Big Rizza

The Viva is selling only about 1/2 what Holden expected, but Barina is (unfortunately) still selling strongly. I was so hopeful after the Barina's breif sales slump after the press release concerning it's 2 star safety rating, but it seems to have sprung back to it's 1200 units per month sales norm...

Holden is definately on something. Look at their recent decision making skills: Should we import new Vauxhall VX220 Turbo as an HSV model? Nah, no one wants a 4cyl turbo HSV... So we won't import this Lotus-Elise-but-cheaper-and-turbo-charged at all. But wait! Should import the 4cyl turbo Astra VXR as an HSV? YES!!! Everyone wants a 4cyl turbo HSV!!! I'm confused... Import the new Vauxhall Corsa (Barina)? No, we'll import the Daewoo Kalos instead! Import the next generation Vauxhall Vectra? No, we'll import the Daewoo Tosca instead. We've got all the 4wd hardware to make a quality 4x4 like the Ford Territry. Nah, can't be bothered, we'll import the Daewoo Captiva instead. Everyone hates the Daewoo Lacetti (Viva), right? Of course they do, so we'll import that too! Great! We've got HEAPS of Daewoo's on sale now! We're sure to reach the top of the sales charts now that we've replaced our entire quality European line up with the same Korean line up that sent Daewoo bankrupt! So now the entire Holden badge has been cheapened by inferior Korean product. Hmmm... The only thing we're missing is an American car... Cadillac CTS-V? Chevrolet Corvette Z06? Nah, in this time of environmental conciousness and high oil prices, what we need is the new HUMMER H3!!! SEROIUSLY HOLDEN, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING!?!?!?! These decisions are even worse than Toyota's "let's sell the Avalon instead of the Chaser" decision... P.S. Nice VL ctjet, I like it a lot! Pity about the rims, though...

You're spoilt with choice at that price... Mitsubishi EVO VIII MR Mazda Series 8 RX-7 Toyota Supra Nissan R33 GTR Nissan S15 Silvia Plus many more imports... But it doesn't have to be an import... Ford Focus XR5 Renault Clio Sport Holden Monaro Ford XR6 Turbo Subaru Forester XT Subaru WRX Might be able to stretch for something like... Audi S4 biturbo Audi S8 E36 BMW M3 Volkwagen Golf GTi

I'm not sure that a Skyline web forum is the best place to get an unbiased opinion on whether Skyline ownership is a good idea. That's like going into an NRA meeting and asking if gun ownership is a good idea. Or going to a KKK meeting and asking if bashing minority groups is a good idea... My suggestion is to try out a few different cars and see what suits you best. You might find you'd like something lighter, like a 180sx or R32, or you might find you'd like something torquier, like a Supra TT or 300ZX. Not that the R33 is exactly lacking in the torque department. Or you might something more comfortable, like a Soarer. Or you might decide all imports are crap and buy a Commodore.

Yes. Dunno if any of these guys will source half cuts from Japan to spec, but I'm sure they could point you in the right direction... http://www.justjap.com/halfcuts.htm http://www.adelaidejap.com.au/front%20cuts.htm http://www.japimports.com.au/halfcuts.htm http://www.japanesemotorsport.com.au/engines.htm Plenty of others out there.

Please don't tell me you mean the new "Daewoo" Barina? I didn't think that anyone would like that Korean peice of.... anyways... 2 star NCAP crash safety rating vs. the previous model's 4 star NCAP crash safety rating sums it all up. "New" Holden Barina vs."Old" Daewoo Kalos... look similar to you?

Dunno how much for a Stagea, but I'd say they would be comparable to the equivalent Skyline prices. As a guide: Nissan Skyline R33 Gts-t Series 1 2.5L turbo 1993 - 95 model (RB25DET) 5 speed manual with good condition engine and body panels from about $3,800 Nissan Skyline R33 Gts-t Series 2 2.5L turbo 1996 - 98 model (RB25DET) 5 speed manual (hard to source) from about $4,900 Nissan Skyline R34 GT-T 2.5L turbo 1998 to 2002 model (RB25DET NEO) 5 speed manual from about $7,100 Front cuts are sourced from Japan as whole vehicles, tested as a running unit, then cut up and shipped as a front cut. Vehicles are chopped just behind the windscreen, and typically include the front seats, engine and wiring, transmission and tail shaft, suspension, wheels and fuel pump. If sourced to order then other small parts not usually taken from the vehicle can be included on request. More prices at http://www.prestigemotorsport.com.au/modul...rticle.php?t=22

Decided to chuck my details in Just Cars Insurance online quote thing for a theoretical GTR purchase just for a comparison: I am 21 years old, no accident claims, no theft claims, no license disqualifications 1993 Nissan Skyline GTR $25000 purchase price (personal loan) Lowered Suspension Air Filter Exhaust Alarm & Immobiliser Stereo ($1000) Rims ($2000) Turbo Timer $1378 Fully Comprehensive Based on that, you should be able to barter for a better deal. Actually, based on that, I might go out and buy a 1993 GTR, coz that quote is insanely good! Oooh, massive excess though... $2500 if it's stolen!

