exercise.

Ye I would probably say that is reasonable for someone to do it. If you go around, look on the forums, go to the wreckers etc then you might be able to buy the parts for a little cheaper. Also they would probably charge you something like $60-80 per hour so the labour charge can add up. I would do a little looking around to see what parts you 'could' possible buy a little cheaper, and then go from there.

Well I guess it depends what you are planning to do with the tyres and what power you have etc.....like you can go out and buy $200-300 tyres and do burnouts etc and there is no point. I just bought some new Sumitomo or whatever they are for my car ($300 fitted I think) and they seem ok but then again im not making heaps of power or drag excessively so they should last for a while (I hope). If you need new tyres I would probably try them see how it goes....

Ye if you guys are in melbourne there is a couple I just found. There is a transfer station in wantirna charges 50 cents per litre which isnt to bad. LOL at leaving it at your local mechanic, I was actually thinking of doing that one time. Glad I'm not alone haha. But I think I will just go to this transfer station.

P.s I would probably use the oil you would be using in the future, that way you know how the car will react on that type of oil, in terms of oil pressure, temp etc

The 60 is a bit thick I think, I actually used to use that when I first bought the car like 5 years ago but then changed to a 10-50, I actually felt the car become better to drive and I little more responsive (although that could of just been my brain telling me I was making the right choice in oil) haha. The car obviously wont explode or anything but I believe a thinner oil make make it run better on the dyno. But that is my thought. Best to wait for someone to correct/agree with me.

Could there be a fault with the thermostat.....not opening properly or something like that? Although it's funny that it goes away after a minute.

Um so you didn't touch/change the fuel pump anytime recently? Wrong terminals as in the positive was put on the negative terminal of the battery and vice versa?