pixel8r

Congrats! looks very nice As for the wheel sizes - I believe there would be no problem as long as all wheels are the same dimensions. Pretty sure ATTESA will be fine so long as you dont have different size wheels on the front vs the back etc...and even then it does have a certain tolerance to allow for uneven tire wear. Hope that helps

To get any decent power increase (ie. >30kw) you will need tuning - at least just to keep it from running way too rich. And to go anywhere over 180-200rwkw you'll need a bigger intercooler & possibly fuel pump. Anywhere over 200kw will probably require a larger turbo. I found that after around 160awkw things can start to get quite expensive. Also note, the difference between awkw and rwkw on these cars is not that much. In my experience it works out to about 20kw difference. That difference is not a percentage, so it doesn't increase (much? at all?) as the power increases. At over 300rwkw the difference might be slightly more, but I'd guess that 330rwkw is around 300awkw. The reason awkw is lower is due to the drivetrain losses - ie. the extra load caused from driving the front wheels. This extra load does not increase as you increase power, so therefore awkw will always be ~20kw less than rwkw.

I do agree but I'm still failing to see how this unit would help. The ecu is going to read either the signal from the pedal (unmodified) or what this unit changes it to. In either case, the maximum pedal amount is still 100% in either case, so for example slamming the pedal to the floor would acheive exactly the same result either way. Its the ECU that decides how much to open the throttle, and this unit is not bypassing the ecu, so it will have the same limitations as the standard setup. Hope this makes sense? I just dont think its possible to improve the lag situation without bypassing the ecu altogether - which is not likely to be possible or practical. In a lot of ways I would have preferred if Nissan had still used a cable instead of going with drive-by-wire, since I think the drive-by-wire system seems to have an ever-so-slight delay in responding to pedal movements, especially when the movements are only small. However there are advantages to drive-by-wire (so they tell us). I think it helps the engine to maximise torque when accelerating ?? and it probably helps with fuel economy somehow too... Personally I find the acceleration to be at its peak in 2nd and 3rd gear, so the acceleration from standing start may have more to do with the gearing than the pedal. The same goes for the lag in any driving situation...whatever communication and logic that goes on between the ecu and the gearbox - I'd love to speed that along a tad. The engine is always ready to take off in its usual ferocity but the gearbox is always a bit over-cautious. When the two are in harmony the acceleration is awesome, but when they're fighting each other it can be frustrating, like there's a secret argument going on and you're the innocent 3rd party that just has to wait and see what the outcome is.

Ok, let me just clear up a few things. The M35 doesn't weigh 1800kg, its actually only 1680kg which is only 30kg heavier than s1 & s2 stageas. Sure, with a couple of people in it it will weigh over 1800kg but no manufacturer ever mentions the weight when there's people in it - so for comparing to other vehicles, a 2003 ford falcon wagon is around 1630kg and a 2008 model is about 1684kg - same as the M35. Fuel economy-wise, I dont think people realise that your average aussie wagon gets pretty similar fuel economy, and yet they cant match the performance. The M35 would be pretty close on fuel consumption in the city, its only really the highway consumption where it falls behind the aussie wagons - and that would be mostly due to the turbo I would think. But for a wagon with over 200kw and AWD, 12-14L/100km city and 9.5-10L/100km highway is not too bad in my opinion. Aftermarket support is pretty poor - but if you're only interested in minor mods (exhaust, boost etc) then thats all fine, plus you can get any standard parts through nissan (for a fee + 2 week wait) if you need. They're a pretty reliable wagon so fingers crossed you wont need anything other than the usual maintenance items - most of which are readily available in australia. Rear seat legroom is actually an extra 10+ cm lengthwise compared to the previous models. This might not sound like much but its quite a lot. I've had plenty of passengers in mine, including some guys who are over 6'2 and they had no trouble with legroom in the back. Its probably not quite as much room as with say a ford falcon but I think the difference would be pretty negligible. The room in the boot is about the same as any aussie wagon - possibly more? You have extra space under the boot floor (about 10-15cm high and about 80cm long) too, which not many other cars have. But again, the rear seat legroom is much more than most other jap imports (i've owned a s2 stagea as well as a nissan silvia, and i've sat in the rear seat of a 4door skyline). The seats may not feel as comfortable as an aussie wagon, but the firmer seats mean you can sit in them for much longer without getting aches and pains. Plus there's more side support too in the front seats. I say, go for the RS models, no screen, but you get the centre guages and the stereo is a single DIN unit which can be switched for an aftermarket one. Plus they're cheaper. Should be able to find one in australia under $19K these days...? Great Turbo Performance, 5sp auto, AWD safety, Climate Control, and the convenience of a wagon - you wont find a better wagon for anywhere near the same money. I may be biased.