My guess is that heatsoak is probably more of a problem in heavy traffic on hot days where there is little air flow through FMIC, radiator and engine bay in general than on the race track where there is plenty of high velocity air to keep things cool... Oh, and as for white cars, Lotus is proof that they can look good. (alright, not the best photo of an Exige, but trust me they look sensational in white)

AWD added about 130kgs to the R32 GTS-T when they created the R32 GTS4. With that in mind, I would say the added weight of the AWD hardware means your car would probably actually be slower than the standard rear wheel drive car in most situations. You must also consider that when the GTS-T isn't just a GTS with a turbo engine - brakes, suspension, wheels, etc. are all upgraded to handle the extra power, and you should consider this when costing a turbo engine conversion for a non-turbo vehicle. Depending on the results you want, it would be far more cost effective to boost traction via. suspension and tyre mods rather than swapping to all wheel drive. Just my 2c. If you can't find one in your area, companies like Prestige Motorsport will locate one in Japan to your designated specifications and import it for you.

I think this topic has come up before, and no one had done it back then. Personally I don't think it would be worth while. You lose your boot space, your fuel consumption increases, your power levels decrease. For a custom system on a skyline, I'd guess the cost of install vs. the fuel savings would take 2-3 years to pay itself off, which in my mind isn't worth the loss of performance and practicality.

Depends on your tolerance levels to whether something like a GTR is suitable day-to-day. My GTS-T on NISMO coilovers was my only car during university, so that was my daily driver. Now that I am older (and wiser?), I have a Toyota Yaris YRS 5-door for daily driver (which incidentally uses about half the fuel of the skyline...) and the Skyline is kept for weekend use. This has unfortunately has started a vicious circle, because now that the skyline is not a daily driver anymore, I want to replace it with something more hardcore... I was thinking of swapping my white R32 GTS-T for a white R32 GTR, and seeing how long before my friends and family noticed...

Everyone has their own opinion on the double-clutch vs. sequential vs. manual vs. CVT vs. auto vs. trained monkey debate, which is good because it will ensure there is plenty of choice for many years to come. For me, the head tells me that DSG is the way to go, but the heart will always love the feel of a good manual. Random fact: Actually, the twin/dual clutch gearbox was invented by Andolphe Kégresse in the late 1930s. It was meant for use in some random Citroen of the time, but never made it there. The PDK transmission was used on Porsche's Le Mans race cars, and a couple of Audi rally cars, but unlike modern DSG boxes they still ran an auto-trans style torque converter (so they cheated to get it working ).

Nice car, but there are other nice Aston's... V8 Vantage Le Mans? 600hp from twin supercharged V8, and it looks pretty mean... And what about the DB5? Who wouldn't want to drive the difinitive Bond-mobile?

Road Rage is so unncessary. People make mistakes when driving cars. There's no point in getting angry about it. Chances are the VW driver was thinking you were completely unjustified in giving him the bird. Maybe you were, maybe you weren't. That's not the point. The point is, ramming you off the road is hardly an appropriate response. I don't think he'd really given thought to the idea of rotting in prison after a vehicular manslaughter conviction... I thankfully do not suffer from road rage. A while back my parked car was reversed into by some guy in a pulsar. I was standing right near my car and saw it happen. Some people would go ballistic, but I wasn't angry. And he was clearly sorry. The only thing he could say was "Man, that was the biggest waste of money ever, hey..." I lost it laughing. But seriously, It takes a LOT to get me angry. And let me tell you now, me losing my temper is not a pretty thing, generally resulting in people lying on the floor bleeding. Thankfully I haven't lost my temper since I was fifteen. I was only 95kgs back then. Today, Big Rizza's 120kg of fury would likely bring forth the destruction of the entire planet. Below I have attached an image of the scenario:

