pixel8r

Well back when I was looking at a S13 nissan silvia for my first car, my boss's partner who worked in insurance reckoned they were "more trouble than they're worth" and not to bother with one... I went ahead anyway after finding a good(ish) quote and since then have been hooked on nissan imports. I owned that one for 4 years, then a turbo one, then a s2 stagea, and now a M35. I did own a '98 pulsar SSS as well but it was rubbish compared to the imports. The aussie delivered nissans are nothing compared to the JDM ones. This is why they're so underrated. Most people think of nissan as pulsar, tiida and maxima... (this also shows when people talk down the GTR just because its a nissan - they're just not aware of nissan's motorsport pedigree). On topic, I did use motacheck (i think it was them) to get my s2 stagea inspected and they weren't too bad. They wont be able to tell you how your stagea compares to any other stagea etc. or whether it should ride differently etc. but they will be able to point out oil leaks, shudders, suspension issues, brakes issues and anything electrical thats not working. I've heard that RAA are very thorough as well...so all the best with it.

As true as this may be, when its your street and your family affected you'll continue to try to stop them no matter how pointless it may seem.

All Stagea and Skyline turbos suffer from the same problem. They have a ceramic turbine which at a certain temperature is known to fall to bits. The reason it is more of a problem in the M35 is due to the M35 running higher boost than the C34 from the factory. From what I've read on here, the RS/RX models run about 11-12psi (I have an RS = ~11.8psi or 0.8bar) whereas the ARX seems to be around 15psi for reasons no one can understand, given that these turbos usually break after being exposed to ~14psi for extended periods. Each turbo's tolerance is different, if you regularly hit max boost it could last years, or days... 12psi should be fine if everything else is in good shape, but you dont know what boost limit it was running in japan, nor do you know how much heat your particular turbo is being exposed to at 12psi (things like intake/ambient temperature can affect this). Its the heat that does the damage, not the boost pressure on its own. In any case, its very straightforward to replace the standard turbo with a highflow unit which will then outlast the car. It sucks, but once its done its done, and you'll never need to worry again.

Quick google search: "The car is said to be equipped with a Subaru-sourced 2.0-liter four-cylinder boxer engine" http://www.caranddriver.com/news/spied/08q...rts_coupe-spied http://www.themotorreport.com.au/22486/201...berty-platform/ Still, until its released we wont know for sure, but in any case it is confirmed the Subaru and Toyota are jointly working together on this one and that it will in fact be a subaru engine. First time I read it I thought, why, why, why would toyota (who have a name for reliability) go to subaru for an engine. nothing wrong with subaru engines btw, just that I'd rank toyota above them. Just seems odd.

ok, I'll start this one off... how about a full boori sleigh cot + matching change table + mattresses for each. No trailer. Here's a pic of the cot (from the internet): Couldn't find pics of the change table but it also has a drawer. The mattress for the cot is also the boori one - for any dads out there who may have seen these - they're bigger than a normal cot... Silly part was I ended up having to go back anyway to pick up some extra bits from the seller - so much for doing it all in one trip. Also, I managed to fit an entire queen size waterbed + all the bits for the frame that goes underneath + heater etc. in my series 2 stagea. obviously there was no water in the mattress...just in case someone was doubting...

+1 how about a full boori sleigh cot + matching change table + mattresses for each. No trailer needed. Wait - I'll start a new thread...should be interesting...

How'd u manage this? is that with a SAFC or other piggyback ecu?

from wikipedia: VQ25DET = 206kw @ 6400rpm and 407N-m @ 3200rpm VQ30DET = 206kw @ 6000rpm and 386N-m @ 3600rpm. (1998 onwards. It has even less in the pre-1998 models) (wikipedia also had both at 210kw but this would seem to be incorrect - 280ps = 206kw). I agree you'd have a little more torque in the 3L at low revs, but once the turbo kicks in the VQ25 would overtake it. Maybe the VQ25DET runs more boost as standard than the VQ30DET? but either way it still spools quicker as well...

^^ pretty much on the money except my previous stagea (1999 auto RS4 series 2) also used to get 13-14L/100km. With a highflow turbo that dropped to 11.5-12.5L/100km around town (but laggy). Didn't affect highway economy which remained around 10.5L/100km. My M35 now gets much the same 13-14L/100km around town and just under 10L/100km on the highway. So I'd say the M35 is only fractionally better than the C34 for fuel economy but hard to compare really - others have achieved better results, and some people have even worse results. However as mentioned above some of the guys on this forum have been able to improve fuel economy in the M35 considerably through intake/exhaust mods. As for the performance, the C34 is pretty average in stock form (no comparison to a skyline due to ~200+kg extra weight) but does respond very well to mods - 250awkw is possible with the right budget and mods. The M35 is much faster than the C34 (when stock) but there is less aftermarket support due to the VQ25DET engine being fairly rare. However if you search the forum you'll find that 200awkw is quite possible and will give you a wagon that is plenty quick enough. I doubt the wife and kids will appreciate even that level of power ...unless they are VERY understanding... As for a comparison between C34 and M35, both make awesome family wagons, and having owned both, I'd say the C34 may appeal more to the skyline crowd whereas the M35 is more luxury and provides a much nicer and more comfortable/refined ride. The M35 is faster but doesn't feel as "sporty" (ie. rough/hard) as the C34. Test drive both - its the only way to find out what you prefer.