If I understand correctly, this doesn't actually give you anything that you couldn't simulate with your right foot, but it just allows you to adjust how far the throttle will be open vs how far the accelerator is pressed down. In one sense, the sport mode could then be similar to putting your foot down faster on the throttle, reaching full throttle sooner. Looking at the graphs, it still will not reach full throttle until the pedal is all the way in, but the difference in throttle position between 90% and 100% pedal is much less than without the gadget. My first thoughts are, for "sports" mode, couldn't you just drive more aggressively? and my concern for eco mode, is that eventually I would "learn" the new pedal feel and my fuel economy would return to normal, due to me using much heavier throttle to compensate...which would then prove troublesome if I were to switch to sport mode after driving in eco mode for weeks. As for any delay with the drive-by-wire setup, this will still exist because you're not removing anything from the system. The unit just slots in between the pedal and the ecu so any lag that was there before will still be there afterwards. It looks like a very simple unit that changes the voltage measured from the pedal so that rather than being a straight line graph it becomes a curve. The different modes it offers are just adjustments to this curve. Any further thoughts on this? Another thing I was thinking is: how does the ECU handle gear shifts? is this based on pedal position also?

I know this doesn't really help you but I was of the impression that a Nissan dealer should be able to look up this info. Last time I went to my Nissan service centre (for a general service), they looked it up on their computer and were able to bring up full diagrams of all parts of the car, complete with part numbers. They could tell me which ones matched local parts and what they had in stock etc. As for what fluids to use - they didn't even ask. I'd say its the same as for any other VQ engine (maxima/350Z/murano etc).

Pretty sure the official 0-100 figure for the M35 is around 7 seconds - not sure what the average driver would be able to acheive in practise though. But yes, should be close, with the advantage going heavily to the M35 in the wet.

Well this means that either they've reduced drivetrain loss (doubtful) or the M35 is actually putting out roughly 20awkw MORE than the series 2 NEO. How much they put out at the engine may forever be a mystery because Nissan have been saying 206kw for years and everyone's always been "guessing" that its more - even on the R34/stag s2. On the series 2, the difference between RWKW (front tailshaft off) and AWKW was about 20kw. So in other words, if the M35 is the same drivetrain-wise as the s2 then the AWD only costs you 20kw. On a car this heavy, 60-70kw drivetrain loss is pretty normal for RWD and so therefore say about 80-90kw drivetrain loss for AWD. Acknowledging these are all very rough estimates, our M35's *COULD* have as much as 230kw at the engine. If I had to have a more accurate guess I'd say somewhere around 215-220kw. Anything I missed? Either way its still pretty good for a stock wagon. As an aside my dad drove my car the other day (normally drives a BA fairmont) and you should've seen his jaw drop when he put his foot down. Made me very proud

I honestly have no idea what was done - tyres were new from compliance. they would have to have done an alignment then but i have no paperwork other than an invoice. finding out anything else required specifically asking about each thing and the compliance place really didn't like me calling for stuff like that. Still, I'm pretty sure it had an alignment done at compliance...I think its just maybe gone a little out of whack since. Will get another one done when I get the chance.