Don't like the idea of the paddle shift boxes for the street. I want a GTR with a traditional H-pattern manual. Imagine you're cruising at 70km/h in top gear (7th), but with full manual mode activated. For whatever reason, you feel like giving the car a boot (not suggesting for any minute that the reason might be another car in the lane next to you - I don't condone street racing ). So you want 2nd gear. Pull left paddle... 6th... pull paddle... 5th... pull paddle... 4th... pull paddle... 3rd... pull paddle... 2nd! Dunno, just seems a regular 6-speed box would be a little more practical there. Also, I'll often wind out 2nd a bit, then shift straight into top gear at the speed limit. Again, it'll take me a million paddle blips to make what in a manual would be a single gear shift. I'm sure it's great on the race track when you always want the car at max revs, but in the real world I don't think it would suit my driving habits... Might be perfect for someone else's driving habits though!

I beleive it's the first twin turbo straight six petrol engine with an all aluminium crankcase. No, it didn't get me excited either.

For an Aston Martin lookalike, you can't go past Custom Automotive Restyling's AMX07 kit for Mazda MX5. See http://www.amx07.com/

The Eclipse was ruined for me by the movie 2Fast2Furious...

Yes, I would give up my stock standard 17 year old R32 skyline GTS-T that cost me less than $10k for a brand new $100k+ twin turbo 335i. This decision would not be a hard one. As far as BMW's that I would buy (provided I had the money), pretty much any small/medium car (1 series, 3 series, Z series, etc) with a 3.0 litre engine or larger would be considered, or any large car (5 series, 6 series, 7 series, 8 series, X series, etc) with a 3.5 litre engine or larger. The most desirable of all would be any of the following: M1 2002 turbo CSL "Batmobile" E30 M3 E46 M3 CSL Any M5 or M6 Z8 Dunno if these count... Rolls Royce Phantom Mini Cooper S

After the American consumer reaction to the E60 M5 (with it's 7-speed SMG gearbox), I seriously doubt Nissan would pitch this car to an American market without a tranditional 6-speed manual transmission available at least as an option. On a side note, isn't it convenient that at around the same time as the new GTR is undergoing prototype testing, Renault (who own Nissan remember) mysteriously aquired a brand new 420 horsepower direct injection 3.5 litre twin-turbo V6 engine with 7 speed sequential gearbox for use in their Nepta concept car? http://www.automotoportal.com/article/Rena...aris_Motor_Show

Agreed. (But first, get yourself another couple of psi boost and a 50 shot of NOS, just to be safe... )

You can also have the halfway point and measure power at the hubs, which eliminates power loss through tyre heat/friction, but still has transmission/drivetrain losses, just to complicate things further...