um, how long does it take to rip 4x coilovers off a car?! These guys managed to do a job that i'm guessing would take most mechanics a couple hours in total (including the interior) and no one noticed. They also had to have done it at the skate park because they obviously couldn't drive it there afterwards... No insurance at all? not even 3rd parth? seriously thats risky - what if you hit a ferrari or a porsche or something...or any car at all really...

um... lol? my first car was a VL and my next car was a n/a silvia. The silvia was such a better car there was no comparison whatsoever. both about the same speed...but ride/build quality didn't exist in the VL. no you can get n/a silvias but in any case if I see you drifting in any streets near where I live you better hope the cops get to you first... cant understand why that would be the case... anyways, by all means buy a silvia or 180sx - both are great for drifting due to being fast and very light (especially the back end) but in any case - drifting doesn't belong on public roads. and if you drive like that then neither do you!

I fail to see how a BOV will help with performance at all. Basically, while building pressure, there will be absolutely no difference between a plumbback or atmo bov. since both will stay fully closed until the pressure exceeds their preset threshold (which wont happen until pretty much as soon as the butterfly closes again). The difference between them only occurs when you LIFT your foot off the pedal, so there's no way it can make boost build faster or slower. The 2nd difference is after you lift your foot - either the excess air from in the intake will vent to atmosphere or it will end up back in your intake. If its back in the intake then this would assist in response as well, since once you hit the pedal again it doesn't have to suck more air in, its already there ready to go... I cant see any of that making a huge difference to performance but in any case the way I see it - the atmo bov could only be worse, not better for performance. The only way performance could increase is because you need some form of ecu/tuning to get the atmo one to work - but I'd argue if you put the same ecu+tuning with the plumbback you'd get the same benefit. Hope that makes sense...happy for someone to provide a counter-argument since I'm only talking theory here...

just being picky - but thats not exactly true. Its TORQUE that gets them going, and the XR6T has loads of it. The power they have is comparatively pretty low when you factor in the size of the engine etc, but it more than makes up for it in torque. Another side-effect of having so much torque on tap is wheelspin. Not as bad as say a v8 since you dont get the full torque until the turbo hits max boost and by that time you're already in motion... Its just as well they're heavy otherwise you'd never get any traction at all. Not a bad car overall...just hope its reliable for ya.

Yeah there were so many cars there...and I did note the lack of police anywhere. I was impressed. No tools doing burnouts or anything like that - just a big bunch of car enthusiasts showing off their pride n joy.

on the other hand, there's no point paying more for oil than you actually need to. $200 every 5000 kms is gonna add up pretty quick, especially if you're like me and average 25000kms a year. Anyone using $100+ oil in a n/a rb25 skyline (which I doubt is even worth $10K these days) is just throwing their money away. Sure its gonna be a better oil, but at the end of the day, your car wont break down on the cheaper (synthetic) oil and the engine will more than likely last just as long with any synthetic oil. Remember you dont actually need the "best" - you only need "good enough". The oil Nissan recommend and use isn't even synthetic, so almost any synthetic oil will be better than whats recommended by Nissan. Personally I would use a reasonably good synthetic oil around the $50-60 range either mobil1 (if you can find it cheap) or shell helix or castrol edge or something. Then change it every 10,000kms unless you're doing track days or something. If you think thats too long maybe 7500kms but I reckon 5000kms is overkill if you're just driving to work/the shops etc. The car's not even a turbo so it'll have a pretty easy life. So many people on here recommend spending a small fortune just on regular maintenance items. If our cars really are that good, then why do we need to spend way more than the average joe in his falcodore to get the same amount of kms out of them (usually less)? I can hear the falcodore owners laughing at anyone who thinks his $9000 car needs $200 oil every 5000 kms.

sorry, forgot to mention - it was on saturday afternoon/night. Probably around 6-8pm. I passed southbank plaza on the way to the beach then passed them again at castle plaza on my way home a couple hours later. Most of the cars were just parked there and only a few were coming and going. The speed humps at castle plaza proved a hazard for some. I felt rather out of place in the M35 stagea but I was only there for a quick stickybeak.

seems like everyone knows you shouldn't run lotsa boost through the stock turbo but no one has mentioned why that is... By stock turbo I'm talking about the R33 and later turbos, including R34, and all turbo stageas. The below has been blatantly copied from another forum - post by "nismo33" hope I haven't upset anyone by linking to this. So there you go. They said it better than I could. Basically ~14psi is the point where the turbo will generate enough heat for the ceramic turbine to disintegrate. Some turbos last longer than others, maybe years, maybe just days... But why risk it? Upping the boost on a stock ecu will only make it run rich since the stock ecu wont give you an optimal tune. If you want to run more boost, get a highflow unit with steel wheels and some sort of piggyback/replacement ecu - it'll save you a lot of hassle and give you loads more benefit, both in power and fuel economy.

spotted loads of muscle cars and other rare cars - not sure how to describe it - heaps of restored cars etc firstly down at the southbank? plaza carpark on sherriffs rd then later as I was driving home on south rd it looked like they'd all moved on to castle plaza car park (unless it was a different meet?). I decided to drive through the carpark to check them out - there were some real nice machines in there. Almost filled up the entire castle plaza carpark to give you an idea of how many there were.