Well I finally got to the bottom of the whirring noise problem. Turns out it IS actually just tyre noise, but the reason its louder than normal is becuase the tyres are wearing in such a way that its leaving a lot of sharp edges of rubber, particularly on the inside edge of the tyre. First I had the front passenger wheel off and had the space saver tyre on, and there wasn't much change, but then I switched the front right tyre with the space saver and it was a lot quieter. Both right and left tyres are wearing in a similar way - but the direction of the tread means that the sharp edges are creating a "lip" that faces the front of the car on the top of the tyre - kind of like this /| /| /| all the way round the tyre. Both tyres contribute to the noise, but its mostly the right tyre. What it essentially means is that my wheel bearings are fine (phew) and that I can either put up with the noise, or just pay for new tyres. I'll probably just be putting up with it for now. We swapped the rear & front tyres (leaving each tyre on the same side as it was on) and this has made a small but noticeable improvement, and will even out the wear as well. For anyone interested, the tyres I have are Firenza's (www.sumotire.com). Wont be getting those again.

Something not right there. M35's were definitely not built before mid 2001. Other evidence of this is that a lot of the new bits in the M35 didn't show up in most Nissans until 2002 or late 2001 (VQ Engine, 5speed auto, Front Midship Platform, different styling, new dash layout etc). Also the series 2 stagea was still being built up intil sometime mid 2001 so it seems very unlikely they would have had 2 different models in production at the same time.

That would be a Nissan avenir wagon. They are smaller than the stagea, look more like a subaru wagon (in my opinion), and yes they are powered by an SR20DE(T). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_Avenir Didn't think they were available for compliance/rego in australia though...

ah thats right...sorry my bad.

and beware of the bridges they look about 1000 years old - I get nervous every time I drive over them. I'm sure they're quite safe... but yeah +1 for gc hinterland. awesome drive - and take the camera too!

Just replace the stereo/head unit = easiest option. My cd player worked at first but eventually it ate my cd and wouldn't play it and wouldn't spit it out either. I got an aftermarket head unit installed, and then I had to take the stock unit apart to retrieve my cd. Any audio installer can do the install - its an easy job (according to autobarn who fitted mine - didn't have any trouble). I did give them a printed copy of the instructions for a V35 ipod/stereo install (very similar to M35 dash) but not sure if they used it. $80 & 45 mins for the install. very happy You'll get better radio reception and better sound in general from an aftermarket head unit. And they all have aux input nowadays, but some also have ipod compatibility so either way you can have the cd player AND the ipod, now thats having cake and eating it too.

In my experience with Nissan turbo cars, the real benefits from installing a free flowing exhaust really dont show up until you also get the airflow tuned using at least a piggyback ecu. Not sure what options are there for the M35, but on earlier stageas the apexi SAFC was the simple, cheap option and it worked well for anything up to say 180-200awkw. I had one fitted on my last stagea, and it gave me a further 10-20awkw since having the exhaust fitted, and - when coupled with an adjustment to the base ignition timing, lowered my fuel usage by 2L/100km. It was a huge improvement. Initially after just fitting the exhaust, the car was running higher boost due to the exhaust (stock boost controller), and was running very rich - causing it to stall when under full throttle. It wasn't until it was tuned with the safc that I really got the most from it. Not sure how the M35 ecu handles these - but the guys with exhausts fitted should be able to help here. At the very least I would be getting a boost controller (look up turbotech on these forums, they're cheap and work well if you just want to set the boost and leave it - but dont get any of the cheap knock-off's - i've had both and the turbotech ones are the only good ones).

its an RS FOUR, but yeah my best on the highway is about 9.8L/100km (= 10.2km/L). either way its better than earlier stageas so I'm happy. Have the big 100,000km service coming up later this year so will see how it goes with new spark plugs & fluids etc. once thats done.

I'm averaging better than 10L/100km on long trips/highway etc and around 12L/100km on my run to work and back (10-25min drive depending on traffic). Pretty happy with that, considering my M35 is completely stock.

...and.....the only way for it to be the same here is if the Govt removes all the import taxes etc...but that would mean our cars would then only be worth half as much...so either way we lose.

Forgot to mention, this car was auction grade 4 in japan, and is in very good condition, both inside and out.