1. What is your name and where are you from? Ryan, Perth 2. What is your occupation? Engineer 3. What is your date of birth and blood type? 28/3/85, NFI 4. What are your hobbies? Cars, Television, Music, Sports, Gym, Drinking, Eating 5. How many years have you had your license and what license type are you? 4 years, Class C 6. How many accidents have you had (your fault) and how many traffic violations have you had? Zero! 7. What was the car you owned before your current one? 1995 Hyundai Lantra 8. What is your current car and it's mileage? 2006 Toyota Yaris YRS - 8000km 1989 Nissan Skyline GTS-T - 150000km 9. Is the car Auto or Manual? Yaris Auto; Skyline Manual 10. What part of your car is unique that no one else has? Yaris - none, they are everywhere Skyline - errr... none again... 11. Do you own a motorbike? No 12. Biggest trouble/problem you've ever had with a car you've owned? Hyundai Lantra spat out the auto transmission every 50,000km. Gets expensive after 220,000km of ownership. 13. Do you have an in-car navigation system? Yes, a map. 14. Do you have an e-tag/electronic toll unit? What are your thoughts on the system? No. 15. Do you have a particular route or road that you enjoy driving on? What is it? Yes. Roads to Mundaring Weir outside Perth. 16. Do you have a meet point that you prefer? What is it? No. 17. What petrol do you use? Why do you use it... Brand, Price or Convenience? BP Ultimate - Only 98 octane fuel in my area. 18. What is your favourite engine oil? Mobil1 Sythetic 19. How often do you change the oil in your car? 5000km/6 months 20. What make is your tyre, and what size is it? Yokohama something-or-other 205 16's 21. How much tread is left on your tyres at the moment? Brand new 22. Do you use winter tyres? No 23. How often do you wash your car? Not enough 24. What magazines do you read/subscribe to? Wheels (subscribe), Motor (subscribe), Evo (read), Top Gear (read), Ignition DVD magazine (subscribe), Autospeed Online Magazine (subscribe) 25. What music do you listen to while driving? Not country, not rap/hip-hop/r&b, not anything with indecipherable screaming for lyrics. Anything else goes - rock, pop, classical, grunge, punk, jazz, oldies, etc. 26. Do you listen to the radio in your car? If so what station and/or show do you prefer? Not usually, MP3 player 27. When you are stuck in traffic, what do you do to pass time? Er... zone out and stare blankly into the horizon... 28. What products can you simply not be without in your car? I only need the basics - a seat, pedals, steering wheel, etc. 29. Do you prefer to take the highway or the scenic route to places that are between 50 to 100 km's away? 20% of the time scenic, 80% of the time I don't have time for the scenic route 30. Does your significant other prefer to accompany you on your drives in the passenger seat? Yes. 31. What is your preferred tuning shop? Hyperdrive in Malaga, WA. 32. What is your preferred second hand parts shop? None. 33. When you see the sticker "Baby On Board" what do you do or think? I think that perhaps a child or infant may occasionally ride in that vehicle...? 34. Do you like the Nissan models that have been released since Carlos Ghosn took over as CEO? Who is Carlos Ghosn? When did he take over? I know nothing... NOTHING!!! But generally I like 1990's Nissans more than modern Nissans. 35. Although the R34 Skyline has been replaced by the V35, do you consider it a valid successor? Yes & No. No for R34 GTR, yes for the rest of the range. 36. What are your 3 most favourite Nissan models, excluding the one you own? R34 GTR, S15 Silvia, V35 Coupe 37. What are your 3 most favourite non-Nissan cars? Lotus Exige S, Morgan Aero 8 GTN, McLaren F1... all British for some reason... But my favourite car list changes at least twice a day, every day. 38. If you were to buy a new car now, what would it be? Bought a brand new Toyota Yaris a couple of months back, so not really in the market... 39. Although its not Nissan, do you like Rotary Engines? Yes. 40. What quality do you feel your car lacks? Modern crash safety 41. What generation is your Skyline? R32 42. Is your car RWD or AWD? RWD 43. Why did you choose to buy your car? Best value for money car I could afford - relatively quick, great handling, high equipment levels for a sub-$10k car (power windows, mirrors, tilt-n-reach adjustable steering, central locking, etc.), manual transmission, 4 doors, 44. When you chose your car, what other models did you also consider? Nissan Cefiro, Toyota Celsior, Nissan Maxima, Ford Falcon, Nissan Bluebird SSS/Ti, Nissan 180SX 45. When you bought the car, what condition was it in? Normal or needed some work? Exterior dirty from shipping, interior very clean for 15 y.o. car, stereo speakers broken, stereo head unit shite, needed new tyres, coil packs on the way out, spark plugs waaay overdue for replacement 46. How many times do you drive your car in a week? 1 or 2 47. If you had to coin a catchphrase for Skylines, what would it be? Dunno... 48. What car would you say is a rival model to yours as far as features are concerned? A rival turbo 4 door? That'd be the Toyota Chaser 49. What is in your opinion, the best features of your Skyline? Steering feel and handling 50. What parts of your car don't work like they should? Air con needs a re-gas 51. Have you ever dreamt of your car? Give an example. I'm sure I have at some point, can't remember anything speciffic though... 52. What do those close to you (family, partner etc) think of your car? They all like it (obviously!) 53. What spec would you class your car as? Drift, Drag, Circuit, or Cruiser? Probably circuit, but being close to standard it's hard to say... 54. Which is more important to you about your car? Appearance, Performance/Power or Comfort? Performance, if that includes handling... 