I got my headunit installed in my M35 by autobarn at Browns Plains, QLD. I provided the document from that G35 ipod site thinking that might help them pull the dash apart. I'm not sure if they used it or not but the install was done in 1 hr while I went shopping. The only thing I could find wrong with it is 1 part of the dash not sitting 100% flush when put back together...but its not really noticeable unless you look real close (driver side, left of footwell) and I cant remember if it was like it before. All in all they did a pretty good job. The unit does stick out a bit too, and it has a flip-down face which catches slightly on the bottom when you flip it down - so not sure if they had to sit it further out because of this. I just presumed it sat like that because it is a VDO Dayton stereo - I guess they're a little different to the more mainstream ones. I bought it because it plays OGG files and being a linux/open source nut a lot of my music is in OGG and this saved me converting it all to MP3. Plus it has SD card support, USB, and aux in (+mp3 cd etc) so I have many ways of playing my audio. Have a look for the G35 ipod install documentation as far as pulling the dash apart goes. The M35 dash is almost identical to the V35/G35, with the exception that the american versions will obviously have many things on the opposite side of the car. As for the doors, I've still got the stock speakers in so I cant really give any advice there... Chris Rogers has done a lot of audio/electronics work on M35's so give him a call if you want it done right

spotted DOHMAR on hampstead rd this morning while I was driving to work (I was going the other way). Funny thing is I recognised your car from on here before I saw the number plate. looks nice

V8 supercars is what I was referring to. Sure, its not the typhoon, but then the skyline that raced in motorsport was neither GTT nor GTR spec. Which is why I said the ford is just as much racing history as the skyline (GTT) is. Also have a look at nascar - ford are heavily involved in that too. A quick look at www.fordracing.com shows some of the racing categories ford are into. btw I'm no ford fan but I still think a bit more truth and balance on this forum never goes astray.

My wife was driving the stag around yesterday and pulled up in the RH lane next to some jerk in a VT/VX/VY commodore who asked her to wind down the window then promptly started abusing her telling her that f#@!n wagons should be in the left hand lane blah blah blah. She just told the guy "Dont talk about what you dont know"... Then when the light went green she showed him just what this "slow" wagon could do...leaving him for dead (despite his best efforts to keep up). The loser was so embarrassed he took off down a side street so that he didn't have to stop next to her again at the next set of lights. haha

You need a controller that sits on the OTHER side of the ecu - ie. between the ecu and the throttle body. Now if only you could then link that signal directly to the pedal one and make it 100% linear all the time...(except then the ecu would most probably complain). Part of me thinks there must be enough benefit in the drive-by-wire setup for nissan (and just about all other manufacturers) to go down that path. Someone once told me it has something to do with maximising torque output etc and also fuel economy...not sure if thats true. But yeah it'd be nice to be able to override the ecu's mysterious handling of the pedal signal. I doubt its possible in practice though...

hmm, the ford is just as much a piece of motorsport history as the skyline is... also ford isn't dumping the engine because of any fault with the engine. At the end of the day Ford Australia needs to make money and its american parent company pretty much makes the decisions there. They could continue to spend R&D $$ to develop the existing straight 6 further or they can re-use the R&D spent on the new engines in their other cars and save money. Most manufacturers these days are moving all of their cars onto a single platform and ford is no different. Its not rocket science. There's nothing wrong with the 4L ford engine, just have a look at how much power they can handle in the xr6t's and also how many kms most taxis get out of them. But in reality there are just better engines at ford's disposal that will save/make them money and thats what businesses do to survive. Dont forget ford have their racing pedigree too as you can see in almost every racing category. Having said all that, I'd prefer the R34 if I didn't need the extra doors/legroom/space. Its not all about which one is faster or any of that. I just prefer the drive in Nissan imports and I find all locally made cars quite boring. Who cares if it doesn't accelerate as fast as your mates worked SS? I'd rather a car I'm not going to be bored of in a month and one that I'll still enjoy driving 2 years from now. That will depend on your interests...which is why I reckon go with the car that interests you more, not necessarily with the one thats better/faster/etc.

yup, i remember back when i had a s13 silvia turbo. that thing was dangerous in the wet - as soon as boost kicked in, the back would sometimes step out a bit and you had to do a little dance on and off the throttle to regain control. All in all it was a fun car and quite fast in the dry, but these days I wouldn't give up AWD for anything. That and the stagea is just such a better car to drive, despite being heavier and slower.