Year: 2003 Make: Nissan Model: Stagea M35 250T RS4 Engine: VQ25DET (2.5L V6 with single turbo) Transmission: 5 speed Automatic with tiptronic Kms: 94,000 - next service will be 100,000 km but not as expensive as some other cars - this car has a timing chain which doesn't need replacing. Driveline: AWD (ATTESA) Price: $18,000 - or otherwise give me a price and we'll go from there. Features: Digital Climate Control incl Econ option, 3-guage DIN in dash (front torque, volts, and boost),electric fold-in mirrors, self-closing boot option, split rear boot hatch, extra storage space under boot floor. The car is completely stock with the exception of a VDO stereo (aftermarket, professionally fitted) which can play mp3/wma/ogg, and accepts SD/MMC cards, CDs, and USB sticks. Imported Oct 2008. Has had 2 x full engine service, plus transmission service also. Only selling due to finances, have a baby on the way and will be going to single-income soon. Still need a wagon but looking for something cheaper which will give us some money for expenses. If you're interested in the car, make an offer. Pics: (the cord in the 3rd pic is just a portable satnav unit - not included in sale). Also note: stereo has been changed (see above). Please Note: there are 2 cigarette burns to the front seats - which were there when the car came over from japan. Also boost guage only works intermittently. The rest of the interior is spotless however. Inspections welcome. P.S. the title says 'no swaps' but if you have a good condition s2 auto stagea and would like to upgrade to M35, I may consider a swap + some cash my way.

The V35 manual probably wont help with parts but if you want genuine parts, your local nissan dealer should be happy to import them for you. If you want aftermarket, there's a lot of stuff for C34's but I find that M35's are still pretty hard to find parts & info for.

Have a read through the M35 Info thread (stickied) - specifically towards the end. I know there's a lot of pages there - not sure if someone's added the info to the first page yet or not. Another option is to search and do the results as posts rather than threads... Hope this helps. But if you do find out this info, and its not listed elsewhere, maybe create a thread and post it all up.

2003 RS FOUR here, with the guages in the centre (except my boost guage is broken - barely works - 99% of the time it sits on full vacuum even under heavy throttle when i can hear the turbo spooling). no "stagea" on door sills, no leather, no heated seats, no rear air-con vents... you guys suck lol but hey...i do have guages...even if only 2 of them are working (but the volts one isn't very interesting and i dont drive fast enough for the front torque one to move much either). no overdrive button - but then s2 stageas dont have one either. no real need when you have tiptronic.

Please dont take this as anything other than a buyer's opinion....not trying to lower the price of your specific cars at all... I was looking for another stagea last year (3-4 months after I sold my s2 for ~$13000 - it had been on the market for ~2-3 months with little interest). My personal opinion was that I wouldn't pay over $10K nowadays for a series 1, and a series 2 I was prepared to pay $12-13K for a good one (standard) or maybe $14K for a really good one. I preferred one that was stock or only had minor mods (exhaust, boost controller etc). The price I was prepared to pay was influenced by kms and condition but also by what price/kms I could get a similar model in Japan for. At the same time I was dealing with a family friend who has an import license and had imported several M35's already and he was looking up C34's for me and then one day he suggested why not look at the M35's, since at the time they were pretty cheap - only a few thousand more than the C34's. I ended up getting my M35 for just over 550,000yen (plus broker fee for the agent in japan), so if you do the maths, according to the market last august (right before the dollar crashed - it was buying 94USc at the time), thats an M35 250T RS4 landed & complied for under $17K. Standard M35's are still selling here for around $20K, often slightly less, so I guess the question is, how much is someone willing to pay for a (modified) s2 compared to a newer M35 for maybe only a few thousand more and (possibly) with less kms? I suspect the buyer you are looking for is the one that wants a fast, sporty wagon, with all the mods already done...but unfortunately mods dont add much to the price/value of a car. They do add some value...but in the end its whatever the buyer is prepared to pay. I say none of this to spite you or anything like that. I've sold a stagea before ($11K less than what i bought it for 2 yrs earlier) so I know a little of what you're going through. People dont want to pay you what its worth, they want a bargain. You'll get your price eventually, but patience is the key. I'm not very patient when it comes to selling cars - hence why I chose to lower the price in order to get a quicker sale. Hope you get them sold eventually...or otherwise maybe you'll decide to keep one? either way, once a stagea owner, always a stagea owner - you'll be back