55. What seats and steering wheel do you have in your car? Standard R32 GTS-T 56. What brakes does your car have? (Including disc/hub) Standard R32 GTS-T M-Spec 57. What exhaust does your car have? 3" HKS Cat-back 58. What headunit/stereo is in your car? Some crappy Sansui MP3 thingo... 59. What gauges does your car have? Aftermarket Boost Gauge 60. What aftermarket suspension parts does your car have? Nismo coil-overs 61. What structural reinforcement parts does your car have? None 62. What intake/cooling parts do you have on your car? K&N pod filter 63. Anything else you have replaced on your car? No. 64. How many km/l do you get out of your car on average? 9km/litre 65. Do you think you'll be driving the same car in 5 years? No 66. Would you purchase the car you own if it was new? (ie you'd be the first owner of the car) Err... If it were the same price as I paid for it second hand, then yes. If it was the price of a brand new car, then hell no! It's 17 year old technology! 67. If you were given the choice between your car and your partner, which would you choose over the other? Partner 68. If the Skyline you own did not exist, what would you be driving right now? Probably a Cefiro or Silvia... 69. A lot of Skyline owners are changing to Evo's, what do you think of them and would you change? Since when are "a lot of Skyline owners changine to Evo's"?!?!?!?! I like what I have seen, but never driven one... 70. Which headlight do you prefer, projector or non projector and HID or regular? Whatever is brightest... 71. If you were to respray your car, what colour would it be? White (currently white) 72. What is the first mod that you would do on a stock version of your car? Increase boost 73. Is there a mod in particular that you would like to never see done to a Skyline? I'm sure pretty much everything imaginable has been done to a Skyline at some point... 74. If your car is RWD, is there any time when you wish it was AWD? Or if your car is AWD, is there any time when you wish it was RWD? No. 75. Have you ever considered your car awkward or uncool? Why? No. 76. Do you have any brochures for your car? Where'd you get it from? No. 77. Do you have a service manual, log book and owner's manual for your car? Yes. 78. How do you feel about the price of Skylines on the market now compared to the price you paid for your car? Happy - I paid $9k for my R32 GTS-T 18 months ago, and I reckon I could get that back now if I wanted... 79. If money was not an issue, what tuning mods would you make to your car? Money not an issue? Sell it, buy better car! Else RB30DETT conversion... 80. Would you upgrade the hub assembly of your car? (eg 4 stud to 5 stud) No - Satisfied with current 5-stud set up 81. Would you upgrade the air-con system in your car? (eg manual to climate control) No - Satisfied with current digital climate control 82. Have you made any parts for your car, or any DIY mods? No. Although I did install my own head unit :S 83. Do you own any spare parts for your car that aren't needed yet? Spare tyre 84. If it was feasible to own a second car identical to yours, would you? No. 85. How much have you spent on repairs to your car? All servicing and maintenance (including tyres etc.) probably around $3000 in 18 months of ownership (or 1/3 the total value of the car!) 86. If you see another Skyline which has been modified differently, do you pick faults in it? No. 87. Have you ever watched Initial D, and do you think your car would have beaten Takumi? Yes. Episodes last, what, 20 minutes? Therefore one race goes for about 20 minutes. Each race is, what, about 5km of winding road? Average speed is therefore about 15km/h. I'm sure I could average at least 16km/h along those roads, so yes, I would win. 88. Would you buy a scale model of your car, and how much would you be willing to spend up to on it? No, $0. 89. Would you buy a remote control model of your car, and how much would you be willing to spend up to on it? No, $0. 90. Has your car ever been in a magazine? If so what and which issue? No. 91. Have you ever participated in a cruise or attended a meet for Skyline owners? No. 92. Is there any other forum members' car that you idolise or was very impressed by? No. 93. Would you do a face swap/upgrade (ie R34 front on R32, C33 front on A31, etc)? Yes, if it were free. 94. What would you consider the locally produced equivalent of your car? Closest domestic cars to a 4 door skyline are probably a VL Turbo or XR6 Turbo. Yes I would consider both of those. 95. You are offered to pick straws, one straw will get you free mods of your choice and track time to test them, the other will see your car returned to factory standard. Would you pick straws? No. 96. You are to attend a track day, however your car gets damaged, and have the following choices: - run the same model as your car, but with a fully tuned RB20E engine. The car has done 150,000kms, and the engine has done 50,000kms. - run the same model as your car, but with a RB20DET auto. The car has done 500,000kms, and the turbo has done 60,000kms. - run your damaged car What would you do? Go home. 97. If you were to grade yourself as an expert on Skylines, what would you be out of 100? 55 98. What is the purpose your car serves in your life? Transport and entertainment. Now that I have the Yaris, more so entertainment. 99. One word that describes Skyline owners in the country and the rest of the world? Err... Bipeds... 100. Other than "that was long and tiring" do you have any comments? This was a complete waste of time... which was exactly what I was looking for.

In a world where a standard 6 cylinder family car can run a low 15 second pass, suddenly a sports coupe like the R33 GTS doesn't look so quick anymore. By today's standards I don't consider my (stock) R32 GTS-T to be particularly quick either - I'm outgunned (in the power stakes at least) by pretty much anything on the market with a modern 6-cylinder engine.